Dancing is expensive! At thousands of dollars for a single dress and over $100 per private lesson, we dancers are constantly strapped for cash! That’s why it’s important to master some mean money saving hacks. Luckily for us, our real cash-strapped days are behind us, but we remember those tough times. We made use of some crazy money saving hacks, like lining our suitcases with Top Ramen when we travelled overseas. No joke! But those are not the type of money saving hacks I have for you today. I know full well that most of you are not insane career competitors like us. But hey, money saving hacks are always great to have up your sleeve, right? These ones are pretty practical. We promise!
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Money Saving Hack 1: Make Your Own Coffee
Seriously, I know this sounds like a funny one, but trust me on this! To the left, I linked to a Nespresso Coffee Machine that works with the Nespresso pods. The coffee is pretty good, and can cost as low as 50 cents a shot! I drink a single espresso in the morning and a double macchiato in the afternoon. I splurge on my afternoon macchiato with good quality coffee and a fancy Brevel espresso machine we keep at the dance studio. Therefore, my macchiato probably costs about $1, considering the ½ oz of milk and two shots. So that’s it. My entire day’s cost of coffee is half of what one double-macchiato would cost me at a coffee house. Just by making it myself, and splurging on really good quality coffee – better than the espresso I’ll get at a coffee house – my coffee expenses are cut in half.
Projected savings: $45-$80 per month
Money Saving Hack 2: Dye Your Own Hair
We get it! Not everyone has to dye their hair! But for those of us who do, learn how to dye it yourself. Remember that in Ballroom Dancing, fancy balayage and streaks don’t show up well on the dance floor. One of the worst things we can do for a competition look is an ombre style. When the hair is done up into a bun, the color of the bun is completely different than the rest of the hair and looks like an unmatched hairpiece.
For best results, go with an overall color. The best part about the overall color is that it’s the easiest to do yourself, too! I’ve been dyeing my own hair since I was 14 years old. I have a very systematic way of making sure all of my very brown roots and beautifully blonde. I also dye Simeon’s hair! Ahem, I mean… Simeon doesn’t have any grey hairs…. Hehehe…..
Projected savings: $100-300 per month
Money Saving Hack 3: Learn How to Do Your Own Nails
Ok, this money saving hack is for the ladies. There are a couple of different options for this. First of all, ladies, you can stick with glue-on nails for competitions. Buy them in bulk, like the box I linked to above. You can glue them on, cut them to the size you want, paint them with the color you want, and voila! You have gorgeous nails that will fall off on their own in about week, because that’s about how long the glue lasts.
But if you want to have nice looking nails all of the time, learn how to do your own acrylics! You can buy your entire setup for about $100. That includes all of the materials you need, plus the electric nail drill. Sure, there’s a bit of a learning curve. It took me about 6 months of doing my nails every other week to get good at it. But now, I have full control over when I want to have them done and how I want them to look. It takes me about 2 hours every 2 weeks, almost the same as going to a salon. But I save $90 a month. That is a pretty substantial saving!
Projected savings: $70-$90 per month
Money Saving Hack 4: Practice Your Own Hairstyles
Another one just for the ladies. I know that ballroom hair can be difficult to do, but you should always have a few styles that you’ve mastered. I suggest doing your own hairstyles at the majority of your competitions, and save your money for professional styles only for the largest competitions. When a single hairstyle can cost between $70-$150 each, and you could possibly dance on multiple days, that’s a lot of money to save! Take your time to learn how to do your hair. Take advantage of tutorials, practice, and work your way up in difficulty. Just like dancing, with practice, you’ll get better!
Projected savings: $70-$400 per competition
Money Saving Hack 5: Buy Airfare Early
This is such an important note! So many people take too long to make up their minds about competitions and schedules. Simeon and I often have our airfare bought months in advance, and we commonly lump multiple trips into single multi-leg reservations to take advantage of multi-leg savings. For instance, flying from Seattle to Orlando might be expensive, but flying from Seattle to San Diego to Orlando might give us a $100 saving per ticket. It definitely takes extra planning, but it’s worth it in the savings.
Projected savings: unlimited
Money Saving Hack 6: Learn How to Rhinestone Your Own Costumes
For guys and girls, this is a lifesaver! If you buy your own costumes, rhinestoning them yourself can cut your costuming budget in half. A dress that would cost $6000 retail or $4000 custom made will run you $2000 if you order the dress without rhinestones plus the cost of the rhinestones. It’s true that rhinestoning is a skill that takes a bit of time to master, and it takes a lot of time to fully rhinestone a dress. To take my fully stoned dresses from bland to grand takes me about 30 hours on average. However, the savings make it more than worthwhile.
Projected savings: $2000-$5000 per dress
Money Saving Hack 7: Choose luxury items that are easy to pair with anything.
The world of dancesport is definitely one of high fashion. The desire to keep up with the fashionable divas of dancesport can easily add up to huge amounts draining out of your pocket. My advice is to not go for trendy. Instead, go for timeless classics that can be paired with many different outfits. If you want a pair of Louboutins, don’t go for studs or snake print or fringe off the heels. Buy a pair of black, nude, or white heels that you can pair with a million different outfits that will keep you looking trendy and expensive. In fact, a single Louis Vuitton scarf and a single black Chanel bag can easily dress up your $50 dress.
For men, don’t spend thousands on a suit. Buy a $150 suit and use another $50-$100 to have it beautifully tailored. Instead, buy a belt that you can wear with many suits. In fact, Simeon has a Ferragamo belt that is reversible! So he can wear the black side with his black, white, or wine-red suit; or he can wear the brown side with his blue, brown, or beige suits. And look for deals on your luxury items! Which brings me to my last hack….
Projected savings: unlimited
Money Saving Hack 8: Buy luxury items on second-hand sites.
I can’t stress this point enough! There is no reason to spend $1,200 for a brand new Louis Vuitton purse when you can buy a previously-owned, like new Louis Vuitton purse for $800. Especially if you’re going for timeless classics like I suggested above, you can find amazing deals at great values on second-hand sites. My favorite second-hand site is Poshmark, but Tradesy is also good. The best part about Poshmark is that for items over $500, they provide authentication on the items that you’re receiving! With these amazing items, owners often take such great care of them that, even if the item is 2 or 5 or even 30 years old, the condition of the item could be like new. Scour these sites for the items you’re looking for and prepare to be impressed!
Projected savings: unlimited
What do you think of these money saving hacks?
It takes a lot of creative thinking to stretch your dollar as far as possible. Luckily for me, creative thinking tends to be a talent of mine. And luckily for you, I’m excited to share my creative solutions with you! If you liked this list, keep checking back. I definitely intend to add links to tutorials with a lot of my DIY suggestions. But just take a look at those projected savings! Oftentimes, the savings on rhinestoning a single costume is enough to pay for another costume! So really try to take advantage of these money saving hacks and see how you can stretch your dollar further!
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