Spending on Vanity

I am loyal to my hair guy. I have been going to Fred for about 13 years. When I started going to Fred, my parents were still paying for my haircuts. He is at a professional salon that is much more expensive than some of the discount hair options.

I know I could go spend about $10 less at a place like Fantastic Sam’s or Great Clips. Floyd’s is more expensive. I get a haircut every five to six weeks these days, so I could save about $90 per year if I went to a cheap place to get my hair cut.

However, there are some places in life it is worth spending extra. When I bought my glasses, I spent hundreds more than I had to spend because I wanted the best looking frames. After all, the first thing someone sees when they look at me is my face. The same goes for my hair. I don’t want to look like a schlep.

Some people make their appearance a priority, and others do not. I do not care about spending a ton on my clothes, as I try to be practical and I don’t care much about trends. But I do care about how I look. Some level of vanity is a good thing, as long as it does not go too far. Just look at the definition of vanity:

van·i·ty: excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit

Do you honestly know anyone who does not care in the least bit what they look like? Even hippies, with their dreadlocks and tie dye, are trying to fit into a mold of some sort. Those “goth” and “emo” kids are fitting into a subset of vanity.

We all care what we look like, and we have to decide where to spend our money. For me, having a good, clean appearance is important for my professional life and it is something I value in my social life.

What do you think? What do you spend on haircuts? Is it worth money just to keep up appearances? Please say your thoughts in the comments.