In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been involved in budget-related discussions at my work. I absolutely don’t enjoy those, but it’s that time of the year, and we all know where our economy is heading, so there is no escaping from these activities. No wonder money is on my mind.
Saturday Question #136:
Do You Have a Perfume Budget?
Do you have some set amount you plan to spend on perfumes monthly or yearly? If yes, do you fit in that budget? If no, how do you allocate money for your perfume hobby?
We all have different discretionary incomes and live in very different environments, so we do not have to discuss exact sums. The question is more generic – about the principles you apply to that area of your life.
My Answer
For the last several years, I was setting an upper limit to what I planned to spend on perfume-related purchases during that year. It was hard at first: I wanted to buy this and try that. And then there was an incredible price drop for something I was already thinking of. Or I would learn about the discontinuation of something I always planned to get eventually or had just half of the… 100 ml bottle left. So, at some point, once the budget was gone, I would start finding some creative ways to justify the next purchase. It has never been out of control to threaten my financial health, but I didn’t stay within the self-imposed boundaries.
In the last couple of years, I haven’t been spending the maximum I would allocate at the beginning of the year. It’s hard to name a single reason. Probably the combination of everything – the pandemic, being too busy or stressed out to test or even wear perfumes, the size of my existing collection, and, what is even more pressing, the size of the space where that collection is stored. And, of course, when you’re testing perfume No 3,000+ in your life, it’s harder to fall in love with something you’ve already smelled before (and probably own already). But I will keep allocating money for perfume purchases: if nothing else, I still want at least to try something new.
Undina's Looking Glass 
No budget, but my spending is WAAAAAY down compared to the past. A couple of reasons, the price of perfume like everything else is going up and in order to buy something, it really has to be special. But more importantly, living in Mexico, the options for buying perfume is pretty low. We finally have a company that is selling niche products, but they are typically 25% higher than anywhere else. I am assuming that’s it because they are hit with such high import fees…so I stay away. So when I get to the US a couple times a year, I just buy what I want. Who knows what I would spend if I had access all of the time… LOL.
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Is it expensive to ship to where you live? Or will it also incur custom fees?
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You never really get free shipping and you have to pay for custom fees. For instance, FragranceNet will ship down here. For example a 100 perfume, with shipping and custom fees could turn out to be 130 or 140.
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I don’t set a perfume budget, because buying perfume for me is opportunistic and other areas are easier to control if something would need to be curbed, such as eating out. The decision to buy each perfume is a one-time yes/no while with other things like food, there is a range of options for each time eating out. But in general I don’t overspend anyway, and I’ve bought much less perfume since the first year or so of discovering niche (that threshold for yes vs. no is higher). Trying to enjoy what I have.
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We spend much less on eating out these days! I’m so used to eating what I like at home during the pandemic that it’s hard to accept something less then very good. And restaurants around here got worse in these last couple of years.
So, with all the money I’m saving on not eating out I could buy even more perfumes! But I don’t :)
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I did a year long no-buy which was helpful in that it forced me to see my whole collection and how crazy it really is. I don’t have a budget at this point, but I buy very little – a discovery set here, maybe a discounted bottle from a FB group there. Every time I look at my perfume shelf I remind myself that I don’t have enough skin to give those perfumes proper attention. I guess I started tightening my belt in advance of the general belt-tightening that’s going on now!
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I don’t need more perfume, and I don’t buy too much, but I think that a “no buy” would have been too hard for me. But I’m getting better with negotiating with myself about not buying something :)
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I have never though about setting a perfume budget. I suspect I would be tempted to use it as a target figure rather than putting the breaks on my smelly spends
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I set the budget planning to spend it. But yes, especially initially it was harder to stop, especially considering that my limit is artificial, it’s not like I can’t spend more. I just decided that I shouldn’t :)
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I don’t have a formal budget; like NoseProse, my purchases tend to be opportunities though I have general guidelines in my head. But if I know in advance that I’m going somewhere and hope to buy some fragrances, like the recent trip to Las Vegas, I’ll avoid making purchases for a couple of months to “save up.” We’re no longer paying others to clean house or mow/blow the lawn, so mentally I can justify the fragrances!
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I remember times when I was still traveling… :) I mean, I also usually planned perfume purchases during trips. I should wear some of those perfumes bought then.
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Same here. I occasionally don’t follow that mental guideline. However, that’s usually for a very good reason, like an irresistible offer :-) I try to make up for it not by trying out fewer perfumes, but by focussing on swaps rather than buys, or attempting to sell a bottle or some decants from my collection.
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I don’t have a specific budget but I should, as it is my favorite spending category. It’s mostly opportunistic at this time, since I’m not actively looking for new perfumes other than testing new releases from houses I particularly love. I’ve heard of strategies allowing purchases at only certain times of the year, but then that doesn’t allow for random opportunities, so I think I would prefer a dollar amount per year. I am running in to a space problem as well as an age problem, so I need to be more judicious.
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I know that I would hate limits by periods: it means that I would have to pass on some opportunities, so later I would suffer if I had to pay more.
But the struggle for space – it’s real! :)
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I do not have a perfume budget because I know I will never stick to it. I have always spend more money than I should on perfumes. However this year, I have lost some interest in trying and getting new perfumes. I am not sure why, but I hope to keep it that way. I do not find any new releases very interesting or exciting anymore. I prefer these days to enjoy my collection and probably explore old scents of favorite brands that I have not tried yet and that have been in my list for a long time.
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I wonder if brands even keep releasing new perfumes. Either I hear less about it, or they really slowed down (which would be great). I still want to keep testing new perfumes, but the list of brands whose new releases draw my attention is shrinking every year.
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I’ve never set a limit, but it’s not much of a problem, because I’ve reached the point where I’m no longer madly sampling. I realized a few years ago that I hadn’t even heard of a lot of the houses in the Luckyscent newsletter!
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Same here. I’m not really interested in new brands – unless I can try them somewhere at a store.
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Hi Undina and crew,
No budget but I did a 6 month No Buy a while back.
It’s going to have to happen soon though. We are trying to pay off this new investment apartment as quick as possible before rates get out of control.
This year, once I started working again, it’s been out of control.
There will be some reining in and maybe even a budget in 2023 I think.
Portia xx
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Yeah… Rates are going up significantly. My father just reminded me earlier today how high interest rates were 25 years ago – and it looks like we’re heading there. So, yes, definitely deal with investments first and then see if you still have space in your perfume cabinets and boxes :)
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Yeah, we had home loans at just under 20% back in the 90s. Loads of people lost their shirts.
Yeah, it’s belt tightening over here in many ways.
Fingers crossed we can all weather the oncoming storm.
Portia xx
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Our first home that we bought in 1980 was at a 13% interest rate and that was considered a very good rate as it was a VA loan. I think the average home loan interest rate at that time was 14 to 15%. I suppose that is why I’m not so alarmed about inflation. I’ve lived through much worse! My house payment is the same amount now as my first house payment because we refinanced our current loan when rates were at the all time low. Economics is fascinating!
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Nada. I’m like a cat – if I fits I sits.
With this said, not naming names of course, at least one person in the perfume blogs mention having financial concerns, yet, there’s talk of oops for scented purchases. I hate to say it but if you have to choose between eating decently or sacrificing that part of your life for scented pursuits, a re-prioritization is required.
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You are so right! I left one FB group when one member, a young man of around the same age as my sons, put most of his collection up on the Sales board. He explained he needed to sell as he had maxed out all his credit on perfume.
I have noted that on the very male dominated places in the online scented world their is fierce competitiveness to own the newest, the most expensive, the oudiest etc etc etc.
For a young man with a mid range UK salary, buying several large, high end bottles each month is the road to major debt.
The page also had a lot of “tips” about buying crypto. Not a comfortable place for me.
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Wow, I would have left that FB group, too. I can’t imagine spending so much of one’s salary on perfume that there’s nothing left for food, car repairs, etc. I think when some folks first get into perfume they want to try to keep up with the ‘cool kids,’ the popular Youtube perfume bros, and buy all the latest expensive things, not realizing that you need to have a lot of disposable income in order to do that.
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Whenever I read how people get into a debt buying things that are not essential, I feel uneasy: I understand that we all are contributing to those FOMO feelings, and it’s hard when it seems that everyone around you has something you want to but cannot afford. But I agree that food, shelter and being debt-free should come first.
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i have a fictional budget of 100€ a month but mostly i dont spend that much. i spent a lot in my first year discovering perfumes, but now i try to enjoy my bottles and empty my decants before they evaporate
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Ditto for me.
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One more reason why I keep my budget is that I tell myself that if I don’t spend it this year, maybe next one I come across an impossibly beautiful but expensive perfume – and if I want it, I would buy it.
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I should have set a budget but it’s the one area of my life where I want to indulge myself. I am really disciplined with groceries and things like that-II didn’t eat out much, even before the pandemic. Last year when the discounters had some really good sales I bought some things I had always wanted, so loads of Annick Goutal scents, some super cheap Guerlains, some Lutens. I took the time to put my collection in order recently-I think I have max 150 bottles. This is enough for me for a lifetime. There are a few I should sell or give away, cause I never wear them but I just don’t want to. So no budget, but I have to try and not buy any more, which I find challenging :)
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I probably reorganize my collection as well, though usually I can’t let go of any perfumes, even if I know that I don’t wear it :)
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I try to stick to a budget and, if there is a purchase, I try to buy smaller sizes. I did an entire year of no buying in 2019 and it helped me appreciate what I had. I’ve done some downsizing recently, in my home and in my perfume collection and that has been helpful. But if something really amazing come along that Suzan can get for me in Paris, I will make an exception on price and size. And, of course, I can’t resist sampling some new fragrances from time to time….
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“Downsizing” anything gives me anxiety attack even as a thought! :) No-buy is the close next, but not adding anything new is still better than letting go to something that I already got into my collection.
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The no buy year was due to all the work I had to have done on my teeth that year. An implant and 2 crowns were.very expensive !!
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I kind of guessed that you didn’t do that for fun ;)
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Not exactly. But I’ve imbibed much of the wisdom shared here regarding buying decisions while living life down The Rabbit Hole. Choices – make your choices. And make them stick. (Looking at you, Shalimar MVP :|)
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Yeah… You snooze…
It’s hard for me to part with anything I own, not just perfumes. Especially it is true when it comes to something you can’t easily replace.
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Never had a budget, but I am only interested in buying samples and decants these days. I probably should have had one earlier in the hobby!
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I think the situation in which many of us are is because we didn’t have a budget early on :)
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