Woman 'Speculates' About How People Are Able To Afford Small Luxuries Like Pedicures — 'This Is Just Me Wondering How This Is Possible'
It seems like there's just not enough money to go around.
Kmpzzz | Shutterstock With the economy we’re dealing with, it makes sense that many people are struggling. Despite good numbers, Americans have yet to see any real relief from inflation or the job market.
As everyday people have a hard time affording necessities, it can be difficult for many to think about paying for luxuries. One woman asked exactly how some people are able to afford them.
A woman took to TikTok to speculate about how some people can afford small luxuries in our current economy.
Chelsea Cole is a chef who shares recipes based on literature on TikTok. Every now and then, she shares her opinion on a controversial topic as well.
In a recent video, Cole talked about people who are able to afford small luxuries, like pedicures or new home decor.
“Do you ever wonder how people are affording things?” she asked, admitting this is something she would typically talk to her friends about instead of debating it on the internet.
The woman went on to explain her family's middle-class status and an overview of their finances.
Cole went on to explain her personal situation. “Like, my husband and I do pretty decently,” she said. “We own a home. We each have a car with car payments. We have a moderate amount of student loan debt. We have one kiddo. We live in a rural town outside of Portland, Oregon.”
“I feel like as far as millennials go, we’re probably pretty middle of the road,” she added. “And I think our spending is probably pretty middle of the road too.”
Owning a home, which used to be a pipe dream for many millennials, has become a reality in the last five years. Data indicates that as of 2022, nearly 52% of millennials have bought homes, meaning Cole's allegations of being "middle of the road" aren't far off.
“I budget,” she said. “I try to watch our bills. We don’t do a lot of, like, shopping, but Amazon shows up more than I’d like.”
By all accounts, it sounds like Cole and her family are a typical middle-class family. This means that, like many middle-class families, there are a lot of things they just can’t afford monetarily.
The woman simply couldn’t wrap her head around how some people afford small luxuries.
“I see people who are regularly getting their nails done, regularly getting their hair done, they’re constantly buying new home decor items, they’re constantly buying new clothing that’s on trend,” she explained.
Cole was quick to say that she was not judging anyone. She was simply observing and wondering.
“And by the way, no judgment passing on these [people],” she said. “This is just me wondering how this is possible.”
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“Like, I just watched a video of a woman talking about how her costs … for a pedicure are $200 for every pedicure,” she stated. “I’m just like, ‘How is somebody affording to do that regularly?’”
“And moreover, like, how are there enough people who can afford to do that to, like, make that service worth it?” she added.
Commenters had several different ideas about how people were affording these things.
Cole’s fellow TikTok users were quick to chime in on the now-viral video with their thoughts on how it was possible to afford these things.
“$200 pedicures are the prize you get for not having kids,” one person said.
“You’d be surprised how much debt some people are comfortable with,” another added. “They just keep digging to keep their comfort.”
A third person offered an opinion similar to the first. “As someone who identifies with the pedicure people, I’m wondering how others afford a house, car and a kid,” they said. “I guess we just spend differently.”
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Per Investopedia, raising a child to the age of 17 in the United States currently costs an average of $310,605. This cost is split between things like housing, food, childcare, and education.
This is, obviously, a significant amount of money. SoFi stated that the average annual income in the U.S. was $63,795. That’s not even a third of how much it costs to raise a child.
Perhaps it is true that people just choose to spend money on different things. And, those without children have more disposable income to spend on things like pedicures.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.