Summer time is upon us which, for some, means goodbye pale and hello bronze. For some tanners, the sun isn't enough. Tanning beds offer a quick, "easy" solution to spending hours outside. Although spending hours in the sun with minimal sunscreen and using tanning beds both do irreparable damage to your skin, tanning beds will also burn a hole in your wallet. At many tanning salons, monthly memberships can range from $20 to $100. Here are five things that you are better off spending that money on.
1. Apparel.
Have your eyes on a pricey new dress, purse, bikini, or pair of sunglasses? You name it, and you could buy it with the spare $20 to $100 bucks you would have.
2. A trip.
Spend that money on a road trip with your best friends, a weekend at the beach, or a visit to a friend who lives in another state. That money becomes your gas money, and those memories are worth more than bronze skin.
3. Sunless tanning lotion.
If you just can't let the tanning go, for just $8.97 you could go to Walmart and buy Neutrogena Build a Tan Gradual Sunless Tanner and get nice tan skin in one use (just go easy on the ankles).
4. Experiences.
Dinner with friends, concerts, movie nights, a nail date with your mom; all of these become affordable luxuries when you have a little extra cash saved up.
5. Nothing.
Why not just save it? Put it towards a new car or your rent for the school year.
The point of all of this is to recognize that your life is priceless. Tanning beds and unsafe sun exposure are a huge risk and lead to millions of cases of skin cancer every year. Protect your skin, save yourself some money, and in return, you will be saving your own life.
