Have you been thinking about traveling around the world?
Many readers would like to travel but are often held back by something. This could be expensive rent, too many subscriptions, or tanning services that are killing the wallet.
Tanning beds are killing your wallet and now YOU according to an interesting study that claims that that sunbeds are as harmful as cigarettes. The analogy was that sun tanning beds are to skin cancer what cigarettes are to lung cancer. This may seem like an irrelevant concept but the truth of the matter is that many 20 somethings use tanning salons. To be honest, I have used a tanning salon in the past prior to going away to a warm country in the winter. My thinking was that I need some sort of a base tan before my white skin went into the boiling sun.
After I read the study I decided to conduct some research and check out some of the prices of using the services of a tanning salon. It seems that the average price in my area for one tan is $8 (no time or exposure limits) or $75 a month for unlimited tanning.
After looking at these numbers I instantly thought about what else one could do with that money. There are many other ways to spend your money. After a few minutes I came up with some thoughts on tanning salons and why this money would be better utilized through many other ways:
Instead of tanning you can travel the world.
When I thought about the money you could save by not tanning I instantly thought of my favorite activity of traveling the world.
$75 a month can be socked away into your personal savings account and used towards traveling to interesting destinations every year. Yes $75 a month equals $900 a year which you may think is not a whole lot, but if you search for deals online and are flexible with your travel schedule you could easily find a trip. Worst case scenario would mean that you add an extra couple hundred dollars if you want to choose a more expensive vacation option.
Tanning beds will never be the same as a beach in Thailand.
If you managed to curb your tanning bed spending and put that money towards traveling, you could visit some very exotic destinations around the world, with beaches that could blow your mind. Last fall when I was I was rigorously saving money and working hard to finish my college semester, the only thing I needed to get me through the late night study sessions was looking at pictures of the beach at the resort in the Dominican Republic. You could spend tons of money and lay in tanning beds every single day so that you have a year round tan but you will never grasp the priceless experiences that come with traveling.
Traveling will give you more than just a tan.
If you choose to travel down south and visit a warm country then you will definitely get a nice tan plus a great culture experience. It’s great to have a tan all year round but it’s great to see how people live in different places across the planet. It really helps you appreciate what you have when you see the living conditions in a third world country.
What are your thoughts on this whole new study proving that tanning beds cause skin cancer? How would you rather spend the money? Are you a fan of travelling around the world?
Alright, first a little biochemist rant: tanning doesn’t ’cause’ cancer. What tanning (and other risk factors for various types of cancer, like smoking) do is increase the probability that a person might, at some point in the future, develop the associated type of cancer. (I realize that the CNN article used the term ’causes’, but they are just as wrong.) Alright, rant over.
Cancer risk aside, I think its a matter of personal preference whether to favor travel over adding to your physical appearance (through tanning, exercising, etc.). If you value the experiences of traveling and the chance to go new places and meet new people, then yes, travel should be high on your list of priorities. If you would rather look like you just came in from surfing in the middle of January, that will affect your spending decisions in the opposite way. Each option could be correct for a different person, and trying to make a blanket statement about the ‘best’ use for $900 a year is all but impossible. To each their own.
One thing I wanted to point out (and I know this is an older article), is that you’re really comparing apples and oranges. Assuming a person would tan every month of the year at $75/month, they would have a year-round tan. A once-a year one-week vacation (which is basically what you might get for $900 if you’re lucky), will barely give you a tan that will fade after a couple weeks (or worse yet, you’ll get sunburned and increase your chance of skin cancer dramatically) and you’re not enjoying the “benefits” of having a tan year round (aesthetically speaking) or the mood-enhancing benefits (allegedly). For the record, I’m not a tanner so I’m not trying in any way to push a tanning agenda, just pointing out that the two scenarios aren’t equal or comparable in any way.
Although I personally would be saving up for the trip, like I said I’m not someone who spends money on tanning (I have thought about it though, during our Canadian winters for the vit D production and mood elevation, but I wouldn’t be doing it enough to get a hardcore tan and I’d be wearing SPF on the face).
Darrell thanks for taking the time to bring up some excellent points!
I compared tanning to vacations to put things into perspective. Young people often complain about how they don’t have enough money to travel or to truly enjoy life (at least people I have spoken with). I wanted to show my readers how if you are willing to dig deep and make certain sacrifices anything is possible.