Your First Tail Savings

[drucilla]

Do you remember what it was like saving up for your first tail? Did you feel like you would never have enough? Did your loved ones not understand, or were they not supporitive?
I'm asking for your specific stories, because it's killing me! lol I just don't want to feel alone in this.
Thank you for your time. :)

[Mermaid Allie]

Lol I have enough money to get a partial silicone tail from fish butts, and my mom FREAKED when I told her it was 300 dollars! My friends, who are sorta into mermaids, think that 20 dollars is a lot to spend and would "rather use it for something else" I don't get it. I mean when i have a job in like 10 years, I'm DEFINATELY getting a tail from raven. And hopefully I'll get a partial silicone next year!

[EnidDarkWater]

Oddly enough my family supported me getting a mermaid tail as well as lots of my friends.The boyfriend just kinda rolled his eyes and laughed because all of them are used to my fantasy creature adventures as they call them, since I already work as a fairy and such and indulge alot of my time to realism and character creation.My best advice for saving is put it what you can't see it.The out of sight, out of mind factor will really help you save.

[Mermaid Annariea]

i got money for my birthday back in july, about $500. i decided to spend $345 of it on my fish butts tail, and my parents threw a fit about it. my boyfriend seemed to be the only person who really understood.

at that point, i was living in new jersey with my grandparents. my parents and brother had moved to cali from virginia where we had lived, but i moved to nj to be closer to my boyfriend (5 hours away is better than a whole country away). i would talk to my grandparents about it, and while they thought it was sort of silly, my grandmom really saw how much i wanted it.

so she called my mom and said she needed to be more supportive of what i wanted, and that it was my birthday money to do with what i pleased (i wasn't ordering it because my parents made me feel silly). the next day, my mom called me and told me to order the tail, and apologized for being so unsupportive.

now, my whole family LOVES my tail, and they like seeing pictures and videos of me in it. it took them a bit to understand, but even my dad thinks its cool now, and he's tough to please hahahah.

$345 well spent. and im planning to upgrade to a partial silicone probably next winter.

[drucilla]

My husband thinks it's stupid and doesn't want me spending any of, "his money," on it, so I can't even start saving till I get a DL and a job, which he doesn't want me to have a job until our child is in school, so it will be a few years...

[Mermaid Isabela]

I started saving up in August, and I told everyone about it. My family was surprisingly supportive, as well as most of my friends. ( Though one blatantly laughed at my face and made fun of me for it. Needless to say, she's no longer my friend... ) Since I don't have a job, it was painfully hard to save up. ( I was saving for one of Raven's basic tails. ) You guys have no idea on how much I cried, and gave up in order to have enough money for it. All the tears were well wasted though! I managed to actually order my tail by my deadline, and on my birthday in December, I contacted Raven~ <3

[Nyxie]

My husband thinks it's stupid and doesn't want me spending any of, "his money," on it, so I can't even start saving till I get a DL and a job, which he doesn't want me to have a job until our child is in school, so it will be a few years...
drucilla i can understand how you feel, my hubby didnt say that BUT, i have qualms about spending the money he makes on recreational stuff and i have 2little ones so i work from home :) have you looked into jobs you can do from your home like having a home daycare, certain crafts sell well (like hair bows and tutus and pet clothing), petsitting or even cake baking if you're handy in the kitchen? its lil stuff like that that put that extra dough in my pocket while i sit at home with my babies

[drucilla]

That's a good suggestion, I have a lot of ideas so I'll give it a try. My baby is 4 months old now and requires a lot of attention! lol My husband wants me to do fostercare. :crazy:

[Nyxie]

lol, my youngest is 7 months and my oldest is 2 yrs :D...so know exactly what you mean so i only have two other kids right now in my home daycare until my lil bugger starts walking then i'll take more; fostercare wouldv'e been too much for me because im all about giving them back at the end of the day!! lol...

[Mermaid Miel]

I get a disability pension and had just started saving on it when I first saw mermaid tails... $150-250 for a basic fabric tail w/monofin. I personally freaked a bit over the price, but wanted it soo badly. This was 4 years ago, way before I finally got a job.

When I found out how to make my own fabric mermaid tail then there was no more stopping me. I immediately ordered the cheapest monofin available. Mum has always supported me being crafty, it was the childish-ness of wanting to be a mermaid that took her aback. My sisters decided it was embarassing... but for me this was nothing new as I never understood their desire to be normal/popular. (imo...boring.) My Dad is Supportive and my brother is also. (as long as he doesn't need to do anything.):rolleyes:

My boyfriend was there for me though, literally he was there for my first swims with a monofin and alot of my early tries with my first mermaid tail. It was like re-learning how to swim and he says he is very proud of how much I have achieved.

I now make fabric mermaid tail-skins that I sell locally to earn that lil bit extra on top of my job.
As for savings... I now have 5.5k tucked away. My goal is 15k for a home deposit... I will reach that by my birthday this year.

My advice, buy the monofin first.
I know that Fishbutts has done discounts for tails where you provide/install the monofin. (I don't know about raven or other tail-makers though) Mernetwork and Ebay occasionally sell secondhand monofins for cheaper as well.

If you can sew or know a relative who can sew for you, You can also make your own fabric tail to practice in before you get the expensive realistic tail. (you Will need the practice. My first tail was shredded on the fin-tips from early swimming mistakes.:doh:)

If your husband complains, you are going the thrifty route and being crafty/artistic. Everyone needs an artistic outlet.
Also since I started mermaiding, I dropped a dress-size and went up three cup sizes naturally.... so the exercise is very good for your core muscles. (Though the breasts might be more due to finally getting fitted for a bra since my first bra.:$)

[drucilla]

I was thinking of saving up for one of the realistic tails right off the bat lol (mainly because I want something amazing just for me, also because my husband pointed out that buying 2 tails doesnt make much sense while your saving for the tail of your dreams lol) He has FORBID me to go in the ocean with the tail though lol it kinda hurts the dream alittle but not nearly as much as not getting one at all. I also understand where he's coming from with that notion.

[Mermaid Evolet]

I know what you mean, its very hard for me to save money for my first tail, too.
And i don't get any support at all. My parents and my sister think mermaids are only for children, my boyfriend thinks its a wast of money and even my best friend thinks its silly. :(

[Nyxie]

I know what you mean, its very hard for me to save money for my first tail, too.
And i don't get any support at all. My parents and my sister think mermaids are only for children, my boyfriend thinks its a wast of money and even my best friend thinks its silly. :(

i got that reaction AT FIRST, so i ignored them and started doing my own thing; suddenly they realize i was talking less to them about certain things and going off on my own or with the one person that didnt judge and then they wanted to start asking questions and i pretty much shut them out (i mean who wants to discuss how excited they are about something mer-related with ppl who think its stupid?) . after awhile 1 by 1 they started asking why our r-ship changed and i explained to each how they made me feel... they all apologized, some chose to leave it at an apology and a few took it a step further and are now helping me construct my first tail right now to play in while the one i ordered is being made. so i say, brush them off, keep on swimming and let them see that their view on mermaiding doesn't change yours...they will eventually come to realize that it was their support rather than opinions you wanted when you chose to let them in.

[Ashe]

Well, my first real tail (besides a pair of tights and swim fins) was a birthday present, but my parents were supportive and after that I told and showed them all about real-life mermaids (us) and some really epic tails. Later, I made my very own neoprene tail, and I saved up money for that one. I was super excited cause I had most of the money on hand already, so I was able to get right to it! Of course my parents helped out a bit and my mom loved how much effort I was putting into it, along with the creative aspect. I made more tails in the past, and now I'm making a brand new neoprene tail and she's super excited! (yay!) So yeah, My mom is extremely supportive of my tailmaking, and the fact that i'm an actual mer :) She loves driving and planning with me, she's even starting to be able to use sorrect erms like "fluke" "monofin" "tail" and things like that haha! My dad... he's not against it, but I don't think he understands why I make and swim in mermaid tails haha! It's kinda cute though in that awkward fatherly way :P

[MerEmma]

I'm still saving right now for my first tail. I think I'll make it, but I'm not positive...mostly I'm saving for a Raven tail, but once I get a decent amount of cash I'll probably splurge (as long as we get this timeshare) for one. It's hard.

[AniaR]

It took years but I got there! :)

[Ariel-Starfish]

My saving started all last summer. First i was like "I'm going to save on things I don't need like a mad person!!" and I tried to save 50 Euro a week. Then after a few months it became harder, but I tried to save all my money from my vacation job. later I just saved in pieces, whenever I could. Now I have collected 850 euro (a bit more than 1000$) and I contacted Raven at january 22. I don't know how much It will be for shipping and customs, but I'll thake that money from my savings account (probably)

When I first talked to my parents about ordering a tail they where like: do you what u are talking about? a piece of 'costume' just to trow with the rest they say. But I kept strong; Everythime I diden't buy something I wanted I always mentioned them ; sooo, thats *price* i can save up for my tail already. I repeaded that every time I saved some money and now, a year later my mom is supporting me. My dad still doesen't trust the howle thing, but I keep going <3

[Nyxie]

My saving started all last summer. First i was like "I'm going to save on things I don't need like a mad person!!" and I tried to save 50 Euro a week. Then after a few months it became harder, but I tried to save all my money from my vacation job. later I just saved in pieces, whenever I could. Now I have collected 850 euro (a bit more than 1000$) and I contacted Raven at january 22. I don't know how much It will be for shipping and customs, but I'll thake that money from my savings account (probably)

When I first talked to my parents about ordering a tail they where like: do you what u are talking about? a piece of 'costume' just to trow with the rest they say. But I kept strong; Everythime I diden't buy something I wanted I always mentioned them ; sooo, thats *price* i can save up for my tail already. I repeaded that every time I saved some money and now, a year later my mom is supporting me. My dad still doesen't trust the howle thing, but I keep going <3

let me know how the shipping cost turn out, im right next door to you in germany, even tho i have an APO address because we live on base, some things (mainly shipped from individuals than companies) still have some crazy shipping cost, no matter the technicality that its still US soil but rather the distance is accounted for.

[Ariel-Starfish]

Ok I'll let u know!

And It's really intresting to read what other people do to save for their (dream) tail:)

[halesloveswhales]

For me, it wasn't so much about saving as it was about just rationalizing what to do with my money. I figured that it took me about two weeks to earn the money that would pay for my tail. I decided that I had been pretty good about saving money in the past, so I figured I didn't have to feel guilty about splurging on a tail.

[Dacora]

For several years I could not afford it but I found a job and had to budget and find things at a cheaper price. Then I just got things piece by piece. It has taken forever to do that but it is worth it.
I'll be saving up for a silicone tail after I get a job by putting a few dollars away every so often.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

I am in the process of saving up for my first swimming tail (my mom made a walking one for me when I was a pre-teen... obviously, it no longer fits). I'm thinking something from Foxmoon Productions, though I'm not sure how much the extra features will cost. My job is part-time, though, and only pays about 8 dollars an hour, and there are lots of temptations to spend it on other things (such as a couple dozen ebooks or big lunches).

[Zelly]

My husband is all for me saving up for a tail. But then again, he is used to me saving up for stuff that can be incredibly nuts. I spend lots of money on my belly dancing stuff too.

For now though, I am going to make a fabric tail and save up for a silicone tail. I'm still debating on who I am going to buy from plus I am looking for my best color.

[angie]

Well, I just got interested in mermaids this fall, and after researching, decided to save all my Xmas and Bday money. I'm a super busy high school student, so a job really isn't an option until the summer. But I just had my birthday, and did a savings guesstimate that I have arrounf 300 to spend on aquarium caulk, pigments, and neoprene. (I am making my tail.) My parents sole invetstment was a oceanica monofin, which was the only big thing I asked for for xmas and my bday combined. I came yesterday, and I'm visiting my old swimteam tomorrow to test it out! Yay! Hopefully I can have my whole tail done by spring break; I want to take it on the school band trip to florida and chill with it in the hotel pool. XD

[spottedcatfish]

So currently I am just browsing and looking at all of the different tail makers out there, and who I would want to buy from in the future. As I am currently working on a neoprene tail, I have decided that If I save up for a tail it will be for a realistic full dragonskin silicone one. I'm estimating that it will be a few years away before I make my purchase, due to the fact that I am in school and I want to do a few other things beforehand to work myself up to being able to swim well in one of those tails, and open the door to possible part-time hire to use my tail. So far I really love Mermaid creations tails and MerBellas gorgeous tails. I would be looking into the more basic category of tail, and I'm still looking into the fluke... Soo many options. I'm sure I'll have enough time to decide.

[drucilla]

I'm thinking either MVD or one of Raven's. I want the full on silicone realistic design, but I can't choose which person would make my design better it's very intricate, especially the fluke...

[Taniira]

I had no way to start saving, as I suddenly found myself living on my own again last year when my ex and I broke up and it's a lot more expensive to live on your own than with someone. I was really sad that I knew it would be several years before I could get a tail due to that and wanting to pay off my credit card so I could finally be debt-free again, when my boyfriend surprised me with an early Christmas present of a Merberry tail during her October sale combined with the raffle discount she offered (I still haven't gotten it, but to be fair I didn't get her my measurements/information until Dec 15th).

As soon as I do go debt-free (on track for this year), I'm going to start saving for a proper silicone tail as soon as I get my emergency savings back up to where it should be and save up enough to get corrective eye surgery. It'll probably still be a few years before I ever get my dream tail.

[Mermaid Danielle]

I hear you on the 'I'll never have enough' feeling. I want to save up for a merbellas performance tail, but I can't justify spending that type of money (not that I have it to begin with). I told myself that anything I earn from mermaiding can be put towards the tail- all of the other money I'll be earning in my career after graduating has to go towards everything else (living expenses, student loan payments, etc). Right now I'm just focusing on being thankful for what I have, and keeping that long term goal in mind.

Best of luck saving for it!

[Aino Revontuletar]

I only discovered that mermaid tails existed the other day, and the only problem I had was convincing my mum that I have the ability to make myself a silicone tail (originally I thought of doing latex but decided against it). She was just worried that we didn't have the capacity and funds to make one and that you would need special industrial equipment or something that was out of my reach to do it, but I researched it and explained to her the process and told her that it was going to be difficult and expensive but it was definitely doable, and that others here on this forum have done it successfully by themselves in the same way that I am going to. I told her we could slowly accumulate the materials over a period of time until we eventually have everything we need to get started. Now I am pretty sure she is all for it. My brother thinks it is a great idea and my friend said she can't wait to see what it turns out like. I haven't had any problems with them not understanding why I would want to do it, because I have been like this all my life and it is exactly what they would expect from me so it is absolutely no surprise to them and they always support me in all the stuff that I make and do.