The Economist reported in 2003 that analysts at Goldman Sachs estimated annual spending on personal grooming and beauty related products topped $95 Billion. The Today show on MSNBC reported the average woman could spend over $1000 per year on manicures, pedicures, haircuts and waxing (ouch!).
Hard as it may be to believe, Kari Mulvar of Cosmopolitan Magazine reported that ladies should budget 3% of their income for personal grooming.
Hard as it may be to believe I was made to believe it may be possible. Recently my wife did a “spring cleaning” of the vanity in our bathroom. She discovered dozens of old and partially or unused make-up, medicines, and related grooming products. All of these were tossed or put in the donation pile if unopened and still usable. But this was just like throwing dollars out the window, roughly $100 worth!
Life is better without the clutter but if we could just not buy the stuff in the first place, that would be even better. Time and gas saved shopping, money on the products themselves not to mention the time and energy getting rid of the stuff could all be saved.
On the other end of the scale is no hygiene. Well that not an option, at least not in my house. Is there a happy medium? There may be options.
For ladies, you could consider making and using some products at home such as:
For men, there is only one answer in my opinion:
Go Bald
At first this may seem extreme. In practice it is quite opposite and this isn’t just about the money. Granted savings on haircuts add up to roughly $150/year but there is also savings in shampoo and conditioners.
The greatest benefits however are in time savings. How much time do you spend each day just cleaning and preparing your hair? If only 20 minutes a day, this quickly adds up. Each year you may be spending over 100 hours of your life just making your hair look nice. What would you do with an extra two work weeks of hours each year?
The best way to save money is to not spend money. Going bald may not be for you but what expenses do you incur today that you could live without?
Take a look under your vanity, in your medicine cabinet or storage closets. Look at the stuff you purchased in the past but never used. There is a lesson to be learned, the single best way to save is to no spend.
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