5 Simple Ways Women Can Save on Personal Maintenance
I think most women will agree that personal maintenance and hygiene are important for a lot of different reasons. They are important for the health and well-being of ourselves and also of others, and good hygiene impacts our appearance and how others interact with us (because no one likes the smell of B.O.). It can even mean the difference between getting hired or not when you apply for a desired job. But the cost of personal maintenance can get quite costly if you let it, especially for women. So listen up ladies, here are some ways you can save money on your personal maintenance costs and still stay looking good!
Haircare
Going to a salon on a regular basis for haircuts, color, and more can put a large dent in your budget. Trust me! I used to go in for a color touch up and a trim every six weeks, costing me over $100 each month!
One way to save is by changing hairstyles or forgoing some costly services, like getting your hair colored, which is damaging to your hair anyway. This alone could save you at least a few hundred dollars per year.
As for haircuts, if there is a beauty school in your town, you could check their prices, unless you are super picky about how your hair looks. Another alternative is to visit a budget hair dresser somewhere like Great Clips. I had a stylish haircut in college and only paid about $8-10 per cut because of using a coupon at the Great Clips salon. You should also try to spread out your salon visits as much as possible. I already mentioned that even at the peak of my spending on salon services, I still only went every 6 weeks. My hairdresser suggested every 4 weeks, but I stretched it to 6 weeks to help save money even then.
Another way to save money is to make sure you use all of the product you buy. For example, in order to get all of the shampoo and conditioner out of my bottles, I flip them over upside down to let the last little bit drain toward the closed cap instead of wasting it by throwing the bottle away. You could get as many as two or three more washes by doing this.
Skip Waxing
Waxing is painful, time consuming, and can be very costly. The savings can be as much as several hundred dollars per year if you used to get your legs waxed. You can use a disposable razor to shave your legs instead for around $20.00 per year. But, I had to admit that I still get my eyebrows waxed on a semi-regular basis, every 6 to 8 weeks.
Manicures & Pedicures
Some women get manicures as frequently as every two weeks, spending several hundred dollars per year. Instead, you could do your own nails and pocket almost all of that money. Or if you suck at painting your own nails, perhaps you and a friend or family member could give each other manicures instead. Pedicures can be just as expensive, so eliminating them from your budget can save you about the same amount. These days I just get a pedicure about once or twice a year as a treat to myself and the one I ask for as a gift for my birthday.
Related Read: 43 Ways to Save More Money Starting Today
Tanning
Going to a tanning salon can cost you more than just money. Tanning beds can cost you your health by increasing your chances for some skin cancers. But if you get spray tans, which are a healthier choice, the cost is still expensive. This is why I don’t tan at all. I may blind people with my neon white legs in the summer, but at least I’m healthy and saving money too.
Other Beauty Products
As far as buying beauty products, store brands can be just as effective as the salon brands at a fraction of what a salon would charge. To save even more, I wait until I’m nearly out of my products and then I hunt for (or even buy) coupons so I can save money on my products. I buy several once with my coupons to get bulk savings. With these types of products you don’t generally have to worry about spoilage or shelf-life, which makes is easier for single people to use coupons and take advantage of bulk savings with these items.
Personal maintenance and good hygiene shouldn’t cost you thousands per year. If they do, consider a few of these ideas to help you save on personal maintenance.
Do you have any other tips for saving on personal maintenance?
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I have saved serious money by simply making some homemade beauty remedies such as face and hair mask. These homemade recipes not only save you money, they are good for your health too because they are free from chemicals and preservatives found in most products sold in the shops.
My wife does her own manicure and pedicure and this saves much money instead of going to salon to have others do this to her.