I’ve written about how I overall keep laundry costs low and household costs low. Prepare to be wowed, or lulled to sleep, or both, by how I keep personal item spending in check. Since February 1st,2006, I have spent $136.88 on toiletries (including haircuts, bathing items, and female hygiene supplies). I have spent $54.35 on clothes in the last 11 months (although I did exchange some clothes I had bought earlier, so I think I got maybe $80 worth total).
Overall look:
I think I have a plain face, but I think I have a very friendly face, so I’m overall not too worried about how I appear. I’m overweight, but not too much so-I can still wear Misses size clothes instead of Woman’s Worlds (Misses is "regular"; Woman’s World is larger sizes). My one real vanity is that I want to look smart; I don't even know how that’s possible so it’s a pretty dorky vanity, eh?
Bathing:
I am a very simple bather. Sometimes I think I am a little bit of a boy; I just don’t get into the beauty routine. I prefer baths to showers; it’s my one real day to day luxury. I take a lot of bubble baths. I find it comical when people talk about bath stuff as gifts they’ll never use-I got bath supplies from three sources this Christmas and I’m using it all. I work in an office, so I don’t get too grubby; if I’m really dirty, I rinse off in the shower before my bath. I like bath salts and bubbles baths, and bath oils on the weekend (greasier hair). My soap is in a liquid soap bottle-My Guy uses bars of soap, I put the ends in the liquid soap bottle, the bottle has been going for years. Soap, shampoo, and conditioner: that’s it.
I do shave legs and underarms, but not as frequently as some. I very rarely wear skirts, for one. I use my liquid soap, and I do use refillable blades.
I have gotten enough deodorant and anti-perspirant for months in free samples; it’s weird how that one product is so available. I am not brand loyal. I normally don’t pay more than $1.49 for my anti-perspirant.
Hair:
I use the cheapest shampoo and conditioner I can find. I prefer to pay no more than $1 for 16 ounces for shampoo and conditioner, but sometimes I do pay more (or less!).
I am pretty lucky in that I have decent hair; it’s in good condition and wavy and healthy, and cheap shampoo works fine. I have a big pump bottle that I got as a gift; I keep refilling that bottle; often I am using a mix. I use conditioner maybe half the time; the more recent my last haircut is, the less I need it. I also use a pump bottle, and it’s refilled periodically, so again, a blend of cheap stuff.
I sometimes get free samples, but usually I give them away at work for “Clean Kits”: grooming supplies for the homeless and down and out.
I’ve never dyed or permed my hair. It used to be a very nice blonde and now it’s a light brown; however I am too lazy and/or low maintenance to get better color. With no dying I don’t have to worry about roots (I have a laser eye to spot them on people out there) and I don’t have to worry about maintaining my hair's condition. A couple people I know who dye their hair have crispy flaky hair that is kinda awkward looking. Plus I never blow dry my hair. I bathe at night and sleep with it wet. Some folks I know who blow-dry have damaged looking hair. I know others who blow-dry and dye and look fabulous, but I am sure they have to pay attention. The less I do to my hair, the less I have to protect it. I’ve already admitted I’m lazy; it’s no secret.
I don’t get my hair cut enough. I got it cut in April, and again in September, and I’m scheduled for 2/27. I don’t like letting my ends to get dry or split; when I get my hair cut I let them take off plenty. I want healthy and I’ll get rid of length to get it. I do spend $35 including tip on my hair cuts; I’m about to jump higher for a woman who’s very good. I’d like to get my hair cut at least four times a year.
Grooming:
I use little makeup. I am just now trying to remember to use lotion on my face every night and morning. I do like Clinique makeup; I think it’s a childhood thing; my mother always got the Clinique special kits at “Bonus Time” and I would get her left-overs. I still spend $25 every couple of years and get the Bonus extras, which tend to last me. (Almost half of my spending for the year is from one Clinique Bonus.) I sometimes use foundation, sometimes eye pencil, rarely shadow, and frequently mascara and lipstick. I have actually been trying to wear more; girding myself, as it were, for certain meetings at work. It’s a form of armor, I’ve discovered. Even when I wear what I think is a fair amount, sometimes other folks can’t tell; I’m so used to little or none that I am naturally a light hand.
Clothing:
I wish I was a better dresser. It’s not a spending thing, it’s a lack of interest and a lack of innate fashion sense. Left to my own devices I dress like a young boy. I like men’s pants-I know a pair of 34x30’s will fit me, whereas with women’s clothes the sizes are all over the place. I worked for a few years at Ross Dress for less, and I bought more clothes than ever-7 years later I still have clothes I bought back then.
I like hand-me-downs and thrift store and garage sale clothes. I have access to so many of these low or no cost clothes that I can afford to be choosy: I only wear them if they fit right, and look good. I don’t have great clothes sense, but I am lucky enough to be recently getting hand-me-downs from people who are well-dressed, which helps me out.
I clean out my closet a lot. I hang things like I used to when working at Ross; short sleeve knits, long sleeved knits, short sleeve wovens, and long sleeve wovens. Woven=blouse and knit=stretchy, for the most part. I try to purge anything that is wearing out or isn’t too flattering as often as possible. I have zero dry cleaning only clothes.
I do buy my own underclothes. I also will buy regular clothes; I’m not anti-new clothes, I just usually don’t need to buy new clothes that often.
Even if I was a better dressed person, more put together, I think I could do it low cost. Two of the best dressed women at work are avid thrift store shoppers; S. always looks fabulous-she is a choosy and frequent thrift store shopper, and her being slimmer helps-she has a lot of good choices available.
Jewelry:
I love silver and semi-precious stone jewelry, I admit it. The benefit of preferring semi-precious stone and silver is that it’s usually cheaper; I can get pieces from $8 to $25; $50 for super pieces. I don’t have a digital camera right now; otherwise I’d love to show off some of my jewelry. When I travel I always pick up pieces; jewelry is my favorite souvenir. It never gets dusty, it takes very little room, and I wear it all the time. It also lasts and lasts and lasts. This is an area I let myself spend in; I am not interested in spending no money as a goal in itself, I like to spend less in areas where I don’t need to spend, to have money to spend in other areas.
So there you have it, how I spent less than $200 in 11 months to bathe, groom, and dress myself. I checked my 2005 records, and I spent $300 on bathing/grooming, $300 on clothes, $200 on shoes, and $300 on jewelry, so it looks like I was relatively low cost prior to the Challenge, too.
Cost of Bathing and Dressing
February 4th, 2007 at 09:10 pm
February 4th, 2007 at 09:26 pm 1170624386
Anyway, your spending sounds very close to mine. I like to look nice and clean, but I won't/don't spend big bucks to do it
February 4th, 2007 at 09:57 pm 1170626233
i only use aluminum free deoderant, that adds up to $12 per year if not bought on sale. i spend maybe $20 per year replenishing makeup, which i wear for special occasions or as 'war paint' described in your post. i'll ball park another $50 in lotion and lipbalm (an issue i'm working on!).
i do clothes a little differently than most: i spend about $500 every other year or so in one big re-stock. i have at least one shirt that i got when i was a freshman in high school, but typically my shirts always wind up looking worse for the wear after about a year or so. apparently i'm the queen of the greasestain! as for jewelry, well, not so much for me...
so, at this point i think my total per year is 250 clothes, 50 lotion/lipbalm, 20 makeup, 20 shampoo/body wash, 12 deoderant, 25 haircut. that's what, 387? about a buck a day, i can live with that!
February 4th, 2007 at 10:21 pm 1170627666
also, i only started tracking in august and so i don't have the info you do...
i liked reading it tho... i hear ya on the lazy... i never do anything with my hair... just wash, brush and wear... i've also done the young boy look... funniest part? when i was younger, people mistook me for my brother from behind...
February 5th, 2007 at 12:23 am 1170635013
February 5th, 2007 at 02:17 am 1170641851
February 5th, 2007 at 02:52 am 1170643969
February 5th, 2007 at 03:35 am 1170646558
February 5th, 2007 at 04:31 pm 1170693101
I will probably buy myself a new white bra this year and some more socks, but that's probably it for awhile. Summer may bring on a need for a replacement pair of white tennie-runners though. If so, I'll be shopping at Payless during one of their BOGO sales.
Lipstick, eyeliner and mascara and I'm good to go - and it can be cheap at that...I'm not a makeup snob (but I have no allergies either so I can be that way! I understand some of you have much more difficulty in this area). I did buy a bottle of Oil of Olay the other day which should last me a good half a year. So count me in for well under a $100 a year.
Enjoyed reading your anaylsis lrjohnson! As always.
February 5th, 2007 at 05:29 pm 1170696567
I love toiletries and seem to collect them. I've stockpiled so many of those freebies that i doubt i'll need to buy shampoo, conidtioner toothpaste or deoderant for a year (!) tho if i do, Suave is very cheap and smells good.
I haven't paid for a haircut in years, but have my mother do it. I also haven't worn mascara for years and rarely use eye shadow, but i do use sunscreen, foundation and lip gloss daily.
Being in my 40s, my hair is now probably more than 50% whte/gray, so i have to dye my hair cus i'm jus not ready to look 'old.' Problem is, my hair grows so fast that i really need to do a 'touch up' of roots every 3 weeks. Fortunately, i switched to Revlon from L'Oreal and can get it at $2.99 a box at XPect Discounts.
I like perfume (as i have many samples) when i'm going out somewhere nice. I like clothes, but don't spend a lot on them. I'm a jeans and sweater kind of girl, shorts and sandals in the summer.