Monthly cost of toiletries

[Sarah in SC]

My plan is to never find myself with a woman who needs to scrimp on this stuff, unless she is 18. And I haven't had a lot of luck with that age group so far.
ha

I was just thinking about this at the grocery store tonight. I buy Ivory soap, and confirmed that it was the cheapest soap available. I also perused the TP section for some time, determining the difference in price between regular, double, and something called a mega-roll. DH won't let me go super cheap on the TP though. I buy cheap shampoo, but I do get a $60 haircut once a quarter. No makeup on a regular basis, so it lasts a while. I've had the same bottle of nail polish since before I was married, but I am running short. My well meaning mom buys me makeup brushes and girlie items for Christmas that I don't often use.

I'm probably in the $20 a month club for both DH and I. We make the razors last, but probably not as long as Khan. As for showers, we like them every day, stemming from our time having once-a-week showers when we lived on the sailboat.

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

$20 to $30 a year.

Pack of mach 3 razor blades 4 pack-$4.99 (This amount usually spills over into the next year as the blades last 4 months or longer.)

18 pack of one step from the bottom toilet paper at grocery outlet- $5.00 sometimes less.

Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Peppermint Pure-Castile Hemp Soap- $9.00

Whatever's cheapest toothpaste, aftershave, and deodorant - $5-$10

Haircuts are free with a set of clippers I have or sometimes $3.00 at the beauty school

everything else I have lasts so many years I can't remember the last time I had to buy them, should probably get q-tips soon.

 

[Moemg]

Thanks I was looking in my make up drawer and feeling guilty . Plus i"m one of those $88 a month on my hair harlots !

 

[W2R]

Hmmm, I often take 3 showers in one day.

Sometimes that's really necessary, after being outside in New Orleans in the summer, or gardening in the dirt, and so on. On workdays it's not usually practical, but weekends are another matter.

I do tend to take brief showers, though, since I was brought up to do that. It really doesn't take more than five minutes to soap all over and scrub everything thoroughly and rinse, if you don't loiter.

As for toilet paper, I wasn't counting that as a toiletry. It''s paper goods.

Oh, and I, too, plan to cut my hair after retirement. Why not? I only go to Supercuts to make sure it's absolutely perfectly even in the back, for work.

But I can't believe how you all are talking about skimping on deodorant after retirement. To me that shows no self respect (in our culture).

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

a forever five o'clock shadow eliminates shaving cream purchases, blades and aftershave (i just use a hair trimmer, works great and no blade touches my face).

never use deoderants or antiperspirants. i just shower every day (2 or 3 times if i'm working out or working in garden).

there's not a bar of soap here. liquids only. dish detergent in kitchen dispenser and i splurge on bronner's for the shower with softsoap for the sink. all bought in bulk.

i spend whatever it takes to keep healthy teeth & gums (proxy brushs, soft pics, etc) and to have plenty more good hair days (proper shampoos, good cuts, no unnecessary chemicals like dyes).

have never broken out these minimal costs from groceries. i'm pretty sure i piss much more money away just on one friday night out on the town.

 

[Moemg]

Based on all the descriptions of women's behavior, I have determined that I am not really a woman.

You are a woman just not into all that stuff . I'm not into a lot but I absolutely will not leave my house without a light foundation ,mascara & lipstick and I do love Body Butter and a nice conditioner .I guess I am slightly high maintenance

 

[CuppaJoe]

I use Want2retire's trick too. We use half the detergent it says too. Remember they are in the business to sell detergent.

I don't squeeze out the wash cloths so I figure the wash gets extra soap from them.

 

[bbbamI]

A tube of lipstick lasts a long time....

 

[Notmuchlonger]

This thread has some real potential.

 

[Rambler]

I'm scared to even try to add-up ours. I don't use much...shower at the gym (I have little hair, and shampoo/soap is provided, so I just use that), use electric razor most days. Stick of deodorant a month maybe, the store brand. And a half tube of a dollar-a-tube ultrabright. Oh, and aftershave given to me at Christmas from the kids usually, or Sea-Breeze when I run out. Only wet shave for special occasions or corporate photos, so one blade and a can of cream can last a few months.

No complaints, mind you, but DW has two different kinds of face wash and uses both nightly, 3 or 4 different astringents/milky lotions/night creams/eye creams, which she uses every night...not to mention the stuff she puts on before the make-up (which I am not there to see most days due to leaving so early in the morning). The eye cream alone costs about $60 at the duty free shop in the airport (cheaper than in the city, so I buy it when I travel). That usually lasts a couple of months. She's real purty though, so no complaints...

R

 

[haha]

No complaints, mind you, but DW has two different kinds of face wash and uses both nightly, 3 or 4 different astringents/milky lotions/night creams/eye creams, which she uses every night...not to mention the stuff she puts on before the make-up (which I am not there to see most days due to leaving so early in the morning). The eye cream alone costs about $60 at the duty free shop in the airport (cheaper than in the city, so I buy it when I travel). That usually lasts a couple of months. She's real purty though, so no complaints...

Your wife is a bargain. Viagra is $10 a pill, and a pretty wife works better.

Ha

 

[Rambler]

Your wife is a bargain. Viagra is $10 a pill, and a pretty wife works better.

Ha

Touche!

R

 

[Nords]

I hope things never get that bad where I start tracking toilet paper.

On a submarine, that happens around day 40 of a 90-day patrol. And if the rolls in storage get wet, you dry them out...

Plus i"m one of those $88 a month on my hair harlots !

I'm just not gonna make a comparison to that number!

 

[Urchina]

We spend about $60/month on toiletries, TP, laundry soap. That's for four of us, and we do about 8 loads of laundry a week (so we use a lot of detergent).

I recently decided to up our expenses in this area so that we could buy toiletries without as many chemicals. Turns out, the chemicals used in toiletries really don't have to be proven safe, and several are suspected human carcinogens. So I'm using this database to help us lower our chemical load:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

It might seem a bit neurotic, but I figure, why take the risk? I'll feel real stupid if I get a more serious cancer when I'm 50 that's directly linked to any of the chemicals in cosmetics.

 

[summer2007]

I also draw the line on saving money when it comes to personal hygiene.

I take a shower every day and shave every day and brush my teeth and floss every day. I wouldn't cut back on any of that unless I was homeless.

I'm out in pubic a lot and I see people who look like they have not had a bath in weeks. I always think to myself....maybe they are too poor to afford a shower. Then I think that a shower costs what?? like 30 cents? that's probably less than the cigarette that they are smoking!


Jim

 

[Khan]

Thanks I was looking in my make up drawer and feeling guilty . Plus i"m one of those $88 a month on my hair harlots !

I don't wear makeup.

I buff my nails.

Don't cut or dye my hair. The hair seems to have 'stopped by itself' (from the song "Hair") at waist length, medium brown and grey around the edges; I wear it in a bun or braid(s) or pulled back with a clasp or just leave it down. (Now for the lecture that older women shouldn't have long hair.)

 

[Khan]

Sometimes that's really necessary, after being outside in New Orleans in the summer, or gardening in the dirt, and so on. On workdays it's not usually practical, but weekends are another matter.

I do tend to take brief showers, though, since I was brought up to do that. It really doesn't take more than five minutes to soap all over and scrub everything thoroughly and rinse, if you don't loiter.

As for toilet paper, I wasn't counting that as a toiletry. It''s paper goods.

Oh, and I, too, plan to cut my hair after retirement. Why not? I only go to Supercuts to make sure it's absolutely perfectly even in the back, for work.

But I can't believe how you all are talking about skimping on deodorant after retirement. To me that shows no self respect (in our culture).

In the winter I don't use deodorant unless I leave the house (I keep the place at 60F), that's two or three times a week.

 

[TromboneAl]

Ever notice how, if you shampoo your hair then rinse and repeat, the shampoo lathers much more the second time? Even if you use just a tiny bit of shampoo the second time around, you get plenty of lather.

I take advantage of this by using a cheap shampoo (e.g. Suave at $1/bottle) for the first time through, and then use just a few drops of the more expensive shampoo the second time through.

Use this tip today, and send your worries about the current market slump down the drain!

 

[Nords]

I take advantage of this by using a cheap shampoo (e.g. Suave at $1/bottle) for the first time through, and then use just a few drops of the more expensive shampoo the second time through.
Use this tip today, and send your worries about the current market slump down the drain!

Al, I'm shocked, shocked I say, that you wash your hair twice. Doesn't the shampoo get it clean on the first pass?

 

[Martha]

Yeah, I am shocked too! I only wash my hair once and it seems clean enough to me--I do the squeak test.

Been using Aussie Mega shampoo for years. Use that instead of soap too.

Dry off the razor and it will last a lot longer.

Too much info?

 

[Fireup2020]

Nords, T-Al has to make his hair fluffy - that is what the second "wash" does for most people!

So he goes from to O0 !

 

[Nords]

Nords, T-Al has to make his hair fluffy - that is what the second "wash" does for most people!

I think that would earn me a bunch of odd looks at the post-surfing beach shower...

 

[W2R]

I take advantage of this by using a cheap shampoo (e.g. Suave at $1/bottle) for the first time through, and then use just a few drops of the more expensive shampoo the second time through.

Al, I use Suave for both first and second times! I think Suave is a great bargain and it seems to handle my hair as well as other brands. Plus, Suave has really cool tropical scents like coconut, which I have right now. I think the bottle before this one was mango scented or something.

I always wash my hair twice because that way I'm sure I got it clean the first time. If it doesn't take more than a few drops, then I know I did a good job.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I'm also into the $1/bottle shampoo. It can be found on the bottom shelf at the drugstore. I'm on the second bottle of White Rain Energizing Citrus, enriched with orange, fruit extract and provitamin B5, 18 fl oz. While using the first bottle, I realized I was pouring out more than I need, so now I just use a daub and wash only once, but every day. I figure I can enjoy the expensive stuff every six weeks along with a professional hair cut. I see no difference between this and my old more expensive brands.

 

[DangerMouse]

You are a woman just not into all that stuff . I'm not into a lot but I absolutely will not leave my house without a light foundation ,mascara & lipstick and I do love Body Butter and a nice conditioner .I guess I am slightly high maintenance

Moemg, I think you and I could hang out together safely and not feel guilty about being migh maintenance. However if you consider yourself slightly high maintenance I am off the scale. I spend at least $100 a month on getting my hair done, have to have the roots done every 4 weeks and throw in regular highlights/lowlights. Add in the products - I only buy high quality shampoo conditioners, plus defrizzers, sprays to add body etc. A pedicure once a month is a basic necessity. Deodrant is Estee Lauder roll on. I love body creams, my favourite is from Kai which cost $30 I think. Soap - I only buy Claus Porto which is about $15 a bar, however is well worth the money and it must be good as even DH agrees. Perfumes - I only use one - Aqua di Palma which is $125 a bottle.

That said, I know we could save money if I gave these things up, however for me if we can't afford these things do we really have enough to retire and maintain the lifestyle we enjoy?