Shaving off some of your budget

As I write this, I’m continuously playing an old Gillette Venus shaving commercial over and over again in my mind.  Why would anyone not want to be a goddess running down the beach with gorgeous legs and hot foreign men around you?  Seems like a silly question to ask, yet whenever I shave my legs I never see myself running down the beach or meeting up with any hot foreign men… Gillette’s advertising is super though and while I stand in the shaving aisle at a major retail store, I think to myself that I should buy one of their razors.

The truth is though, I hope you have done your own research.  And by research, I mean product research – the trial and error research that comes with constantly trying out which razor type works best for you and not buying based purely on marketing like I have done.  There are numerous different brands and types that you can try to figure out what works best for your needs and your budget! While I cannot attest to trying every brand and type that is out there, here is what my research determined…

I discovered that I was paying way too much for what my needs are.  I should be honest, I should probably shave my legs more (just ask E, he’ll tell you that I need to do more product research!) but that is a post for another day.  What I realized was that all I need is something that takes the damn hair off my body and makes me actually silky smooth.  For years, I have been buying the Gillette Venus razors with the shaving cream build into the razor head because it was easy.  I’m not completely lazy but in the early morning without contacts, I could probably use the easiest possible solution to get me to shave my legs!  Have you ever price compared the other type of razors though?  I continuous stayed with the same brand for years out of habit.  I would spend about $20/month on these razors just for the detachable heads.  I even started to shave less just so I would not run through a package so quickly.  I started to realize that I was not budgeting for this “necessity” in my monthly budget at all.  If this was a place where I could cut back, then it was worth the trial and error research for a few months.

I tried all different types of razors, brands and shaving creams during these months.  From my research, I realized that I did not really see much difference between the disposable razors and the fancy built-in shaving cream razors except for price.  The leading disposable razors range from $3.99 to $8.99 in price (depending on how many razors in each package) plus about $1.99 – $8.99 for a bottle of shaving cream.  The fancy built-in shaving cream razors cost about $12.99 to $21.99 (depending on how many razors in each package as well) which is a huge increase over the disposable brands.

My winners:

In my case, I was able to switch and “shave off” about $15/month of useless expenses.  This cost might seem small in a per month figure, but over the course of the entire year it will save you from throwing away about $180.  My goal is to just show you where you can save some dollars, decrease that love/hate relationship with Target and what you should include in your monthly budget.  I also am fully aware of the “you should buy these items in bulk to save money” philosophy as well, but what you do not realize is that you have to come up with the money up front to pay for a stock pile of razors which can easily blow your monthly budget.  Budgeting should be done monthly and you should really only be purchasing items that you will consume this month.  That will help you from over purchasing and letting $ pile up in items throughout your house.  Those items tend to go unused and add to monthly expenses that could be decreased.

Now have you done your product research?  What type and/or brand of razors do you purchase and why?

20 Responses to “Shaving off some of your budget”

  1. Carrie - Careful Cents, on November 8th, 2011 at 8:23 PM Said:

    This is really making me rethink my product choice too. I’m definitely one of those kind of women that buys the item cause “I always have”.

    Sometimes I could even find something better than from what I’m using all the time. Thanks for the tips :)
    Carrie – Careful Cents recently posted..Color Outside the Lines With Your Dreams

  2. The Financialite, on November 9th, 2011 at 10:30 AM Said:

    I’m telling you – try out some of the other brands and you will be very surprised! I also only went with shaving creams in a plastic container because the thought of rust from a metal one in my bathroom makes me grossed out :)

  3. ImpulseSave, on November 10th, 2011 at 3:25 PM Said:

    Great post. It kills me how much razors cost, in addition to everything else we seem to “need” for our morning routine. I totally agree with our philosophy of buying on a month-by-month basis, except on a few occasions where there is a really good deal and it’s a product I know I’ll be using several months down the line. This is especially true for hair products like shampoo, which actually should be switched every month or so for the health of your hair. When I switch brands all the time, it’s tough to buy ahead!

    Also, in the winter, I usually switch to a more sensitive shaving cream and buy a good lotion because the air is so much dryer. They usually cost a few more dollars, but it’s worth it to not have gator legs :)
    ImpulseSave recently posted..Curious About Turkey Talks?!

  4. The Financialite, on November 10th, 2011 at 3:30 PM Said:

    I didn’t realize that you should change your hair products that frequently – that would mean that a travel size would probably be best and cheaper than a full size version. Thanks for your advice! I hate the thought of my $$ just piling up in wasteful products too. I also agree with you on the sensitive shaving cream and lotion in the winter – I actually chose the gel kind too because it left my legs a little softer too!

  5. Deb Michelle, on November 11th, 2011 at 8:23 AM Said:

    Thanks for the great post, really made me re-think the ‘disposable=bad’ dilemma. I kept going back to Venus thinking i was saving by re-using it. So going to try the Bics now..

  6. The Financialite, on November 11th, 2011 at 8:42 AM Said:

    I also felt like disposable = bad because I hated disposable razors as a teenager, but honestly they have come so far and really are not made cheaply anymore! Definitely do some product research and let me know what you find!

  7. Lindy Mint, on November 17th, 2011 at 2:55 PM Said:

    When I was younger I used the removable head type because my sister told me to. Then somewhere along the way (probably when I started paying for them), I switched to the good ol’ Daisy disposables. In the past I’ve used hair conditioner as an alternative to buying shaving cream (rusty cans gross me out too). Now I’m lazy and just use water.

  8. The Financialite, on November 17th, 2011 at 8:05 PM Said:

    @Lindy – totally agree with the hair conditioner as an alternative to buying shaving cream too! I feel like I run through shampoo like crazy, but always have conditioner to spare – perfect use for it.

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  10. KateW81, on November 18th, 2011 at 7:00 AM Said:

    Great tips!However,I didn’t experience to spend money just to buy a razor…Your shaving thing is pretty expensive.Anyways thank you for your practical tips.

  11. PaddyO, on November 18th, 2011 at 8:53 AM Said:

    I started shaving my head about 3 years ago. Do NOT discount comfort. When you’ve got a lot of surface area to cover you need to know that your razor isn’t going to nick a vein in your head and you bleed all over the place.

    While I am saving about 40 bucks a year in shampoo i’m spending about 180 bucks a year in razor blade. It’s a small price to pay for staggering beauty.

  12. The Financialite, on November 18th, 2011 at 9:09 AM Said:

    @PaddyO – didn’t even think of it from a man’s perspective, thanks for the insight into it! Bald and beautiful, love it :)

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  14. Bianca G., on January 12th, 2012 at 5:11 PM Said:

    So the BIC razor you have pictured in this article is awesome, but here’s a tip to save even more money: BUY THE STORE BRAND. The CVS, Rite Aid, and Walmart version of this razor are JUST AS GOOD but a FRACTION OF THE PRICE. i swear by them guys, seriously, there’s no difference in the product other than the label.

  15. The Financialite, on January 14th, 2012 at 10:28 AM Said:

    @Bianca – completely agree, generic is always the way to go and so much cheaper than the brand name one. Thanks for your tip!!

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  17. Cinny18, on February 9th, 2012 at 8:22 AM Said:

    For me, Its better then to have a branded ones than choosing cheaper but less satisfaction.

  18. Melissa, on February 10th, 2012 at 2:43 PM Said:

    I haven’t purchased razors in a long time. Why? Because there was a razor company that sent a bunch of free ones to my school and they were trying to get rid of them so they just kept popping up all over the place, so now I have like a razor stash. Eventually it will run out, but for now, I’m rocking the free razors.

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  20. Panasonic Electric Shaver, on January 24th, 2013 at 7:12 AM Said:

    I’ve already moved over to an electric. Screw the $5+ it takes to get a Gillette Fusion blade that lasts 3 – 4 shaves.
    Panasonic electric razors are incredible…
    take a look at the es8103s

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