How much do you spend on personal care?

Ruby789

Hi all,

I'm digging myself out of debt and have just done my budget for this year. Luckily I have a tonne of stuff that needs using up first so essentially will be buying next to nothing product wise this year . Thing is, with that in mind my budget is still hefty and will be worse next year.

To help give me an idea of a reasonable budget to aim for, if you don't mind please could you post what you put aside for personal care per adult per month? I did a board search for this but couldn't find anything?

I'm currently at £110 a month for my cheap year. :eek:

This includes, haircuts every other month at supercuts, waxing (one body part only!), feminine products, teeth, nails, hair, make up, and hygiene products. There is a tiny bit of excess in there for ONE trip to get my teeth cleaned. And I just realised that I forgot eye care and prescriptions.

Have found a few HG products in Aldi and superdrug, and a few in more premium brands (which I'm dilligently searching for dupes for). The most expensive single product in that list is £28 and will last 8 months.

Linda32

Ruby789 wrote: »

This includes, haircuts every other month at supercuts, waxing (one body part only!), feminine products, teeth, nails, hair, make up, and hygiene products. There is a tiny bit of excess in there for ONE trip to get my teeth cleaned. And I just realised that I forgot eye care and prescriptions.

Hi, From your list myself and OH pay £35 every six weeks for our haircuts.
I use a electric saver so free after the initial purchase, so does OH.
I don't need feminine products due to implant contraceptives, nothing happens downstairs
Check up and clean twice a year at dentist, about £55 each time. Its a nice dentist thats why its expensive.
Nails, I don't have these done. I paint them when I think about it which is about twice a year I never go anywhere that calls for it. I do go to a chropodist though once every 2 months, he charges £19 for a general going over.
Eye care is a check up every two years which usually results in new lenses in old frames.
Prescriptions are unavoidable £7.65 every 20 days :eek: its not quite enough to get a prepaid card and the tablets I need can be bought over the counter but I get more on prescription and they are not exactly the same thing.

Make up and face stuff I buy something new when one thing runs out. Eye shadow for example.
I use face wipes, gylicern and rosewater as toner, and whatever moisturiser is on offer at the time, around the £3 mark.

Like you, once the christmas stash has gone, we just use soap and shampoo, no fancy shower gels or anything else. (I mostly live on the OS board)

HTH

podperson

Wow, that is quite hefty! I'd be surprised if I spent £30 a month - but then I am quite frugal with it. I tend to look for products like cleanser, moisturiser, hair care either on offer or in bargin/pound shops - it's surprising how often they get 'name brands' in cheap.
I spend about £10 a month on my contact lens prescription - but I can usually get two wears of the lens so really only works out at £5 p/month. Like Linda I'm on contraception that means I currently don't need 'feminine products' which I suppose does save a bit.
I tend to go to the hairdresser much less now and will do tidy ups on it myself. I have quite a simple hairstyle though - long with layers, so appreciate that may not work for everyone.
I also do my own nails and will shave/use cream rather then visiting somewhere for a wax.
These have been born out of necessity though as there is no physical way I could spare £110 a month for these things.

j.e.j.

I think it would depend on the person's lifestyle, really. If you work in an office or in a customer-facing job, it would require a certain level of grooming and decent clothing that might not be necessary if you're working at home, for instance.

I would guesstimate the following amounts for essential spends:

fem.hygiene about £3 per month? (I didn't get on with it myself, but some women swear by the moon cup which, after the initial outlay, would maybe save money long term)

Haircuts maybe £15 every couple of months

Dentist and optician is a bit harder to budget for, as you don't know in advance what treatment, if any, you will need, but things like DenPlan might help you to budget for it. I'm not sure if there is an equivalent for opticians.

Toothbrushes, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant etc maybe about £5-£10 per month?

You may find that many 'essentials' are not actually that essential. For example I've stopped buying body lotion and shaving foam since I started using home-made soap! My guess is you could probably cut down a little bit each month and shave quite a bit off that £110.

heartbreak_star

I probably spend <£35 a month, and that includes contact lenses. I have my hair done for £20 at a local salon every 3 months, dye it once every 2 months at £4 a dye. Shaving/mani/pedi done myself.

HBS x

lushlifesaver

Haircuts = free, bf's mum does it. Used to be about £20 every 3 months or so

Nails = free, manicure and paint them myself. only had gels on once and bfs mum did those for me. Usually I like very basic stuff and just paint then do a pattern myself as my nails naturally grow well so are a decent length etc

Haircare = usually £2/3 every few months. More if I decide to use Boots 3for2 offers and stock up but they last ages

Personal items = £1 every 3 months (I tri-cycle)

Make up = £20 every 4-6months

Other items e.g. toothpaste, razor blades etc = £3 per month

I've never had enough money to truely justify any amount of any of this stuff so I live within my means but its comfortable for me - actually I think I have a lot of luxuries!

Ruby789

Thanks everyone, it's helpful to have other peoples spends to compare with.

Wow, really looks like I am spending above and beyond the norm! I actually thought I was being fairly frugal and this is without shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion as I already have enough for the year. I wil admit, this is my reduced spends list because I was on premium brands for everything until 18 months ago. I was clueless how much money I was spending on this stuff, thought expensive was better etc... I have learned and no longer judge a product by it's price.

I used to get everything waxed, now I epilate and only wax the bits I just can't do myself. Hair I dye at home once a month, and I have a trim (no blow dry) once every two months.

I have a fairly expensive cleansing routine I suppose, as my face has given me many problems over the years. I have three cleansers in the cupboard and I use whichever one suits my skin best that day, philosophy, superdrug vitamin E, dermatalogica. Three bottles last the year as I have a clarisonic brush and you don't need much product. For night cream I use the Lidl one. My moisturiser is clinique, but it's a HG for me as it actually sinks in so I can't cut that back. I use an Aldi serum, an Olay scrub, Body shop make up remover and eyecream from Avon. Foundation is another HG and is Nars so pricy, but I use only two bottles a year. Have found a dupe for the colour but not the finish, but maybe I can swap one bottle for the cheap stuff to use on some days. Eyeshaddow, mascara etc... is all high street brands bought on Boots 3 for 2. My blush could be cheaper though as its MAC. Still searching for the perfect facial suncscreen too. Humm.

Guess I need to prioritise some products and find cheaper alternatives for others if I really want to get this spending down.

Off to google dupes for my more expensive brands then.

Thanks everyone!

p.s. My friends all say i'm really low maintenance! Little did any of us know :-) Suppose a bottle of this and a bit of that add up.

sixtiesgal_2

This is me:

Hair - £50 per month on trim and colour, used to do it myself but it got messy with the hair dye at home and my hair is out of condition so I went back to the hairdressers.

Treatments - eyebrows and top lip I get waxed about every five weeks, costs me about £10 in all. Wish I could do my own eyebrows but they are so bushy and I can't bear to use tweezers. A girl at work has got one of those hair trimmers and says they work fine so I might consider one of those. I don't spend much on the waxing but I find it a faff having an appointment for a five minute wax and its quite a way out where I go (now I feel guilty if I stop going, plus I have a friend who goes and would make me feel guilty if I stopped going!) Nails, I only have done when paid for as a present otherwise I do them myself. I sometimes have a pedicure to try and keep on top of my feet as sometimes I can neglect them a bit but then I try to keep that going myself.

Feminine hygiene products - I no longer have periods so this doesn't apply to me anymore.

Make up and skin care - I use Clinique or No7, more No7 these days.

Prescriptions - I need to get tablets regularly, get steriod cream for my eczema now and again as it lasts ages. E45 and emolient washes etc I buy at Boots but I could get on prescription.

I buy razor blades now and again as they seem to last, I once had a Ladyshave which saved me on shaving foam but it didn't seem to work as well as a wet razor somehow.

Other toiletries I buy when I need them and are running out. Shampoo and conditoner I buy from the hairdressers.

I am all for treating myself but trying to save at the time. I have a friend who will spend loads every month on facials, fancy HD eyebrows, eyelash extensions etc and yet refuses to put the central heating on because she says she can't afford. That to me is pure crazy.

LE3

Ruby789 wrote: »

p.s. My friends all say i'm really low maintenance! Little did any of us know :-) Suppose a bottle of this and a bit of that add up.

umm, no! Us low maintenance folks don't even know what serum is, never mind use it & the other 15 or so products you mention!

System

Hmm

Haircuts-once every 6 months..costs about 21quid
Hairdye-about once every 2 months, dyes usually cost about 5quid
TOMT-95p a month pack of tampons from home bargains
Makeup-don't really but much, i replace my eyeliner every 3 months or so that costs about 5quid and my foundation is about 5quid
Shampoo/Conditioner/Shower Gel-Buy cheap from pound land and home bargains, probably spend about 8quid a month
Personal Grooming-i shave everything, razors are about 2quid for a multipack of disposables
Presctiptions-currently free but when i start work shall switch to a pre payment cert
(sorry for typing quid..my pound sign is broken)

Hughjass

Well hun you should talk to me then you'll feel a lot better;)

£250 every 4/5 months Botox
£500ish every year for filler but never more than that and going down each year as I have a build up
£60 a year on fake tan, pro products last longer and lots of deals
£0 Haircuts - do it myself once every 2/3 years
£5 every month on hair dye which I also tint my eyebrows with
£30-40 every 8 months on premium shampoo and conditioner, I'm a Tigi fan which I buy in TK Maxx, I also like Redken and Kerstasse (sp?) and Head n Shoulders.
Make up, I like MAC and other pro products £25 per month max
Nails - just varnish I only use Nails inc and other permium brands but products last years in the fridge.
Cleansers, Toners, moisturisers etc maxium of £20 a month and thats pushing it.
Venus blades, toothpaste deo totm etc probably an extra £10 per month max.
Dental, I see my hygenist for a clean every two months and my dentist every six months so £150-200 per year, I whiten them myself at home for pennies.


Actually now I've written it all down its not too bad, my suggestion is buy pro products when you can with a deal online or in TK Maxx.