How to Cut your “Girly” Expenses in Half

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Did you know that women spend 76% more money on clothing than men? There is a big debate between who spends more, men or women, but regardless of that debate I know one thing.

In high school, I wanted to be one of those girls that wore a different outfit every single day of school. And I believe most of my friends also felt the need to buy more and more clothes to be perceived a certain way. To fit in.

I wanted to know the trends and the makeup and felt if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be considered “cool”.

This need to be seen a certain way led to me spending most of the money I had growing up on clothes. Clothes that a lot of the time sat in my closet with the tags on because I didn’t actually feel comfortable wearing them. I just liked what I thought people would think of me if I did wear those clothes.

When I got my first “adult” job I realized how expensive and time consuming it was to keep up with all the beauty standards society had for us. It wasn’t just clothes, it was getting your nails done, your hair done, eyelashes, eyebrows, laser hair removal, all the things!

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Honestly, I didn’t have the time OR the money for it.

When I first started cutting back on these “girly” items, it wasn’t because I wanted to, it was because my rent was more than an entire paycheck and I refused to not save any money. So cutting these items was necessary to meet that goal.

But as time went on, I realized it felt kind of liberating to not always be on the lookout for the next item to buy. I also realized how the beauty industry literally makes its money from making women feel insecure.

Making us feel like we HAVE to have something or we won’t be desirable. I gotta say, that’s fucked up! So I started cutting back and purchasing the items that I wanted for myself, not the items I wanted people to see me in so I would be perceived a certain way.

Not only did it free up time, it also saved me a BUNCH of cash.

That was an incredibly long intro, but here is a list of ways I’ve cut back on all those “girl” expenses and how you can too! Additionally, don’t forget to snag all the free goodies (which means budgets and printables) from my resource library by joining my email list!

How Much Could You Actually Save?

Ok before we jump into it, I wanted to break down how much money you could actually save! How much does the average woman spend on her appearance? Another way to phrase it, how much money does it cost to look hot according to society.

Average monthly cost of clothing: $161
Average monthly cost of haircuts: $30
Average monthly cost of nails: $50
Average monthly cost of eyebrows $6:
Average monthly cost of eyelashes: $10
Average monthly cost of tanning: $4
Average monthly cost of hair removal: $11
Average monthly cost of makeup: $40
Average daily time spent on appearance: 1 hour

TOTAL: about $313 monthly

This doesn’t include lotions or creams we all use. Or the occasional facial, teeth whitening or gym membership!

This amount over a lifetime is about a quarter of a million dollars. Mic drop.

WHAT?!

Haircuts and Color

Haircuts are EXPENSIVE. If you’re also dyeing your hair…. Well this could easily be upwards of $200 dollars every three months.

Finding a way to dye or cut your own hair can end up saving you hundreds of dollars a year.

I decided to jump off the deep end and start cutting my own hair when the pandemic first started. Lucky for me, my hair is extremely curly. This means all my obvious, lack of haircut expertise errors are hidden by a mountain of curls and I can get away with it.

This might be more difficult for other hair types, however, I encourage everyone to give it a try! I actually like how it turns out and I have definitely gotten better over time!

I will say though, I do miss those scalp massages they always give you…

Hair Removal Products

I feel like I’ve always struggled with hair removal. I’m half Mexican and half Greek so that combo makes for quite a hairy lady. (This is a safe space right? lol)

I have been on the hunt for the perfect solution to my loathing of hair removal products and services. I waxed every month for years, I have shaved, epilated, nairred, done laser hair removal, everything. So I’ve discovered several products, most of them save you more money than the traditional waxing or plastic razors.

In summary, if you want a plastic razor replacement get a real razor and replace the blades. If you want a waxing / sugaring replacement get an epilator.

Real Razor

If you shave, this is a great option because literally nothing changes.

Not only are plastic razors bad for the environment, they also don’t give you a close shave and can cost a lot of money over a lifetime.

Try switching to a REAL razor. You can find a nice one on Amazon for around 25 dollars.

You can stop worrying about getting mew razor and paying more for the “high quality Venus ones” because you no longer need to replace them!

Note: You will still have to purchase blades. However a pack of 100 (at the time of writing this) costs 10 dollars on Amazon. Depending on how often you shave, this 10 dollar box should last you a year or two!

Shaving Cream

As someone with sensitive skin, I thought shaving cream was necessary. Wrong.

Soap works exactly the same. The point of shaving cream is to create a protective barrier between the razor and your skin. Supposedly it lowers the risk of cuts and damage to your skin.

However, I personally have found no difference between shaving cream and soap. Which makes using and paying for shaving cream completely unnecessary.

Electric Razor / Trimmer

If the thought of a “real blade” from above scares you (totally understandable I was scared too), there also exists electric razors.

They are mostly marketed for men, and the one I purchased is designed for shaving a beard, but it works perfectly fine on my legs!

I will say however, it does not give you as close of a shave as a plastic or real razor. It has the benefit that you only need to purchase it once but you might feel more prickly than you want.

Epilator

If you don’t know what an epilator is…. well it is the most painful thing you’ll ever experience.

BUT. It’s cheap, reusable and gets the job done.

An epilator is an electronic tweezer. It electronically plucks multiple hairs at once (similar to waxing). Although it is incredibly painful, I have found my hair grows back the slowest (it takes three to four weeks to come back) using an epilator.

Additionally, you can purchase one on Amazon for about $35 but starting as low as $20.

You will only need to purchase an epilator once! My mom still has the one she purchased 30 years ago and I still use the one I purchased in 2018!

Laser Hair Removal

I’ve done laser hair removal on my armpits, for the almost $1,500 I have paid, I’m not thaaaat pleased. There is less hair and I shave less (maybe once a week now) but the idea of “never shaving again” ya that’s not true at all.

Especially if you only go with the standard 8 sessions. They pretty much do it so you have to come back for more. In my opinion.

It could be because the pandemic interrupted my sessions so they weren’t all 6 weeks apart or the location where I did it but I was expecting better results.

That being said, even with as much as I’ve already paid, I’m still convinced with more sessions it would work! The brainwashing is real! (If anyone has done it, please let me know your experience!) And I still, lowkey, want to do it on my legs so….

Basically this section of the blog post is to say don’t go to LaserAway! Their prices are extremely expensive and their default payment method was signing you up for a loan without explaining what was happening or the repercussions.

Their marketing is really good which means their name is everywhere, however there are other places that can give you the same service for half the price. Just make sure you’re doing your research on the location first!

New Make-up

There is always going to be a new makeup or beauty product that is “all the rage”. You don’t need it! You can avoid purchasing excess beauty products in two ways.

#1. Make an effort to only buy a new product when you are out of the old one. Meaning you don’t need 5 different bronzers.

#2. Don’t buy an entire bottle unless you’re sure you like it. When you haven’t used a product before and you’re not sure if you’ll like it; go buy a sample or try it out in store. Be certain before committing to buy the entire thing.

Manicures or Pedicures

I’m not saying never get a mani/pedi. It’s completely ok to spend on selfcare every once in a while, however…

I suggest you take it out of your weekly or monthly routine and only go for special occasions.

There are plenty of “do it yourself” options that are significantly cheaper and turn out looking pretty good!

Clothing

Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is never good quality clothing. Even though an item might be cheaper, it will most likely “go bad” faster. Meaning you’ll have to purchase a replacement sooner.

Emphasize purchasing higher quality items that last longer. It will save you money in the long term. A $80 dollar sweater that lasts 10 years is better than a $20 dollar one you need to replace every 2 years.

Excess Clothing

Similar to makeup, it’s really easy to keep buying more and more clothing; instagram ads I’m looking at you! Then somehow we have a full closet but feel like we don’t have anything to wear.

What I have found helpful is making a needs vs wants list. Anytime I feel the need to buy something I write it on the list.

The items you need are more than ok to buy! However, anytime something makes it on the want list give it a couple days before purchasing. Oftentimes waiting makes you realize you don’t actually want it.

If you still want it, ask yourself why and see if you have anything similar already in your closet.

Even when I had 3-4x the amount of clothing I have now, I would still reach for the same couple of items to wear every single day. Everyone has their favorite shirt or their favorite pair of jeans. When making new purchases, really try and see if that item would be something you would reach for time and time again.

Final Thoughts

I think spending less on “girly” expenses comes down to figuring out why you’re spending that money in the first place? Is it because you genuinely enjoy makeup or fashion?

Or is it because you feel like you have to, because everyone around you is doing it?

Creating healthy spending habits is all about identifying what is actually important to you and spending in those areas. For me, I realized I don’t actually care all that much about clothing and makeup.

I’m totally fine having a smaller wardrobe but really liking the few items I do have. Then I can choose to spend my money elsewhere on things that bring me more joy, like travel!

Identify your motives and go from there!