I've Saved Over $1,300 (At Least!) by Cutting My Own Hair

Early on in this blog's life, I suggested a cutting your own hair to save a bundle. Well, I got to thinking on my vacation (as I packed an old shaver to be given away), wondering just how much I have saved while doing this.

Now this is going to scare you a bit, but I actually track this -- when I cut my hair. I used to do it because my first two shavers were less than decent quality, so I tracked them to see how many haircuts I got out of them (and I returned them to the store if they pooped out early). And even though I finally got a nice Wahl shaver ($20 at Wal-mart), I still kept tracking. So here are the details:

• I first shaved my head on January 12, 2002
• Since then, I've had 69 haircuts (this includes a few times we shaved my son's head too -- in the summer)
• This comes out to about a haircut every four weeks (or 13 per year)

Now, let's do the math on the savings:

• During that time, I've purchased three shavers for about $50 total.
• If I would have gone to a hair salon (or even a decent barber shop), I would have spent at least $15 on each trip. That adds up to $1,035 I would have spent.
• Subtracting the $50 cost of the shavers, I've saved $985.
• BTW, I'm assuming the extra electricity I'm using at home is offset by the gas savings of not having to drive to the shop (I'm probably saving more money here too given gas prices).

In addition to all this, I'm saving tons of TIME. I'm not making appointments (which then have to be rescheduled now and then), driving to the shop (I'm talking the time here, not the gas cost mentioned above), waiting for the stylist, getting the haircut, and driving home. All this would easily take 30 minutes more than the short haircut time I have now at home -- not to mention it's much less frustrating. For 69 cuts, this means I've saved 34.5 hours. If you assumed that my time is only worth $10 an hour (it's worth a whole lot more than that BTW), that's another $345 saved. But we all know that time is even more valuable than money, so this is a low estimate.

The bottomline: I've saved at least $1,300 cutting my own hair and probably a whole lot more. In addition, I like my hair much better this way, so it's a win all the way around.

Comments

[C]

Some things are worth the extra cost. And for me, hair care is definitely one of them. How much does the humiliation of a bad haircut cost you? (not saying yours is)

[FMF]

Ha!

Yes, that's true. I remember my mom cutting my hair when I was in 8th grade and me being horrified by the result!

This idea works best for men who like "buzz cuts" (or very short hair). In those cases, there isn't much of a risk of bad haircuts.

[BoarderX]

I'd like to do the math on my savings sometime. I haven't paid for a haircut in at least 10 years! Up until 3 months ago I was using the same set of clippers too! Quality clippers obviously last a long time. Cool article that I can relate to!

[GHoosdum]

My mother was a hairdresser, years ago. She's had many jobs since, but the skills remained, so I've only had to pay for one haircut in my life, ever. And I got the worst cut ever from that salon. You don't always get what you pay for!

[Lord]

Can you actually cut your own hair? Isn't is a bit of a logicistical problem?

[FMF]

I do about 95% of it and my wife trims up the sides and back. ;-)

[Jay]

There's a very fine line between saving money and insanity. Hair verges on this line.

[Stock Mama]

I learned to cut my own hair years ago when I got tired of getting bad haircuts at expensive salons. ("You cut the front crooked." "Well, that's because your hairline is crooked." "Yeah, but the hair isn't supposed to be crooked.") I'd always end up having to do some salvage repair jobs afterwards. I wear my hair long so mostly what I cut is the bangs in front. If I don't like the way it looks, I fix it myself. As long as I just take off a little at a time, I do just fine. As for the back, I can either trim the ends by swinging them around front, or let it grow really long, go to a salon that participates in Locks of Love (http://www.locksoflove.org/) and get eight inches or more whacked off at once as a donation, which gets me the haircut free.

[Wizzzer]

I'm 63 and only have had one "professional haircut in my life, which was when I married my ex-wife, (not the only trimming I got). Assuming one a month @ $15 times 63 yrs, 12x63x15=$11,340. I've gotten very good at doing it myself pulling the hair up in bunches between my thumb and forefinger and snipping. It's actually pretty hard to screw up that way, gaging length by the nbr of fingers between the head and the cut. I only use the shaver for trimming around the neck and ears, also for trimming my full beard, which I wear short. BTW, I've also cut my second wife's hair for the 20 yrs, at her request!!

[Brad]

I have cut my own hair every month for a least 15 years and saved thousands. I bought a Flowbee shortly after they came out and its still going strong. The Flowbee connects to the vaccuum cleaner and works very well, though it does take a little practice. But I got the hang of it very quickly.

[Andrea]

I started cutting my husband's hair after I figured out that his barber was cutting his hair the same length all around his head which wasn't hard to replicate. Hi co-workers, not knowing that I cut his hair, have complemented him on his haircut. I like doing it because he gets trimmed every 3 weeks rather than every 6 and I like him looking tidy. Also my haircuts are way more expensive and this helps to offset those costs.

[Param]

Thanks for sharing this point of view. I still use a clipper for my kid (~2y7m) and since he needs a "buzz-cut" and have recovered the investment within 4 months. Besides the fact that I enjoy doing it & feel safer with me doing it instead of a stranger, I think the cost savings is really worthwhile. Yet, people who hear this think I'm being "cheap" for trying to save money on a baby's haircut. I'm sure my kid can afford better education than theirs without taking a loan...

[LC]

I have started cutting my husbands hair. I bought a $29 set of clippers, scizzors, etc and it hasn't showed any signs of wearing out. I think I still save time, even though the first cut took about twice as long since I was so paranoid I'd screw it up. It looks the same as the salon and saves a ton of money, especially since we can trim it more often. The only drawback is I'm not as neat as the salon people and hair gets all over him. But in the summer we do it outside so there's hardly no cleanup.

[Fred]

My mother used to cut my (and my brothers') hair until we were grown-ups and she encouraged us to go to a regular salon. I remember us protesting because she used to do a good job (lots of practice ;-) She's now cutting my grandparents' hair.

I don't see myself cutting my own hair with good results though (even though I generally like challenge and unconventional thinking). Oh and I'm surprised at how often you guys have your hair cut. I go once every 2.5 months (and I'm a banker with suit & tie). Admitted, I like long hair. Shaving would be no option for me :-)