I’m a man, and like most men hair grows out of my face on a regular basis. I handle this hair somewhat seasonally (I’m clean-shaven in the summer, goatee in the autumn and spring, and beard when it gets cold in the winter). For the purpose of this article I’ll assume you shave three or more times per week (adjust your math accordingly).
I have long considered the “blade wars” somewhat humorous. You know the one, razor manufacturers started with one blade, then a double-sided blade, then two blades on the same side, and on and on until we’re up to what, 5 on the front plus a “detail trimmer” on the back? Come on, really? How many do we need?
I was suckered into buying one of the new Gillette Fusion razors when they first came out. I don’t remember how much I paid for it, but today it goes for around $12. The blades last about a month each, so that’s another $28 for an 8-pack of blades, plus $19 for another 4-pack (giving you about 13 blades for the year.
Total first year cost: $60
Total cost each additional year: $47
How can you shave and save?
Well, you could cut shaving altogether and save $60 per year (don’t squander that, snowball it into your debt).
Since most men must shave (for some reason: wife, work, church, etc.) I’ll evaluate the opposite, shaving almost every day, for comparison.
When my dad was a young man and started shaving, he bought a “safety razor”, you know the kind, it has a twist bottom that opens and closes two “doors” on the top that holds the blade. These things last forever, so you’ll likely only need one your entire life. You can pick one of these up for less than $50 new, keep an eye out for them a garage sales or thrift stores (they usually go for around $5), or ask your dad if he’s got a spare. Even if you buy new for $50, the blades for these things are CHEAP! I picked up a 25 pack at my local Walley World for $1.25. Funny thing is, these blades seem to last much longer than a month each, but for easy math we’ll say that you’ll replace one of these blades once a month as well, which is $0.625 cents per year.
Total first year cost (if you buy new): $50.625
Total cost each additional year: $0.625
Average Per Year Savings Using this Tip
Since we want to know how much you can save per year using this tip, we’ll average the first two years and subtract to get the annualized savings: $27.88
Total Tip Savings
Since this is our first tip, the savings don’t look stellar, but we’ll use this section to keep a running total of all the tips.
| Frugal Tip | Annual Savings |
|---|---|
| How can you Shave and Save? | $27.88 |