Cheap Shaving

The night before my first day of high school, I started shaving. Actually, at around 3am on the first day of high school, I started shaving. My mom dropped off a ‘campus kit’ when she thought I was asleep and as I was too nervous to sleep, I shaved instead.

I didn’t cut myself or anything. Granted, I’m sure I didn’t need a shave either, but at 3am in 1989, my options were a little limited.

But since then I have been a fairly regular shaver. There were periods where this was more irregular than regular, but I have always shaved.

And, truth be told, I’ve mostly been irritated by it. Not so much by the physical act of shaving, that’s pretty easy. It’s the ongoing cost involved.

See, I’m cheap. At least when it comes to things I don’t think I should have to spend large amounts of money on. And with shavers, you really don’t have much of a choice.

I mean, on average, you’re spending $2.50 to $3 on a Cartridge of blades. Not a box, one cartridge. And that’s a bulk price I found online. For most people, that would be one week if you shaved daily. I didn’t, so it might last me two, but those last couple of times would be a little rough.

Then there’s the foam/gel that goes along with that. You’re looking at about $3-$4 a can of that stuff, and that’s just the cheap stuff. And that’s a month or two.

Last year Tara, Liam and I went to see her grandfather and spend a week there. I forgot my shaving cream, so I decided to use soap instead. Didn’t have a whole lot of options, so I went with it. And ya know, it was just fine. In fact, I preferred it. So that’s what I did when I got home. I got a 3 pack of soap and just used that instead. Still have one bar of that pack(3 pack) and it cost $4.

I saw the add for Dollar Shave Club online some time ago(now that I think of it, it was probably close to a year) and I, like everyone else, was taken in by the ad. And the theory. That shaving doesn’t have to be stupid expensive. So this November, I signed up. It’s available in Canada now BTW. It’s a little more then a dollar for the basic blade option, but $4 isn’t bad. And for that, I get 5 cartridges and it’s delivered to my home each month. Not too shabby. This also allows me to shave daily as I have 5 to go through each month.

So let’s add it up.

I used to spend(on average):

$78/year on blades

$36 on cream/gel.

Now it’ll be:

$48/year on blades

$2.66 on soap.

That’s a difference of $63.40.

You know, when I write it all down, I am cheap. I mean, what does $63.40/year get me? Honestly.

I suppose if I socked all of that away, by the time I retire I could get a TV(not super great, but decent), a trip to Mexico or Disney World. But at 65, do I want to go to either?

Anyway, the real point is that you don’t have to spend what you’re spending, there are alternatives that are just as good or better.

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