Metrosexual Expenses
Posted on March 23, 2006 by Him and tagged humor, personal_care
I'm a little more high-maintenance than probably most male personal finance bloggers (and possibly even some females). I'm not like Jonathan over at MyMoneyBlog, who saved $250 in haircuts in the last year by having his wife cut his hair. I can't stand having my hair look bad.
I get my haircut at a salon, not a barber shop, every five weeks. The cost of the whole thing is...
Wait for it...
$35.00. And I leave a $10.00 tip.
10.4 haircuts/year X $45 = $468 on haircuts.
This actually shocks me because this is the first time I've done this calculation. I can't help it. I've had bad experiences in college letting my fraternity brothers cut my hair. I won't let Her trim it a little so it doesn't look ridiculous, even if it is about time to get my haircut and my hair is long.
But that's okay! At the same salon, I used to get my eyebrows waxed. No person should have to look at the uncontrolled hairiness of a unibrow on a man. That alone cost $12.00, plus a few bucks for the tip. I quit doing that after realizing that my eyebrows were looking a little too feminine. Now I just shave in between the brows and pluck until it looks neat. I'm SAVING money by just doing that myself right? YEAH!
I haven't jumped to nail care...yet. Although they do look like they could use some work.
I am so glad that this is an anonymous blog.
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Funny, since it's close to home for a lot of men I think.
It took a lot of persuading for me to let my wife cut my hair, but she does do a good job (first wife - not so good of job).
And please, in the name of all that's bloggy, don't let your eyebrows look like Andy Rooney's.
Financial Freedumb | Mar 23, 2006
lol...too each his/her own...good job on saving with the eye brows! For me, I'm a hat + supercuts kind of guy...
JohnnyFlame | Mar 23, 2006
If you want to step up to the next level of metrosexity (metroness?), try this one on for size:
http://johnallans.com/content.php?id=8&nav_id=2
Though the $65 price may seem steep, you can get a year membership for not much more than you pay, and go for free every week if you want.
Derek | Mar 23, 2006
I'm glad you feel like you can afford $468 in haircuts while you carry more than $17,000 in credit card debt (presumably at 18% or ao).
If you measure the opportunity cost of paying $45 for your haircut on Jan 1, instead of putting that money toward debt retirement, the real cost of the haircut is more like $55.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your blogging about finances isn't going to do squat for attacking your debt. The only way you are going to get over your negative net worth and substantial high-interest debt, is to make "sacrifices" like cutting your hair at a barber shop like the rest of us do.
If you "can't stand having [your] hair look bad", I sure hope you like work, because you're never going to retire.
Everyone has his or her own "needs". I can feel for the haircut (Although in my case, it's volleyball). I probably spend around $500 bucks a year for admissions, memberships and so on for this "need" and even if I were in a massive amount of debt, I wouldn't sacrifice it. (Maybe when my back/knees break, I'll think about stopping for a bit)
By the way, the 10 dollar difference between the actual and real cost of a haircut as sited by Derek isn't going to keep you guys from retiring. It might delay the process of getting out of debt though however slightly.
By the way, kudos on the brow-self-maintenance. And yes, be very glad that this is an anonymous blog! :p
Derek | Mar 23, 2006
In rereading that last comment, it occurs to me that I may have come off a bit harsh. That was not my intention. My point was more to illustrate that debt reduction (or net worth building) is not just about making the right choice on a small number of "big" financial decisions. It is about making the "right" financial choice on the hundreds of small decisions we each face every day: Starbucks or office coffee?, taxi or subway?, wait for the spring sale or buy the winter coat in December?
You get rich two ways: (1) making your top line grow, and (2) controlling your costs. By far, the most important thing to do is to grow your top line. That said, controlling costs is also key. Controlling costs isnt about picking up a few online coupon tips at Fatwallet... it is about having a true commitment to personal savings and not consumption.
I'm new to your blog, but like many so-called personal finance blogs on the internet that I have found, yours strikes me as long on goals and short on follow-through. Debt reduction is not easy, and fiscal prudence never ends.
C | Mar 23, 2006
While Derek may be right, I think one of the keys to debt reduction is being realistic, and I think most people have something that they are just not willing to give up. And I don't necessarily think that is a horrible thing.
At the beginning of this year my husband and I decided to get serious about eliminating our nearly $20K in credit card debt (all at 4.9% for the life of the balance, mind you) and in less than 3 months have reduced that balance by almost $6K. However, we each get an "allowance" of $200 a month to use on whatever we want, and at my husband's insistence, I continue with my hair appointments that cost $165 + tip every 8 weeks. This may seem like a lot to some people, but having figured these things in, I never feel the need to go crazy on a spending binge. If I want a new Coach bag, I just save my "allowance" for a couple of months. For us, this is realistic and keeps us from adding any new debt under any circumstance.
Sure, I could put the money I spend on hair appointments and my allowance (which covers anything "extra" from clothes to massages to books), but for me and my husband, it's not worth getting out of debt a couple of months sooner.
Economics is all about choosing. Governments choose, corporations choose, and households choose. However, households cannot print money or issue shares. I actually have Him beat, I spend $20 every other week. That's $520 per year. I know I could spend less, but this is one of the choices that I have made. I sacrifice in other areas, like coffee, lunches, clothes shopping, and manicures. Oops, did I say that out loud?
I like His expensive salon haircuts. They make His hair feel like soft fluffy kittens. We budget for it so we're not going into debt. We don't argue about this expense and we're at peace with our decision. Does your huge net worth feel like soft fluffy kittens?
Wyoming Jack | Mar 24, 2006
I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. Nearly $500 per year is not a "small" indulgence. That's a lot of dough. And this is a personal finance blog?
Regarding "We budget for it so we're not going into debt": I don't know your financial situation, but someone posted above that you have $17000 in credit card debt. "not going into debt"? You are in debt. Whether to stay there is up to you, but you need to recognize that paying $500 per year for something for which there are much cheaper alternatives is not the way to get out.
Full disclosure: I'm not in debt, and pay $11 every 8 weeks for a haircut. Until now, I've always felt like this was too much; lately I've been moving to a 12-week haircut cycle. We buy "Suave" shampoo for about $1.29 per bottle that works fine for my wife and me. My hair looks fine, and has never been a hinderance to either my personal or professional life. My wife uses the same barber I do. Her hair looks great too.
And by the way, why the $10 tip? If you're paying $35 for a haircut, that Salon better be paying its employees pretty well. If you insist on tipping, try $1 - $5.
I don't mean for this to sound as snippy as it probably does, but $500 per year for haircuts?
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Derek | Mar 24, 2006
12 weeks is gross, unless you're going with a high-and-tight military cut. Get yourself a flowbee!
Ah, I am very non-metro. But my wife plucks my eyebrows too! Usually it involves some force, though, as I do not like it at all.
Josh | Mar 26, 2006
You may want to look into a salon education center. I get my hair cut in San Francisco at Vidal Sassoon's education center for $16. It is done professionally by students (learning the Vidal Sassoon way). The only catch is that it takes way longer than a normal cut (3-ish hours), since the students have to get permission before each step of the cut.
Rosie | Mar 27, 2006
Hi,
I find that with budgeting and trying to pay off debt quickly it can sometimes become really boring if it's over a long period of time.
I try to pay every extra cent towards my debtbut the last few weeks I've spent some money on myself. I felt so guilty, but I've come to the realisation that 1. you need an allowance per week however small and 2. It's not fun being bored. But keep the spending in check!
Wow. A $10 tip? That's somewhere around a 28% tip. That must be some haircut. :)
I hope they at least soak your feet and give you a back rub. (Bear in mind, this is coming from a cheapskate who gets a $12 barber cut and tips $2)
I know this is supposed to be anonymous, but your name isn't Ryan Seacrest is it?
Okay, okay. I'll stop. I hope you don't mind a little teasing. I've got quite a problem with being a smart ass, but for the record, I can take it well too.
Ck1 | Jul 7, 2006
I get the exact same haircut you do. $35 for the haircut, $10 tip. $15 shampoo 2x a year, $15 "product" 2x year. But you know what? I feel better about myself, have more confidence, and get more respect at work. It's basically a cost of having the job I have. So sometimes it can be worth it. (used to get a $15 haircut 3-4x per year. I now make double what I made last year...)
You can get a good inexpensive haircut, but a lot of cheap haircutting places can really mess up your hair and probably the more expensive ones are more likely to do a good job. Most I paid is $25. I usually pay $9.50 on the university campus I work at. They cut far better than all the $15 super/great-cut places.
littlebean | Jul 12, 2006
In response to Wyoming Jack, who writes that if someone "insists" on tipping for a haircut, the tip should be $1-5:
I understand that we're trying to save money on this blog, but let's not take it out on the people that are serving us! It is customary to tip 15-20% for a salon haircut (really 20% if you live in a city like Chicago) and $2 for someone who shampoos your hair. If your haircut costs $35, this easily turns into a total tip of around $10. See http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/tipping/ for more information.
Sorry to turn into the etiquette police. :-)
You guys are being awfully harsh about the $35 haircut. In Chicago or any other large city, $35 is on the low end of things. Tipping $1 to $5 is incredibly cheap; $7 is an appropriate tip since that's 20%.
For me, personal appearance is part of my job, so I couldn't get away with a $35 haircut. I work in fashion, and unfortunately, you're judged by how you look--so if I want to work at, say, Vogue, I can't show up with a crap haircut and so-so shoes. I am also trying to rein in my finances by paying off student loans, so I wind up getting a $65 haircut (still considered cheap in the fashion circles) every three months or so. I find that it's more economical because the more precise cut grows out better.
franky | Mar 23, 2006
hahaha, too funny
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