I feel like I’m going to have to walk on eggshells with this post, but hopefully I make my point without offending too many women out there! If you are a married man, you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.
When I was single, life was incredibly simple. I owned a few shirts and pants, had some soap and shampoo along with a little deodorant, and had a few items in the refrigerator that I could call mine. I lived on next to nothing, but life was simple and it was great! But, as John Eldridge said so well in, “Wild at Heart”, men are in need of 3 things: 1) a battle to fight, 2) an adventure to live, and 3) a beauty to rescue.
Naturally, every man is in search for the perfect woman; that one special lady that will fill up the holes of his soul and make him one. We are on this quest for many years, but have no idea what life will be like when we tie the knot with our long-awaited soul mate. Many describe life as walking on a cloud or drifting through life as if no one else were present, and this may be how life feels for a while, but ultimately, my cloud ride was abruptly haulted with the phrase, “Oh shoot, I’m out of mascara, can we stop by Target so I can get some more?” My initial response, “Didn’t we just buy that last week?!” “No hunny, that was my foundation, this is mas-car-a.”
Now, before I go any further, I would like you to know that I am still a very happily married man. My wife and I get along great and couldn’t be happier, but this was a pretty serious disruption to our marriage bliss.
Like I said, prior to getting married, I lived on very little – less than $1,000 a month. Then, I get married and I find out that many women don’t wake up in the morning with the look that they desire. That only comes after 30 different products are slathered on various parts of their body.
Quite honestly, I love it when my wife is all dolled up and turns the heads of the public, but all of these products were killing the budget (mainly because I was clueless about them)! Here’s my uneducated list of products that can really impact our spending plan (again, keep in mind, this is from a guy’s perspective):
Mascara
Eye-liner
Eye-shadow
Pencil
Foundation
Make-up
Lipstick
Lip Balm
Lotion
…those 30 day products (which may also include chocolate…)
Shavers
I’m sure the list goes on, but those are just a few of the budget-killing items I can think of off the top of my head.
How to Avoid the Surprise
I chose to learn these lessons the hard way, but below, you’ll find a list of tips so that you can avoid the surprise of another tube of mascara.
Learn about the products that your wife uses regularly – If you know what products she uses, you’ll know that she’ll eventually have to replace them right? This way, you’ll be less shocked when that item shows up on the grocery list.
Look for those free samples – My wife finds free samples everywhere – mainly at stores and in magazines as a promotion for the release of a new product. Get these samples and you’ll already be spending a little less at the grocery store.
Scope out a deal – Since you now know what your wife uses (and maybe even the name brand she prefers), you can now pay attention to the prices at the store, even though she may not need the item at that moment. It’s better than paying full price for that item a couple of weeks later.
Buy in Bulk – Often times, you’ll get a cheaper per-item price if you buy multiple items at once. Or, along with #3, if you find a deal, don’t be afraid to purchase more than one. This is a great money-saving idea as well.
Buy 1 Bet 1 Free – You might not need 2 tubes of mascara, but you’re going to use it down the road anyway, so why not just get 2 and save some money?
Coupons – I have to be the worst coupon clipper in the world, but there are quite a few coupons floating around for women’s products because it’s such a saturated market! You can find savings in a matter of seconds.
Hopefully these tips will help you save some cash, and if you’re a husband, maybe it’ll allow you to keep your cool a little more often. Good luck!
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Comments
Female Products – The Budget Killer — 10 Comments
As a self-confessed make-up addict (it astounds my boyfriend too), I’d also recommend checking out discounted make-up/cosmetic websites for some serious savings. If you have some cosmetic brands that, quite frankly, you cannot live without, you can sign up to their email lists for exclusive discounts and offers. Good on you for not doing the classic male huff and look of incredulity when another lipstick wangles its way into the shopping basket!
Haha! I couldn’t believe how much stuff there was when I first got married, but I do understand the pressure on a woman to be beautiful.
So, rather than make a stink about it, I decided that my wife and I would work together to find out how to get a quality product for an inexpensive price. 🙂
Haha — I admit that when I saw the headline, I immediately thought of the “other” budget-killing female product (the type you have to use once a month) … which can be pretty expensive! Okay, I guess that’s a conversation for a different post.
I like your tips; I’d also advocate picking one or two “favorite” makeup products that you can buy really high-quality brands for, and going with cheaper brands for the “less important” makeup products. NYC and ELF are both very cheap discount makeup brands.
Great post, I don’t use much make-up but I have had male friends & bf ask “wait, what do you need that for again?” lol. There’s usually tonnes of coupons floating around for those once-every-30day products, I never buy that stuff without one!
Also if you buys stuff like this at the same store all the time you may be able to get points or rewards, which does add up. I know Shoppers Drug Mart over here offers them, once every few months I get a $10 discount, better than nothing!
I didn’t think of that one: reward points. This could help, but many of these store cards are considered credit cards. You’ve got to be careful not to have too many credit lines open, it can really be damaging to your credit. But, if this is only your second credit card, then don’t worry too much about it. Thanks for the comment!
Like Paula, I was thinking of another budget killing female product. 🙂
I don’t wear any makeup on a daily basis, but I do theatre, so every now and then I need to replenish my makeup supply. The last time I went to Target for makeup I needed some new supplies for a show: several pairs of fake eyelashes, new foundation, and new lipstick. Holy sh!t was I shocked at how much it cost – nearly $50! You can get the cheapo stuff, but then you’re stuck with eyelashes that don’t conform to the curvature of your eye and clumpy lipstick that gets all over the place when you have to do a stage kiss.
I don’t know how the people who wear that stuff daily afford it!
At least yours is a business expense. I bet you can stretch that $50 over a few months which is great. I know people that spend at least that every month. I wear some makeup every day but very little amounts. My makeup lasts a long time before I have to replace it and it isn’t that expensive. Plus it lasts all day so I only have to apply it once.
As a self-confessed make-up addict (it astounds my boyfriend too), I’d also recommend checking out discounted make-up/cosmetic websites for some serious savings. If you have some cosmetic brands that, quite frankly, you cannot live without, you can sign up to their email lists for exclusive discounts and offers. Good on you for not doing the classic male huff and look of incredulity when another lipstick wangles its way into the shopping basket!
Haha! I couldn’t believe how much stuff there was when I first got married, but I do understand the pressure on a woman to be beautiful.
So, rather than make a stink about it, I decided that my wife and I would work together to find out how to get a quality product for an inexpensive price. 🙂
Haha — I admit that when I saw the headline, I immediately thought of the “other” budget-killing female product (the type you have to use once a month) … which can be pretty expensive! Okay, I guess that’s a conversation for a different post.
I like your tips; I’d also advocate picking one or two “favorite” makeup products that you can buy really high-quality brands for, and going with cheaper brands for the “less important” makeup products. NYC and ELF are both very cheap discount makeup brands.
Yeah, I did sneak “those products” into #10 (the 30 day necessities), but those aren’t the only budget killers!
I like your idea about using a combination of more expesive and less expensive make-up products. Sometimes the cheap products will do just fine!
Thanks for the comments!
Great post, I don’t use much make-up but I have had male friends & bf ask “wait, what do you need that for again?” lol. There’s usually tonnes of coupons floating around for those once-every-30day products, I never buy that stuff without one!
Also if you buys stuff like this at the same store all the time you may be able to get points or rewards, which does add up. I know Shoppers Drug Mart over here offers them, once every few months I get a $10 discount, better than nothing!
I didn’t think of that one: reward points. This could help, but many of these store cards are considered credit cards. You’ve got to be careful not to have too many credit lines open, it can really be damaging to your credit. But, if this is only your second credit card, then don’t worry too much about it. Thanks for the comment!
Like Paula, I was thinking of another budget killing female product. 🙂
I don’t wear any makeup on a daily basis, but I do theatre, so every now and then I need to replenish my makeup supply. The last time I went to Target for makeup I needed some new supplies for a show: several pairs of fake eyelashes, new foundation, and new lipstick. Holy sh!t was I shocked at how much it cost – nearly $50! You can get the cheapo stuff, but then you’re stuck with eyelashes that don’t conform to the curvature of your eye and clumpy lipstick that gets all over the place when you have to do a stage kiss.
I don’t know how the people who wear that stuff daily afford it!
At least yours is a business expense. I bet you can stretch that $50 over a few months which is great. I know people that spend at least that every month. I wear some makeup every day but very little amounts. My makeup lasts a long time before I have to replace it and it isn’t that expensive. Plus it lasts all day so I only have to apply it once.
Oh no, theatre is not my work. I just do it for fun. I spend quite a lot of money on my hobby!
We are all allowed our indulgences. We deserve them.