The Cost of Being a Dude.
Shaking The Money Tree had a post on the cost of being a girl, so I thought I'd rebuttal with the cost of being a guy ;) It was a bit tricky to calculate since I share a lot of this stuff with the Mrs., but I tried to be as accurate as possible.Instead of splitting my costs in half, I calculated what it would cost me if I were out on my own but with the same products (which jacks up the price, mind you, but now I'm addicted to the "better stuff" anyways). I'm sure I'll come across as super metro here, but it's all good I'm not ashamed. I use body wash & hairspray, so what. A guy's gotta look & feel good right? (don't answer that)
The numbers on the left represent Jolie's figures from 2008 - which I chose over '09 since it's juicier & I'd guess closer to the average anyways - and then mine are to the right. They're also pro-rated to show monthly averages, and we're really only talking about bathroom stuff here.
| JOLIE: Bodywash - $2.46 Shampoo - $4.40 Conditioner - $4.40 Blush - $2.41 Eye Shadow - $2.98 Lipstick - $4.23 Toothpaste - $2.08 Fem. Products - $8.96 Deodorant - $5.94 Contact Solution - $8.88 Gel - $9.92 Razors - $5.99 Facewash - $7.11 Foundation - $11.47 Moisturizer - $19.97 Mascara - $7.47 MONTH TOTAL - $98.59 | J. MONEY: Bodywash - $3.00 (Caress) Shampoo - $3.00 (Garnier) Puff - $.50 (See, I'm addicted!) Toothpaste - $2.50 (Crest) Flossers - $5.50 (Reach) Deodorant - $2.00 (Degree) Hairspray - $3.50 (Salon Grafix) Shaving Gel - $1.00 (Gillette) Razors - $1.80 (Gillette Excel @ $18 10-pack) Mouthwash - $4.00 (Act Anticavity) MONTH TOTAL - $26.80 |
Would ya look at that! We men sure have it good. This is the first time I've ever seen it broken down before, and it's pretty cool to check out. I know the numbers will fluctuate depending on your own situation (esp for those more rugged men), but it still gives us a good overall picture. It would be cool to see how it compares throughout the rest of our lifestyles too! Like with clothes, food, shopping, etc. I don't know how much more you could break it down, but if anyone did the legwork I'd happily provide my numbers to you.
So there you have it: Beauty vs. The Beast! This doesn't prove anything we didn't already know, but hopefully you enjoyed it as much as I did. And to be fair, Jolie DID actually knock her monthly expenses down this year to $85.95, so we gotta give her mad props for that.
Labels: about j., men vs women, where our money goes
posted by J. Money at
7:26 AM
22 Comments:
Oh I have been waiting for you to do your rebutt. It is much as I suspected. Guys have it lucky!! I swear to God I didn't giggle that your body wash is Caress. :P
I could cut $6 off mine if I went razor-less, but I dont' think that is a visual anyone would want LOL
This was really interesting to read J. Thanks for writing it and thank you for making my blog entry your comparison.
Gel - $9.92
Razors - $5.99
----------------
Total/Month - $15.91
Total/Year - $190.92
Laser Hair Removal
~$300 / Session ( ~ = 'about'; so about $300)
$300 x 6 (6 sessions they suggest)
Total 1800.
BEQ or (Break Even Quotient) = 9.428 or 9.5 Years
If you plan to shave for another 9.5 years (which most would) then its better to get "lasered" assuming you have the $1800 up front. Some places have started to offer financing too :)
The contact solution is SUCH a killer. There is only one variety that (so far) doesn't cause me to have an allergic reaction and of course (OF COURSE) even the store brand is like $7 a bottle.
I considered swapping in the stuff I used back in the bachelor days (Suave products, $.99 stuff, etc) but figured I might as well be honest here :) That would actually make for another interesting comparison: Men costs before marriage vs. Men costs after.
@anonymous - Not sure how women feel about lasering, but I love shaving! I go from smooth, to scruffy, to beardy, back to smooth all within a week of each other. Gives me 3 versions of myself ;) Then again, I don't have to shave legs & armpits and all...
Laser hair removal also isn't a 100% or a forever fix. You'll never get all the hairs out because they grow in so many different cycles. So you'll still have to shave, but you just drastically cut down on the amount you have to shave (say, ever 2-3 weeks instead of every 2-3 days).
Women definitely use more products! I think she actually left some things out! But those are the basics...daily I use perfume, eye cream, moisturizer...she said razor but forgot shaving cream...lol it costs a lot to be a girl!
@Everyone
I'd rather shave every 2-3 weeks than every other day
@J. Money
I'm not talking about shaving my face. You can change your look and I'm sure your wife loves it, but if I came home and showed my husband my "new hairy legs & arm pits" I doubt that would go over well with him. If I had the $$, I'd do laser. Less hair, less sweat (girls, you know what I mean), just more all around "clean". PLUS no more razor bumps!!!!
All i kept thinking about when i read this article was, "who cares?". Not at the post, but at the female reactions where it explicitly shows its more expensive to be a girl on a daily basis. The reason i have that reaction is because they aren't socially expected to shell out thousands upon thousands for an engagement ring, as if a tangible object could ever really equate to an intangible emotion.
Can you tell i broke up with my girl yesterday? :-)
Good work as always J. And i like anonymous' analysis of the Break Even Quotient to shaving!
@Jane Contact Solution is defitely a haggler! Never realized how much it cost until I ran out of the one the eye doctor gave me!
I hate purchasing disposable razors so I end up either using them til they should not be used OR I just don't shave!
Everything I have pretty much matches up with J... although my Loofa (for the body wash) costed me .99
Yea we do, and as men let's be honest. We can stretch those even further than a month.
haha...yeah we can ;)
@Anonymous - I hear ya on the scraggly legs too, not a fan of scraggly legs on the wife. I have to imagine it gets itchy too, right? I know my face does...
Grinning at Brian...to be fair when I wrote my blog post originally I was trying to determine how much 'the little things' cost me to get a better idea of how to construct my budget. I tried to do the little things for kitchen or household cleaners and it got to be too overwhelming. It wasn't meant to be a gender comparison though it is interesting to see. I paid for half my engagement ring so I do feel (half) the pain of the expectation of men purchasing the ring.
Wow. Definitely high maintenance. No way my numbers are anywhere near either of yours. Did you guys include partial price of something that lasts more than a month? It doesn't look like it. That would cut it down a lot.
uhm, and if you are of a certain ethnic persuasion (giggling) then you could have an additional $30 - $50 bi-weekly salon visit. Let's not forget the cost for maintaining nicely arched eyebrows. Geez, that's an additional $10 - $15 every 2 weeks or so. I budget about $150 a month for personal care.
~Lydia
@Jolie - That is the first time i have ever heard of a woman paying for half of her engagement ring. I guess i hang out with too many jewish girls from long island (no offense to them of course... but the stereotype exists for a reason!). Yeah, the "little thing" comparison is really great. I remember seeing something on some mainstream site about how much it costs to be a woman at each stage of life. It went through hair coloring when you were older, birth control at younger years, etc. Was really quite interesting.
I think I am closer to J than Jolie in terms of spending, but I don't wear or use makeup on a regular basis. I think I am going to do a comparison post as well... you guys have got me thinking....
:)
Brian...I sold my snow machine....an old Yamaha I do believe for my half :-) I miss that machine LOL
Where'd you find Gilette for a dollar? That seems like a good price. I want to save up for laser hair removal. Would make my life so much easier. But sadly, not as easy as a guy's. :-)
J. I switched just this week to a safety razor ($37 - Amazon) from the Gilette mach 5. Blades are about .25 each. :)
J - What are "puffs" man? Are those girly man cotton balls to tab on some eye lotion?! haha.
Get a electric shaver already!
I'm glad someone else asked the question. What are puffs?
One of these things - only in a more manly color ;) The wife says they're called "poufs", but I like "puffs." I don't know why.
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