If you want to save money on haircut and personal grooming costs without letting your standards slip, let’s look at a realistic approach. Back in my 20s and early 30s, I used to head to the barbers every single weekend. Every Friday without fail, I’d get a fresh trim just to look clean for the week ahead. But as I got older and household costs started tightening—and trust me, watching barbers bump up their prices week after week—I realized something important: going every weekend just isn’t financially sustainable anymore.
At around £20 a pop for an average haircut, dropping that kind of cash weekly is a luxury that doesn’t fit into a sensible budget in this economy.
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Save Money on Haircut Every Month
The biggest game-changer was simply breaking the habit of weekly cuts. If your goal is to save money on haircut expenses, instead of going every Friday, I now stretch it out to once a month. A professional cut still keeps the overall shape right, but spacing it out instantly slashes that specific monthly outgoing by 75%.
How to Save Money on a Haircut With a Home Trimmer
So, how do you keep things looking neat between those monthly professional cuts?
For under £100—and often much cheaper if you look at Argos, eBay, or even a second-hand bargain on Facebook Marketplace—you can pick up a reliable, high-quality beard and hair trimmer.
Now, every weekend, I spend five minutes tidying up my beard and shaping up the edges myself. It keeps everything looking fresh and professional for the working week, but costs practically nothing once you own the kit.
Downgrade Your Grooming Products (Not Your Hygiene)
Another easy win is looking closely at your bathroom shelf. We’ve all been guilty of paying over the odds for premium-branded styling gels and washes.
I’ve made the switch to supermarket own-brand shampoos and shower gels. They do the exact same job just as effectively as the high-end alternatives, but at a fraction of the cost. If you want to dive deeper into auditing your daily outgoings, check out my guide on the September Financial Reset. You aren’t skipping out on personal care; you’re just cutting out the marketing tax you pay for a fancy logo.
Won’t cutting my own hair or beard look messy if I’m not a professional?
Not if you stick to maintenance rather than a full cut. Leaving the major styling to your monthly barber visit means you are just cleaning up the edges and necklines at home. A good guard on a reliable trimmer makes accidental slip-ups very easy to avoid.
How much money can I actually save by switching to a monthly barber schedule?
If you previously went weekly at £20 a visit (~£80 a month) and drop to once a month (£20), you save roughly £60 every single month. Over the course of a year, that puts an extra £720 back into your household budget.
Are supermarket own-brand toiletries actually safe and effective for skin care?
Yes. In the UK, cosmetic and personal care products are heavily regulated for safety regardless of the brand name. Independent consumer groups like Which? regularly test supermarket beauty items and find that cheap own-brand alternatives frequently match or outperform expensive premium labels.
Final Thoughts
Everyone’s priorities are different—for some people, weekly salon or barber visits are non-negotiable. But if you’re at a point in life where saving the pennies matters and you want to build a smarter buffer for your household, small lifestyle tweaks like these add up to a surprising amount by the end of the year. Finding clever ways to save money on a haircut adds up over time and gives your household budget some well-deserved breathing room.
Have you cut back on any regular beauty or grooming habits lately to save money? Let me know in the comments below!