I’m always looking for ways to cut back on expenses, as much as the next person. Lately, I’ve been trying to find means to cut back on personal hygiene and personal care items – it is incredible how toiletries can be expensive and many times we don’t realize the ridiculous amount of money we spend on shampoos, toothpastes, soaps, toilet tissues, etc. Although these items are necessities in every home, I want to make sure I get them as cheap as possible!

So here’s what I did to reduce my family personal hygiene expenses.

Buy in Bulk

The first thing that I started to buy in bulk was toilet tissue roll. I usually buy a box of toilet tissue roll that comes with 48 rolls for $40, which is great value for our money. It last us up to 12 weeks. This makes me spend more money in the ‘right now’, but I won’t have to purchase toilet tissue roll again for at least 3 months. I do the same thing with soap and toothpaste.

Choose Store Brand

We tend to stick to brands we know and trust a lot, but sometimes there is a different, less known brand, that offers the same products that may work just as fine for a fraction of the price. For example, in our family, none experiences scalp issues, so a store brand shampoo works just as well as a branded one. Don’t be afraid to try an inexpensive brand to see how it works for you.

Sign Up for Store Reward Programs

One of the best ways to save on your personal hygiene products is to join stores’ reward programs. In Australia, there are are a lot of stores that offer free loyalty reward programs and it doesn’t hurt to sign up for. This will grant you access to store sales, saving you a bunch of money in the long run!

Look for Alternatives

Although using corn cobs or leaves to substitute my 2ply soft toilet tissue paper is totally out of the question (chuckles) I do love using natural alternatives due to the harmful effect of the chemicals found in many of the personal hygiene products. For example, using coconut oil to moisturize my hands instead of hand-lotions, brown sugar as a body scrub, and olive oil as a face wash. A friend has also recommended to use apple cider vinegar instead of an expensive dandruff shampoo, but as I mentioned before, in our family we don’t have scalp issues, so I haven’t been able to see if it really works.