This year is all about saving money every day while trying to increase your income potential. If you did one thing each day that could save as little as $5 over the course of a year, you could have an extra $1800 in your pocket at the end of the year. Not all of these tips may apply to you, so to keep it fair, not all of them will apply to me.
Thank you to Cheapskate Sandy from ‘Yes, I Am Cheap’ for making this an Editor’s Pick in the 212th Festival of Frugality.
So in my family we called it a “Navy Shower.” You turn on the water to rinse, and turn it off to soap. Turn it on to rinse again, and out you go. This is really helpful for people who are on metered water. In our apartment complex, our water is flat-rate, so there isn’t a lot of immediate cost savings. I still often take a modified “Navy Shower” to shave my legs. I get sick of watching the perfectly applied shave gel get drizzled off my legs so that I cut myself.
You can take it a step further to a “Bucket Shower.” You get two washcloths and a bucket full of warm to hot water. Washcloth #1 gets dipped in the bucket and is used to wet your body and hair. Washcloth #2 gets dipped and soaped, and is used on your hair and body. You then use the rinse washcloth to rinse off. A good castile soap like Dr. Bronner’s is good for camping and bucket showers as it rinses well and is environmentally-friendly.
The furthest you can go in the shower streamlining process is the “whore’s bath.” (Sorry, I didn’t mean to lose my family-friendly rating, but I’m not sure what else to call it.) You take a wet (hopefully soapy) cloth or baby wipe and clean under your arms and between your legs. Not recommended for more than an emergency outing you weren’t planning on.
Need another way to drop your shower time? Run a small amount of corn starch or baby powder through your hair. It helps dry out hair oils and gives you the time you need to run your kids to school, or get to the early morning class you almost slept through, and you still look decent.
I’m going to say this can save you $10 a year in product and/or water. (If your product stays on your body instead of going down the drain, you use less and there’s no reapplication.)
365 Days of Saving Money: $495 Annually
