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A decent men’s haircut can range anywhere from $20 to upwards of $50 at a nice salon. And unfortunately for men, we really do require a cut once a month.

That’s why, whenever I get tired of my usual hairstyle, I turn to buzz cutting my own hair. All it takes is a good quality trimmer, and a bit of time and patience.

I use the Wahl Peanut hair clipper, and I love it. A good quality clipper makes all the difference; not only is it easier, but the process goes about twice as fast. Avoid wireless clippers because they decrease in performance as the batteries drain. And you’ll most likely be buzzing in the bathroom right next to a plug anyway. You don’t need anything gimmicky; solid and utilitarian is what you need.

Your first time buzzing your hair will probably take longer than you’d like it, and you’ll probably find stray long hairs for days to come. But believe me, it gets much easier with practice. You’ll learn to understand the sound of the clippers as it goes through your hair, and develop techniques to make things go easier.

For your first time, checkout this site dedicated to the buzz cut. It has some great tips for developing your technique.

The other benefits of buzzing your hair? Think of all that time saved in the morning because you didn’t have to style your hair. And the money saved in hair product. And avoiding hat-hair in the winter.

Astute readers may have noticed the lack of posts in March.

Perhaps that was because I had a very expensive March, and I just didn’t have the heart to write about being frugal while spending like I did.

It started off with a vacation to Rome during the last week of February. Much of it (airfare) was already paid, and as I wrote in a previous post, the vacation was done rather inexpensively. So not much harm done there.

But then Apple refreshed their iMac line, and I had been waiting for just that to upgrade my aging Mac mini. So I took the plunge.

And at the same time, a designer knockoff lamp I had been eyeing at Structube went on sale. I couldn’t resist.

So March turned out to be an expensive month. But the lamp finally pushed me over the edge, and now I’m buckling down. No more leisurely spending. Only necessary purchases for the entire month of April. And to search for new creative ways to save a few dollars.

My goal for April is to post as often as possible, to keep the creatively frugal juices flowing.