5 Ways to Look Better on a Budget

Here’s how to look like a million bucks without spending it.

A high-rolling weekend in Las Vegas. A bottle of top-shelf bourbon. A really good steak. New shoes. A nice gift for your significant other. Tickets to a game, or a show. Maybe even that vintage chopper you’ve been obsessing over since you were 19.

Because you’re a hardworking guy with a taste for memorable experiences and nice stuff, there’s no shortage of things on which you’d like to spend your money. Products for your skin, hair and beard probably are not at the top of the list. And yet, you know that living your best life means looking and feeling … well, your best. So, you load your internet shopping cart with the finest creams, serums and tonics a man’s money can buy. When you finally click “purchase,” however, you can’t help but feel a painful prod in the rear pocket of your pants, where your wallet usually lives.

But being handsome doesn’t have to hurt. If you spend your grooming budget wisely, you can have not only healthy skin, healthy hair and a healthy beard, but also a healthy bank account. Use these five tips to stock up on grooming essentials, and still have plenty of cheddar leftover for fun stuff.

1. Invest in intelligent ingredients.

The easiest way to blow money on men’s grooming products is to buy the wrong ones. If you’re like most guys, for instance, you probably gravitate towards products that have the coolest bottles or the most recognizable names. But that’s a mistake. Instead, you should be looking for products that have the best ingredients.

Think about it: When you buy grooming products that don’t have good ingredients — be it beard care products, beard styling products, skin care products or hair products — you end up spending more money to achieve the results you want.

For example, imagine you’re looking for the best shaving cream for men. You buy one brand for $30, but it doesn’t give you a close enough shave. So you shell out $15 to try another brand. It leaves your face feeling dry, which means you have to drop $20 to try a third brand. Suddenly, you’ve spent $65 when you could have spent a fraction of that if you’d only purchased the right brand to begin with.

To find the “right” brand, look for functional ingredients that actually do something. Billy Jealousy Hydroplane Super-Slick Shave Cream, for instance, contains dimethicone, which is a water-soluble organic micro-silicone that makes for a frictionless shave. Or there’s Billy Jealousy Devil’s Delight Beard Oil, which has sunflower oil to condition whiskers and prevent them from breaking.

2. Look for products that multi-task.

Two products are more expensive than one. A smart way to save money on grooming products, then, is to look for workhorse products that can do double duty, allowing you to achieve two grooming goals with just one item.

Billy Jealousy Devil’s Delight Beard Balm is a good example. Many guys purchase both beard care products and beard styling products. But Devil’s Delight Beard Balm is actually both. Instead of buying beard oil for conditioning your beard and beard wax for styling it, you can do both with a single puck of beard balm.

Or check out Billy Jealousy White Knight Gentle Daily Facial Cleanser. Because it includes peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus and lavender essential oils — which are natural moisturizers — as well as apple amino acids that enhance skin’s moisture retention, it might be the best face wash for men who want to cleanse and moisturize with one product instead of two.

3. Buy bigger, spend smaller.

There’s a reason that people love shopping at warehouse clubs. And it’s not just because of the free samples. It’s because buying in bulk is actually cheaper.

What’s true of meat, snacks and paper goods also is true of men’s grooming products. Take shampoo, for example. Perhaps the best shampoo for men seeking a bargain is Billy Jealousy Fuzzy Logic Strengthening Shampoo. While an 8-oz. bottle retails for $22, a 1-liter bottle retails for $65. Although the latter is more expensive upfront, it’s actually more affordable. That’s because the smaller bottle costs $2.75 per ounce and the larger one approximately $1.92 per ounce.

4. Portion your product.

If you’re pinching pennies, remember the golden rule of grooming: A little goes a long way. By stretching your product, you can stretch your dollar.

This is true of body wash (with a loofah, a small amount can create a lot of lather), moisturizer (remember that you’re hydrating your face, not drowning it) and hair styling products like Billy Jealousy Headlock Hair Molding Cream (just a pea-sized amount will give your hair high hold with a natural-looking matte finish).

5. Buy now, pay later.

When times are tight, a little financial flexibility can go a long way. And thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, times right now are certainly tight for a lot of guys.

To give your wallet the breathing room it needs when the going gets tough, Swedish bank Klarna provides flexible online payment options in partnership with your favorite brands and retailers — including Billy Jealousy. When you checkout, simply choose Klarna as your payment option, then enter your debit or credit card information. When you do, Klarna will divide your total into four equal, interest-free payments. The first is paid when your order is processed, and the remaining three over the course of the next six weeks — one 25% payment every two weeks.

Honestly, it’s a grooming godsend. Because even in challenging times — or rather, especially in challenging times — guys need the pick-me-up that only a healthy, handsome appearance can give them.