I can still remember my very first haircut in Melbourne. As a newly arrived migrant, I was wondering how best to save money on haircuts.

It was at a no frills unisex hair dresser’s. The lady asked how I liked my hair done and I said short at the back, sides and top. She then said “What number please?” I stared at her quizzically and she gave me a short explanation of the numbering system of the shaver attachments. I settled for the number 5 attachment and was pleased with the outcome.

Since then, I must have had done over a hundred visits to various hair dressers.

If, like me, you want a haircut of reasonable standard at a price that won’t break the bank, here are some observations I have made over the years:

1) The cost of men’s haircuts varies widely from $10 to $25 and more. Cheap cuts can be had at small hair salons in Footscray (for example) but be prepared to fork out $40 or more in swanky salons in the CBD.

2) Getting haircuts in your local shopping centre is probably the most convenient bet. Ask if they have discounts on certain days (mine does discounted haircuts on Wednesday but be prepared to wait as many cheapos will be there too)

3) Buzz cuts cost the least as there is not much styling to be done (think recruit’s haircut).

4) Going to a beauty school to let the students gain experience by cutting your hair is a pretty nifty idea to save some cash.

5) In Singapore, I used to get a haircut once a month but in the interest of saving time and money now that I am in Melbourne, I have stretched the frequency to once every 2 months instead, by having my hair trimmed shorter.

6) Finally, for ultimate savings in haircuts, why not do it yourself? There are many videos on YouTube that show how someone can cut his own hair using a comb, scissors and an electric shaver while standing in front of a mirror.