Ladies: How much do you spend on your periods every month?

[Shalmanese]

As a guy, I have no idea how much the upkeep of a vagina is. I know you need to buy tampons and pads and stuff I've heard there's other stuff involved as well. How much, per month do you spend on period related stuff and what do you spend it on?

[antonio107]

I'm pre-emotively curious if there are any women of childbearing age who spend zero dollars a month on their menstral stuff. Second hand diva cups from the goodwill...?

[tim-n-va]

...too rich for my blood.

[apollonia]

Well, how do you quantify something like a cup, anyway? It's a $40 cost or whatever, but it's a one-time cost and it's good for several years. So does that count as $40 one month and $0 the next, or do you amortize it out to cost $1 a month or whatever?

[Ferret Herder]

Yeah, no kidding. I bought my DivaCup I think 3 years back, but now that I have a Mirena IUD in place, it had the fucking awesome side effect of shutting off my period for the last nearly two years. So I picked $0-5.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

I use the Pill, my co-pay is $10 a month, and since I'm on it I have very light periods for which I need only pads, so another $5 tops for the really good ones. If I wasn't on it, I would likely need up to $15 worth of tampons and pads each month, too.

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by Shalmanese

I know you need to buy tampons and pads and stuff I've heard there's other stuff involved as well.

"Other stuff"? For a menstrual period?

I've been riding the rag on a monthly basis for (counts on fingers and toes twice) nearly 40 years now and I'm not sure what this "other stuff" might be. Tampons and pads seem to do the trick.

Well, OK, but I have asprin/tylenol/paracetamol/ibuprofen type stuff and heating pads for other reasons, I don't purchase them specifically for that, and don't even use those "extras" on a regular basis.

How much, per month do you spend on period related stuff and what do you spend it on?

I actually had to go check the price tags on my pads... less than $5 on average. And that's about it, really.

Now that I'm entering perimenopause the monthly event is getting lighter/shorter, and I anticipate it getting irregular at some point, driving the average cost down further.

[KarlGrenze]

I've bought boxes and bags of pads and/or tampons for less than $5, and they last at least a couple of months, so that's less than $5 per month.

[WhyNot]

DivaCup 12 months ago, still good as new, so that's amortized to $2.50/month and declining. I had my last one (a Keeper) for 5 years until I lost it and it wasn't anywhere near needing replacing (and of course I found it after I bought a new one).

I do buy one bag of pads a year or so, for heavy days/white pants/road trips to wear in addition to the DivaCup when I don't want to worry about potential leakage, and also to stick under the sink in case a female friend is over and needs an emergency pad. So that's another $7 a year or so.

I'm guessing by "other stuff" the OP might mean douches, rinses, deodorants and the like, but I don't use any of those.

Periods aren't particularly expensive, unless you're in prison.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

?? What is this prison expense of which you speak ??

[Rachellelogram]

Zero dollars for several years now. I don't have periods. They come back when I take hormonal birth control, but I don't want them anyway (and am never planning to have children). And since I'm not having sex, and HBC fucks up my mood anyway, I'm avoiding it.

I think of amenorrhea as the one beneficial side-effect of PCOS.

[Lynn Bodoni]

Zero for me, baby! Zero! ZERO! I had my uterus, ovaries, and tubes removed over a decade ago, and I don't miss them even a little tiny bit. ::happy dance:: No periods! No pain! No pads or tampons. No stained undies. NONE of that shit.

I'll be 55 next month, by the way. I occasionally get a yeast infection, especially if I take antibiotics, but otherwise I don't need anything specific for girly bit care.

Back when I owned and operated a uterus, I always had to make sure that I had an open pack of pads and tampons, and a backup pack as well. I used to have to use a tampon AND a pad on most days. I don't miss those days.

[Leiko]

I count the cost of replacing the household ibuprofen gel caps in the monthly period cost; otherwise I'd be in the $5-10 and not the $10-$15 range.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by SeaDragonTattoo

?? What is this prison expense of which you speak ??

I'm told (by a couple of my patients who used to be in the system) that They don't provide menstrual supplies (or when they do, it's not enough in one month) to women in the pokey. There's apparently a huge black market for tampons, and tampons can be more expensive, in prison dollars and favors, than cigarettes.

I know, right? Who would have thought? http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-livin...s-1282457.html

[belladonna]

Originally Posted by antonio107

I'm pre-emotively curious if there are any women of childbearing age who spend zero dollars a month on their menstral stuff. Second hand diva cups from the goodwill...?

IUDs, baby. Mirena specifically. Covered by my insurance and completely stops my cycle. I'm having a new one installed this winter and then I won't have to think about it again for another 5 years.

[elfkin477]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

"Other stuff"? For a menstrual period?

I've been riding the rag on a monthly basis for (counts on fingers and toes twice) nearly 40 years now and I'm not sure what this "other stuff" might be. Tampons and pads seem to do the trick.

Due to the wonders of TV ads, he probably is thinking along the lines of douche and/or that deodorant spray, you know the stuff we're supposed to be brainwashed into thinking we need.

[Leaffan]

Ummm, what's a Divacup? Never mind. I just Googled the atrocity. Blech!

[MsWhatsit]

Originally Posted by Leaffan

Ummm, what's a Divacup? Never mind. I just Googled the atrocity. Blech!

So don't use it.

I'm on the high end of the scale because I prefer those Always infinity pads that are super thin, and they cost more than the regular ones. I had a Divacup for a while but stopped using it for reasons I would prefer not to talk about in a public forum where people are already bitching about how gross this topic is even though you'd figure they'd know better than to read further than the title if they think it's so gross.

[LurkerInNJ]

Pre-menopause I spent about $25 a month on pads, a pack or two of cotton panties (I never wore the expensive stuff when I had my period) that I would toss if there was a leak because I would die before wearing less than perfect panties, and a few tropical island scent douches to take away that icky omg I can feel a giant blood clot up there feeling.

Post-menopause, other than the occasional Summer's Eve two-pack, my cost is zero.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by MsWhatsit

I'm on the high end of the scale because I prefer those Always infinity pads that are super thin, and they cost more than the regular ones.

Those are the foam-like ones, right? Sort of like really thin shoe insoles? A man person got them for me once by mistake; they didn't absorb a thing. Glad you like 'em, but I wonder what's different about our flow...mine just literally slipped right off the pad like it was waxed!

[Kkrose]

$0-5 on tampons (one box will last me a couple of months), plus at least an extra $10.00 on chocolate, $20.00 if it's a really bad period and I need to splurge for the good stuff...

[janis_and_c0]

Does chocolate count as an expense? *Ahhh beaten to the punch!*

WhyNot, huh. I use thoes, they work great for me. go fig.

My cycle's so wonky right now, I couldn't venture a guess as to average expense, but I have recently discovered that cheap muscle rub (the stinky kind) works great at cramp relief. Who knew?

[MsWhatsit]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Those are the foam-like ones, right? Sort of like really thin shoe insoles? A man person got them for me once by mistake; they didn't absorb a thing. Glad you like 'em, but I wonder what's different about our flow...mine just literally slipped right off the pad like it was waxed!

They are like insanely space-age super-crazy absorbent for me. I cannot explain the difference in our experience!

I am getting an IUD placed soon, though, and if my flow decreases like they say it will, I may switch back to the regular (and cheaper) kind.

[kmshrader]

Originally Posted by janis_and_c0

Does chocolate count as an expense?

If so, I need to change my vote. I have an HBC implant (Implanon) so I don't have regular periods (Hallelujah, hallelujah!) but I still PMS, for whatever reason. About a week out of the month I'm scarfing down java chip ice cream like I'm a starving man at a Chinese buffet.

[ZipperJJ]

I spend $25/mo so I can get my period (the pill) then I don't know how much a month cleaning up after it. For a while there I was able to get a few extra packs a year and spend $30/mo avoiding my period and only getting it once every 4 months but now that I'm losing weight it just comes whenever it wants and stays as long as it wants and I'm about ready to vie for a hysterectomy because I spend a hell of a lot of time and energy looking after a nasty body part that I have no use for.

So yeah...way too much.

[Imago]

Exactly $4.60 CAD per month. This covers enough pads to last me the week, plus a pack of low-grade pantyliners for spotting. I usually end up with an extra pad or two left over lately- my period ends sooner than I expect for some reason.

I never crave chocolate, nor have cramps, so I don't have to pay for anything except keeping my undies bloodless. Won the uterine lottery, I guess.

[Kaio]

Originally Posted by antonio107

I'm pre-emotively curious if there are any women of childbearing age who spend zero dollars a month on their menstral stuff. Second hand diva cups from the goodwill...?

No, brand new from the website, but I paid for it years ago and currently spend nothing, on average, on a monthly basis.

Only expenses that come up nowadays are if I get caught somewhere without access to my supplies. Happened last year -- out in the woods camping for a couple days, period came early, that sucked. The mini-pack of tampons was maybe... 5 bucks?

[Maastricht]

I had to buy the Mirena four years ago, cost me about 40 bucks, insertion free at the clinic. And it is good to go for another year. Haven't had a period since. So that's 10 bucks a year, less then one dollar a month.

[Nava]

I have the benefit of very weak periods: about 1.50€/month on panty liners (think super-thin pads), which I use daily due to spotting (tiny amounts of bleeding between periods), including in 3 of the 5 days of my period. A 20-pack of pads (2.41€) lasts me five months.

Stopped using tampons because I simply don't get enough flow for any but the nothing-to-absorb-here kinds, so unless I'm going swimming it's pads for me.

[Ellen Cherry]

Originally Posted by Leaffan

Ummm, what's a Divacup? Never mind. I just Googled the atrocity. Blech!

There was no need to share this, except to threadshit, Leaffan. You are certainly welcome to read threads that don't interest you, but you are not allowed to disrupt them like this! Don't do it any more.

[Lsura]

Tampons (well, the o.b. that I strongly prefer) can be expensive, and I go through most of a box every cycle, so $10-$15, depending upon how many I need to buy.

I'd also like to point out that I was briefly horrified when I got a checkout coupon at Kroger one month for tampons, about a week before my period and realized how closely they track regularly purchases.

[Drain Bead]

I use a DivaCup, so next to nothing, even amortizing the amount of the cup over the years I've owned it.

[Napkin Sandwich]

Spread out over its 5 year life span, my IUD costs $5 a month. But practically speaking, it's a one-off expense and then I don't have to think about it for years. No periods! HUZZAH!

[The Defenestrator]

Another divacup user here, so I spend practically nothing per cycle. Best menstrual product I ever bought!

[Queen Tonya]

With insurance, the Mirena IUD cost me just under seven hundred, and handily stops my periods for five years. So, 12 bucks a month to prevent periods. I used to average about twenty before, wild ass guessing.

[Nawth Chucka]

Thanks to coupons and sales I'm working my through a stash that was nearly free to begin with.

[Rigamarole]

Originally Posted by Shalmanese

As a guy, I have no idea how much the upkeep of a vagina is.

It's not really upkeep of a vagina, so much as a uterus et al. Barring visits to a gynecologist, vaginae are pretty much free.

[Nava]

Originally Posted by Lsura

Tampons (well, the o.b. that I strongly prefer) can be expensive, and I go through most of a box every cycle, so $10-$15, depending upon how many I need to buy.

I'd also like to point out that I was briefly horrified when I got a checkout coupon at Kroger one month for tampons, about a week before my period and realized how closely they track regularly purchases.

If those work like Dia does here, it's just a matter of

IF
person buys any soda
THEN
assign coupon for the soda we have in promotion
etc etc

and at the end
IF
not enough specific coupons have been found
THEN
start assigning coupons from the "general list"

They just happened to have tampons on promotion. If they happened to be the same ones you buy it's because those are the ones that they were promoting; they could have been assigned if you'd bought any "feminine higiene products".

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by Nava

If those work like Dia does here, it's just a matter of

IF
person buys any soda
THEN
assign coupon for the soda we have in promotion
etc etc

and at the end
IF
not enough specific coupons have been found
THEN
start assigning coupons from the "general list"

They just happened to have tampons on promotion. If they happened to be the same ones you buy it's because those are the ones that they were promoting; they could have been assigned if you'd bought any "feminine higiene products".

Possible, but there's also a lot of technology here working to make onsite marketing quite customer specific. As in, Target sometimes knows when women are pregnant before they tell anyone, based on their purchasing history!

In fact, if you read the article, you'll note that they've had to deliberately make the coupons more "random" than the computers would have them be, so that they don't creep people out and drive them away. If you print a pregnant woman nothing but pregnancy related coupons, she thinks you're stalking her. If you intentionally throw in a coupon for a lawnmower and a wineglass, she'll relax and use your (pregnancy related) coupons.

[Skammer]

Wait, you have to pay for your periods? *shakes head*

[Rhiannon8404]

Vote $0-$5.

Years ago I purchased a Diva cup and a period's worth of Glad Rags. I don't even know how I could amortize that.

I usually have a package of disposable products on hand in case it's inconvenient to be rinsing and stuff (like I'm on vacation) or if friends are over and need something.

I don't get cravings for food or anything, but sometimes I do take Advil, which is on hand anyway.

[Taomist]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Those are the foam-like ones, right? Sort of like really thin shoe insoles? A man person got them for me once by mistake; they didn't absorb a thing. Glad you like 'em, but I wonder what's different about our flow...mine just literally slipped right off the pad like it was waxed!

Are you sure it wasn't upside-down? Just teasing, but the image is amusing, even though I know the event was much less so for you.

I use tampons, that's it. 5-10$ a month. Also Aleve when needed, which doesn't really work for me for anything else, but not counting that as an expense since it's already in the house for hubby.

[perfectparanoia]

I wear tampons and while I get the expensive kind, I only get them when they are on sale so less that 5 bucks a month.

I do, however, buy a couple of boxes of the cheap(er) kinds when they go on sale and put them into the food bank box at the grocery store. It's one of those things that food stamps don't cover but it is really a necessity.

[kittenblue]

Currently, about $60 per period. Because I'm severely anemic and have really heavy periods, my doctor and I are trying to reduce my periods as a source of iron loss, so I'm taking a medication that is non-formulary and was running me over $50 a month. Then add in a box of pads, a box of tampons, one protective panty to save the sheets at night and extra chocolate and caffeine, and we are right around $60. Fortunately this doesn't happen every month...sometimes I get a month off. Oh, wait...make that over $70. I had to stop getting it at the pharmacy on a month to month and start getting it through Express Scripts. There was some sort of coupon deal I used to get that kept it to $51, but now I get a 90-day supply for $200. Without the coupon it is $152 a month. Fortunately I only take it for five days a month.

So, do I win the thread?

[Nawth Chucka]

Originally Posted by kittenblue

Currently, about $60 per period. Because I'm severely anemic and have really heavy periods, my doctor and I are trying to reduce my periods as a source of iron loss, so I'm taking a medication that is non-formulary and was running me over $50 a month. Then add in a box of pads, a box of tampons, one protective panty to save the sheets at night and extra chocolate and caffeine, and we are right around $60. Fortunately this doesn't happen every month...sometimes I get a month off. Oh, wait...make that over $70. I had to stop getting it at the pharmacy on a month to month and start getting it through Express Scripts. There was some sort of coupon deal I used to get that kept it to $51, but now I get a 90-day supply for $200. Without the coupon it is $152 a month. Fortunately I only take it for five days a month.

So, do I win the thread?

You're what, 4 hours from Windsor, Ontario? Check one of those Canadian pharmacies online, see what a 90 day supply would cost. Be a nice day trip every 3 months.

[claramorena]

Originally Posted by antonio107

I'm pre-emotively curious if there are any women of childbearing age who spend zero dollars a month on their menstral stuff. Second hand diva cups from the goodwill...?

You mean teenage girls whose parents buy their stuff for them?

[gallows fodder]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Those are the foam-like ones, right? Sort of like really thin shoe insoles? A man person got them for me once by mistake; they didn't absorb a thing. Glad you like 'em, but I wonder what's different about our flow...mine just literally slipped right off the pad like it was waxed!

Weird, maybe you got a bad batch. They're the best brand I've ever used, hands down, because not only are they extremely absorbent, but they're so thin I don't feel like I'm wearing a pad.

They're a little more expensive, though -- I think about $6.99 a box around here.

I've been reading a lot about Diva Cups and similar things and they really appeal to me, but I'm afraid of what might happen if I'm not able to remove it. Also, knowing me, I'd have to get into contortionist positions to remove/insert, and I can't see myself doing that in the public bathroom stalls we have at work.

So Always Infinity it is!

[janis_and_c0]

How much does it cost to buy a handgun? I'm about to add that to my list of expenses this month!











I'm kidding, of course.. I think...

[The Defenestrator]

Originally Posted by gallows fodder

I've been reading a lot about Diva Cups and similar things and they really appeal to me, but I'm afraid of what might happen if I'm not able to remove it. Also, knowing me, I'd have to get into contortionist positions to remove/insert, and I can't see myself doing that in the public bathroom stalls we have at work.

So Always Infinity it is!

It took me a while the first time I used it, but it's really not hard to get out once you know how. It sits fairly low to begin with, all you need to do is bear down and it gets lower until you can pinch the bottom of the cup.

Also, you probably wouldn't have to insert or remove it at work unless you have very heavy periods.

[elfkin477]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Those are the foam-like ones, right? Sort of like really thin shoe insoles? A man person got them for me once by mistake; they didn't absorb a thing. Glad you like 'em, but I wonder what's different about our flow...mine just literally slipped right off the pad like it was waxed!

I haven't tried the Infinity ones, but Stayfree's DryMax did the same thing to me. They're supposed to be extra absorbent, and...no. I mean, unless they were saying the pad stays dry, not you, because that's actually accurate.