I've been cutting my own hair and my boys hair for a few years now. In fact, I just checked on Amazon and I purchased the cheapa** Wahl version in August 2006! This is the one I got
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IVEQ it was $10.49 back then and now it is still pretty darn cheap. I bought it when haircuts started costing me $18 with tip and I noticed that it took the guy/gal only about 5 minutes with the electric cutter. I figured I could do that myself pretty easily, and sure enough I can with a little help from my wife. When we do haircuts, we go outside in the yard, attach an extension cord to the cutter, and cut away. I cut both boy's hair, one with a #3 and the other with a #4. After the hair is all cut, I take the guard off and even out the sides around the ears, and the back of the head above the neck. Takes about 6-7 minutes per boy. Then I begin doing my own hair with a #1, and then my wife finishes it up to catch the spots I missed. Then I head to the shower where my wife uses a razor on the back of my neck to get a nice even cut and a clean neck all the way till below my shirt collars.
The funny thing is that in 2010, I bought a spare cutter (a slightly better Wahl version) thinking that the cheapa** one would eventually break, but it still works perfectly after nearly 8 years! The new one is still in the box somewhere in the house.