Haircutting at Home

How much do you spend for a haircut? $12? $15? $25? $50? If you have your hair cut every six weeks and spend $25 each time then for an entire year you are paying $215 a year. If you multiply that by four family members it gets up to $860 per year. Now we are frugal but also let's be realistic. Unless women have a straight, long hair style, home cutting isn't always an option. Like anything else, you need to practice to get good, but who wants to practice on their own hair?
We have cut our special need's son hair for years. He doesn't like anyone touching his head, especially strangers. Because he does wiggle so much we do a basic butch cut on him and then trim it as it grows out.
Men and boys have a much simpler cut than women and girls. It is a lot tougher to mess up their hair and to give them credit, they may not be so hung up about their appearance. The cost of a home haircut kit can run anywhere from $13.99 up to $50.00. You pay for the cost of the kit with your first or second haircut.
Now for haircut tips. There are several sites that will tell you how to cut your hair.

Myhaircuts.com gives tips for cutting with scissors.

Here is a video on cutting your child's hair. I don't know if it looks as neat as I would like it but she shows you the basics of hair cutting and dealing with wiggly kids.


If you are cutting a man's hair with clippers here is an entire beauty school education for you at youtube. There is something like 50 2-3 minute videos showing a student cutting a man's hair with clippers.

If you go to You Tube and your kids are looking over your shoulder, watch out for some of the language in the comments section.

To find information on lots of styles check out the list of links at Hairfinder.

Finally, you'll find an excellent article on cutting your family's hair over at Mother Earth News.

So if you choose to try this,good luck, be careful and remember...it will always grow back.

Reasons We Spend--Part One

One thing that has to be acknowledged is there are different levels of spending and frugality in this country. Some people celebrate the fact that they found a new comforter for $50 while others wouldn’t dream of sleeping under anything less than $150. I don’t think there are cooties on the less expensive comforter but the spenders think there are. Granted the quality of workmanship, materials used, the design all vary with the price but that doesn’t always mean if you pay more you will always get a better product. What you do get is other people looking at what you bought and a little boost to your ego because now they think you must be pretty successful for having such a nice bedspread.

It feels so good to look good to others.


There you are—successful, financially comfortable, enjoying the latest consumer products. Nice house, new car, well-dressed children—you’ve got it all. Or do you?
According to the Federal Reserve Board’s triennial survey of consumer finances:
Seven in 10 families own a credit card. Only six in 10 of them maintain a balance. But the average credit card balance increased 30 percent between 2004 and 2007 to $7,500. In 1989, the average balance was less than $3,000.

One reason credit card balances have grown may be because of that need to look successful. My late mother was a realtor and we saw this practice put to full use with some of the realtors she worked with. Some of her fellow realtors would buy a new car every year or so but their personal bank accounts never reflected the comfortableness for such an expenditure. They looked so good and that they felt would lead to financial success. It didn't always work quite that way.

Charging something to look successful will make you more successful.

WRONG!

What feels better? Spending money you don't have to keep up with the neighbors or thinking out your purchases and being able to sleep at night? You may not be under a deluxe down filled comforter but you just might sleep better under that bargain blanket.

Reusing Old Bed Sheets

You have those old sheets that might have a tear or stain on them. Before you toss them out, think about what they really are--a couple of yards of raw material that could be used for anything. Here are some of the traditional uses for old bedsheets:

1. Use them from drop cloths when painting

2. Tear them up and use them for dust/cleaning cloths.

3. Tear them into strips and use them to tie up tomatoes in your garden.

4. Make curtains


Here are some ideas for the sewers and crafters out there. Clink on the links to go to the sewing tutorials:

1. Make an apron

2. Make a pillowcase

3. Make a shower curtain

4. Make a valance

5. Make a cloth shopping bag

These are just a few ideas. If you have any more great projects to use with curtains please let us know in the comments section.

Rebate Trouble

Sometime after Hurricane Ike I lost the blade to my mini food processor. I bought it new at a yardsale for $5 several years ago. I loved that little thing as I pureed tomatoes to freeze from my garden, made my own bread crumbs, and chopped up all kinds of stuff. After searching for about two months I realized the blade was gone and I needed to purchase a replacement. I shopped around and found a great deal at JC Penneys that featured a $5 rebate. They were selling for $40 so it was a great leap from my yardsale bargain. I ordered it in December 2008 and sent off for my 5 bucks. I just received a letter from them saying I would not be getting the rebate because in the small print it said I had to purchase it in 2009 and well my business was dated on December 30, 2008. So sorry--no rebate. Legally, they have me. Yes it does say that in the small print, but the advertisement in Penney's was pretty misleading to begin with. It said--get a rebate--end of story. OK so Tightwad Tess learns again--read the small print.

Raise Money for Your Church or Charity in a Down Economy

If your church or charity is being hit hard by the economic downturn here is another way you can raise some money. Search Engines like Swagbucks have come into being where you search and earn points that you can eventually turn into gift cards. What if you could turn that revenue into a donation to your church or favorite charity? Enter GoodSearch.com.


What a great idea! I first learned about this at my own church where they reported funds received by this service. You can list your church there or if you wish to support certain charities you can search their list and search for that charity. Here is some of the information about their service from their website:

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50-percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It's a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!

In 2007, GoodSearch was expanded to include GoodShop, an online shopping mall of world-class merchants dedicated to helping fund worthy causes across the country. Each purchase made via the GoodShop mall results in a donation to the user's designated charity or school – averaging approximately 3% of the sale, but going up to 20% or even more.

Even if you are watching every penny in your household here is a way to help others with a habit you already do--search.

Being Frugal With Special Diets

I am the proud mother of a son with Down Syndrome. Our son is almost 16 years old and over the years we have bought special car seats ($$$) special toys (we just bought him a switch enabled glow worm at around $60) enough diapers to fill a landfill (feel guilty about that--try to recycle in other ways), and for the last few months we have been on the gluten free diet. Believe me, gluten is only "Free" part of that. Still, though, I'd pay for all of it again just to provide for my son. We have seen some progress with him since going on the diet--he is following routines better and feeding himself more successfully. He is enjoying doing puzzles and that is something he NEVER did before. Someone asked us "How long are you doing this diet for??" It's a lot of hassle to begin with, but after a while it seems to be worth it, so my answer is as long as we see such good results and it is healthy and safe for our child.

Note: Please check with your doctor before going on any special diet.

Here are some ways we've found to be frugal and provide for special needs:

Special Diets: Cook it yourself
Thankfully you can find some convenience foods at your grocery store for special diets. It is so wonderful lately many products are coming out corn syrup free and you can also find gluten free bread, sugar free sweets, lactose free milk and butter. You pay so much more for the convenience--a loaf of gluten free bread runs about $8.00. You can make this bread yourself at home for $3-4. It really helps if you have a breadmaker. I make my son 1-2 loaves of bread a week and use the bread for him whenever the rest of the family has biscuits, bread or garlic bread.
Here are some items we now make that we used to buy in "convenience" form".

Bread
Pancakes
Biscuits
Cookies
Breakfast Foods Like Coffee Cake, Muffins, etc.

It takes more time and it's still not as cheap as the vending machine but when you don't have a choice, taking the time to cook makes all of the difference in your budget. If you don't have time during the work week to cook then try to double up on weekends and pack lunches for the week. The really good part of this is you know exactly what went into your meal. Your food is simpler and without the extra salt and additives.

Search For Ingredients at the Grocery Store First
There are many wonderful websites online where you can find special foods but again the prices can be high. Many grocery stores including big ones like Walmart are stocking natural foods at lower prices. Some stores have a special aisle for these foods while others stock them next to the similar non-natural items. Work on your shopping list there first then head to the health stores and online.

What all of this comes down to is--if you are frugal in other ways you can certainly be a wise shopper for a special diet!