Showing posts with label Thrifty Goodness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thrifty Goodness. Show all posts

Saving Money on Haircuts


Here are some tips for saving money on Hair Cuts. We all need to "trim" our budget these days and this is as good a place to start then any!
  • Don't go to a Salon
    I have a simple no-frills cut, for years I would go to a salon and spend $35-$45 every 6-weeks, I'm afraid to add up how much that costed me. I was reluctant to go someplace like Supercuts or Fantastic Sams believing I'd get an inferior cut. I finally swallowed my vanity and went to Fantastic Sams and was pleasantly surprised with a more then adequate cut. The women who worked there were older and obviously very experienced, unlike what I thought they would be young and fresh out of beauty school!
     
  • Look for Newly Opened or Opening Salons
    They will often offer discounts and promos to build up their clientelle!
     
  • Ask for a Junior Stylist
    If you just can't give up the Salon for a cheaper franchise store, ask if your Salon has a junior stylist. This is someone with less experience and will often offer their services at a discount.
     
  • Get your cut at a Training Facility or Beauty School
    You'll get a salon cut without the salon price. Keep in mind that they will do their work under the supervision of their instructors from a supervised stylist in training. They usually offer cuts, perms, manicures, waxing and more for a fraction of the cost. Think about asking who is nearest graduation, thus ensuring you'll get somebody with the most experience.

    Go here to find one near you --->
     
  • Look for Coupons
    Keep your eyes open for salon coupons in your junk mail, newspaper and coupon booklets. Also check to see if some of the Salon's near you have an email mailing list and get yourself put on. That way you'll be notified of sales and promos. Don't forget to Google a salon with the word coupon to see what will come up!
     
  • Stretch the Time in Between Visits
    They would love you to think you need your hair cut every six weeks but that's a myth. The next time they say "let's put you in the book for your next visit now"....kindly decline. If you have simple cut/style you can easily stretch that to 8-10 weeks that will shave 3-4 visits off per year!
     
  • Get Your Bangs Done, Free
    Don't pay to get your bangs done. Most stylists will trim your bangs between cuts for free. You simply drop in and the trim takes less than five minutes. At best they will charge you a minimal fee of $5, this can help you stretch time between haircuts!
     
  • Wash and condition at home.
    Many salons, including the franchises like Great Clips and Fantastic Sams will charge you extra for that shampoo. They very sneakily will not tell you this, so when you look at the marquee or pricing pamphlet you are seeing the price w/out the Shampoo and Conditioner. Do what I do jump in the shower before heading and arrive with freshly washed and still wet hair. Or let them spray it down to wet it. You'll save a minimum of $3.
     
  • Blowdry & Style
    Same as the wash and conditioner this costs extra, so I always skip this part. Plus I really don't have the patience to sit through it, once my hair is cut I'm antsy to get out and finish running my errands.
     
  • Go to a Barber
    If you have a simple cut/style consider going to a barber, they're not just for Men. I realize this can take some guts but you'll pay alot less in most cases.

Gluten FREE Diet on a Budget?

Did you know that May is National Celiac Month? Me either I just found out!

More and more people are being diagnosed with Celiac disease and it is theorized that many more have a mild form and don't realize it as the symptoms are being attributed to something else. I myself have Fibromyalgia and am contemplating a gluten free diet just to see if it will make a difference. However, as a chronic frugalist I'm worried it will become a real "budget buster"!

Here are some Frugal Gluten Free Tips:

  • Learn to Cook - or "relearn to cook gluten free"! The first tip is a no-brainer. Learn to cook your own gluten free meals and you'll rely less on costly gluten free products. Develop a catalog of go-to gluten free recipes to make things quicker and simpler. Think Soup - Soups are simple, filling and economical.

    Make GF cookie dough ahead of time and freeze for future use, this will help keep you away from expensive mixes.
     
  • Concentrate on Naturally GF Foods- Rely less on pre-packaged GF products and more on fruits, vegetables, meat, beans, rice, potatoes, milk, cheese and more. Anything marketed as a "Gluten Free" product is going to be expensive. Cut as much of this out of your diet as possible, by using step one...cooking more of your own products you'll save lot's of money and you'll know exactly what is going in.
     
  • Invest in a Good Food Vacumn Sealer - When you make your own gluten free products try to cook/bake in bulk and Vacumn Seal & Freeze to cut back on time & waste.
     
  • Make a list of Staples - Make a list of your shelf stable naturally gluten free products and then keep track of coupons, sales and promos for these products. That way you will be buying them at the lowest price possible. Buy them in bulk when you can get them at their cheapest.

Thrifty Shopper - Buying Kid's Summer Clothes


To get the best deal on Kid's Summer Clothes or any clothes is to buy at the end of the Seaon for the following year. With that said if you did not get a chance to buy up at last years end of season sales here are some tips on saving money this year:

Buying Second Hand from Thrift Stores

I do this all the time. I head out to Goodwill, Salvation army and some local thrift stores before going to the mall and I go more then once as they are always repleneshing their stock. I'm lucky to have all of these fairly close to me. You'll have to sift through alot of racks for the right size (they're not always organized) and for things in good condition, but if you like a "treasure hunt" this could be fun.

Here are some tips: