At the start of a new year, many of us have the goal of stretching our hard earned money further.
Some money saving tips are so time consuming, that I wonder if the money saved is actually worth the time involved.
But hair cutting is truly a money saving activity.
I started cutting Ed's hair before our marriage. He wanted me to do it for him and I figured it was a good time to start. If I messed it up, he couldn't get too angry with his soon-to-be-bride. My mom cut my dad and brother's hair so I used her clippers and she helped me through the first several haircuts. I had no idea what I was doing but thankfully, Ed has curly easy to cut hair.
When we had our own sons, we decided it was time to purchase our own haircutting tools. We bought a Wahl electric trimmers and a pair of scissors. We figured the investment paid for itself with only a couple haircuts.
I can cut my two sons and husband's hair in fifteen minutes, including clean up time. It would take about that much time for us to drive to a barber, not including wait time and the return home. If each haircut would cost $10.00, those fifteen minutes of my time save $30.00. I call that a worthwhile investment of time. If there were twelve males in my household and I could keep up the five minute haircuts, I could "make" $120.00 in an hour.
If I give three haircuts a month, my year savings is $360.00. My total time investment is three hours. (Even better, Ed calls this my book buying money!)
I would love to hear your best tip for saving money. What do you do to stretch your dollars and how much time to you estimate it to take?
Friday, January 13, 2012
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We do our own haircuts too. I agree that it a super frugal tip:)
ReplyDeleteI cut my husband and son's hair as well. Their hair grows very quickly, so I end up cutting it every 2 -3 weeks. We end up saving between $300 and $350 per year because of it. Another huge $ saver for us is that I make all of our soap and skin care products. My son has recently taken over making the laundry soap. I've noticed that non-food items can tend to take up as much $$ (or more) every week than groceries do if we're not mindful of these sorts of money savers.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I cut my boys hair too, my husband has a barber that he LOVES and would rather have him cut it, so I only do an occasional trim now and then on him. Another thing we've done is cut WAY back on our paper towel use by using homemade cloth napkins. I've also started using "family wipes" for my bathroom use in place of toilet paper. The rest of my family refuses, but I am still saving on my own use. I'm also making cloth hankies for nose blowing. This will save us a lot as we have a house full of allergy sufferers with year round allergies. :) Oh, and I buy my dish soap in a 5 gallon bucket from Azure Standard. It lasts me at least 6 months...the last bucket lasted 9 and works out to be just about $5 a month to wash all of our dishes by hand. Cooking from scratch creates a lot of dishes. We also use it for hand washing at the kitchen sink. :)
ReplyDeleteA great money saver. I am not too talented at hair cuts but we have a lady in our church who is. I trade her eggs every week for haircuts when needed. This seems to work good for both of us. Enjoy your day and God bless.
ReplyDeleteA great money saver. I am not too talented at hair cuts but we have a lady in our church who is. I trade her eggs every week for haircuts when needed. This seems to work good for both of us. Enjoy your day and God bless.
ReplyDeleteI do home hair cuts also. With a husband and three boys the cost of trips to the barber shop could really add up. I also garden for fresh produce. Produce costs around here are very high even at the farmers market. I have been wanting to start making my own laundry soap also because with a family of 6 laundry is a never ending task. Drying clothes on the clothesline also helps with the power bill. The last thing is using a crockpot on days that we have lots of errands to run. Instead of just picking up something in a drive thru because we are pressed for time, we have a hot meal waiting for us at home and it cost like 1/10 of the price of fast food.
ReplyDeleteWe cut our own hair as well. I have done Dearest for over 30 years now.never thought how much I would be saving, but with five girls...I think a lot.
ReplyDeleteWhen we got married nearly 16 years ago, we were wondering what to buy with a gift voucher we were given; I suggested electric hair clippers. DH asked if I thought I could do it and I replied "I've clipped plenty of horses." He wasn't very happy, but honestly, clipping a horse is much more difficult than clipping a man!
ReplyDeleteHi Gina,
ReplyDeleteMy best frugal tip is every penny you don't spend is money saved. That is why now I don't buy every bargain I see. I have learn I really wasn't saving money just because it was on sale if I didn't need it.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
Hubby cuts his own hair, I tried & messed up so he decided he'll just do it himself & I touch up in the back. He also does our son's haircuts too. Some of the ways I save are making my own laundry detergent, gardening & preserving the fruits/veggies for winter months,dry my laundry outside on the washline, use coupons (paid $40 for $105 worth of groceries @ Weis Markets) That is the best I've ever done. Hubby was quite pleased. Also try to have meals in the freezer so I'm not tempted to order pizza or eat out when I have a crazy day. Yard sales & consignment shops for clothing for my children.
ReplyDeleteMy best money saving tip is all the things we've done with water this year. We put flow restrictors on all the bathroom faucets, turned down the temp on the water heater, installed 150 gallons worth of rain barrels and stopped watering the lawn. $$$$$$
ReplyDeleteI cut my kids' hair in between trips to the barber. I am not skilled enough yet & need the pro to clean it up for me!
Eat the cheap healthy foods like oatmeal, rice, beans, soups, homeade bread, smoothies.
ReplyDeleteSome of the best tips for saving money are found on hillbillyhousewife.com
and
laine's letters.com (click on the letters to read her past letters on how they got out of debt)
I do the same thing and our scissors and clippers have more than paid for themselves long ago. I went to the beauty supply store and bought a cape for $5 so I don't have to use a towel. It makes clean up even faster.
ReplyDeleteHome hair care is a super money saver!
Nothing original here, but having meals in the freezer so as not to be tempted to "pick up something" when life is busy is a huge one. I cut my husbands hair,also. I buy my favorite Hazelnut coffee on sale and with coupons and never feel one bit of guilty when drinking it (especially when I know St-----ks wants $3-4 per cup.) Also, as I observe my adult daughters (so glad they won't be reading this; don't worry I don't nag them about it) PURCHASE books that can be borrowed for FREE at the library, I am so delighted that I am content to use the library. Keeping a few snacks in trunk of car and always leaving on errands with a drink of some sort from home keeps me from unnecessary purchases. One of the biggest is staying OUT of stores. Fortuantely,I am not a recreational shopper. Also, when the thought, "I need to purchase one of those" comes, delay for a week or two if you can. It is amazing how often that desire goes away. What once seemed like a brilliant idea is no longer that important.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you Gina for the tons of ways you teach me how to save. What a provision from the Lord your tutorials are. Seriously!
We do too- and I started cutting my husband's hair before we were married, too! Huge savings over the 25 years I've been doing it!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for breaking down the cost- I'm glad to know the amount I've saved. :-)
-Jami
I cut my son's hair for awhile, but it took too long and the professionals seemed to do a better job. I would like to learn how to cut hair better. Can you recommend a tutorial for learning how to cut hair? Thanks for the frugal tip!
ReplyDeleteI cut my guys hair, too. In our area if you can find a haircut for $10 you're doing well. Average is now closer to $20.
ReplyDeleteWas thinking of you tonight as my 4 boys all got their hair cut :) We bought wahl trimmers 12 years ago for $20 and tonight I figure I saved nearly $50!! Wonder what the savings have been over those last 12 years. Personally, I think I do a better job too because I know every whirl and cowlick and know how to manage them better.
ReplyDeleteI cut my son's hair with a barber scissors, but my husband's is too hard. I'm afraid I chafe at him sometimes to save this money :) I love how you explained your system!
ReplyDeleteMy frugal tip: we walk or carpool as much as possible because we live in a city. We have one car and it often stays parked for days at a time. My husband and I take the bus to our respective jobs, which is cheaper per mile than driving our own car. Plus, all the fresh air and exercise keeps us healthy - we are rarely sick.
That is wonderful. What a great way to save money. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteWe cut our hair too! I even had my husband cut my hair for a while when we were really poor...but he didn't do too well, so I go once every three months for my "splurge" hair cuts. Anyways, some of our money saving tips are much like everyone elses. Yard sales and thrift stores for 98% of all our clothes, furniture, etc. Use the clothes napkins for just about everything. One roll of paper towel lasts us MONTHS around here because of that. Also I use olive oil for lotion...it goes a long way and makes my skin super soft. Also, we don't use shampoo...only baking soda mixture. Works great!
ReplyDeleteI cut my husband's and two sons hair as well. My husband even trims the back of my hair and I trim the front so I can angle it a little.
ReplyDeleteI love reading all of your frugal tips and ideas! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGina
Hi Gina,
ReplyDeleteWe do not own a clothes dryer, and it saves us many hard earned dollars. With three young children (one in cloth diapers), it does require lots of diligence in the winter months when I have to make use of my drying racks every day. I am sometimes overwhelmed with laundry (!), but appreciate the low electricity bill.
I did buy an electric trimmer hoping to cut my husband's and sons' hair, but I can't seem to achieve satisfying results. Would you consider making a tutorial on the subject ? :)
Anne
My wife has cut my hair for the past 20 years. I have two daughters, 10 and 13. I have been trying to get them to let me cut their hair for the last 5 years. No luck with that. Maybe it is the pics we have of them when they were two and I did some cutting. Bangs are harder then I thought.
ReplyDeleteMy best tip......Don't eat out.
I also cut my Husbands hair. I watched his stylist VERY closely
ReplyDelete2x in a row, asked her what blade # she used for the clipper, then went home and reproduced it! It looks just like the stylist did it. My other big money saver is grooming my own dog. This was costing me about $45 every 4-5 weeks. I did the same as with my Husband. I watched like a hawk when he was groomed and asked the same questions (clipper blade #, what type of clipper they recommended etc.) We used to go to Petsmart, so it is easy to watch thru the window. The clipper investment was expensive at first, but it paid itself back in 4 months. We keep our dog pretty short most months, which makes it really easy to bathe him and keep him smelling clean. I used to have a real hard time with his face area, but I called Pet smart, told them what I was doing and they said they would do his face for
$5. I took him in thinking that was such a bargain, then stayed right there while the gal did it and she told me what blade # she was using and again I went home and recreated the same results. Now we can do his hair like the pros, and I save a ton of money in the process! It takes us about
1 Hr to clip him and bathe him, so pretty good trade! Another quick tip...bathe your dog in the shower with you, this really saves on mess, time and your back!