Jlogged

Over the years I have learned that haircuts can be quite costly if you add up the numbers. Ironically the most money conscious person in the family (me) was blowing the most dough at the salon. The cost (including tips) were as follows:Me: 100.00 for top notch cut and color at swanky salon every four months = 300.00 per year

Husband: 15.00 at friend’s salon for hair cut every six weeks = approx. 130.00 per year

Kids: 7.00 each x 3 approx. every two months (with me trimming them up at home in between) = 136.00 per year

Grand total for whole famn damily per year = a whopping 566.00 per year! Yowza!

So, I offer some suggestions for saving hundreds, and spending considerably less on family hair care:

1. Purchase a set of high quality clippers, and cut your own darned hair.

We bought a pair almost four years ago, and they are still going strong after countless haircuts. The cost 29.99, and came with an instructional video, a mini-clipper, scissors, combs, and oil. Needless to say it has saved not only cash, but my time. It takes a lot less time to cut their hair at the house than it does waiting in a long line with bored children.

2. If you know someone who cuts hair (or used to, but is no longer licensed) the barter system is great.

If you are not comfortable cutting your or other people’s hair find someone who is. My neighbor offered to cut my boy’s hair when she cut her son’s and actually walked me through how to do it. She also gave me some excellent trouble shooting advice. I know a few ladies who, at some point in time, cut hair for a living but no longer work in that field. They are kind enough to offer a trim on my long hair if I needed it.

3. Two words: Beauty College

Find a local cosmetology school near you and check out their prices. Most offer very reasonable rates on their services which are offered by students. At my local schools hair cuts are 10.00 at one and a mere 5.00 at the other. They offer a full range of services too, so if I wanted I could also get color or highlights too. I decided I would no longer be a “high maintenance chick,”so I forgo the expensive highlights and buy a 3.00 box of light brown hair dye and do it myself. It still looks really nice, and covers those pesky gray strands that are starting to pop up.

So, our current hair upkeep costs are now:

Me: Student cut every six-eight weeks at 12.00 = 89.14 plus store bought hair dye every eight weeks = 19.50. Total= 108.64

Husband: Free

Kids: free

Grand total for the year= 108.64

Total savings per year: 457.36!

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.