As much I as would love to get a pedicure, a haircut, a facial, and highlights each month, it is just not in our budget. Here are some ways I save money on beauty routines. (You might not be able to do all of these, but some of them might work for you!)
1. I don’t color my hair, yet. I have dark brown hair, but I have a good mixture of blond, red, black, white, and grey hairs in there too. However, right now, the color still looks pretty good. Once you color your hair, it takes continual maintenance to keep looking good. If you don’t need to color your hair yet, the most frugal thing to do is avoid it. IF you color your hair, do it yourself or get a friend to help to save money over the salon.
2. I keep a classic, boring haircut. Sometimes I am tempted by layers and trendy cuts. But the way I style my hair needs very little work. If we are tight on money, I can get by with 2 or 3 haircuts a year. My short bob haircut just turns into a medium bob and then finally into a long straight cut. And then I get it cut short again… That saves us a ton of money each year.
3. I keep medium length, filed finger nails. Although painted finger nails are cute and fun, they don’t last very long. Somehow when I paint my finger nails myself, they never look good. So I just do my best to keep them looking clean and neat. I used to bite my nails, but that habit stopped when I started thinking about the germs I was ingesting. Clippers and a file are all you really need.
4. I do my own pedicures (most of the time). I heard someone say once that they tried to get a good pedicure once or twice during sandal season. In between those visits, they just changed the paint and did their best to care for their feet. I don’t always go get a professional pedicure, though. It is super expensive, but oh, it feels so good. Usually I am just content to moisturize my feet once a week or so, and try my best to keep them polished.
5. I do without facials. If I had one non-frugal beauty splurge a year, it would be a facial. If you haven’t ever had one (and don’t have a ton of money), don’t do it. It feels so good, and your skin looks so good afterward. I am not sure it is worth the major expense though. So, I try to use a good cleanser in the mornings, use a light sunscreen and moisturizer. Maybe someday, I will forget about facials and not dream about having one.
Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!
I am almost scared to hope. Here in NC we have made it to March without much winter weather this year. It makes my heart hope for spring!
1. Clear out the clutter. I am bad about clutter, just ask my hubby. When you sort items, you can start to see what you really use and what is just taking up space. If you don’t use it, love it or need it, get rid of it. You can donate it or sell it, but whatever you do, do it quick.
2. Get your cleaning products for cheap or free. Vinegar is a great multipurpose cleaning tool, and it is very inexpensive. It is also not harmful to the environment. Many stores will be running great deals right now on cleaning supplies, or you can check out my list of frugal cleaning supplies.
3. Do one room at a time. I find that it is a lot less overwhelming if I tackle one room before moving on to the next. Spend as much or little time as you need to get the room looking great. Take your time to do the things you would usually put off like vacuuming under things, cleaning windows, and dusting everywhere.
4. Don’t try to tackle it all in one day or even one week. Set a couple of goals for your self. Reward yourself with a little free time after you finish a room. Don’t worry if one room is dirty again by the time you finish the house. You can be happy knowing that the deep cleaning was done, and just do a quick clean up.
5. Organize your paper work, bills, and coupons. This is tough for me! If you organize, you will save your self a lot of time cleaning up later. Everything should have a place in your home. You probably don’t need every manual that came with every appliance you ever owned, especially if you don’t own it anymore.
What is your best spring cleaning or organizational tip?
Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!
I have a brilliant bunch of students this year (as I do every year). Here are some lessons I have learned from them the past few weeks:
1. Use all sides of the paper. Sometimes as adults in our efforts to be neater or better, we forget that a paper has 2 sides. Kids, however, never forget this simple fact. Last week, I saw students using up every last spot in their 3 subject notebooks and a student who creatively printed his spelling homework on the back of his spelling list. Let’s not forget the little scraps of paper that an adult would throw away that kids feel compelled to use somehow!
2. A pencil can last a LONG time. How many adults are guilty of throwing out that half used pencil? I can tell you, most kids use it until it cannot be sharpened anymore. Yes, I can testify to that one. One of my many skills is fishing teeny, tiny pencils from the sharpener. And I know I have been guilty of throwing out pencils with no eraser. One of my darlings last week reminded me that pencils with no eraser are the reason why we have pencil top erasers.
3. Recycle as much as you can. I don’t think that my recycle bin at school has ever been as full as this year. My kids recycle EVERYTHING. (Even things that aren’t supposed to go in the recycling like food wrappers, etc.) They also hate to take out the trash when the bag isn’t full. What a waste of a bag, they tell me.
4. Don’t waste food. This is a tough one. The cafeteria requires students to get a certain amount of food each day. This year, my kids have been creative in saving food they aren’t hungry for until a later snack time. And Buddy, my teacher friend’s guinea pig, is very rich in carrots. (We beg the kids to eat them instead, but if they won’t, they save them for “Buddy”.) I can’t even tell you the amount of times a child has looked up at me and said, “Do I have to take this, if I know I won’t eat it?” They truly don’t want to waste anything.
5. Be creative. I think as we get older, we begin to see things as being set or needing to be the same. Kids see things through brand new eyes. They would rather repurpose something than throw it away. In science class, I had more than one student ask if they could keep my rocks. They thought they could use them as writing tools that would never wear out. Now, what adult would have been that creative?
What thrifty lessons have you learned from the children in your life?
Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!
The following is a guest post from Rachael at Kitchen Courses:
The Super Ingredient: How To Create Three Meals From One $5 Ingredient
As a home cook, I’m always looking for ways to stretch an ingredient as well as a buck every once in a while. I want to eat amazing and delicious meals, but I don’t want to have to pay a ton of money to get them to my table. Most recently, I’ve stumbled into this idea of rolling ingredients over from one night to the next. It all started with this one ingredient: the whole roast chicken.
This one little chicken can come pretty cheap at the grocery store and can feed a family of four for dinner. A good deal, but nothing truly amazing, right?
I challenged myself to figure out how many meals or meal components I could come up with using just this one ingredient. As it turns out, with some thoughtful planning, that five dollars is a real bargain that can morph into at least three meals this week. Here is how I made that $5 investment pay for itself:
- Use one: Dinner tonight. Cut the breasts away from the bird and serve with rice pilaf and roasted broccoli. Take it a step further and use the pan drippings to create a homemade gravy.
- Use two: Make the most of the meat. Pick the bird and pull all the remaining meat off the bone. Either store in an airtight container for use later in the week or in plastic bag in the freezer for even longer storage. When you’re ready to use the meat, mix it in to a homemade enchilada dish, add as a topping for homemade pizza, or mix into homemade pot pie filling.
- Use three: Create more stock at home than you could ever buy for that price! Place the entire carcass, bones, skin, and everything else into a pot filled with water and a few vegetables, like celery, onion, carrots, and a few fresh herbs. Simmer for four hours, then strain and divide among sealable plastic containers, or zip top bags. You can also do this without worrying about the stove by throwing everything into your crock pot and turning it on low for eight hours.
This stock is liquid gold, and is the best value you’ll be getting from this as you can make at least two batches of stock from one set of bones. When you’re ready to use the stock, add it to soups, risottos, or sauces. Stock can keep up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge or in the freezer for up to six months.
The great thing about these $5 chickens is really how much money you’re saving along the way. When you use one ingredient three times, it essentially ends up paying for itself and then some!
The best part about this method is that it doesn’t have to only be applied to chickens, but can be done with just about any type of meat that you find yourself eating. By rolling an ingredient over multiple times, you can practically make money in your own kitchen. Start rolling over your ingredients and you can see yourself saving even more money on your weekly meals!
Rachael is the blogger behind KitchenCourses.com and is the author of How to Cook For Yourself and Kick Start Your Kitchen. She writes about her passion for food, eating well while saving money, and inspires people to get familiar with their kitchens and cook for themselves.
Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!
Today I am recapping what I learned from my stockpile challenge at this time last year!
- Two people don’t need a huge food stockpile. If your stockpile is too big or disorganized, it causes waste. Items can expire before they are used.
- Quit buying freebies at the drug store, just because they are free. If you need it, and it is free, wonderful!!! If you don’t use the item or it is hard to donate, it just takes up space.
- Maintaining a stockpile takes time and effort. If you don’t keep up with it, it becomes a big unwieldy mess.
- Having a stockpile is a wonderful thing when an emergency happens. Emergencies are called emergencies because we can’t plan for them. Use your stockpile in an emergency and don’t worry about replenishing it until the emergency is over.
- Rotating stock is important. Notice, I didn’t say it was easy. If you use the new before you use the old, you are setting up your stockpile to expire or waste. Always use older items before newer ones!
Do you have a Thrifty idea? Did you save a ton of money this week? Do you have a Thrifty deal you want to share? If so, please leave a comment or link up below!
I disclose : There may be affiliate links in this post.
