In this post, I have an announcement and a tip that could save you a bundle.
The announcement is that every so often (once a week or so), I'll be suggesting what I call a "Money Saving Tip" -- something that's simple and easy to implement but that could save you some cash that could be better used elsewhere. Sometimes the idea will be my own and sometimes I'll link to others with a great suggestion.
The money saving tip for today comes from Uncle Jack, a new "blog" I ran into this morning. (I put blog in quotes because he doesn't allow comments or have a blogroll and uses his site more as a newsletter than a blog (his words), so it has some limitations.) He posts about how he cuts his own hair and has saved a bundle doing so.
This idea really hits home for me as I do the same thing. I first started shaving my own head because I like the style and it's easy to maintain, but when I thought of it, it turned out to be a real money saver. And since my son wants to be "just like dad", I shave his head and save the money I would have spent on his haircut as well. I calculate that I've saved just under $1,000 in the four years I've been cutting our hair. Not bad at all.
8 - Total number of times I've tried cutting my own hair.
2 - Times I put large bald-spots on my head by accident while cutting my own hair.
4 - Times I've had to visit the barber to fix a bad haircut I gave myself.
1 - Number of times I gave myself a semi-decent haircut.
1 - Number of times I've had to take off all my hair because I messed up so bad.
Moral of story: Make sure you're better than I am with scissors and trimmers before cutting your own hair!
-Nev
Posted by: Neville Medhora | June 22, 2005 at 08:21 PM
If you're going to shave it, I suppose this makes sense, otherwise I couldn't ever cut my own hair.
Hey, I've been trying to email you at FMF {at} freemoneyfinance [dot] com and it's been bouncing back to me.
Posted by: jim | June 22, 2005 at 08:45 PM
I'm afraid I'll NEVER cut my own hair. But, since I only go to the parlour a couple of times a year or so, I think I'm saving enough on that. :-)
However, I have been cutting my husband's hair and our baby boy's hair. My hubby's only been to the barber's 2-3 times in the last 3 years, I think. No one else has touched my 17-month old's locks. Not sure how much we've saved by doing this, but all I know is that it costs about AU$15 per hair cut for males.
Posted by: Shai Coggins | June 22, 2005 at 11:00 PM
I've been dyeing my wife's hair for a year or so. We've probably saved a few hundred bucks so far. Today, I tried my hand at cutting her hair. I wouldn't trust myself for a full hairstyle, but for a maintenance cut, it came out quite well.
For myself, I try to stretch haircuts out, going from military short to Beatley over 4 months.
Posted by: j.a.random | January 14, 2006 at 08:55 PM
I've been saving money for a long time. I didn't cut my hair for a while now.
Posted by: Kane | January 21, 2006 at 02:57 PM
I've been cutting my hair since Oct. 2005 approxiamtely. I love the results and have saved a bunch of money I think. I've even cut my friends' hair! It's really not that hard and once you get the hang of it it's super easy and quite quick. I reccomend it - and if you're nervous, start when you have long hair and cut only a little. Go to the hair cutting place if you mess up. Once you're situated, try new things! I cut myself bangs and love them!
Posted by: Claire | August 17, 2006 at 09:43 PM
i have heard of cutting you rown hair by tying it up in a high pony tail and then cutting some of the pony tail off. if i did this a little bit at a time do you think that it would look ok. i like my hair to be layered so i guess this would work.
Posted by: Tiffany | August 25, 2006 at 10:02 PM