We learned how to buy designer jeans for less from Glamour's article called "25 Ways to Live Rich on Less Money," and here are a few of its other little money tidbits that might come in handy. Do you already use any of these tips?
- Take out $10 on Monday for extras like snacks and gum. Limiting yourself to that amount will make you think harder about your purchases.
- Plant a vegetable garden to cut grocery expenses.
- Take the extra time to never pay retail. If you know there's something you want to buy, first do a coupon search on coupons.com or retailmenot.com.
- Get your hair done at a beauty school instead of a salon.
- Organize a seasonal clothes swapping party with girlfriends to cut down on clothes spending.
Napapijri
Tibi
Rimmel
well we planted a veggie garden this year and let me tell you, it's no money saver AND it takes tons of time to keep it up. you have to till the soil (rent the machine), buy the soil and fertilizer, plants/seeds, stakes, twine, water. when it's hot you either water twice a day by hand or use drip irrigation (another expense). then you have to weed every couple of dys, take care of insects, and worry about birds and critters eating the harvest. our corn crop was awful, tomatoes great and a enough green beans for 2 meals. way too much work for what we got.
1Good ideas. Although some seem like a lot of work!
2Sorry someone in beauty school is not going to cut my hair. The first one I can live with. The rest are way too much work!
3About six years ago, I came across a coupon for a free cut and style from a local salon. The stylist had finished beauty school and was undergoing further training at that particular salon. The final cut was critiqued and touched up so very slightly by a senior stylist. This actually turned out to be one of the best hair cuts I have ever had! And six years later, she is stilly my stylist!
4i actually know a few people that go to beauty schools here in NYC rather than to a high priced salon and they get great things done to their heads. it's interesting cause the salon that i go to actually has trainees do hair for classes and you can get a cut/color just as nice with the students at no cost. i might have to do that -but i've always just been scared up until now.
i think that i like the thought of a clothing swap too but i don't know anyone of my friends that really has my style - so that might be a bit tricky - although it's a great suggestion for some
the veggie garden thing - let me tell you -i really DOES work. my mom has one and we've truly saved a lot of money since she's grown a LOT and my fiance and i don't have to buy stuff.
as for the $10 a week thing - that works too. at the same time if you clip coupons and limit yourself to a little money then you'll find that you have so much more to save or pay down debt with that you'll never go without doing it.
5ilanac13, No need to be afraid. They won't let you leave the school or salon unless you look you are satisfied and you look good. To do so would be very bad for business!
6retailmenot.com -- YES. i've turned all of my friends on to it, and i've saved loads with it.
beauty school hairdos -- no way. i've seen four friends come out of bumble & bumble u. with some seriously bad hair. four!
7Growing vegetables doesnt need to be hard. We have a large orchard with pears, apples, blueberries blackberries raspberries lettuces, four types of beans, potatoes and much more. It requires watering and seeding, but every few weeks we pull out enough stuff to fill out kitchen. We have had courgettes bigger than baseball bats! Its so cost effective - if you have a large dinner party you can spend more on a bigger/nicer roast and just get all the veg out of the garden.
Yes the bugs get to it but as the seeds are cheap you take the loss.
8I like the $10 on Mondays idea =) I'm going to try that.
9For the veggie garden thing, it can be as simple as re-growing something you've already bought. I bought a bundle of scallions in May, and cut down to the white part and planted them in a big pot. They keep re-growing, and I haven't had to buy scallions since!
They do start getting a bit thin after three or four months, but it's better than buying a bundle of scallions every week! You can also take the seeds out of those expensive ass red peppers and plant those and get more without putting in a ton of work/money.
10Sounds like all of my comments have already been made.
Time is also money, and the time and trouble spent growing veggies is just too much for me. I just shop sales more, and buy less at a time. And I just do mostly without a few things that aren't strictly necessary, like fresh tomatoes. I'm terrible for overbuying and having to throw things away.
I took my daughter to a beauty school for a haircut, as she wanted to go somewhere besides my stylist, to assert her independence. I was not about to take her to Aveda like some of her friends! They did a dreadful job, it was a dutch boy / bowl cut, not a nice bob at all. My stylist is semi-retired, and is actually (IMO) quite reasonable.
I do spend the time each week to review the grocery ads and plan my week's menus based on the sales.
I'm sale-shopping more conscientiously than I used to.
11And I don't let coupons tempt me into buying something I wouldn't normally buy.
Saving money definitely involves work - we pay for convenience. One thing I've done is teach myself how to highlight my own hair (and yes, it's a lot of work and it's not fun, but I'm happy with the results!). I got the tools at a beauty supply store for a FRACTION of what one professional appointment would cost, and now if I stick to it & do my hair at home rather than going to the salon every 8 weeks, I'll save about $750+ per year. That's outrageous.
12Sometimes it's simple...go without.
My biggest two savers are...buy coffee & make it at home and bring lunch to work...
The first one would also help you lose weight.
13i'm bad for this, as i always pay for convenience
in particular, i have been spending so much on personal extravagances like pedicures, so i dont have to polish my own, and eyebrow waxes, cuz i'm too lazy to pluck, and massages, cuz i like them!
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