i don't get manicures/pedicures, and i have my friend (who is a hair stylist) cut my hair at either my house or her house.
i only ever buy from sales racks and i try not to spend more than $30 on a piece of clothing. shoes are a different story, lol. although i did score a pair of vince camutos for 25 bucks today!
i clip coupons like it's my job and buy store-brand of almost everything.
Alot of ways already mentioned. I buy generic most of the time. My kids wear hand me downs. We don't buy very much alcohol. I almost never buy myself clothes or jewelry or shoes or anything that's not clearance and cheap. We got rid of cable. We hardly travel at all. We almost never go out or to the movies - we have dates "in" after the kids' bedtime. I'm really cheap.
Post by sawyerthedestroyer on Aug 13, 2012 15:50:41 GMT -5
I don't remember the last time I paid full price for clothes, shoes, jewelry. I think even my E-ring was purchased on sale because I told H I would kill him if he spent a lot of money on it. Generally, if an article of clothing costs more than $10 I won't buy it. Kids/baby clothing better not be more than $5. I never order online if I have to pay for shipping. I live for places like Aldi and the Dollar Tree. I used to cut and dye my own hair. Now I just don't cut it or dye it at all (I need to though). I'm also going to be one of the last people on the planet with a smart phone. Most of my Christmas shopping is already done because I buy things on sale and stash them away. I always take the time to do the surveys on my receipts. I'm not sure if that's actually considered cheap or not.
I do my own mani and pedis, drive our cars into the ground, meal plan and have cut out a lot of eating out, H always does car/break repairs/oil changes and fixes a shitton around the house. He's super handy and has saved is thousands. Oh. And we do our own landscaping.
Post by augustblue on Aug 13, 2012 16:02:36 GMT -5
a few ways-I bring my lunch almost everyday, I rarely buy shoes unless I need them (case in point I buy sneakers every couple years) & I have one pair of black shoes for work and one pair of brown shoes, never had a pedicure, only have had one manicure, I take books out from the library most of the time except during clearance time and I drink the free soda at work during lunch so I don't have to buy it as often at home. Soda is one of those items I only stock up and buy when it is on sale because it's so expensive. Also we drive our cars until they get too expensive to fix which is usually around 7-8 years.
Lets just say, if there was an olympic event that involved contortion, pain management, cringing, and sweating, I'd probably get a medal.
No, really, I've gotten really good at it! And the savings is AMAZING. I was spending $80 with tip for one brazilian at the salon but now I can get 4-5 brazilians with one pot of $13 wax myself. WIN!
What wax do you use? Do you use the strips or the wax that you peel off? I don't know if I could handle the pain of doing it myself, but I would totally try it. Hahaha.
DONT USE STRIPS!!! I use GiGi Brazilian Hard Wax. I also purchased a wax warmer (GiGi brand) with the wax as a kit when I first started. I think the whole thing was $35. And it's actually not as painful as you'd imagine. Not any more painful than having it done at a salon, and the hard wax only sticks to the hair and not your skin, so it's even less painful sometimes
I shave (instead of waxing) because I'm going to laser it off in a few years, so spending $$ on waxes seems like a waste
I rarely buy clothes for myself or my kids if they are not on sale
The only other things I can think of are things I do for environmental reasons, like not buying paper napkins/paper towels/ tampons. I also cloth diaper.
Clothes. I shop outlets, TJMaxx/Marshalls, target, and deeply discounted clearance racks only. I love clothes, but I can't pay full price for them. My most expensive thing is jeans from Express, but I always go when I have a coupon. ($25 off $75 usually)
I also have no car payment, no cable, and no landline phone. I don't need them in my place.
The things I spend a crazy amount on are food and entertainment and travel, so I think it all evens out for me.