Saving money is a keystone in the homesteading life and beyond. I want to share with you some ways that we work to save money in our daily lives. I'm calling this series
Homestead Savings
Article 1
Last night marked the milestone we reach every other month throughout the year -- haircut time! We're a family who likes short haircuts for the guys (myself, and my two sons). It's easier to manage, clean, and keeps us cooler in the hot months; though, we keep short haircuts throughout the year. My wife has been cutting my hair for at least the past 7 years, and our boys' since their birth.
My hair cutting conversion coincided with our move to another city after we bought our first home. My memory fails me on the reasons, but it's safe to assume it was for convenience and money... most likely. We also started dabbling in this new (to us) thing called Homesteading and learning what it was all about. Over the years, her talent increased to where I would never go elsewhere. She had my "cut" down pat and was much more pleasing to have around than a barber. Nothing against barbers, I just kind of like my wife.
Here's the fun part and the the reason you're here. I looked up the cost of a "cheap" haircut from a national barber shop. Their prices start at $13 for children and $15 for adults for the most basic haircut. Pricing will certainly vary by location, but I thought this was a good place to base my savings amount on for everyone. It is quite likely that your preferred shop would cost more!
Adding up the costs and figuring that we get our haircuts every other month, shows that we save at least $246 every year! To take this a step further, let's see how much we have saved since my wife started cutting my hair and then my boy's hair!
Holy cow! That's the cost of my truck!
Given... I drive an old 1995 Ford Ranger. But it's paid for and easy to fix! As you can see, doing just this small bit helps more and more over time!It's worth mentioning why my wife is not included in this... I would NEVER attempt to cut her hair! Plus, I consider it a little of a reward for her work to get to treat herself to a salon whenever she needs. She's modest though, and usually only goes twice a year.
At the time of my first son's birth, we were already well into our DIY Haircut routine, so he never had a choice. Same for my second son. It's perfectly fine though. Given the choice I imagine they too, would pick Mommy over "some guy".
I've heard stories and seen videos online of kids freaking out at barber shops, or being horrible to deal with. I'm so glad that we never had to deal with that one! The worst is an antsy child, but a highchair works great to contain them and they can have toys to play with if needed. We do our boys' haircuts in the bathroom where it's an easy transition to the bathtub to clean them off.
This is our youngest while getting his hair cut last night. He did so well! This was his first time just sitting on a stool and was just perfect the whole time. It probably helped that Daddy was there taking pictures and playing to get him to smile for the camera and for Steemit! The blue stuff on his face is cake icing... mommy and boys baked a cake the other day as a part of my older son's impromptu cooking class at home. Never too early to start!
