Becoming Lower Maintenance

I've done it before and I'm doing it again, giving myself haircuts.

I've given my husband every haircut he's had during the last 21 years. And sometimes I cut my own hair.

Well today, with my husband's help, I cut my hair and it looks fine, a medium length bob.

So I just saved $50 and once every 6 weeks multiplied by 8, let's say, I will save $400. If I lived in an area with a higher cost of living, I would have saved more. How much has my husband saved over 21 years?

Why are we doing this? We are realigning our priorities and our expenses just like everyone else in America because "The times they are a'changing."

Don't laugh. It will happen to you. If you don't do haircuts, you may cut out restaurants, fast food, extra pairs of shoes, driving around just for fun, some things that you used to spend money on that are just not worth it now.

The only way to have more money is to make more or spend less than you make. There is no other magic about it.

When you think of creative ways to save, please share them. We all need to be inspired.

Labels Matter and Then They Don't

Are you a label snob? Sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not.

I am buying an expensive outfit, pants and a jacket from a high end designer because it is timeless, fits well and I'll wear it for years. When I'm 85, it will still look good.

I'm not buying the casual top that goes with it because I don't like the way it fits and it's too expensive. Go figure!

I went to GoodWill Industries and found the perfect coral turtleneck to go with it, brand new and the right color and the right neckline and the fit is great.

My husband thinks I have more chutzpah than anyone else because, having no cash on me, I used a credit card and asked for the senior discount. So the top cost $4.00 and with the discount and tax, I paid $3.65 for it. The cashier said they would process a sale of  20 cents with a credit card!

So I'm inconsistently consistent. That's me, your Queen of Bargains, shopping to tell you all about it.

Sample Sales

This tip is from a stealth "Queen of Bargains" in London.

Go to www.dailycandy.com and register for the city nearest you. You will get notices of real sample sales where you can snag bargains on major designers.

This is an invitation from other stealth queens. Send  me your tips and I'll pass them along.

Thank you, very much! 

Business Cards

I can't keep a good thing to myself. That's why I blog about deals as I find them.

Allergic to overhead, I have resisted getting business cards for my various ventures. Until now.

I have designed, ordered and received new business cards for 2 ventures: my healthy eating blog: http://dontswallowthat.blogspot.com  and my acting. The product is excellent and the cost is more than reasonable, let's say very inexpensive. In both cases, I ordered the slow ship method to save money and received them both in less than a week of ordering.

I found that I could use all their tools on line to design a quality product and I am very happy.

What's the source? You've seen them advertised everywhere: Vista Print. Go to: www.vistaprint.com
and stop procrastinating like I have done for the last 5 years.  I will reuse them for additional products because the quality and service are that good.