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A Look Back

Misc

Homemade Cthulhu, adapted from pattern in Cree...
Image via Wikipedia

I’m on vacation this week and thought it would be nice to post a look back at some of my early posts.    These posts are some of my favorites, but were written when there were only 3 or 4 of you paying attention.

Since I know you don’t want to miss anything, here are 5 of my favorite early posts, in no particular order:

1.  Cthulhu’s Guide to Finance.  I’m more than a bit of a horror geek.  Books, movies, or games; all keep me entertained.   Over the weekend, I taught my Mom how to play Zombie Fluxx and Gloom.   When Cthulhu approached me about writing a guest post, I couldn’t refuse.

2.  Birthday Parties Are Evil.  It’s hard to remember to be cheap when your little girl is asking for a bowling party.  It can run $200 to get a dozen kids an hour of bowling and a bit of pizza.

3.  No Brakes.   This is a post about why I had a hard time coming to grips with financial responsibility.

4.  4 Ways to Flog the Inner Impulse Shopper.   Who can’t love a BDSM-themed personal finance post?  Every blog needs a dominatrix mascot, right?

5.  Fighting Evil by Phone.  In which I share the method of convincing Big Nasty Telephone Company and their Contracted, Soulless Long Distance Provider to leave me the heck alone and stop demanding $800 they refused to admit was their mistake.

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Cutting Costs While Cutting Hair

Finance

Beauty Girl Surprise.
Image via Wikipedia

About once per quarter, my wife and I have a…I won’t call it a fight.  It’s more like she-comes-home-looking-stunning-while-I-make-disapproving-grunting-sounds-while-giving-the-checkbook-dirty-looks.

I hate salons.

$80 for highlights, $30 for a haircut and $15 for eyebrow “shaping”.   It’s an afternoon of chemicals and hot-wax torture, for the low, low price of $125 + tip.  Frugal it’s not, but that’s an argument I lost long ago.

This weekend, she tried something new.

Beauty school.

For roughly the cost of materials, she got her eyebrows “shaped” and her hair highlighted and cut by a senior student at the beauty school, under the supervision of a licensed beautician/instructor.

It looks good, and she said she had more fun during her appointment than any other salon trip she’s had.   I guess there’s something to be said for interacting with someone who isn’t burned out on interacting with the general public.

What does it cost?  What normally runs $125 cost just $35.  That’s for a $5 cut, $25 highlighting, and $5 wax.   That’s a $90 savings or 72% off.  Yay!

Other services they offer include:

  • Full color, cut and shampoo for $20.
  • A Perm for $25.
  • Mani/pedi for $24.
  • Full set of acrylic nails for $15.
  • Wax for $5.  Have I ever mentioned that I am happy to be a guy?
  • Seaweed treatment for $10.  I don’t even know what this is.   A buffet, maybe?

They also have a “Princess” package that we’re going to use for brat #2’s birthday party next month.   It’s an up-do, nail polish, make-up, and tiara for $10 per kid.  We’ll take the girls out to get made up all pretty-like, then off to the dollar theater, for a $35 party.

The school my wife visited has more than 90 locations in 21 states, but I’d be willing to be every city big enough to support a Wal-Mart also has a beauty school nearby.  They don’t tend to advertise their customer services, so you’ll have to call, but for a 70% discount, it worth spending a bit of time on the phone, isn’t it?

I have two questions for you, dear readers:

  1. Would you consider going to a beautician trainee?
  2. What the heck is a seaweed treatment?
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Crying is for Winners

Finance

Have you ever seen a kid come off a wrestling mat, crying his eyes out because he lost?

Wrestling Sideways - Really
Wrestling Sideways - Really (Photo credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton)

Often, that kid will get told to be tough and stop crying.

That’s wrong.

I’m not opposed to teaching kids not to cry under most circumstances, but just after an intense competition, I love it.   It’s the best possible sign that the kids was pouring his soul into winning.   It means he was trying with everything he had.

It means he is–or will be–a winner.

When a kid, particularly a boy in a tough sport, is crying, you know he’s going to try harder and do better next time.

For all of the “tough guy” ability it takes to succeed as a wrestler, I’ve never seen another wrestler teasing the crier.   They’ve all been there.    Wrestling is a team sport, but you win or lose a match on your own.   When you step out in front of hundreds of people and spend 3 to 6 minutes giving every ounce of everything you have to give, only to find it’s not good enough, you’ll often find you don’t have the final reserve necessary to control your emotions.

This is different than a kid crying because he lost a game, just because he lost.   Some kids feel entitled to win anything they do, regardless of the effort they put it.  That’s also wrong.

Crying at a loss is okay after putting in maximum effort and full energy, not because the dice went the wrong way.

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Expensive Cheese

Finance

Saturday morning, I woke up to a room-temperature refrigerator.   I dislike drinking milk that’s 40 degrees warmer than I’m used to.

We called the repairman who showed up at 9PM and poked around in the fridge for a bit before announcing that he didn’t have the needed parts in his truck.

The parts came Monday.  The next repairman got there Tuesday afternoon.   For those of you keeping track at home, that’s nearly 4 days without a refrigerator.

That poor bacon.

Tuesday’s repairman didn’t think highly of Saturday’s.  Apparently, the two parts Saturday ordered never go bad at the same time, so he was guessing.

He also didn’t notice the slice of individually wrapped American cheese that had slipped between a shelf and one of the cold-air vents, preventing any air flow at all.

Grr.

I wish I would have noticed that on Saturday.   I now own the most expensive cheese in the world.   It’s not Pule, which comes in at $616 per pound.  This lowly slice of American cheese cost me nearly $200.  At one ounce per slice, that’s $3200 per pound.   Of course, I’m counting the lost food.   My hamburger, eggs, bacon, milk, and mayonnaise are gone, along with every other perishable bit of food we had on hand.

I don’t know how much the repairs cost.   Saturday’s visit, minus the parts, was billed at $95.  I didn’t see the total for Tuesday’s visit.

We pay for a repair plan through our gas company.   For around $15 per month, we get a list of appliances protected.   We don’t have to worry about our washer, dryer, water softener, stove, refrigerator, or our sewer main.    Assuming Tuesday’s visit was billed the same as Saturday’s, this one repair paid for the plan for an entire year.   When you count our sewer main–which backs up with tree roots once a year and costs at least $200 to fix–the repair plan is definitely worth it for us.

When we get tenants in my mother-in-law’s house, we’ll have the repair plan set up there, too.

Do you use any kind of repair plan?  How is it working out for you?

 

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5 Ways to Save Money by Going Green

Finance

This is a guest post by MoneySuperMarket.

Making changes in your daily life that minimize your impact on the environment is the right way to go green. While most people are happy just to know the environment is being protected, there are other benefits to going green. Pick a few of these five lifestyle changes and enjoy having a little extra cash in your pocket as well.

Eat More Meals At Home

Dining out is a fun family experience, but it takes its toll on your wallet and your neighborhood. Restaurants create millions of tons of trash each year. This tip is to the people who already avoid fast food for health reasons, but cooking with your friends and family is a great way to get closer.

Pick Up A Creative Hobby

Some hobbies require a lot more equipment or materials, therefore creating more waste and using more energy. Creative extracurricular activities use inexpensive or recycled goods instead, requiring fewer trips to the sports goods store. Woodcarving can be practiced with scraps from cabinetmakers, while yarn for knitting can come from old sweaters that are no longer worn.

Cool Off The Hot Water Heater

Each water heater features a small screw or dial that allows you to set the perfect temperature. Millions of people have their heaters set higher than necessary, wasting a lot of electricity each year. You can safely turn the heat down to about 125 degrees Fahrenheit, which could net you some hefty annual savings if it is at 140 or 150 degrees right now. Most people never use water for washing or showering that is higher than 130 when mixed in the tap.

Carpool With Co-workers

Driving back and forth to work puts a lot of wear and tear on your vehicle. Rising gas prices has made it even harder to afford a long daily commute by car. Sharing the responsibility among a group of co-workers or fellow parents at your child’s school can help to spread out the costs and the impact on the environment.

Try Your Hand At Gardening

You don’t have to have a green thumb to grow your favorite herbs in a windowsill pot. Start out easy and try a potted dwarf lime tree or a terracotta planter full of strawberries on the patio. The vegetables you harvest don’t have to contain pesticides. Compare your gardening costs against prices for high-end organic produce at the store. You could save thousands of dollars each year and reduce the damaging effects of large-scale agriculture.

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