Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

23rdspiral

i've only been to the hairdresser once in my life! that was when i was 20 and had it cut from sit-on-able length to a flicked out bob. it was very scary!

my mum used to cut it, then a mate then my cousin... those two have had kids in the last couple of years so now mum trims the end when it's long enough to tuck into my pants:eek:, and i cut the front sides at an angle so they are a bit whispy and not so heavy... (usually when i'm drunk!) i have a professional but creative career so my very long hair plaited or pulled back isnt a problem for me.

i've never know anything different and i'm 30 now... so i guess i've 'saved' a lot of money over the years if that's how much / often i 'should' be going.:rotfl:

minnie2

youngmummy wrote: »

thanks for that hun, never thought of doing hat with a towel. i have a labrador, hes 8 months old. will do this from now on, will save me quiet abit of money, trying to cut back everywhere we can :money:thats why i keep having random questions lol. many thanks



thanks hun will have a look. what do you clean with it. i've seen the ones that you can clean cooer with and windows, moreless anythink, is yours the same. many thanks

dogs and animals in general can cost a fortune!!!! I have a lab who is nearly 12months now but also have a mastiff and a staffy.And they dont care if it was expensive and all pretty colours they just want it if it smells good or loks interesting.
my mum in her nanny role buys them toys but i dont bother.id rather get them a knuckle bone which i know they will enjoy and last them a while while it is giving them great health benefits.
If you do go for bones (they are great just greasy so dont put on carpet) dont worry if their poo is white and crumbly this is exactly how dog poo should actually be its just our modern dog food that has stopped it.its should be white crumbly with no smell - idea is it just crumbles into the earth.
if i think of any more things i do i will let you know.

knotting the towels also distiguishes between your towels and their toy towels so you dont get them going for your own.dont just give them a flat one.with a knot - it represents a toy and they wont pick up your actually house towels then.mine have never gone for an actual towel none of them.

youngmummy

minnie2 wrote: »

dogs and animals in general can cost a fortune!!!! I have a lab who is nearly 12months now but also have a mastiff and a staffy.And they dont care if it was expensive and all pretty colours they just want it if it smells good or loks interesting.
my mum in her nanny role buys them toys but i dont bother.id rather get them a knuckle bone which i know they will enjoy and last them a while while it is giving them great health benefits.
If you do go for bones (they are great just greasy so dont put on carpet) dont worry if their poo is white and crumbly this is exactly how dog poo should actually be its just our modern dog food that has stopped it.its should be white crumbly with no smell - idea is it just crumbles into the earth.
if i think of any more things i do i will let you know.

knotting the towels also distiguishes between your towels and their toy towels so you dont get them going for your own.dont just give them a flat one.with a knot - it represents a toy and they wont pick up your actually house towels then.mine have never gone for an actual towel none of them.

i didnt know that knotting the towel, would make a diffrence in that way. i thought it was just so it didnt look like a towel. :rotfl:see you learn something new everyday.:)
many thanks

youngmummy

23rdspiral wrote: »

i've only been to the hairdresser once in my life! that was when i was 20 and had it cut from sit-on-able length to a flicked out bob. it was very scary!

my mum used to cut it, then a mate then my cousin... those two have had kids in the last couple of years so now mum trims the end when it's long enough to tuck into my pants:eek:, and i cut the front sides at an angle so they are a bit whispy and not so heavy... (usually when i'm drunk!) i have a professional but creative career so my very long hair plaited or pulled back isnt a problem for me.

i've never know anything different and i'm 30 now... so i guess i've 'saved' a lot of money over the years if that's how much / often i 'should' be going.:rotfl:

i havent been in over twelve months,:o i used av*ns split end repair cream. it was really good.:) my hair does need cutting now though, was going to cuz it myself but im not brave enough so hairdressers it will have to be that £15- £25 down the drain.:eek: i dye my hair myself, i use the new foam one, partly cuz its easier and also cuz ive been buying them when there 2 for £6. so will do 2 times at 6-8 week intervills

rubytuesday

I get my colour done for free at Trevor Sorbie as a model so make a saving there but before that my daughter did quite a good job for me.

Now that I've found a great hairdresser I'm willing to pay and make savings in other areas such as not buying new clothes - what ever works for us.

alec_eiffel

rubytuesday wrote: »

I get my colour done for free at Trevor Sorbie as a model so make a saving there but before that my daughter did quite a good job for me.

Now that I've found a great hairdresser I'm willing to pay and make savings in other areas such as not buying new clothes - what ever works for us.

I agree with you. I never had to pay for a haircut until I was in my 20's so always begrudged paying! Then when we were skint I would cut the front and DH would cut the back for me. But he hated doing it. So these days if for nothing more than his peace of mind I go to a salon to have it done. No it's not cheap but it looks a lot better and it's stress free.

I too would rather save the cash elsewhere. It's one of those things at the time I thought I was being very clever by doing it myself but now I have a great hairstyle rather than just "hair" I can see the difference :rotfl:

Erme

minnie2 wrote: »

not sure what type of dog youve got but bones from butchers are a lot cheaper and keep them amused for days. I bought big bones form butchers yesterday for 60p so that was their food for yesterday too and they are still tucking into them today.Even when all the marrow and meat have gone they will still chew on them. its good for their digestion, good for their teeth keeps gums healthy (you may see a bit of blood but that is healthy from the gums). Ask your local butchers.

other things we use is is toilet roll and kitchen roll inners.also food boxes, like cereal boxes they chase them around and chew on them.

margarine or butter tubs too for them to lick out. its good for keeping them in condition and will help their coats.plus they will chase it around for ages.

you can buy those toys with holes in that you squirt food into and they have to work to get it out but my dogs lose interest quickly.

i get my other toys from the pound shop raggers etc. i cant buy hte ones with tennis balls on as my dogs actually eat them.

if you have a cheap shop near you you can buy a cheap hand towel of flannel tie a knot in the middle and that makes a cheap ragger. ikea have hand towels for 19p tie a knot in the middle and youve got lots of games in one.tug of war fetch general chewing and if you have a big dog tie two together.

Okay frugal tips for ratties next. I got them doggie choc drops the the month @£1.99 for a huge bag which keeps 'em happy as does pop corn from the popcorn popper (with icing sugar LOL)...but what about their teeth. They have stuff to chew on they just don't use it and I'm getting a little worried

paidinchickens wrote: »

The only thing I don't clean with it is the leather sofa. Mine comes with all different attachments. There is one with a little wire brush on for tile grout and the little bits of the toilet you can not get to. We have three boys and one DH in the house and I used to bleach the toilets two to three times a week and thought they were really clean but when I used the steamer on it the muck that came off was zuckkkkkkkk:eek:

I use on laminate floors, to clean carpets, there is an attachment for cleaning windows, basically I tried a little while on different things and if I did not kill them I took it as safe to use.

Round taps to get off the lime scale.

Everything :rotfl:

I prefer it as sometimes I go a little overboard with the bleach bottle and end up burning the inside of my nose

A few friends bought the cheaper steamers you can get and they worked but not as well so may be a false economy. I bought the one I did as a different friend has had hers for 10yrs without problems and they still sell them so can't be too bad IMO lol

I rent my house out and the last tenants were filthy when I steamed the windows chip fat ran down them mixed with nicotine......without the steamer I would have been scrubbing for weeks. (it really was disgusting:()

I would say it is in my top 5 off if it died I would replace immediately. But as I said it does not smell when you have cleaned and the downside is if you have cleaned with products you can smell its clean if that makes sense!!

Now I'm rambling!

DS has got a GCSE test tomorrow so I am taking him to my mates daughter for tutoring as he is worried. Cheaper than a proper tutor but she is training to be a teacher and has just done all her GCSEs so thought it was a cheaper alternative. Will still cost me though:(

I am trying the slow cooker out today for the first time and have got a chunk of pork cooking as we speak (food parcel item from aunt) will let you know how I get on but if you do not hear from me I will have poisoned everyone :rotfl:

I have loads of washing waiting to be done but the weather is dull and drizzling so will have to catch up in the week.

My first attempt at wine making should be ready a week today (bought a kit for the first try and that's what the instructions say lol

My little baby girl is wobbling around so I don't think it will be long before we have some little kittens running around:j We are only keeping one and the name at the top of the list is Dyson but that will change many times I am sure. I just hope we don't all get a different favourite and keep them all:rotfl:

I am in a really can not be bothered mood today so I hope you all do better than me xxxxx

This sounds too good to be true. Which one do you have?

rubytuesday wrote: »

I spend a lot more than 32 pounds on a hair cut. I get it cut at Trevor Sorbie and absolutely love my hairdresser. She does a brilliant job and I am able to leave it for six months sometimes. I absolutely hate getting my hair cut generally so I am happy to stick with a hairdresser I trust and feel comfortable with.

I know..when it's only every few months it's perfectly justifiable. when it's every 6 weeks it's not. There's a huge difference. And is it me or do you get to a certain age whereby your hair has to be cut 'just so' or else it's not right...even if like that 'just so' cut is 20 years out of date :rotfl:..

I envy the lassie who can sit on her hair. I always wanted to do that but my hair dresser said it wouldn't be wise to keep my hair in good condition and I'll soon be at the menopause when a lady's hair does weird stuff anyways :eek:. Mine is about bust length. Sometimes shorter. I have an inch or two off every 4 months and it's THICK....thick but fine so I get my money's worth (takes them at least an hour to do it :T)....

I also cut my fringe myself...best way otherwise it costs you a fortune back and forth to the salon. Hairdresser and friend's taught me how to cut my fringe

E
PS. For cheap hair dye use henna ..turns it orangey red....takes forever but is cheap and does work and my colour is just beginning to fade and I did it in April/May - think I paid about £2.50 for 2 packets of henna and then a wee bit for the cling film

Aril

Hello fellow frugallers:j
Most definitely not a NSD here today at Gnat Bottomed Towers as we had a birthday treat we had promised to the small person to honour. We went to Chatham Dock Yard which is expensive to go into but we will be able to reuse our tickets on a return visit which we'll probably do over the school hols one day. We bought a family ticket which saved us a tenner [I looked online for any discounts but couldn't find anything] and we took our own packed lunch. We resisted the cafe and no spends in the shop so it was controlled spending and will all be noted down in my spending book that I have set up.

Aril

rubytuesday

Actually thanks - that has just reminded me I need to get up to date with my spending diary. Can do it whilst I'm stuck at my son's keeping the cat company as I'm a bit bored now!

SandraScarlett

Hi all. Hope everyone is OK. Haven't been on much lately as DH hasn't been too good of late, but have read all the posts every few days, and had to comment on the £32 hair cut lady.

From what I can gather, she is in a lot of debt, but has her hair cut every 6 weeks, at £32 a go. But surely that's her decision! She's not asking anyone to lend her money to repay her debt, and has been resourceful enough to write a book, in the hope that enough people will buy it, and eventually reduce her debt.

I wasn't the slightest bit bothered about whatever she chooses to spend on her hair, whereas when I read the story about the woman on benefits who had breast implants, I saw red!

And what did you mean, Erme, when you said:

I know..when it's only every few months it's perfectly justifiable. when it's every 6 weeks it's not. There's a huge difference. And is it me or do you get to a certain age whereby your hair has to be cut 'just so' or else it's not right...even if like that 'just so' cut is 20 years out of date :rotfl:..

Having your hair cut every 6 weeks, instead of every few months, is actually only twice as much. My hair grows very quickly and loses its shape, whereas someone else may not need a cut that frequently.

In my case, my hair definitely has to be cut "just so", and though, if you saw me, you might think I look 20 years out of date, and it makes you laugh, it gives me confidence. Because after nearly 70 years, living with my hair, I am the best judge of what style I can cope with, whether it's the height of fashion or not.

xx