More WIRE than FIRE, simplifying, saving and savvy spending

QrizB

ShyAndRetiring said:

Listened to an interesting piece on R4 yesterday, about whether people do their laundry too often. Good discussion about the £££ and environmental savings to be made, so I may do a bit of a focus on this one month.

There's a thread on that very topic over on the "marriage, relationship and families" board:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6586107/do-you-change-your-clothes-every-day-even-if-youre-not-going-outside-the-house

I was thinking of contributing to the thread but decided I didn't want to share my laundry habits in public

Savvy_Sue

QrizB said:

ShyAndRetiring said:

Listened to an interesting piece on R4 yesterday, about whether people do their laundry too often. Good discussion about the £££ and environmental savings to be made, so I may do a bit of a focus on this one month.

There's a thread on that very topic over on the "marriage, relationship and families" board:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6586107/do-you-change-your-clothes-every-day-even-if-youre-not-going-outside-the-house

I was thinking of contributing to the thread but decided I didn't want to share my laundry habits in public

You and me both! 

ShyAndRetiring

QrizB said:

ShyAndRetiring said:

Listened to an interesting piece on R4 yesterday, about whether people do their laundry too often. Good discussion about the £££ and environmental savings to be made, so I may do a bit of a focus on this one month.

There's a thread on that very topic over on the "marriage, relationship and families" board:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6586107/do-you-change-your-clothes-every-day-even-if-youre-not-going-outside-the-house

I was thinking of contributing to the thread but decided I didn't want to share my laundry habits in public

Oooh thank you @QrizB that'll be interesting to take a look at! 

ShyAndRetiring

QrizB said:

I was thinking of contributing to the thread but decided I didn't want to share my laundry habits in public

Savvy_Sue said:

You and me both! 

Indeedy, there's a whole 'washing your dirty linen in public' adage which literally fits, I think! 

I doubt I'll share my habits either, but I'll definitely have a read. I'm also kind of interested in the bit the R4 programme mentioned about going for the Sports or Synthetics was instead of Quick Wash ... not sure the electricity is affordable for anything other than the quick wash here! 

Fun discussion tho, thank you both, S&R x

Humboldt

@ShyAndRetiring good to read that your DH is onboard with your efforts to reduce the grocery spends.  Strangely looking forward to reading about February's Faux-Pas, makes us all feel a little more normal lol. Have a great weekend.

ShyAndRetiring

Humboldt said:

@ShyAndRetiring good to read that your DH is onboard with your efforts to reduce the grocery spends.  Strangely looking forward to reading about February's Faux-Pas, makes us all feel a little more normal lol. Have a great weekend.

Hi @Humboldt ... ha ha to February's Faux-Pas, I would normally have called it something like February F'ups, but trying to be classier now I'm becoming a retiree, don't you know?   

Have a lovely weekend too, S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

Made it as far as the weekend without too many issues except needing the heating on as it’s been wet and chilly across the last few days. Thoughts and outcomes for this week:

Extra income / surveys / freebies

• £8.50 / £50 on Prolific so far, most of which is still pending.

• Cheeky win of £100 on PB, very gratefully reinvested to boost the emergency fund! 

Spending

• 5 / 7 NSDs achieved. Next week’s goal will be 4/7 as we have a couple of necessary trips into the nearest town, so will be a little flexible: I'm thinking a coffee or breakfast on one of them, as a bit of a treat as we don't really 'do' Valentines. 

Saving

• Saved a bit of money by ‘shopping from home’ eg: needed a notebook to record my daily steps (health challenge) so sourced an unused one indoors.

• Have arranged a call next week with friend who works for a warehouse for utilities and will be looking for savings with energy costs.

Sorting

• Sorted out some drawers of doom this weekend and all the pens in pen pots around the house are now sorted - working ones kept and defunct ones dumped! Counting this as 1 in the declutter challenge, otherwise it's just silly! 

• Sorted a dog bed the pooch has killed, passing on the stuffing to someone who makes beds for a dog charity and reinventing the cover as a substitute bed for the very Bad Boy!

Spending vs Saving

Having a bit of a spending vs saving moment this weekend. I used to cut my own hair in lockdown and it looked OK (even if I say so myself)! In the last couple of years, I’ve been to a local hairdresser (expensive but the cheapest options around here) just a few times and have been disappointed with the results. Now it could be that I’ve lost how to explain what I want, despite taking a photo with me each time, or maybe what I was presenting to them to work with initially was too much of a horror show, I don’t know. I’m happy to take the blame, but just don’t want the same thing to happen again (think Garth from Wayne’s World and you won’t be far off).  

However, I’m mindful of the wedding later in the year and, as my hair is annoying me again, it seems now is the right time to start at least with trimming it up so it’s how I want it for facing the wider family in a dressed-up fashion. So, I don’t know whether to dust off the YT videos I was using before or seek professional help! 

One will obviously save money but illness means my hands are quite shaky and have less strength than before. So I’m toying with the idea of trying a salon near my Older Ones, so that I can combine it with visits to them rather than return to the disappointing local salon, but we’re talking about spending £50. I’m already saving money by embracing my silver strands rather than colouring my hair so I’m tempted (I have the funds in my personal pot so it won’t incur debt or deprivation, just a bit of risk-taking)!  I've looked up mobile ones in our area but not many come out this way and the ones which do don't seem to have great reviews or a reliable service, sadly.

Interested in others’ thoughts, as I don’t suppose this will be the first spending vs saving dilemma I’ll have and certainly not the last! 

Debt

Made payments, not adding to this week total debt at the moment: £609

Simple pleasures

• Noticing nature and signs of spring - a blackbird starting to gather what looked like nesting materials.

• Actually using up toiletries means I’m seeing a difference to my (usually very dry) skin, so that’s useful!

• Making a conscious effort to reach out to family and friends, rather than drifting along from day to day which was largely how things went whilst I was in full-on-work-mode. Now that’s eased up and I’m making a conscious effort, I’ve had some lovely interactions with friends and two catch-ups which I wouldn’t normally have had time for.

• Easy-peelers, 5-a day and vitamin C the easy way!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend and a fun week ahead, S&R x

BrilliantButScary

ShyAndRetiring said:

Made it as far as the weekend without too many issues except needing the heating on as it’s been wet and chilly across the last few days. Thoughts and outcomes for this week:

Extra income / surveys / freebies

• £8.50 / £50 on Prolific so far, most of which is still pending.

• Cheeky win of £100 on PB, very gratefully reinvested to boost the emergency fund! 

Spending

• 5 / 7 NSDs achieved. Next week’s goal will be 4/7 as we have a couple of necessary trips into the nearest town, so will be a little flexible: I'm thinking a coffee or breakfast on one of them, as a bit of a treat as we don't really 'do' Valentines. 

Saving

• Saved a bit of money by ‘shopping from home’ eg: needed a notebook to record my daily steps (health challenge) so sourced an unused one indoors.

• Have arranged a call next week with friend who works for a warehouse for utilities and will be looking for savings with energy costs.

Sorting

• Sorted out some drawers of doom this weekend and all the pens in pen pots around the house are now sorted - working ones kept and defunct ones dumped! Counting this as 1 in the declutter challenge, otherwise it's just silly! 

• Sorted a dog bed the pooch has killed, passing on the stuffing to someone who makes beds for a dog charity and reinventing the cover as a substitute bed for the very Bad Boy!

Spending vs Saving

Having a bit of a spending vs saving moment this weekend. I used to cut my own hair in lockdown and it looked OK (even if I say so myself)! In the last couple of years, I’ve been to a local hairdresser (expensive but the cheapest options around here) just a few times and have been disappointed with the results. Now it could be that I’ve lost how to explain what I want, despite taking a photo with me each time, or maybe what I was presenting to them to work with initially was too much of a horror show, I don’t know. I’m happy to take the blame, but just don’t want the same thing to happen again (think Garth from Wayne’s World and you won’t be far off).  

However, I’m mindful of the wedding later in the year and, as my hair is annoying me again, it seems now is the right time to start at least with trimming it up so it’s how I want it for facing the wider family in a dressed-up fashion. So, I don’t know whether to dust off the YT videos I was using before or seek professional help! 

One will obviously save money but illness means my hands are quite shaky and have less strength than before. So I’m toying with the idea of trying a salon near my Older Ones, so that I can combine it with visits to them rather than return to the disappointing local salon, but we’re talking about spending £50. I’m already saving money by embracing my silver strands rather than colouring my hair so I’m tempted (I have the funds in my personal pot so it won’t incur debt or deprivation, just a bit of risk-taking)!  I've looked up mobile ones in our area but not many come out this way and the ones which do don't seem to have great reviews or a reliable service, sadly.

Interested in others’ thoughts, as I don’t suppose this will be the first spending vs saving dilemma I’ll have and certainly not the last! 

Debt

Made payments, not adding to this week total debt at the moment: £609

Simple pleasures

• Noticing nature and signs of spring - a blackbird starting to gather what looked like nesting materials.

• Actually using up toiletries means I’m seeing a difference to my (usually very dry) skin, so that’s useful!

• Making a conscious effort to reach out to family and friends, rather than drifting along from day to day which was largely how things went whilst I was in full-on-work-mode. Now that’s eased up and I’m making a conscious effort, I’ve had some lovely interactions with friends and two catch-ups which I wouldn’t normally have had time for.

• Easy-peelers, 5-a day and vitamin C the easy way!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend and a fun week ahead, S&R x

I like you am embracing my silver sparkles. I've been a little dissatisfied over the last 18 months with my hair, but have now returned to a cut that has always suited me, and more particularly my very straight hair. Low maintenance is key for me because of my lifestyle. What don't you like about your hair? 

Illness, menopause and ageing has an impact on our hair, and also the way we see ourselves and others see us. My hairdresser charges £17.50 for a dry cut!, hence I can afford to get it cut every 6 weeks.

Are there any barbers in your area that cut ladies hair? as this is where my sister-in-law has her hair cut.

I must admit that with the aid of YT,  I have learnt to cut my husband's curly hair, he thinks I do a good job and likes the rates.

Savvy_Sue

I went to the  barber once: it was my husband's leaving do, so I'd made an appointment to have a trim, only the stylist had gone on holiday, not let me know, and the other stylist was too busy to squeeze me in. I was furious! They said they didn't have my number, but I'd left it enough times. 

Furious, and desperate, went to the barber's. The results were OK, but no more than that, and he asked what I'd have paid and charged me that, which was a LOT more than his normal charge. 

In my youth I was a hairdresser's nightmare, because I wanted my hair to curl, and it doesn't. I used to have it just long and straight, no fringe, but no fringe has ever lain down on my forehead, and even with the weight of 2' of hair, there was still a pronounced cowlick. 

Hairdressers were also my nightmare: for my parents' 25th I wanted an elegant bun on the back of my head - I definitely did NOT want it on top of my head, because I'm taller than both my sisters and I didn't want to tower over them. 

So think Marge Simpson, only not blue. My hair was backcombed within an inch of its life, and piled on top of my head like a birds nest. We were still finding hairpins a week later! I was in tears when I got home, and my big sister tried to take it down and put it behind my head. 

Anyway, I just stopped having it cut at all, only eventually I was seriously considering getting it all lopped off, and a friend who was a hairdresser lent me some magazines to look at styles, still clueless. And then I found a salon who would do a computerised consultation for you - way back before digital cameras were a thing! It would be quite primitive now: I had all my hair 'virtually' shaved off, and then a few different styles were added round my face. 

There was the classic pageboy bob, with full fringe - and my little sister stared back at me, so we weren't going THERE (not that the fringe would have fringed, but hey!)

Then there was a longer, feathery style - but they didn't have it in my 'dark blonde' colour, so I became a brunette - and my big sister stared back at me, so we weren't going there either! They tried to adjust the colour, to see if that improved things, and I saw my big sister go grey, and then purple! 

I came back with a set of 4 polaroid photos (one of them was me as I was), still thinking. And then one day, when a local salon was doing cuts for charity donations, I took myself off on the grounds that if I hated it, at least the money had gone to a good cause. 

So I have a sort of bob, but the hair which would go into a fringe was basically chopped off really short. As it grows, it grows straight up, a bit punky (and I am not in the least punky!) I've loved it ever since. 

So I knew who'd done that initial cut, and when I needed a trim, I asked about going back to him. Turns out he was the salon deputy director, and his price was nearly £50 - and I'm talking 30 years ago!!!!! I used the learners instead, and then found a home hairdresser who was great because she told me what to ask for when we were moving away. 

Do the salons near your Older Ones do 'Senior' prices on some days, @ShyAndRetiring? Or need models? Can your Older Ones make any recommendations? 

ShyAndRetiring

BrilliantButScary said:

I like you am embracing my silver sparkles. I've been a little dissatisfied over the last 18 months with my hair, but have now returned to a cut that has always suited me, and more particularly my very straight hair. Low maintenance is key for me because of my lifestyle. What don't you like about your hair? 

Illness, menopause and ageing has an impact on our hair, and also the way we see ourselves and others see us. My hairdresser charges £17.50 for a dry cut!, hence I can afford to get it cut every 6 weeks.

Are there any barbers in your area that cut ladies hair? as this is where my sister-in-law has her hair cut.

I must admit that with the aid of YT,  I have learnt to cut my husband's curly hair, he thinks I do a good job and likes the rates.

Hi @BrilliantButScary (fab name) !

What you say really resonates with me, absolutely everything on your list is impacting my hair in the same way, despite using conditioning treatments and taking care not to blow-dry every day etc. I do get wet and wind-blown a lot walking the dog too! I don't mind the colour of it, the sparkle isn't a terrible thing, but it's the overall look of my hair that I don't like, really.

There are a few barbers about by my OH pays £20 a time even with his 'pensioner' discount, and I don't qualify for that yet, so I'm not sure it would work out much less than going to the salon.

Taking on board what you say about low maintenance, I'm thinking about just getting it bobbed by taking off the longest layer. I'll look at a couple more YT videos and the salons near the Older Ones and then decide. 

Appreciate your comments, it's helped a lot, S&R x