Home Haircuts for Kids - A Great Way to Save Money

If you're looking for an extra way to save some money each month, consider giving the kids haircuts at home. Mom can do it or dad can do it. It really isn't that hard and with a few haircuts under your belt you will be a pro.

For cutting boys' hair, you will need to invest in a set of hairclippers and these can be purchased at many different types of stores. Your local Walmart or Target usually carry them. For your first haircut or two, I highly suggest using one of the attachments so you don't take off any chunks of hair or make any gouges. Believe me, the learning curve for cutting your kids hair is not very long.

For girls' hair, all you need are some good hair-cutting scissors and a comb. It is much easier to cut a little girl's hair if you first wet the hair with a brush or comb, combing through to make it wet but not soaking wet. You can play Beauty Shop with your daughter and make it a fun event.

Just remember, practice makes perfect. Although it takes a little time for each haircut, consider that you actually are probably saving time, since you won't have to drive to the barber or beauty shop. Over the course of a year you can save a lot of money, especially if you have more than one child. An average charge of $15 per child comes to $180 per child per year. That's a big savings. Hey, you can even save more money by cutting your husband's hair ... I do. And that will save you about $200 more a year, not including the tips! Maybe you can get the tips!

Coffee Lovers - How You Can Save $1000 A Year

I love Starbucks just as much as any coffee drinker. I even asked for a Starbucks card for a Christmas present. But I just read something that came as a big shock to me. If I start making my coffee at home and put it in a stainless steel thermos instead of buying that $4 cup of coffee that I have become accustomed to, I can save about $1000 a year. Yes, you read that right!

Figure. If you buy one (only one, mind you) $4 cup of coffee every working day of the week, that will total $1040. Most of us have more than one cup on occasion, so we will take that into consideration and round up to $1100. But if you buy a thermos for $20, filter/papers for $10 and coffee for a year for around $60. (assuming you already have a coffee maker, as most coffee drinkers do)... and make that morning cup of coffee to take with you ... you will save a hefty $1000 during the year.

This is a major, major savings, and well worth the consideration. So sorry Starbucks but we're all in this boat together!

Just How Frugal Are You?

Its officially a new year and talk is everywhere of people saving money, spending less or reusing what they have. For some it is a necessity- either a job loss or other financial problem, for others they are concerned about their future, and for others it is to make every penny go further so they can save more or live on 1 income. W

What ever the reason, there are plenty of good reasons to save, spend less, reuse what you have, find products that help you spend less, and more. We want to hear from you- how to you save money, spend less, make your money go further, or what creative things do you do to have fun without breaking the bank?

Tell us-

Do you reuse your plastic baggies, or keep aluminum foil after using it to cover something,
Do you only buy food items when you have coupons and buy it in droves?
Do you have family movie or game night when the movie is showing on TV?
Do you wear your jeans a few times before washing them?
What things do you to save money?

What about running the quick cycles on your dishwasher or washing machine? Do you hang dry your clothes or use a low energy setting?