Brazilian Blowout

Okay, maybe I'm just behind on the latest hair trends but have you heard of a Brazilian Blowout?  Well, let me educate you:

Salons guarantee after a Brazilian Blowout your hair will be frizz free and manageable for 6-12 weeks, depending on how well you take care of it.  Apparently, it is also humidity proof.  Here is a before and after picture from the Brazilian Blowout website:

When I first read about these I thought that would be great for this mop I'm growing out.  Not that I would be getting one anytime soon but I was thinking it would cost about $100.00.  Well, guess how much they cost?

Go ahead.  Guess.





$411.00!  Now if you don't want the take home treatment that makes it last longer it's "only" $250.00.  I wish I had a hidden camera when I heard that number.  There I was driving along Texas Avenue in the lovely College Station when this very polite girl in a local salon says, "The full treatment is $411.00."  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Are you comprehending that?  Four hundred and eleven dollars....for a hair treatment...that doesn't last forever. 

Needless to say, I won't be getting one.  I think I'll just stick with my flat iron. 

$827.00

The other day I was at Target and had the opportunity to witness a mother paying $827.00 to get her daughter set up in her college dorm.  I could not believe it!  Apparently, I saved my parents a lot of money by going to a local school and living with them.  It was crazy.  On my way home I was thinking of all the things I could do with $827.00.

1.  Pay for a baby's birth.  Our responsibility after Eli was born for his medical bills was $751.00.

2.  Buy a new couch. 

3.  Make two car payments.  When we had car payments they only equaled $470.00.

4.  Buy 48 cans of Eli's formula. 

5.  Sponsor 21 compassion children for one month OR sponsor one child for 21 months.

Those are just some of the things I thought of.  That list, of course, does not include the mindless spending on shoes or clothes that could also take place.

Have a great day!

Where Did it All Go?

Every year when I do our taxes I'm reminded of how much money we make and I ask myself, "Where did all that money go?" Because we are down to a single income we are more conscience of our spending...when we spend it, where we spend it, why we spend it, and how spend it.

Since going down to one income here are some things I have discovered:

1. Mint.com-this website is a free budget website that you enter your data in and it will tell you where you can save money and how much you can save. It will make a lovely pie chart of your spending so you see how big a chunk you spend on coffee (yes, that is a category on mint.com). Recently, I received an offer from mint telling me if I transfered the balance from my current credit card to another one I could get 0% interest on it.

2. We ate out a lot! Our main reason for eating out was because it was the easy thing to do. I would come home from work and not feel like cooking so we would just go out. Now that I stay at home I have all day long to think about what to make for dinner and thanks to my wonderful crock pot dinner is usually ready when my husband gets home.

3. Coupon websites! There are a ton of them! I find myself printing out coupons before I go any where. Most products I buy store brand but if I can get a better deal using a coupon than I will. Of course, there are some things you just don't buy store brands...toliet paper, paper towels, etc.

4. Free stuff is the best stuff. If you look at Walmart.com or Kroger.com, etc you will find that they offer free trials of several products. Because they are trial sizes we use them when we go on trips instead of buying trial size products. My favorite freebies are formula samples! Lucky for me, my son pretty much eats any kind of formula so I take full advantage of those samples!

That's all I have for now...

Financial considerations for a stay-at-home parent

Financial considerations for a stay-at-home parent