Concerns About Inflation?

[Closet_Gamer]

What I love about er.org:

We have threads discussing:

Pros/Cons of Dividends
Implications of rising interest rates on asset values
Proper valuation methodologies for options
Preferred stock investing
Optimal withdrawal approaches to manage taxes & ACA

...and how much we pay for hair cuts, whether people do it themselves, and if they get some sort of "I have short hair" discount.

 

[Badger]

I have a pair of Wahl clippers and the snap-in plastic guides which allows me to cut my hair in about five minutes. I do so out in the farm, with an extension cord -- so I don't care where the hair lands. It can blow around the farm.

I have always wondered how those kind of haircuts would work for me. I have a very wide part in the middle of my head and wonder if just running the clippers around the sides using only one plastic guide then trimming around the ears and on the back with scissors would be just as good as having a barber cut my hair.


Cheers!

 

[Surewhitey]

I wondered that 10 years ago. I watched the hair stylist and then tried it myself. 10 years later, still doing it & it has been very consistent. I'm more about the time savings than the $ savings. Funny how many here cut their own...

 

[Koolau]

Haha, I grew up in Connecticut and heated with wood in the 1970's. But fuel oil back there at that time was $0.50/gallon!

I'm long gone from there now!

ca 1972 our propane was $0.17/gallon. After the second oil shock of the '70s, it was $1.25/gallon. That was real money back in the day though YMMV. It's bad enough when luxuries "inflate" in price. When (almost) necessities inflate, it can be nearly tragic.

 

[aja8888]

ca 1972 our propane was $0.17/gallon. After the second oil shock of the '70s, it was $1.25/gallon. That was real money back in the day though YMMV. It's bad enough when luxuries "inflate" in price. When (almost) necessities inflate, it can be nearly tragic.

Another problem we had in CT back in the 1970's is that sometimes due to the two oil embargo's (1973, 1978) , you could not get reliable fuel oil delivery, if at all. Heating with wood was a good backup and I did that for two winters.

 

[ScoopKona]

Now if I can figure out a way to lower her haircutting costs

I cut my wife's hair every three months or so -- whenever she asks me. She has long, straight hair. Takes me a couple minutes to get it even.

She's talking about getting it cut short, because of the climate here at the farm. I don't blame her. I wouldn't want long hair here, either.

So I'm going to suggest that she go to the best salon possible and have her hair cut however she wants -- that way when she comes home I have some idea what to do next time.

 

[Mulligan]

Been going to the same barber for decades (Henry). He can cut my hair (full head of hair) in 15 minutes. Cost is $15 and I give him a $5 tip.



He has owned his shop for over 30 years and is a fixture in our community. He drives a County school bus every morning and afternoon too. He is 66 years old and still works from 5 AM to 10:00 PM (still cuts hair to 10:00 PM or later).



https://communityimpact.com/the-woodlands/business/2016/02/10/henrys-woodlands-barber-shop/







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My barber is 80 years old and started in 1962 before I was even born. His first customer is still alive and getting cuts. I only started with him about 10 years ago. He only works 3 days a week by appt. He charges $16 and I give him $20. He likes my appt because he only needs half the time since I dont have a full head of hair. But I still dont get a discount.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I wondered that 10 years ago. I watched the hair stylist and then tried it myself. 10 years later, still doing it & it has been very consistent. I'm more about the time savings than the $ savings. Funny how many here cut their own...

I feel the same way about car repairs. Instead of making an appointment weeks in advance and dropping the vehicle off for a day at a likely inconvenient time, I prefer to do the job myself.

And to continue the tonsorial topic, DW does my hair, trimming it all back to about 1/2 inch. Again, it's as much about convenience as money. But she won't let me reciprocate.

 

[aja8888]

My barber is 80 years old and started in 1962 before I was even born. His first customer is still alive and getting cuts. I only started with him about 10 years ago. He only works 3 days a week by appt. He charges $16 and I give him $20. He likes my appt because he only needs half the time since I dont have a full head of hair. But I still dont get a discount.

I'll let Henry know about your barber. Maybe that will convince him to keep working! Myself and hundreds of guys around here won't know what to do if Henry closed his shop.

I'm sure he doesn't need the money as he is getting a County pension for 30 years of school bus driving and his wife is a retired RN.

 

[38Chevy454]

My barber is 80 years old and started in 1962 before I was even born. His first customer is still alive and getting cuts. I only started with him about 10 years ago. He only works 3 days a week by appt. He charges $16 and I give him $20. He likes my appt because he only needs half the time since I dont have a full head of hair. But I still dont get a discount.

I'll let Henry know about your barber. Maybe that will convince him to keep working! Myself and hundreds of guys around here won't know what to do if Henry closed his shop.

I'm sure he doesn't need the money as he is getting a County pension for 30 years of school bus driving and his wife is a retired RN.

Gotta love the irony of early retirees worrying about the way past retirement age barber continuing to keep working

 

[Amethyst]

When I met him, Mr. A. had been going to the same barber for years. His thick, wavy hair always looked beautiful. He continued going to that same barber until we moved overseas for 3 years.

On our return, he went back to that barber, who by then was over 80, had sold his shop and just cut a few customers' hair out of his home.

We were appalled at how the man's skills had deteriorated. My husband's hair, still thick and wavy, now looked thin and chopped. Instead of the full, rounded cut he'd always gotten, the barber had clipped close along the sides of Mr. A's head.

I said "Find another barber! He's too old," but out of loyalty, husband went back one more time, with even worse results. Next time, we went together to the hair cutter I'd been using.

Two years later, his former barber's obituary appeared in the local paper.

It is sad when people can't bring themselves to stop working.

Gotta love the irony of early retirees worrying about the way past retirement age barber continuing to keep working

 

[Mulligan]

Gotta love the irony of early retirees worrying about the way past retirement age barber continuing to keep working

They have something I dont….A work ethic. My barber just loves to work. My dad was a second job part time barber also. My brother owns a shop. My dad when retired would go up and cut hair 3-4 days a week and give the money right back to my brother. He just wanted to work. Work was his hobby.

 

[aja8888]

When I met him, Mr. A. had been going to the same barber for years. His thick, wavy hair always looked beautiful. He continued going to that same barber until we moved overseas for 3 years.

On our return, he went back to that barber, who by then was over 80, had sold his shop and just cut a few customers' hair out of his home.

We were appalled at how the man's skills had deteriorated. My husband's hair, still thick and wavy, now looked thin and chopped. Instead of the full, rounded cut he'd always gotten, the barber had clipped close along the sides of Mr. A's head.

I said "Find another barber! He's too old," but out of loyalty, husband went back one more time, with even worse results. Next time, we went together to the hair cutter I'd been using.

Two years later, his former barber's obituary appeared in the local paper.

It is sad when people can't bring themselves to stop working.

On occasion, when I could not get in to see Henry, my wife cut my hair. That worked OK until her hands started shaking due to COPD and a dozen different meds. Henry, at 66, is still "the man" around here. Maybe when he is over 80 in 15 years, he won't be cutting hair. Of course, in 15 years, I probably won't need a haircut anymore either!

 

[Koolau]

Another problem we had in CT back in the 1970's is that sometimes due to the two oil embargo's (1973, 1978) , you could not get reliable fuel oil delivery, if at all. Heating with wood was a good backup and I did that for two winters.

Yeah, we did the wood heating as well. We even replaced the old (more or less decorative) Franklin stove with a high efficiency stove. Unfortunately, the stove sat at one end of the house (family/living room) and the BRs were at the other end. We did turn on the furnace fan which helped somewhat in distributing the heat. Main problem is that we both w*rked and we wouldn't dare leave the stove "idling" while we were gone. So, each morning, it was cold getting up but reasonably toasty at night. I got to the place I would shower at w*rk.

 

[ncbill]

Never paid more than $15 (including tip) for my haircuts.

Broke out the Wahl clipper kit when COVID hit, probably won't be paying for a haircut ever again.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Yeah, we did the wood heating as well. We even replaced the old (more or less decorative) Franklin stove with a high efficiency stove. Unfortunately, the stove sat at one end of the house (family/living room) and the BRs were at the other end. We did turn on the furnace fan which helped somewhat in distributing the heat. Main problem is that we both w*rked and we wouldn't dare leave the stove "idling" while we were gone. So, each morning, it was cold getting up but reasonably toasty at night. I got to the place I would shower at w*rk.

I'm on an Internet forum devoted to wood heat, frequenting the pellet fuel subforum. It seems like the majority of posters heating with pellets are from the Northeast. I suppose it's because of the widespread reliance on fuel oil (I burn oil too, when I'm not burning pellets).

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

When I met him, Mr. A. had been going to the same barber for years. His thick, wavy hair always looked beautiful. He continued going to that same barber until we moved overseas for 3 years.

On our return, he went back to that barber, who by then was over 80, had sold his shop and just cut a few customers' hair out of his home.

We were appalled at how the man's skills had deteriorated. My husband's hair, still thick and wavy, now looked thin and chopped. Instead of the full, rounded cut he'd always gotten, the barber had clipped close along the sides of Mr. A's head.

I said "Find another barber! He's too old," but out of loyalty, husband went back one more time, with even worse results. Next time, we went together to the hair cutter I'd been using.

Two years later, his former barber's obituary appeared in the local paper.

It is sad when people can't bring themselves to stop working.

It is sad, but probably it was unacceptable for him to have been waving around scissors willy nilly and was he keeping up with the sanitation standards? Sure it's "only cutting hair", but there is a reason the training takes so long.

 

[Amethyst]

Husband never said anything was unsanitary, but I recall he said the barber had begun using a cane to get around.

He had known this man (as well as you know a barber, anyway) for 30+ years, and was sure the man didn't need the money (very frugal, home paid off, etc.). Just couldn't completely shrug off the harness, I guess.

It is sad, but probably it was unacceptable for him to have been waving around scissors willy nilly and was he keeping up with the sanitation standards? Sure it's "only cutting hair", but there is a reason the training takes so long.

 

[aja8888]

Yeah, we did the wood heating as well. We even replaced the old (more or less decorative) Franklin stove with a high efficiency stove. Unfortunately, the stove sat at one end of the house (family/living room) and the BRs were at the other end. We did turn on the furnace fan which helped somewhat in distributing the heat. Main problem is that we both w*rked and we wouldn't dare leave the stove "idling" while we were gone. So, each morning, it was cold getting up but reasonably toasty at night. I got to the place I would shower at w*rk.

My next door neighbor back then took out his oil furnace and replaced it with a combination coal/wood furnace. That was pretty neat.

My house had three flues running up the center of the house for two fireplaces and the oil furnace. On each fireplace raised hearth (on on each level), I put in a Vermont Castings wood burning stove as both were central in the house. I could easily heat the house with a few 18" split hardwood logs for the whole night if I throttled the stoves down. All I needed to do was crack a window in the kitchen to let in some makeup air. Over two winters, I had this down to a science.

Plus, our Connecticut neighborhood was composed of 12 houses, each on a minimum of three acres that backed up to a property of a few hundred undeveloped acres owned by Uniroyal corporate at that time. We had a never ending supply of firewood. I had built a hydraulic log splitter in the shop out of scrap parts and each summer weekend, two of my neighbors and I would cut and split oak and maple and set the pieces out for drying. I went through about 4 - 6 full cords of firewood each winter.

 

[Mulligan]

My next door neighbor back then took out his oil furnace and replaced it with a combination coal/wood furnace. That was pretty neat.



My house had three flues running up the center of the house for two fireplaces and the oil furnace. On each fireplace raised hearth (on on each level), I put in a Vermont Castings wood burning stove as both were central in the house. I could easily heat the house with a few 18" split hardwood logs for the whole night if I throttled the stoves down. All I needed to do was crack a window in the kitchen to let in some makeup air. Over two winters, I had this down to a science.



Plus, our Connecticut neighborhood was composed of 12 houses, each on a minimum of three acres that backed up to a property of a few hundred undeveloped acres owned by Uniroyal corporate at that time. We had a never ending supply of firewood. I had built a hydraulic log splitter in the shop out of scrap parts and each summer weekend, two of my neighbors and I would cut and split oak and maple and set the pieces out for drying. I went through about 4 - 6 full cords of firewood each winter.

Aja, you will appreciate this. I was never under Grizzly Adam’s tutelage so I learned the hard way. I bought a house with my first ever fireplace about 25 years ago. Bought a load of wood, and I couldnt get the wood to burn if my life depended on it. Heck I even put diesel fuel on it to no effect. Might as well tried to burn cement blocks in the fireplace. Then I asked my neighbor, and I got acquainted with the term “green wood”, ha.

 

[aja8888]

Aja, you will appreciate this. I was never under Grizzly Adam’s tutelage so I learned the hard way. I bought a house with my first ever fireplace about 25 years ago. Bought a load of wood, and I couldnt get the wood to burn if my life depended on it. Heck I even put diesel fuel on it to no effect. Might as well tried to burn cement blocks in the fireplace. Then I asked my neighbor, and I got acquainted with the term “green wood”, ha.

LOL!

 

[Koolau]

I'm on an Internet forum devoted to wood heat, frequenting the pellet fuel subforum. It seems like the majority of posters heating with pellets are from the Northeast. I suppose it's because of the widespread reliance on fuel oil (I burn oil too, when I'm not burning pellets).

Heh, heh, mine was the old fashioned cut-it-down-yourself-cut-into-logs-split-it-by-hand wood fuel. What a total pain - and I was in my 20s and 30s. I wouldn't even pick up an axe or look at a chain saw any more. Ahhhhh. The good old days. YMMV.

 

[corn18]

We heated our house with wood when I was growing up. I'm not sure I enjoyed myself going out every weekend in the winter and cutting a cord of wood. But now I look back on that time I spent with my dad with great fondness. That and we had a trap line we ran every day in the winter, morning and afternoon. My wife was horrified when I described the trapping process. We needed the money, though.

 

[aja8888]

I'm on an Internet forum devoted to wood heat, frequenting the pellet fuel subforum. It seems like the majority of posters heating with pellets are from the Northeast. I suppose it's because of the widespread reliance on fuel oil (I burn oil too, when I'm not burning pellets).

I never used pellets when I heated with wood in Connecticut. There was just too much free hardwood around I guess. Or maybe the pellets weren't around in the 1970s?

 

[Koolau]

We heated our house with wood when I was growing up. I'm not sure I enjoyed myself going out every weekend in the winter and cutting a cord of wood. But now I look back on that time I spent with my dad with great fondness. That and we had a trap line we ran every day in the winter, morning and afternoon. My wife is horrified when I described the trapping process. We needed the money, though.

My dad and DW's dad both raised rabbits for food and pelts. I spent hours in the garden with dad. I was the go-to guy when dad had to cover or uncover his cold frames or rush out and chase down the covers when a microburst sent them flying over the back 40 (actually, we only had an acre.) I can't say I much enjoyed it at the time, but like you, I look back with fond memories now. I realize just how hard my mom and dad worked to give us a shot at a better life. RIP mom and dad. You have earned your reward.

Returning you now... What were we talking about - oh yeah! Inflation - so YMMV.