How do you LBYM?

[tb001]

Count me in as someone who would cut their own hair if I could. I can’t stand the time spent at the hair dresser. As it is, I go only 3-4x per year, which is not enough, but all I can stand.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Count me in as someone who would cut their own hair if I could. I can’t stand the time spent at the hair dresser. As it is, I go only 3-4x per year, which is not enough, but all I can stand.

I tried the Flowbee for a bit, but just couldn't get it "right"

Since leaving the Air Force, I don't get a haircut but every 8 weeks and with it costing $15 with tip, it's not an unreasonable cost for me. Also, since I can get it cut on a Tuesday at 10:15 AM...I almost never have to wait to get it cut.

 

[SeanPizzle]

Used cement blocks under the car verses fancy metal stands. And yes, I should go work on that thing verses posting stuff here.

I'm all for frugal, but safety is important. Cement blocks can stress fracture and crumble, crushing people under vehicles. As long as you have good term life for your wife, this may be OK in the long run.

In all seriousness, buy some harbor freight jackstands

 

[aja8888]

My barber is a great guy and takes appointments up to 10:30 PM, 5 nights per week. I (and MANY of my friends) have been going to him for 25+ years. No need to tell him how to cut my hair (or thin it for me) as he already knows.

His charge is $15 and I leave a $5 tip. He drives a county school bus in the morning too!

He is a living legend in our town.

He also has a 72" TV on in the shop always tuned to a local sporting event.

Plus, going there gets me out of the house for a while!

Getting haircuts is NOT on my LBYM list.

 

[mountainsoft]

This is a depressing thread. Home hair cut? No thanks. We need some simple joys are required.
It's the big things that move the needle.

Small things do add up, but that's not why I live below my means. I live life in a way that I enjoy, it just happens to be a frugal lifestyle. I'm a simple guy, I don't need expensive things to be happy.

And yes, I used to go out for haircuts, but got tired of finding new barbers when we moved, or my usual place went out of business. It's so much easier to get my hair cut at home, no drive, no parking, no waiting for my turn, or wasting the better part of a morning. Not to mention my home barber is usually naked. Simple joys.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

This is a depressing thread. Home hair cut? No thanks. We need some simple joys are required.
It's the big things that move the needle. A house that's 1/2 what the mortgage brokers and realtors tell you you can afford. Reasonable autos. Affordable vacations. Cooking.
But good lord I need to sit in a chair and have my hair cut by a pro. And once a year splurge on a straight razor shave even.

I do go to a salon for my hair, but I switched to a strip mall stylist from the trendy downtown place. The new stylist charges less but actually does a better job.

Small expenses add up over time. Every $100 a month is $1.2K a year, over 50 years = $60K. Today one of the grocery stores had shrimp for $3 a pound, a free offer for a $5 jar of salsa and some other loss leaders so it added up to $30 savings off regular prices for 20 minutes of my time, and no extra gas since the store was on the way to another errand. It is not a huge savings for one day but over a month those kinds of bargains really add up. We can see a play or concert with half price tickets on Goldstar for $30 so taking 20 minutes today to buy loss leader grocery items paid for a night out this weekend.

 

[ckelly78z]

I am currently in the process of removing/replacing carpet in our master bathroom. I am also replacing the internals, and the sealing ring on our existing toilet rather than just buying new. I am touching up the wall paint, and replacing the base boards to finish off a clean, new look. Most likely, I will replace the sink faucet next, and build a sliding barn style entry door on tracks to complete my DIY renovation. All of this together will be about $300-$400 instead of hiring a contractor to install new appliances in the $3000-$4000 range (IF I can get someone out to actually do the work).

The added bonus of a DIY project is doing in my spare time after work, instead of having a contractor stomping around the house while i'm not there.

 

[audreyh1]

Somehow we simply always spent less than what comes in. And saved plenty over the years too. Stayed debt free except for mortgage.

We always opted for quality in our purchases, but didn’t purchase a huge amount over the years. And kept original house and cars a long time. No kids.

As our income increased in retirement we started to significantly value time over money so we only do certain chores ourselves now. And we spend a lot on quality experiences now - a priority. But we still live well within our means.

Don’t really think about it anymore. Old habits are hard to break. In fact I make more of an effort these days to spend well and counteract the instinct for not spending money.

But we go to the hair salon every few weeks. It’s so cheap! Gosh, way cheaper than our groceries or eating out which we rarely do unless traveling.

 

[audreyh1]

First, get a lot of "means."

Sort of kidding, but, even though I'm still way more frugal than I need to be, I did a LOT of LBYM before FIRE. Now, even though LBYM is ingrained, it's not as necessary as it used to be.

Same here, so I push against it to some degree.

We did a lot of LBYM before retiring on less income than we have now.

 

[scrabbler1]

I do go to a salon for my hair, but I switched to a strip mall stylist from the trendy downtown place. The new stylist charges less but actually does a better job.

Small expenses add up over time. Every $100 a month is $1.2K a year, over 50 years = $60K. Today one of the grocery stores had shrimp for $3 a pound, a free offer for a $5 jar of salsa and some other loss leaders so it added up to $30 savings off regular prices for 20 minutes of my time, and no extra gas since the store was on the way to another errand. It is not a huge savings for one day but over a month those kinds of bargains really add up. We can see a play or concert with half price tickets on Goldstar for $30 so taking 20 minutes today to buy loss leader grocery items paid for a night out this weekend.

Loading up on certain costly food items when they are on sale is a favorite of mine because it is recurring. The other day, I did my regular food shopping at a different supermarket, one that is also nearby, because they had boneless chicken cutlets on sale for $2 a pound, $1 a pound cheaper than what I often pay. Because I had some extra freezer space, I bought 3 large packs of it, totaling 11 pounds, so I saved $11 from just that one item and without any real extra effort. Most of the time, I pay less than $3 a pound because I load up then wait for these deep discounts to appear.

 

[GravitySucks]

If Sal takes his clothes off to cut my hair I'm buying a FloBee. But I image you got a much better deal going on.


."Not to mention my home barber is usually naked. Simple joys. "

 

[W2R]

I used to cut my own hair back when I was working and LBYM'ing to save for retirement. But I think that cutting my own hair is tedious, annoying, and time consuming, and I don't enjoy doing it at all.

So now, I get a "senior cut" at Supercuts for $13.95, +$2 tip. It's fast and easy and they do a good enough job. I only have it cut twice a year since I tend to procrastinate.

 

[neihn]

Around 1997, I talked to my older co-worker about saving and investments, he advised me to max out 401k and contribute to ROTH for both me and wife (wife is SAHM) and join the ESPP program (10% salary buying mega-corp stock 15% discount).

Guess what? I did that, so most of my income went there (401k, ROTH, ESPP), just enough left for food and shelter and transportation (btw, older beat up car), no fancy clothes, restaurants, vacations for us. Frugal by design.

However, I am still thankful for my friend advise back then

 

[Amethyst]

Just got 11 "new" (to me!) sleeveless tops (a must for Florida) for $85.00, via the online thrift store (thredup.com). Used Paypal and my Chase credit card for the current 5% rebate promotion.

These tops are prettier than I have seen in the stores, and I didn't have to leave the house or pore through crowded stores to find them. Just "Purple, size S" and click, click, click.

 

[Hermit]

As a mountain Hermit l don't need no stinking haircuts! (I do take a shower on occasion. )

 

[gayl]

When I was working I started with putting a minuscule amount away each pay period. Think it was well under $100. BUT I took all raises and divided in 3rds:
1. To retirement
2. To lifestyle enhancements
3. To debt
As my debt retired, I just saved more. My standard of living continually went up but so did my investments. I still put aside 1k a month which is stupid bc I am retired

I've discussed this with my kids who fortunately seem to be following my example.

 

[KrisQuit]

LBYM for us is mostly watching what we spend and knowing what we actually need. I have to pay for a haircut (because, seriously, you have no idea what a challenge my hair is), but I take lunch to work each day, and bring coffee from home instead of purchasing at the coffee shop, we do as much of our own home repairs as we can, we carry no debt (own a simple house, hold on to our cars, and only purchase what we can afford in cash).

We splurge, once in a while, but are certain to pay ourselves/savings first. LBYM doesn’t need to be a life of misery; rather, a life of careful decisions with an eye on saving to break free.

 

[Amethyst]

I started with a $75 savings bond for $3.50 every 2 weeks. Literally, all I could afford! I still have those bonds, which are almost 40 years old. Reluctant to cash them in b/c of taxes, which is silly.

When I was working I started with putting a minuscule amount away each pay period. Think it was well under $100. .

 

[NW-Bound]

I started with a $75 savings bond for $3.50 every 2 weeks. Literally, all I could afford! I still have those bonds, which are almost 40 years old. Reluctant to cash them in b/c of taxes, which is silly.

A couple of years ago, we recalled that we had some EE bonds, and had to cash them in. They stopped earning interest after 30 years. Lost only a few years of interest.