How to save $80 in an hour

I just colored my hair this morning. I'm prematurely grey and unfortunately, it does not suit me. So, I color my hair. I used to go to a salon, pay $80+ (yes, around here, I'd pay close to that even if I went to a beauty school--go figure!), and do it all again in 6 weeks.

I hate going to the salon.

So, I started doing it myself. I use L'Oreal Excellence (the pink box). I tried Preference (the gold box) one time, but I guess it's not really meant to cover grey because a) it didn't and b) it left my hair dry as a slice of leftover pizza.

I color about every 5 weeks, let's say 10 times a year. If I went to the salon, that would be about $900, depending on how much I tipped, and which salon.

Since I watch the sales, and since I use the same color, I can stock up. Recently Walgreens had an in-store $2 off coupon which I used along with a $2 off manufacturer's coupon, making my final price only $5.99 + tax per box of color. Say $6.50 total. Times ten, that's $65. That's right, for less than the cost of ONE salon visit, I can color my hair for an entire YEAR.

It takes about an hour, start to finish. It would take at least that long at the salon, plus the waiting around ahead of time. And did I mention that I hate going to the salon?

It's a new month

Do you know where you money is going?

If you don't already do so, keep all your receipts for a month. Every single one. Gas, food, that quick stop at Krispy Kreme, oil changes, etc. etc. Keep them all.