Burning the dollars at both ends this week!

What a budget buster! $122 for haircoloring! I blew it. It's my fault. I had gone to this one salon before for a haircut which I thought was reasonable $35. I had my hair professionally colored for $45 there. So when I went in with a special request I didn't know it was going to cost us a third of the month's miscellaneous budget! I wanted to go back to a little darker hair with blonde highlights. I didn't ask before hand, but I assumed, the "A" word, that it wouldn't be too much. I didn't want a haircut. From this point on I will go to a school of cosmetology to get a haircut.

So the beautician mixed the color's and applied them and decided I needed darker eyebrows. I admit that I like them darker. I didn't have a whole lot of say in the matter. I guess I could have put my hand out and yelled "STOP" or maybe not yell, but could have stopped her. She said, "I'm just going to color your brows so they don't disappear on you." I figured in my head that, "well, she's using the same color that is on my hair, no need to mix anything extra up, okay." So off I went to sit while the coloring processed. During my wait she fit in a second customer and washed, cut and styled her hair. "Time deepening" Bob would call it. She might as well, she had the time. She got back to me and rinsed the hair. I loved it. Best color job ever. It's a lot darker than my driver's license photo I just had taken.

Then she said, "So, what are we doing with your hair today?" I said, "I don't want to cut it, I just wanted it colored today." She said, "Why don't I just trim off the ends a bit so you have a clean edge..." "Okay". WHAT AN IDIOT!!!! She probably has a bridge to sell me in Brooklyn too, and in my ignorance I would buy it!

So, I gathered up my purse, after she, trimmed, dried and styled my hair..and went to pay. I asked, thinking it might be $50 since she did highlights..., "what do I owe you for today..?" "One twenty two." and it wasn't the time we were talking about. Without throwing up which I was very proud of, but mute, I wrote out the check and gave her a paltry $8 tip. I almost didn't, but I always tip. I just couldn't justify paying anymore...so...$130. Had to go to my bank and get some money out of the savings.

I apologized up and down to my husband. How stupid could I be...that is what my vanity cost me. He said he liked it, "I suppose I'd better for that price," he said. An expensive lesson. I usually get my color out of a box. Well, that is where it is coming from from now on. I suppose I can justify it by knowing that today, when I cut my husband's hair, If I added up every haircut I have given him over the past 30 years (I'm the only one who cuts his hair), we're probably way ahead. But that is rationalizing.

Another stupid thing I did. We had ordered a Lenox "Peanuts Christmas Pageant" decoration for Christmas. It was back ordered until January 6. So I cancelled it. I don't know why we reordered it again, but it was before we started our total money makeover. I got a letter about four days ago that said it was backordered until March 14, so if I signed this form and returned it I could still have it reserved. I decided, "no. I don't want to spend the money." I didn't sign the form, thus cancelling the order and threw the form away. UPS showed up in our driveway today. The box was from Lennox. When the truck pulled up I could not fathom what could be being delivered. Christmas was over and I hadn't ordered anything since cutting up the credit cards. Voila! The Christmas Pageant set. China with gold plating on each piece. It is sitting on our mantle right now, next to the roundish Nativity set I bought in place of it back in December.

No wonder we're in debt! Two thirds of our budget blown in two weeks! AHHHHHHHHH!! As Charlie Brown would say.

On the bright side...through weight watchers I have lost over 5 pounds! That is cause for celebration! Today, Martin Luther King Day was Bob's one year anniversary of working here. As "planned" we are going out to a movie (tuesday night is free popcorn and drinks) and going out to dinner. I think we are going to see "The Dilema" with the guy from King of Queens. I'm looking forward to it. It looks funny, is rated PG-13 and was directed by Ron Howard.

Talked with our daughter and son-in-law tonight. They are doing the total money makeover too. They are ahead of us in progress. They have the money envelopes for groceries, misc., and other things and when the envelopes are empty that is the end of it. We haven't instituted that yet, but we will next week!! Enough of this jazz. They shop at Aldies, we used to. We are going to be shopping at Aldies and Dollar Tree. Dollar General is too expensive. It's not all a dollar, but at Dollar Tree it is and they have brand name cleaning supplies, wrapping paper, and odds and ends. No odds and ends are coming into this house. Christmas is over and my disastrous shopping spree has come to an abrupt halt.

We were going to get some money out of a mutual fund. We should have done it last week when I was thinking about it. It has lost $700.00 within that amount of time. We need to gather as much money as possible and put it toward our debts. We will be able to pay off everything with that and another investment and part of my student loan. Then that will be paid off at about $800 per month. From there we will start a huge emergency fund, which would come in handy about now. Three days ago the power steering went out on my car and it isn't the fluid. It may be a leak or a pump, filter or whatever. If it is "whatever" that can go on to hurt the transmission etc. according to our son-in-law the mechanic. After the student loan and emergency fund we will start paying off the house.

Like I said, our daughter and son-in-law are way ahead of us in the total money makeover...like about 27 years ahead. He is fixing up his car to sell with parts found on Craig's list for about $20 a piece instead of $250 and selling it, and getting a less expensive car. They also have a large screen tv which is a rent-to-own that they figured out would, if they kept paying on it, would eventually cost them $6,000. Rather than saving and buying one outright for $2,000.

Using them as our example, we have decided to pull the plug on our tv and drop satellite. We may have a penalty since we signed a contract, but in the long run we will pay less and who needs the crap that we get on that anyway. We will still upgrade our internet speed and get our news online. We will take the tv armoir out of the livingroom, put a big cozy chair in that corner, bring in a rocking chair in the other corner and it will be as calming as our place in Iowa was. We'll keep the TV somewhere else in case we want to watch a movie. Our livingroom will be an oasis again where we can read to each other, one of our favorite forms of entertainment.

I've rambled on long enough. Good things and bad going on. Tomorrow I have an eye exam, which is covered by insurance. I will get the most attractive frames for the lowest level the insurance allows and will not get scratch protection, etc. They are on my face 98% of the time anyway.

Have a great day.