What Condition is My Conditioner In?

The round-up of every last bottle of shampoo in the house also turned up a whole lotta little bottles of conditioner. Now, I am one fussy chick when it comes to conditioner. I have stick straight hair. Now, you might me saying to yourself, hey, I have straigth hair, too. Not like mine, sister! I have the stick-est, straight-est hair ever. I am not making this up. Hairdressers marvel at my hair's abolute lack of body. One even said that my hair lacked "movement," to which I replied, "it has movement; it's just vertical." (Further proof: I do not own a brush or carry a comb; once my hair is dry in the morning, gravity keeps it in palce.)

I know that the hotel mini bottles of conditioner will do not the trick, so I justify (rationalize??) my expensive but wonderful conditioner: Pureology.

I won't use anything but Pureology, despite its hefty price tag of about $25 (depending on where I buy it) because I know it works. Without Pureology, I wouldn't be able to get a comb through my hair after washing it. And, gotta say, just a little bit does the trick, so a bottle last a really long time.

So, what to do with those little bottles of non-Pureology conditioner? Use them as shaving cream. Seriously, they work just fine and are perfect for airline travel, when there's no way you're getting a big ol' can of shaving cream on the airplane.

The Great Shampoo Embargo of 2009

When life feels out of control, it's best to grab onto some small thing over which you feel you have some control. At least, that's my approach. Hence, The Great Shampoo Embargo of 2009.

With money tight and getting tighter, and my "old" life, with its easy, breezy approach to budgeting, looking ever more distant in the rearview mirror, I found something to focus on that has given me that sense of control: No buying new shampoo until all the old dibs and dabs of shampoo were used up. Every half-empty bottle in the shower, every little travel-sized bottle hiding out in the linen closet, every little freebie sample that arrived in the mail or with the Sunday paper. (Love free stuff with the paper!)

Well, here it is, June, almost halfway through the year, and I still haven't bought any new shampoo. It helped that we started the year with a nearly full jumbo, super-econo-sized Costco bottle. And that my husband, Ron, was out of town for a good chunk of time.

My husband just shakes his head at my insistence on using up what we already have. He argues that a new bottle would have cost just a few bucks, and that whatever we're saving doesn't change our overall financial picture.

I understand where he's coming from. Saving ten bucks on shampoo doesn't change our mortgage payment (and, living in San Francisco, it's one scary-ass mortgage payment), true. But, if I couple my shampoo embargo (which has the added benefit of getting stuff out of the house) with some other cost-saving measures (more on those to come), then everything starts to add up.

You can't save a hundred dollars without first saving one dollar, right?

The Family Motto, Back to Haunt Me

Growing up, those were the words I'd hear if I asked my parents for something new or complained about what we were having for dinner. I hated this motto and the sing-songy way my parents, usually my dad, would say it.

Fast forward several decades and throw in a financial meltdown and, hello!, family motto, you're starting to look pretty good to me. Not that I've ever been a crazy-crazy spender, but, still, I know I've spent money on things I didn't really want or things that made me feel good for a moment in time. For example, if I had all the money right now that I've spent on beauty products over the years, I'd be one rich chick, and, let's face, look exactly the same way I do. (Alas, beauty has never been available in a tube.)

So, here I am, about a year into my personal financial meltdown (got a headstart on the rest of the world when my husband was laid off in May 2008) and finally deciding I have to do something about it. And that something is, write about it.

I know, I'm a little late getting on the write-about-the-financial-blues-bandwagon as there are a million blogs already out there about saving money and living the suddenly fashionable frugal lifestyle. For me, it is different in that I don't care if anyone else ever reads this. This little blog is mine, mine, all mine. If someone stumbles upon it, groovy; if not, that's groovy, too. Mostly, I'm just looking for a way to chronicle my own money-saving steps, primarily as a means of reminding myself that I have made them, and dealing with my mostly out-of-control emotions about being out-of-control of the economy. (I know, I know, I never was in control, but at least I had some sense of control over my little slice of the big economic pie.)

So, truth be told, the family motto isn't back to haunt me. Instead, I'm here to embrace and write about it. My parents would be so proud!