Wedding Bell Blues: A Modest (Frugal!) Proposal Instead of a Wedding

A colleague told me that a friend of his just received a directive from her future daughter-in-law: Buy a blue dress for the wedding. This is probably normal, right? People want color-coordinated pictures, I suppose.

As the veteran of a $30.00 wedding (all inclusive), I am obviously not the most wedding-centric person. I was discussing the blue dress request with Miss Em when she was home a few weeks ago. She already knows I hate big parties and could not perform as expected at a wedding. So I figured that she was also aware of what would next come out of my mouth.

Instead of a wedding, I wish more people would take the money and go on a trip. We would give you $5000 or $10,000 for a trip if you didn't have a wedding.

Well, her eyes bugged out! She had no idea.

You could take two trips with that money!

Am I heartless?

Iconic Fashion

As it happens, I am an ICON. Yes, on Halloween, one of my students came to school dressed as---me. She was wearing a long cardi, a long tank, skinny jeans, a scarf and ballet flats. The pièce de résistance: glasses on a chain. Before I realized what she was doing, I told her she looked nice. I guess I like how I dress!

Sadly, I was disappointment to her that day: I had to go to a post-funeral service at the home of an acquaintance. Therefore, I did not wear my usual garb. With my usual jeans, I wore two thrifted iconic pieces: a black St John knit jacket and my Feux de Route Hermes scarf (I'm almost certain it's not a fake). Well! Many compliments at the informal service, delivered mainly to Mr. FS. He said, "I've never seen before the power of an accessory." Yes, he said it.

Have you ever caused a minor sensation with an iconic item?

A Plethora of Onions

A while ago, Funny About Money wrote of near-apoplexy at the sight of a $1.00 onion at the grocery. Even though she had gone to the grocery expressly for the onion, the price so shocked her that she left---onion-less. Most of us frugalistas have done similar silly things: after all, a dollar won't kill you, plus you wasted that money on gas, plus you wasted your precious time. I know I've had price freak-outs myself.

So imagine my delight when the most recent ad for Piggly-Wiggly featured 3 pounds of onions for a mere dollar. How I wish I could pass that price on to Funny! The great thing is that a new Piggly-Wiggly opened right on our commuting route. I check the ad every Wednesday and stop off to get whatever is good. Mr FS snoozes on the car for the 15 minutes it takes.

Now I am the owner of 9 pounds of onions. Needless to say, these will not last forever. Here's what we do: we roughly chop 3 pounds and put them in the slow cooker with a bit of oil. For a long time. This results in an approximation of caramelized onions. We freeze the resulting much=reduced onions in a zip-lock.

I've written about this before. The best part is how much time it saves. The money is actually merely a nice bonus. What percentage of recipes start: "Chop and saute an onion"? 50% at least. Then you have to wash your cutting board, knife, pot, and hands.

So, once I have my frozen treasure, I might break off a chunk and throw it into a pot of potatoes. Add a little stock (or not), simmer, and puree when soft with your stick blender. Add some butter. Dinner is ready!

Oh, you need more veggies? Throw some chopped spinach into the pot.

Think of all the recipes you could use this for. Do you have any tricks like this?





i'v

CHEEEEEP Shampoo and Conditioner

I love Paula Begoun: she does her research and loves inexpensive products. She just put together a list of the best inexpensive shampoos and conditioners--among them a Suave product! Think of what you can do with all the money you save.

The 5 Best Inexpensive Shampoos
The products listed below are presented alphabetically by brand. After analyzing dozens of competing products, we selected them based on price, great performance, and intriguing formulas (well, as intriguing as hair-care formulas can be given their widely repetitive nature). All of the listed products are readily available at drugstores and mass-market retailers such as Target and Wal Mart. We're betting that some of these prices will shock you, but once you use these products, you probably won't go back to the expensive ones because of how well these work!

1. Aveeno Nourish + Shine or Nourish + Moisturize or Nourish + Volumize Shampoo ($6.49 for 10.5 oz.). Regardless of which one you choose, these all work great for all hair types without causing considerable buildup—the formulas are nearly identical.

2. Dove Volume Boost Shampoo Weightless Formula ($3.49 for 12 oz.). A great all-purpose shampoo for the whole family that's also a wise choice for normal to fine or thin hair. Most stores sell a larger size, too.

3. John Frieda Smooth Start Repairing Shampoo ($5.39 for 10 oz.). A brilliant conditioning shampoo for dry to very dry hair that's normal to coarse, curly, or thick. Note that many of Frieda's shampoos contain drying detergent cleansing agents, but this one (packaged in a tube) doesn't.

4. Suave Naturals Daily Clarifying Shampoo ($1.74 for 22.5 oz.). An exceptional bargain for a shampoo that works beautifully to remove product buildup and restore a healthy bounce and shine to hair, especially if you routinely use heavier styling products (pomades, waxes, or silicone serums). This is also a great shampoo to remove chlorine and hard water deposits from hair.

5. VO5 2-in-1 Moisturizing Shampoo + Conditioner, Normal Hair ($1.49 for 15 oz.). Although those with dry or color-treated hair will want to follow this with a good conditioner, this 2-in-1 formula is suitable for its intended hair type. This is a much better option than the other VO5 shampoos because those contain the drying cleansing agent sodium lauryl sulfate (not to be confused with sodium LAURETH sulfate, which is gentle).
The 5 Best Inexpensive Conditioners

1. Clairol Herbal Essences Hydralicious Reconditioning Conditioner for Dry/Damaged Hair ($2.99 for 10.1 oz.). This is great for daily use on dry hair, whether it's chemically treated or not. This can be too heavy for those with fine or thin hair.

2. Garnier Fructis Color Shield Fortifying Cream Conditioner for Color-Treated Hair ($3.09 for 13 oz.). Among the many Garnier conditioners, this is a good option to smooth, soften, and add shine to color-treated hair. It doesn't have any advantage for helping color last longer, so you can ignore that claim.

3. Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner ($5.74 for 8.5 oz.). A must-try for dry, damaged hair that's normal to coarse or thick, this rich smoothing formula makes hair beautifully soft and helps combat frizzies.

4. Pantene Nature Fusion Moisture Balance or Smooth Vitality Conditioner ($5.89 for 25.4 oz.). Most of Pantene's conditioners are good, but their Nature Fusion options capitalize on the silicone technology for which Pantene is known, and also adds intriguing conditioning ingredients that have research showing they help strengthen hair and protect against heat damage, at least to the extent possible (no product can completely protect hair from heat damage). The Moisture Balance and Smooth Vitality formulas are nearly identical, so it doesn't matter which one you choose—both are good for normal to dry hair of any thickness.

5. TRESemme Moisture Rich Conditioner for Dry, Damaged Hair or Smooth & Silky Conditioner for Dry or Damaged Hair ($2.89 for 15 oz.). The formulas of these products are nearly identical and with each you get an outstanding daily conditioner that's best for normal to dry hair that's normal to slightly thick, curly, or coarse. These can be used on fine or thin hair, but only if applied to the ends and rinsed thoroughly.

It truly is possible to have beautiful, manageable hair without spending a lot of money.

Check out Beautypedia for other recommendations.

Benefits (?) of the Economic Downturn: Health Club

For many years, we belonged to the area Y: we had a killer family rate ($300/yr) and used it for various things: Mr FS used the pool, Miss Em took ballet, Frugal Son did this and that, and even I--when I could rouse myself from my comfy chair--walked on the treadmill. Then they moved to a very bad facility with no pool. We stuck it out, even though we seldom traveled to the distant facility because the manager said we could keep our special membership rate. They built a big new Y and--after years of holding on to our cheap membership so we could use the new facility--the director said the "computer wouldn't take our membership." Right. The new facility is very far away and the new cost about quadruple, so good-bye.

Last spring we bought a Groupon for two months at a facility (no pool) about a 15 minute walk from our house. We didn't plan to renew after the 2 months. When the facility opened about 4 years ago, we inquired and discovered that there was a MASSIVE joining fee, plus a monthly fee of $120 for the two of us, to be paid upfront for the year.

We finally activated the Groupon yesterday. Out of politeness, I asked what the fees were. NO JOINING FEE! Monthly fees: the owner said "Where do you work?" When it finally emerged that we were teachers, she said "We love our teachers! You get the public servant rate for $60.00/month for the two of you!" I said that we went away in the summer, "No problem! You can suspend your membership." Then I asked if you had to pay for a year in advance. "No, not in the current economic climate."

I can't think of another way that the economic downturn has benefited me or most people. I guess bankruptcy lawyers and the like are doing fine.

But I think we may join the health club at the end of our trial. So happy.

Chic Surroundings: Frugal Style

My first exposure to frugal decor was in a magazine my mother got, perhaps Ladies Home Journal. My father worked at an ad agency at the time (Kenyon and Eckhart, mentioned on Madmen) and the magazine was a freebie that my mother--not much of a reader--never opened, as far as I can remember. Anyway, I remember a feature on furnishing a room where most of your budget went to a single high-ticket item: one was a piano, one was a rug, and I can't remember the others. Perhaps that article was the origin of my belief that you can always cut your spending to afford what you want. Like my trip to Europe!

I've been trying to improve my home for a while. It is a slow process, exacerbated by my frugal mindset. It would be easy enough to go to any of the elegant shops around town--even my little town--and pull out the credit card.

The internet is a great source of inspiration. It turns out zillions of clever people post their budget ideas and projects on-line.

Have you ever seen Copy Cat Chic?

Or--for the DIYer--a burlap ottoman slipcover. The handy Miss Em swears she can make this.

Any other good resources?

Advice and Opinions Wanted: from Francophiles and Others

Soooo, we asked Frugal Son to keep a look-out for rentals in France, since our freebie of last year was probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event. Lo and behold: another Assistant would like to sublet her apartment in the old part of Le Mans for 500 euros a month.

Le Mans does not seem as chock full of stuff to do as Nantes, which was our nearest city last summer. Still, Le Mans is closer to Paris and the price seems quite good to us.

What do you think, dear Readers? Should we make arrangements or keep on looking?