Money Saving Tips: Health and Beauty Section

I had a milestone birthday this week, in the aftermath of a huge snowstorm. I spent the first day in my 60's stuck inside the house. CR managed to get out for a physical therapy appointment and brought home a gas station Little Debbie cake for a mini celebration. We will have a better observation of the date when there isn't a foot of snow out our door!

Turning 60 might be a daunting thought to younger women. Honestly, I've never been intimidated by the idea of aging, possibly because I watched the generations of women before me, in my family, do it so well. I also have followed in their footsteps when it comes to caring more about my health than trying to measure up to society's beauty standards (minus my teen years in the '80's, a topic for a different post!) Although I don't put much stock ($) in products made just to enhance my appearance, I do try to buy quality items for my family's health and to get the best bang for my buck in that area.

Here are my

5 Tips to Save Money in the Health and Beauty Section

1. Know how much of an item you need for a year's worth of consumption.

     Just like food, some health and beauty items contain ingredients that go rancid. Stocking up on them seems like a good idea until you open one and find it has gone bad. That investment has now turned into a loss. I like to start purchasing every new product in a subscription-based program (Amazon Prime, for example) so I get the reduced rate while I'm figuring out how much I really use in a year. 

2. Keep track of the cost of each product in a list or cell phone notepad.

   Comparison shopping gets trickier every day. The stores have found a way to list their items in ways that make it hard to actually compare, without doing some calculator gymnastics. One of their sneaky tricks is to change the unit of measurement types. They hope we won't take the time to figure out the difference between the cost per ounce on one product versus the cost per pound on another. Different quantities in similar products can also throw you off. (Just because the package size is similar, that doesn't mean they contain the same amount of product.) This is especially true if you're shopping in person. Nobody wants to be THAT shopper who hogs the aisle while doing ALL THE MATH. By taking the time before you shop to note the price in different units, you can make an informed decision.

3. Buy in bulk.

     Once you've had an item on subscription long enough to know how much you need, start watching for opportunities to stock up on it. For example, if you know you take 1 vitamin per day, you need 365 for the year. Look online and in warehouse clubs (Sam's, Costco, ...) for bigger bottles and multi-packs. Just check the expiration date on those things that can go bad. If you have the willpower to not buy things you don't need, rewards apps (Fetch, Ibotta, ...) are also good ways to find deals. I use my rewards points to buy Amazon gift cards that pay for the lower-priced items available there.

4. Take advantage of seasonal prices.

     Have you ever noticed the huge center aisle full of sunscreen in the summertime? What do they do with all of it once beach season is over? It gets relegated to one tiny section of a shelf. Hit that aisle near the end of the season, check the expiration dates, and pick up exactly how much you used that summer. What about all those gift boxes of soap, toothpaste/brushes,  and shaving kits at Christmastime? Start checking out the clearance aisles right after the holiday and stock up on the scents you love. The end of winter might be the best time to get lotions and lip butters. Usually, a month or two after something goes out of season, you can get a really good deal on it at a store that specializes in close-outs (Ollies, Big Lots, ...)

5. Dedicate a space in your home for extras

     You really don't save money if you have to buy something twice because you forgot where you put the first one. On top of that, there is a real risk of "savings burnout" if things are piling up in a way that feels disorganized or messy. If you have a place to put all the extras of an item so you know exactly where to find the replacement when you empty it, you will be more likely to continue trying to be frugal with your supplies.

Bonus Tip

6. Make your own

While I was trying to avoid cabin fever this week, I whipped up some coconut oil.

Wintertime equals dry skin here. Coconut oil is great to use after a shower to help my skin seal in the moisture and not dry out. I also like to apply a tiny bit to my hair when it's damp.  Whipping the oil helps to keep it from being hard to scoop out. I use coconut oil year-round. For my summer skin routine, check out this post.

     

Preparedness Experience Four

 I promised to share the experiences in my life that have taught me to "Be Prepared" throughout the month of September. Here is part four:

So far in this series, I've covered water, bugging out, and food emergencies. Today I'm going to focus on electricity.

 Where we live now has opened my eyes to the shakiness of the rural grid. There's been too many times to count when the power has been off for hours at a time. A vehicle accident involving a pole, a thunderstorm, a layer of ice, even a mischievous squirrel can cause a failure. Fortunately our linemen are quick to start repairs and a few hours later we're back in business. This particular memory reminds me that even quick repairs aren't always fast.

It was springtime 10 years ago and my daughter and I headed off to a bigger town an hour away to catch a musical and do some shopping. There was a storm forecast but nothing out of the ordinary for our area. The trip home was a grand display of nature's fury that was anything but ordinary, though. When we finally made it home, after dark, the power was out. I still wasn't really concerned and went to bed as usual. 

When I got up the next day there was still no electricity. I still was thinking it was no big deal and would be fixed sooner than later. I had no idea how widespread the outage was. At that time, we didn't have kids at home, farm animals or a deep freezer. I didn't even have to be concerned with pipes bursting or overheating because the outside temperatures were perfect for opening the windows. 

But the second full day without power was perturbing. Two days of going to work after a baby wipe bath was enough. By then, I knew the food in my fridge was going to be rotting, not to mention the fact that I couldn't flush the toilets but I COULDN'T FLUSH THE TOILETS. On the plus side, I had mastered charging up my Kindle and cell phone at work and metering their usage to make it to the next day.

Days three through five are a blur in my memory. I was driving to town after work every day to borrow a shower and living on peanut butter sandwiches. I do, however,  vividly recall the hour I spent filling up trash bags with all the food that went bad. That foolish expense was all because of my bad judgement of how long our power would be off. If I had only been open to the possibility of a longer outage, I could have borrowed some refrigerator space from a friend. 

Except for a planned outage for tree trimming, that's the longest I ever had to go without electricity. But now, with animals and freezers, I stay totally prepared for it to happen again. 

Preparedness Experience Number One

 I promised to share the experiences in my life that have taught me to "Be Prepared" throughout the month of September. Here is the earliest I can remember:

As I've mentioned in other posts, I grew up (age 3-12) in a home that didn't have running water. Our house had a well on a back porch. The hand pump handle was broken so the only way to get the water out was to drop a bucket down and then pull it up, hand over hand. So, we did have a constant supply. But that water was deemed unsafe to drink by the Health Department. While we could haul in buckets to heat for bathing and cleaning, our drinking water was off site. 

My grandparents lived about 3 miles away so once or twice a week my dad would drive to their home and fill up a five gallon bucket with drinking water. It sat on the kitchen floor with a dipper in it and we used it for drinking, cooking, and teeth brushing. We only had one bucket so he would take it when it got empty and refill it, leaving us with none until he returned. He did this rain or shine, freezing weather or warm. 

I have a vivid memory of one Sunday, late morning time, when my mom was cooking lunch and she emptied the bucket. My dad had to leave right away to get more water before my mom could finish the meal preparation. My sister and I were excited at the chance to see our grandparents so we went along for the ride. It was a nice sunny day and we were having a good time. Unfortunately, on the way home, our car broke down. We were able to walk the rest of the way but guess what didn't make it home- the water! Since we only had the one vehicle, my dad had to hunt someone up to help him get the car (and the water) home. My mom managed to get us fed for that meal but, from that time forward, I've known the importance of knowing how much water I have and how to get more if I need it!

Be Prepared

 September is here! Have you been as busy as I have? Between gardening, babysitting, doctor visits, and some short touristy trips, I've been swamped! When I switch the calendar over to September, I'm always reminded that Fall will be here soon. I start thinking about cooler weather and less sunlight. And my mind automatically goes into winter preparedness mode. Many times as a child I heard the grasshopper and ant stories. I think most of us are wired that way and that's a good reason that September is National Preparedness Month. 

 What do you think of when you hear the word "preparedness?" For some people, the thought conjures up images of Doomsday Preppers with camo outfits and bomb shelters. The likelihood of that happening isn't impossible, all you have to do is read the back of your Bible to know that. But I have so many experiences of more common scenarios that keep me thinking ahead. Some of these examples have given me the curse of anxiety and I've found that preparing for the worse has helped me to calm that. When you expect a bad situation and the reality turns out to be less traumatizing -because you were prepared- it can be such a blessing!

 Throughout the month I'll be sharing some specific times in my life where being prepared should have or did get me out of a bad time. I hope that you'll share your own tips and experiences in the comments so we can all learn from them.