Save Money with a DIY At-Home Quarantine Haircut

Transcript:

Hey guys! Welcome back to Millennial Money Honey. Today, I’m going to give myself an at-home quarantine haircut.

Back in February, I decided I'd had it with hair salons. I would no longer be paying the amount that I paid to get my hair done in Los Angeles. I would spend $200+ every single time I went into a salon and that would be only for a haircut...plus tip or for a perm, it would be way more. I also did balayage for awhile and then I even upgraded that and was doing a full bleach blonde. Because of that my bill would run anywhere from $200 to upwards of $500+.

I decided to do an at-home haircut and it went horribly and I ended up back at Supercuts the next day. I decided $30 is worth it to pay for a haircut, so that's where I landed on the matter. I didn't even end up making a video because it was so bad, so I'm kind of nervous to actually try this again. 

My sister has convinced me that since we are on month nine of lockdown, it's time for me to get a haircut. As you can see my strands are very ragged and dry. You can't feel it through the camera, but I'm telling you, it feels like straw. So that being said, I'm really excited to get a new fresh look for winter. Let's chop this hair! 

Today I have my sister, Sarah, here to help me with my haircut. 

SARAH: Hey guys! I’m Catie’s sister, Sarah.

CATIE: She is by no means a hair stylist or barber, but she has been picking up a lot of quarantine hobbies. Everything from sourdough baking to becoming a plant mom and she's a puzzle queen. She’s done all the classic quarantine hobbies including cutting hair. Let's do this!

What tools do we need for this? 

SARAH: We have a spray bottle to wet the hair down, a comb with a rat tail, and then hair cutting scissors. Oh and we have a lot of clippies and rubber bands. [We used regular ones, but recommend using these little clear rubber bands.]

CATIE: I think they know what clips and rubber bands look like.

SARAH: Okay let's start by spraying your hair down and then we also need to decide how much you want to take off.

CATIE: I'm trying to grow my hair out actually, so I don't want to cut off too much. I feel like it's better to go shorter because inevitably this is going to be uneven.

SARAH: Wow, not a lot of faith here. 

CATIE: I think like only maybe like an inch and a half. Is that too little?

SARAH: No, you can do as much or as little as you want.

CATIE: Okay yeah, let's start with an inch and a half.

SARAH: I'm going to start by dividing your hair into two sections. And this is how you normally put your hair, right?

CATIE: Yeah, I have a center part.

SARAH: I put in a rubber band and then we're gonna position it where you want to cut it. Unfortunately, we don't have like the tiny rubber bands, which I think would be better for this. 

CATIE: Not prepared.

SARAH: The goal is to brush it straight down and then have it rubber band exactly where we want to cut it and we're going to try and keep it as even as possible. 

I know you guys can't feel it, but I can feel it when I brush your ends how dead they are...knotty. 

CATIE: Yeah, honestly that's the problem. After I bleach dyed my hair blonde four times it just killed my hair. It feels horrible. It honestly feels like straw and I didn't even know hair could feel like straw because my hair has never been that damaged before. That's what made me decide to not bleach my hair anymore. I'm going back to my virgin hair and that's the goal with growing it out.

So we're parting my hair into little sections and tying with rubber bands all the way around my head. We watched a lot of Youtube videos where they did two ponytails or a single ponytail and then cut it, but Sarah found this one that she wanted to try. The new thing to do is section your hair off into little ponytails and then cut those all the way around. We’re Youtube experts. 

SARAH: Catie will link the Youtube video that's the inspiration for this haircut, but one thing that I loved is that he's a hairdresser and he was super candid about like if you actually want a really great haircut you need to go to a salon. 

CATIE: That's what I said!

SARAH: But if you're gonna try it at home, this is what you should do to make it look not terrible.

CATIE: Wowwww.

SARAH: Ready? First cut, here we go!

Basically I'm doing point cutting into the hair at each of the guides. I don't want that blunt cut because I think that's where it becomes obvious that I'm not a professional hairstylist. I'm going for more of a feathered look on the end that doesn't make it super obvious if I'm not perfectly aligned.

CATIE: So she cut all the sections and now we're taking them out and hoping, praying, that this is even.

Are we done yet? 

SARAH: Okay, and we're done!

CATIE: Feels lighter. I feel like you got a lot of the dead ends off. You can still see a tiny bit but definitely less than before. Feels lighter and shorter. Let’s blow dry it and see see how it is.

SARAH: Sounds good!

CATIE: Alright, so not bad, right? It actually looks pretty decent. I was very skeptical going into this and I actually kind of like it. I would definitely let her cut my hair again. So thanks, Sarah! 

Lessons we learned—when we dried everything out, the front ends ended up being a tiny bit, maybe half an inch, shorter. So it kind of like goes up a little bit in front, which is okay because some people like a little face frame, but I would definitely keep it a little bit longer if I were to redo this again. And then we cut it wet, but I think we would try doing it dry. When we section it off in the beginning I’d do it from dry hair because you get the more natural texture. 

Those are the two tips we would recommend doing if we were to do it again, but overall I think it turned out really great. I am now a believer in a do-it-yourself at-home haircut—my previous experience has been redeemed. I would recommend it if you have a friend to help. I don't know if I'd be able to do it myself, but I know Sherry from @saverspender does. 

Let me guys know what you honestly think about my haircut. I know it doesn't look like a huge difference, but it's definitely shorter, a little bit lighter, and you can't feel this, but my straw ends are almost gone. I just have a little bit in the front. 

If you check out my hair from the back you can see that it is all my natural hair. I've completely cut out the dyed end part. It's looking so much better and it feels so much better. I'll link the video tutorial that we actually followed to cut my hair. If you guys have any feedback let me know your honest thoughts on cutting your hair at home and how you think my hair turned out and if you have any tips I would love to hear them because I know i'll be doing this again in the future.

If you enjoyed this video, hit the like button and if you want to see more videos like this subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell so you get notified when I drop the next video. Stay tuned for next week and we'll talk more money honey!

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

Ask Me Anything: FIRE Edition

The other week, I did a little Ask Me Anything sticker over on my Instagram, @millennialmoneyhoney, and asked people to submit some questions for this. Today I’m answering your real questions!

What are the best resources to learn about FI/RE?

The best resources I found to learn about FIRE...I'll just give you the first three that come to mind off the top of my head. There are three that I used to start my own journey, the first being Mr. Money Mustache blog, which I think a lot of people look to when they start their own FIRE journey and it's almost like a cult. It's called Mustachianism and it's pretty extreme. All education should be taken with a grain of salt, but that was a good first resource because it puts you in this mindset of the shockingly simple math behind retiring early. Its super catchy titles are like wow, that's awesome, I want to retire early too. So Mr, Money Mustache blog. 

The second one that I binged was the Mad Fientist podcast and his blog too. It’s actually really good. He goes over Roth IRA ladders and all these things, which I'm not even gonna get into detail here but his blog is really simple and breaks everything down with graphics. 

Then finally, I would recommend Our Rich Journey’s YouTube. Aman and Christina are so relatable, so awesome. They retired in Portugal and they make awesome YouTube videos and they're just so relatable. I love watching all of them! Those are three resources that I would use to start your personal finance journey.

What age did you start investing to be able to retire early? 

I started investing my own money and doing all the trading myself when I was 26. Kudos to everybody else who had started younger and kudos to you if you're starting now. Investing is so important, but it wasn't until I was 26 that I actually started investing and that was through a robo-advisor, Wealthfront. I highly recommend Wealthfront.

I had no idea what I was doing before. I had a Charles Schwab brokerage account at the time, a custodial account that my dad set up for me. But he never really taught me how to use it or what to do or how to trade on it or how to use the service, so I didn't even really touch it. I ended up doing index fund robo-advisor myself and I recommend using that for beginners.

How soon do you feel comfortable talking about finances in a new relationship?

I'm kind of an anomaly when it comes to talking about finances. Obviously I run Millennial Money Honey on Instagram and on YouTube, so it's only a matter of time. Even prior to being in a relationship, I bring it up. You know when they ask what's a hobby of yours on a first date? (That is literally always a first date question, always. I kind of hate it.) I straight up tell them I am passionate about financial literacy and helping people learn how to manage their personal finances. I tell them I want people to be able to discuss money without it being taboo by sharing my own journey and figuring out my personal financial life. Most guys are super chill with that and very supportive. I actually haven't met anybody who wasn't chill with that.

But I think the way to approach talking about your finances once you're in a relationship is opening up your perspective on how you deal with finances and then that in turn makes your partner feel comfortable to talk about theirs. I don't think it's necessarily the right move to ask them, “Hey, what's your credit score or hey, what's your finance situation or how much debt do you have?” 

You can only approach things after being vulnerable yourself and as long as you're not in that judgmental space. I think it's super healthy to bring it up as soon as you can and as soon as you feel comfortable talking about it and if you trust that person that no matter what you say, they won't judge you too hard. As long as you make it clear to them that you are working towards becoming better and improving it no matter your situation, I think as soon as you can you should do it.

How many kids did you want if you had married at 24?

So obviously if you haven't heard, I started Millennial Money Honey and taught myself about investing because I always thought I would get married and my husband would take care of the finances. That is not what happened… better off for all the boys I loved before to not have worked out. So here I am at 29! But if I had kids at 24, I would have wanted four kids. I grew up with the four of us—me and my sisters—and I love the dynamic we have. That being said I am older now, and I think I would compromise at three. It’s still a lot, but that is how many I want. 

Where did you get your tax plan info from for retirement withdrawals? 

Our Rich Journey has a great YouTube video on the benefits of an HSA for retiring early that maximizes all the tax benefits. Another reference is the Mad Fientist blog for Roth conversion ladders, which is another way to minimize your taxes. Go Curry Cracker has a good article on minimizing taxes, and the book Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen has an excellent couple chapters. Those are some awesome tax hacking things you can do to minimize your taxes during early retirement. 

How do you set boundaries when living with parents?

My parents are pretty chill! They don't invade my privacy, and they respect my boundaries. I'm super fortunate and lucky to have them. If anything, I probably invade their boundaries more than they invade mine. As you can tell from how much I overshare on my Instagram on YouTube, I really don't have boundaries.

Do you have long-term housing goals?

I think I'm getting too old to “house hack”, so I would definitely buy long-term and rent it out if I didn't want to live in that spot anymore. For now my plan is to rent as long as I can until I am in a financial situation where I feel comfortable spending the money it takes to buy into California real estate in the Bay Area or in Los Angeles. I will definitely buy one day, but it won't be a part of my financial strategy—just purely for happiness!

What does your budget look like? 

I actually have a blog post on how I budget, but how I budget is...basically, I don't budget. A lot of people use zero-based budgets in the debt free/FIRE community, or YNAB to give every dollar a job. Essentially what I do is I automate all my accounts. I have auto-transfers set up that trigger after every paycheck. Once that money goes out, I don’t even think about it. In addition to that, I have this padding of maybe $4,000 in my checking that is always there, so I know that I can spend on whatever I want as long as I don't go below those thresholds. I don't think, “Oh, I only have $200 to spend for drinks this month, and it's dwindling” or “I have $40 to spend on clothes”.

I know myself, and I've tracked my expenses long enough to know what my average monthly expenses are. When I'm not living at home with my parents, it’s about $2,000. I know that I will probably spend about that much, so as long as I have enough in my checking account, I don't really care where it gets spent.

What is one thing you would never hesitate to spend money on?

If I had to choose something to spend money on, I would choose travel—balling out on traveling. When I went to Japan, I spent around $3,000, which is not that much, but it was a lot for me. I stayed at nice hotels, went to spas, ate omakase meals. I spent $200 on a meal and didn't even blink. That, to me, is definitely worth spending on.

What is the best credit card for a newbie?

I am by no means a credit card hacker. I really only have one credit card, and that is the Citi Double Cash Back card. I'm not a travel hacker or credit reward system gamer. For me when I chose that credit card, I was looking for a no-fee, easy, straightforward credit card. This one gives you 2% cash back on everything and anything. It's not like other cards that are focused on categories. I don't spend in any one category enough to warrant that benefit, so for me Citi was a great, super simple 2x cash back on everything.

That being said, I don't recommend opening a new credit card if you struggle with spending money. Credit cards are a lot of responsibility. But Citi 2x cash back is a great option and I highly recommend it for a first-time credit card. Eventually I want to get more into travel reward travel hacking, but seeing as we're in the middle of a pandemic, I’ll be sticking with my Citi card for now.

What do your parents think about your financial journey?

My mom doesn't manage finances at all, so she's like if you want to become work-optional and get yourself there, more power to you. She's supportive. My dad I think is less supportive, but he doesn't really say it. He'll come around one day when I'm FIRE, I think. My dad and I have very different investing strategies, but he’s taught me to work hard and that money will come. They're very supportive of working hard to earn your money.

That's all the questions we have today. If you have any more questions drop a comment below and leave a question. If you want me talk more about a topic, I'm happy to do so. Until then I'll be back next week and we'll talk more money honey.

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

How I Don't Budget, but Successfully Track My Money

Today, I wanted to talk about budgeting or more exactly how I don't budget.

I've tried a lot of different ways of budgeting. Zero-based budgeting, which is where you give every single dollar job, has never worked for me. I've been in periods of my life where I freelance and my income is unknown and unsteady, which means it's hard for me to plan exactly how much I'm going to spend every month. I've found that it's extremely restrictive for me personally. I know a lot of people in the debt free community love the zero-based budgeting method, but it has never worked for me. There are apps like You Need a Budget, which are based on zero-based budgeting and a lot of people’s templates use the zero-based budget. 

I've also tried to use apps like Mint, which is an amazing free tool that allows you to categorize all of your different types of expenses and assign a dollar amount. It doesn't start from a dollar amount and go down to zero, but it allows you to allocate a certain dollar amount to every different type of category from groceries to car to Ubers, drinks, food, etc. I also have tried that but sometimes I would go over in certain categories and I don't like the shame that I feel when I don't achieve goals.

I've found that extremely restrictive budgeting methods are not for me. Then there's percentage-based budgeting, which if you know your income, 50% goes toward saving, 30% towards needs, 20% wants or usually some variation of three categories of percentages. That's less restrictive, but I found that the best way for me to budget is to not have a budget at all. It doesn't matter what I spend on or what categories I'm spending in. 

I wanted to take a deeper dive into my actual spreadsheet that has allowed me to anti-budget or to not budget. I use my money tracker spreadsheet, which is completely free and available to download on my website. It's super simple, it may not work for everybody as with everything budgeting, it’s super personal, but you can tweak it to make it work for you. This is how I think about money, so you can modify it to fit your own needs. I've downloaded lots of other people's budget templates and in the end like I built what works best for me. I think this is a really great starting point if you just are looking for a place to start.

Okay, let's take a look at what I actually set up my spreadsheet to be. If you take a look at the tabs at the bottom, I have a tab for every single month of the year starting in January. As a new month comes, I duplicate the tab—if you right-click on a tab, you can duplicate it. So I'll take you back to August. You can see in this first column I organize all of my expenses, so if there's ever a thing that I spend money on I write it down. I put categories, but I don't actually do anything with the category other than know how much I spend there. I'm sure there's more useful analysis that you could be doing with this, if that's your thing, but for me it's just a nice to know.

In the second column we have my savings. I have a $2,000 transfer set up every other week that goes into my brokerage account. If I make more money or complete a freelance job that's bonus income, then I also send that straight into my brokerage. 

I write down all of my income in the third column so you can see whether it’s from interest, a paycheck, resell, freelance, cash back, or Millennial Money Honey. Then in the final column, I have my income total, my expense total, my savings rate, and my actual savings. The savings is not pulled from the savings column, it is income minus expenses, not a total from the savings column, because I don't account for what ends up just sitting in my checking account or my savings account. I have some of my paycheck going out into those but it captures my entire savings this way. 

And also in the totals column I have all the categories so I can look and see that I spent $230 on work this month and $230 dollars on shopping. Then the savings source total pulls from the savings column itself and anything left over is what stayed in checking. You can also see I have everything in this pretty little donut chart—expense percentages, savings percentages, and then income percentages. You can see this month 76% income was from my paycheck and then 22.6% from freelance and then the rest from the other little items. Those pretty graphs I screenshot and drop it into a post to make for Instagram. It's super easy. 

I have a net worth tab that I move next to whatever the current month is. In this net worth tab I have a list of all the different types of accounts I have and the category—cash and savings, tax advantage investments, taxable investments, and then liabilities (my one credit card). On the last day of every month I have a calendar event reminder to go in and check my net worth. I will go in and look at every single account and write down the dollar amount it has in it. I like to check on it throughout the month but the final column is always the last day of the month so you can see all my net worth slowly growing over the course of this year.  

I also have other random information like I keep track of—my 401k contributions, my IRA contributions. I think it's important to keep track of your yearly Roth IRA contributions. I can go into like a whole other video about Roth IRA’s, but you should keep track of your Roth IRA contributions so you know when you can draw down on them. You won't be penalized if your initial investment amount sits there for five years—you'll be taxed on gains but not the initial investment. Currently I've contributed almost $25,000 to my Roth IRA and I can start drawing down on those in like 2025 with no penalty to me. 

My 2020 savings rate is over here in this column and my lifetime savings rate is over here, which is 41%. I have my FI/RE progress, 2020 expenses, and my 2020 average savings rate. Not all of these are in the downloadable one, but if you want it, just reach out to me, DM me and I can help you if you need help making this chart. Whatever kind of information I want to know I just make a new chart for it and then I have my graph section and this actually pulls data from that other spreadsheet tabs. So you can see my 2020 goals: I have $2 left to contribute to my 401k, my IRA is completed, and my emergency fund is $2,000 away from completing. My net worth has been growing over time. And then here’s my 2020 income: So I made $451 in January and at most in May I made $16,800, but the average is ~$8,000.

If I can put together a spreadsheet that just tracks my expenses, you can too. It's super easy. At the end of the day, just write down everything you're spending money on and all of your income and you'll see how much you're saving. Once you've tracked, I'd say at least 3 months worth of expenses, then you'll be able to know that you don't spend above a certain amount. So anything above that should just automatically be sent straight to your investment accounts, whether it's your IRA, savings, your emergency fund, wherever it needs to go (assuming you don't have any debt or anything like that).

This is how I do it. It works for me because right now my expenses are really low. I live at home with my parents so I don't really have any rent, but there are a couple key things to my method. First, you need to have a really solid understanding of how much you're spending on average per month. For me, this year it's $1,200 dollars, but it used to be $2,000. Currently it's closer to $1,200 dollars because I decided to move back in with my parents for a little bit this year. 

Second is automating all of your transfers. Every single paycheck your money needs to hit your checking account, if that's where it goes, and go out into your savings and/or investment accounts. That way you don't even think about it. Whatever is left over is how much you can spend. 

Finally, I always keep a cash cushion that is above the average amount of money I spend. I always keep around $3,000 dollars in my checking account. If cash is building up, then I just transfer that out into my brokerage. I check on that every month. Having a certain dollar amount that is like $1,000 more than what you typically spend accounts for any kind of fluctuation in spending. For example, for things like Christmas or randomly many friends have birthdays in October, those are going to be like higher spending months for me. In the end it all averages out, but if you have an extra cushion in your checking account then you know you'll always be covered if it fluctuates slightly.

So that is how I do it and if it works for you, I totally recommend it. It's definitely the most hands-off like “budget.” You don't have to think about things too much, you just need to track your expenses, but you don't need to allot only $200 for this or only $300 for that. Again, as I said before, all budgets are extremely personal. Hopefully you can find a budget that works for you! I would love to see how you guys actually set up your own systems. I'll leave this spreadsheet here and link it directly to the download page from my website. If you like this video like & subscribe and I'll see you guys next week to talk more money, honey!

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

My Minimalist Daily Makeup Routine

Good morning! Today I wanted to share with you my three minute minimalist daily makeup routine. Now I know that might seem like a little bit of a departure from true financial talk but it's actually all pretty related.

Makeup itself is really expensive so you know by paring it down my makeup routine to 7 items that I use on a daily basis it has really saved a lot of money and not only has it saved a lot of money, it's also saved me like a lot of time, which time is money. It's all related.

1. Moisturizer

I always start with a moisturizer. I use Muji's moisture milk, but I know Muji is closing down in the US due to the COVID situation, so any morning moisturizer will work. I've also used Cerave PM—thirsty skin, thirsty girl. You know how it is. II just pat it in and let it absorb for a couple seconds. 

2. Sunscreen

The next product I use is sunscreen and it doesn't really matter what sunscreen you use. I like Biore Aqua Rich UV. It's a Japanese sunscreen, but I got it on Amazon. It is the best! It absorbs into your skin it doesn't feel sticky or oily. You can always count on a good Japanese sunscreen product. I rub it into my neck. Don't forget your ears! You don't want those wrinkles. 

3. Concealer

Next up, we have a concealer. I use the Cle de Peau Beaute Concealer in Ochre. I like it because it also has sunscreen in it. I put it underneath my eyes to brighten everything up and then on any like problem spots I may have. Then I dab it in and put it on my lids too to even out everything. Already looking way more alive!

4. Eye/Lip Tint

Next I use Milk balm-stain in Werk. It's good for eyes, lips, cheeks, so I just put it on my cheeks to give me some color. I like that it's not a powder because I prefer a good, dewy, moist look. I put it on my eyes too to give it a little bit of color without full makeup and that's that.

5. Highlighter

Then I take my highlighter, I use Tarte's Pro Glow To-Go palette that my sister gave me that she wasn't using. I think you can use any highlighter and any products you already have for these like makeup things. You don't need to go out and like to buy new products. So put it on my cheekbones to get that glow going. 

I’ve also used and loved Clinique’s chubby highlighter stick. It is a really super easy swipe on and very creamy. I honestly preferred it over the Glossier highlighter stick—it was a lot harder and less smooth.

6. Brows

The sixth product I use is a brow pencil, but anything that would define your brow is good. I sometimes use a dark eyeshadow or I have Colourpop's brow gel. I've had a Shiseido brow pencil (deep brown color) for literally years at this point years—maybe four years. This thing never runs out, although it is on its last legs. I think defining the brow really fills out your face and defines your face. I try not to go too dark everyday, just pencil it in. 

7. Lips

Then finally I have this Revlon Color Balm Lip Stain in Smitten. I like a bright pop of color because that really distracts from any imperfections and really makes you look awake. This is a lip stain and balm, so it goes on really moist and even when it comes off, the stain stays on. The color lasts forever. Even as it comes off, your lips stay a deep reddish pink. 

That's it! So fast, saves time, saves money. It took me a while to be confident in my own skin. I used to have to wear a full face of makeup to go out, but it is so quick I'm out the door in three minutes. You get to sleep in more and again I can't emphasize enough you can just use what you already have. I'm sure some of you have some semblance of these types of products. You don't need to go buy new things. Feel cute, fun, and pretty. Get ready to take on the day! Let's go get that money, honeys!

ProDUcts i use

1. Moisturizer - Muji High Moisture Milk

2. Sunscreen - Biore Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+

3. Concealer - Cle de Peau in Ochre

4. Cheek tint - Milk Makeup in Werk

5. Brow pencil - Shiseido Brow Pencil in Deep Brown

6. Highlighter - Tarte Pro Glow Palette

7. Lip - Revlon Lip Balm in Smitten

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)