My focus on debt reduction has made me the office leper
At my office I appear to be a bit of an anomaly. Why? Because I am in super debt reduction mode and make decisions based on that. And that is why I am unofficially the office leper.
Just last week the women in my department were having a discussion on salons because one girl came in with a new haircut. Note that there was nothing particularly special about it. As soon as she revealed that she paid $150 for the cut it was suddenly all the rage. I sat in horror thinking about how many credit card minimum payments I could make with $150 (about 4-6 depending on the cards). Then another one piped up that she pays the same amount for her haircuts and they never look as good as the haircut girl. My assistant chimes in about how she hated her last hair cut but that she only paid $55 dollars for it so what do you expect. None of them were impressed that I get my hair cut for free by my girlfriend. She doesn’t work in a salon, but she can cut in a straight line and do layers pretty darn well for someone with no training. And hello, it is free. They kind of gave me a pity look. In reality I pity them for wasting so much money on hair cuts – they all say that they get hair cuts every six weeks. That’s like $1300 or so a year in haircuts!
My co-workers never bring their lunches. We have a cafeteria in the building with prices starting at $5.25 for a “mini” salad and small drink. If you want to get a decent amount of food you have to spend around $7 in the cafeteria. When they are not dining in the cafeteria they are going out to a restaurant. They used to ask me to go until the day they saw me making iced tea from hot tea for free.
See, my office provides hot chocolate mix, tea bags and water and ice for free. They also have sugar and creamer. While they do have a really nice pod coffee machine, they do not provide coffee. If you want coffee you have to buy a BOX of pods from them. What a pain. I drink coffee but I refuse to do that. So, at lunch time I get two cups. In one I make some hot tea with the Lipton tea bags provided. And I put ice in the other. After the tea steeps I pour it over the ice and voila, iced tea for free. I love doing that because it gives me something other than water to drink, it saves me $$ from bringing tea from home, and best of all, I get to feel like I am getting one over on “the man” every time I do it. I think my co-workers were rather appalled, and maybe you are too, but it’s free, it saves me money and it works for me. And when all of my credit card debt is paid off in 2008 because of living like this I will have the last laugh. And that is what I think about when I get their looks that tell me that I am the office leper.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Yes! I, too, make my own free iced tea at work. I don’t think I get many strange looks about it (that, or I’m oblivious - could be!).
I do pay for haircuts, though, because my partner won’t cut it for me. Of course, I only pay like $9 (including tip) and I only go about once every 4 or 5 months. I trim it a bit, myself, if it’s getting in my eyes between cuts.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I am VERY impressed that you get your haircuts for free
I used to have a friend that was pretty good at it too. Take advantage of that while you can. Now that she’s moved west I’m stuck paying for my cuts. If I have to pay for it, I go to the one that give me a good cut… at $40 bucks a pop ($45 with tip). Luckily I can go 3-4 months without even thinking about a cut with my long hair.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I totally TOTALLY hear that.
I’m a cheapskate too (I hate buying anything at work) and my office gives free drinks so I’d do what you do too.
I always get a mini heart attack when I hear some girls pay upwards to $200 for a CUT and color.
I’ve always tried to spend about $20 and I always get compliments on my hair… and I just smile, say Thanks and leave them wondering how much it cost
If it makes them feel good to spend $200 on a haircut, by all means go ahead.. but that means in other parts of their life they’re over spending as well and trying to attain a lifestyle they cannot really afford.
Who cares if you’re the leper? You’ll be a debt free leper
I’d rather be a debt free leper than a chic fashion-conscious person drowning in debt
December 10th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Amanda, thank you for being impressed by my free haircuts!
Scott, nice to see someone else does the same thing!
Fab Broke, $200? eek! I’d rather be the on-the-way-to-debt-free leper!
December 17th, 2007 at 11:03 am
meh, I just shave my head once a month. That way every month I get a ‘new haircut look’ totally for free. Plus I almost never have to buy shampoo because I use so little, AND I get to sleep in 20 minutes later every morning because I can shower the night before. Also, I can wear hats with reckless abandon because I have no need to worry about hat hair.
Hair is overrated anyway.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Dude! I want to just shave my head once a month! I had a friend cut mine for me once, and it was mostly okay, but I still spring for my $15 cut about once every three months.
Way to stick it to the man, chica! The poor non-lepers in your office don’t know what they’re missing!
December 17th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Okay, now I’m really jealous. Screw the Joneses, I need to keep up with JM and Jamie!
December 19th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
This is now a hair discussion, eh? I get normal hair cuts for about $20, including tip. How do I get saving from that? I just get my hair cut once every 4-5 months. Sure i’m sporting the white-man’s fro for that last 2 months, but think of all the money i’m saving getting my hair cut 3 times a year or less?!
My wife, on the other hand, doesn’t like the fro look very much.
Anywho, I do the same thing at work as well. Free cold and hot water; hot for tea cold for just drinking. There is also a small coffee club where you pay $0.25 for a cup of coffee including powdered creamer and sugar. I buy big boxes of oatmeal, the kind that come in a variety of flavors in one box, for breakfast and buy the 10 for $10 items at Acme for lunch. This week is burritos and soft-shell tacos!! Yum, yum!!
Everyone else either goes to the cafe, $5-$7 for a decent lunch, or go out… EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK!!! I cringe at the amount of money the spend in one year and smile happily at the amount I’m saving.
December 21st, 2007 at 9:07 pm
What is their problem with you making iced tea? Sounds like a good idea to me! I know what you mean about office spendthrifts. I used to work with a woman who had a subprime loan on her condo, $30,000 on her credit card, which she thought was good for some reason, no savings whatsoever, and yet every day would buy both breakfast ($3.50ish) and lunch ($8-$10).
December 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
January 29th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
THe iced tea idea is great . Feel proud that you are clever AND saving cool cash. Being debt free may not appear all that glamourous…..yet. There will be something that you do when the debt is gone, that you really, really want to do and these same people will notice and start asking you how you could afford it.
When I paid off my debt, I rented a house on the coast (paid cash) and it felt great.
Additionally….
Eating out all the time wreaked havoc on my waistline.and my wallet. To make salads and leftovers more appealing, I roll out a placemat, real silverwear, cloth napkin; transfer my food from the leftover containers to the plate/ bowl; and voila! lunchtime is chic affair.. I do it strictly for my own dining pleasure, but I do get a lot of compliments and conversation out of it.. I eat much healthier now Someone called it “spa cuisine”- Saving money is a nice side benefit .
Good luck.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
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