You should be jealous! Why? Because right now I’m eating the world’s most delicious and softest molasses cookie ever. Many molasses cookies have come before it in my life, but this one is the best. And I got a whole 12 pack of them from Wegmans for $1.79!

I realize that I am blessed, in a way. Wegmans is a grocery chain that started in my city (Rochester), but hasn’t yet expanded out of the Northeast United States. Personally, I think they should take over the whole world! Their dedication to customer service and quality is legendary. And when I lived in California for two summers? I pined for a visit to Wegmans. Other grocery stores just don’t add up.

For this reason, I hesitate to write about the value of buying generics (“store brand” products). I’m well aware that my local grocery chain offers super-high-quality generics, and that some others don’t. But I’ve been in other grocery stores (had to eat somehow in California), so my experience isn’t totally limited.

Generics are Good/Tasty

Try generics! Most of the time, you won’t notice a difference, because there isn’t one. If the peanut butter and pet food recalls taught us anything, it’s that most foods, no matter what the brand, come from just a small handful of processing centers. Which means that sometimes, the only difference between the store brand and the name brand is literally the packaging. I hate the idea of paying more just for a fancy logo on my shelf, so I always try the generic.

And 99% of the time, I’ve found the generic to be a good substitute. Over the past five years, I’ve only purchased one generic item that didn’t measure up to the name brand (sorry Wegmans, but your Raisin Bran Crunch knock-off needs some work. Too much bran, not enough sugary-crunch).

And generics can save you big money, of course! I haven’t done any scientific study on this, but generics seem to be at least 10% cheaper. That’s a quick way to knock some change off of your grocery bill, without sacrificing quality.

Not convinced? No one’s asking you to switch everything you love to generics right away. And even if you do switch, you might have a “Raisin Bran Crunch” scenario on your hands, and find that you like the name brand better for that particular product. But the best feeling in the world is knowing that you’re buying a product because you like it, and not because you’ve unwittingly become a victim to advertising and branding.

And for some things, you totally know there’s zero difference between the name brand and the generic. Name brand vinegar? Give me a break!

P.S. These molasses cookies are mine and no, you can’t have any.

Heh. I run the risk of being labeled dirty, liberal, cheap, and insane for writing this post. All things I’ve been called before, of course, but only the last three are true!

"No ‘Poo" is what it’s called when someone elects to forgo the use of chemical-laden shampoos and conditioners. There are a lot of reasons a person might do this, but the basic premise is that modern shampoos have only been around since the beginning of the 20th century. If people before were able to achieve beautiful hair without it, why can’t we?

There’s a lot of health concerns with shampoo as well, but I’ve decided to forgo talking about it, because frankly there’s already a fantastic explanation of all the No ‘Poo details on a blog called Babyslime. So in the interest of not reinventing the wheel, I’m only going to get into the financial aspects of it.

I’ve been Low ‘Poo since high school, when I found out that the reason my curly locks were frizzing so much was partially due to over-shampooing! My hair is really, really dry, so I cut it down to the point were I was shampooing only once everything two weeks. I would still rinse and use conditioner every day.

Four months ago, I read more about the No ‘Poo movement and decided to give it a try. Personally, I’ve got three reasons to do it: Money, my hair’s health, and the environment. So… about the money…

Savings?

No ‘Poo calls for replacing your shampoo with baking soda and your conditioner with apple cider vinegar. The great thing about this is that I already had both in my house! And so far, neither have run out!

Since my shampoo use was negligible before, I’m only going to compare the savings based on the cost of the conditioner I was buying before: Garnier Fructis (the kind made especially for curly hair). I’m using the prices from my local grocery store, Wegmans, but these are fairly standard prices as far as I’ve seen.

13 ounces Garnier Fructis (13 uses) = 2.99 = 23 cents per use

Days since I started: 111

Total savings so far: $25.53

Ok, eventually the baking soda and vinegar I have on hand with run out, and the savings won’t be as dramatic, right? Well, let’s see what these ingredients cost!

16 ounces of vinegar (32 tablespoons) = 99 cents = 3 cents per use

1 pound of baking soda (32 weeks) = 75 cents = 2 cents per week

That works out to less than 25 cents per week. The Fructis comes out to about $1.50 per week. 52 weeks in a year means long term savings of…

$65 per year

Wait! It gets better! Remember I said I have a gallon of vinegar on hand? Well, what if I continue to buy it by the gallon, instead of the 16 ounce bottle?

128 ounces of vinegar (gallon, 256 tablespoons) = 3.19 = 1 cent per use

9 cents per week works out to yearly savings of $73.32!

That’s not huge, but finding a few things you don’t mind changing that will save you $75 a year can add up to big money.

Other Questions About No ‘Poo

I can direct you to other No ‘Poo websites all I like, but I figure you still want hear some of this stuff from me!

Q: Does it work? Really?
A: You know that silky feeling you get from putting conditioner on your hair? It sounds like it would never work, but the vinegar truly does give it that feeling! And my hair does not get greasy or dirty – the baking soda really does clean it without stripping off natural oils like shampoo does (which is what makes you need conditioner!).

Q: Does it work as well as shampoo and conditioner?
A: Some people say their hair turns out better because of going No ‘Poo! I have long hair, so I haven’t noticed a dramatic change. It certainly doesn’t seem to have hurt it any. It may be psychological, but I seem to be having a greater frequency of good hair days!

Q: Do you smell like vinegar?
A: Only when I don’t rinse well! And even then, vinegar smell disappears with evaporation, so my dry hair never smells like vinegar. As soon they invent Smell-O-Vision for the Internet, I’ll prove it to you!

Q: What about styling products?
A: I’ll admit, I haven’t completely weaned myself off of mousse yet. The Babyslime blog has recipes for natural mousse, gel, and hairspray, but I am still using up old stuff I have leftover.

Q: You’re weird.
A: Yeah. I know.

The comments section is open for further questions!

I timidly handed my keys over to the repair shop manager the other day as memories of past repair bills danced through my head. I’ve spent over $1,000 this past year on necessary repairs, and I wasn’t looking to up that bill any higher. But it was making an awful scraping noise, so I took it in and prepared myself for the toppling bill.

The bill ended up being $63.20. Actually, I only paid $43.20 because I had a coupon for a free oil change.

But that’s not the only way I’ve been saving money on car stuff this summer. I’ve been going the big, crazy, scary distance that some people go to cut their gas bill in half (or more!):

Carpooling

My boyfriend and I have been carpooling whenever possible, since we’re both working on our college campus this summer. And it’s been working out splendidly – except for that one day that I totally forgot to pick him up.

It will probably take until the end of the summer until I have some solid numbers – I’ll try and compare both the amount I saved and the amount the boyfriend saved, but I’m guessing it’s going to be significant.

Driving to and from work daily, by myself, should cost about $150 a month, not counting any recreational driving whatsoever. Over the past month, I’ve spent $110 on gas, including weekend and fun-type stuff. So, booyah.

The Bus

I looked into taking the bus to work, but it just doesn’t look like a good idea. I live in one suburb and work is in another – I’d have to take one bus into the city, and then another back out to the other suburb. The bus ride would be about an hour and a half, whereas my driving commute from home is 30-35 minutes. And the bus would be $3 per day.

Oh, not to mention I’d have to drive a mile and a half to the park-and-ride spot to catch the bus. The savings would be about $40 per month over what I’m paying for gas with carpooling, but I’d lose about 3 hours a day to bus time, and I’d have to get up around 5:30-6am to get to a 9am job.

“Excuses!” you say. “That’s another $40 a month you could have!” Well, ok, maybe. I’m not a big fan of saying “my time is worth $xx.xx per hour, so this money-saving activity isn’t worth doing.” But I am a fan of saying “Sleeping in until 7am instead of 5:30 is worth $40 a month to me.” That’s just a personal choice. I like sleep.

Has anyone else changed their transportation habits in the face of rising gas prices? Or is it just me?