Thank you!
Bornlazy - I used to colour my hair myself, but finally had to admit that the stuff no longer stuck to my increasingly grey and coarse hair. Since I'm not ready to grow it all out, it's the hairdresser for me. But I have cut my visits down to half of what they were (L'Oreal root touch-up very good!) and if I can find a hairstylists' college then I can cut the costs further still.
I do my own nails (mostly to cover up the damage wreaked by the garden) and I do find it one of those effective cheap thrills. A bottle of Mavala nail polish costs about £4, lasts forever, and those tiny bottles of glowing pigment spark joy in my miserly heart.
Sali Hughes is a writer on beauty and make-up, and she produces great lists of the '20 best under £20' variety. I recently went for a Rimmel brow gel and a Maybelline mascara, each about £5, on her recommendation and they're fab. Means I can just trim and pluck my eyebrows myself and, although I am sparser of eyelash than of yore, can put off the day when eyelash extensions seem a good idea.
Em, has online shopping only recently arrived in your location? I found that switching to shopping in person in Aldi from online shopping with Sainsbury's was a huge saving (still buy a few brands from Sainsbury's, and use the butcher/baker/greengrocer as well). But I was able to do that because I'd stopped FT work, hence more time to food shop.
I have a better handle on finances than before, (really, really wish I'd been this vigilant when earning more, but hey ho) but some of our costs are high and I never seem to make significant inroads. Our heating bill is high: the house is old, leaks heat and our boilers and radiators are a bit pants e.g. no thermostat, so no control over temperature, it's either on or off. I'm doing what I can in terms of increasing insulation, switching suppliers etc, but until we install a better system, it is what it is.