Budget Luxuries for a Wavering Economy

For many small business owners the sign of a wavering economy brings about uncertainty for the future. What will happen to profits? How much should I cut back on my spending and save? Where will my business be next year and how will this recession affect me?

One of the first things to go for many small business owners are the luxuries. Caribbean vacations become family trips to the local state park. Diamond bracelets are replaced with cubic zirconias and daily Frappuchinos are replaced with instant dried coffee flakes. Of course this is all an exaggeration to prove a point because who doesn’t love a good family trip to the state park or a diamond that looks real but costs 90% less?

The point is, when the economy slows down, small business owners cut back. Often the first things to go are the luxuries. The little perks that we look forward to, that keep us sane and relatively stress free.

For example, trips to the hair salon or local spa. Manicures, pedicures, facials, and professional hair coloring are all ‘extras’ that are often pushed aside when it’s crunch time. The good news is, with a little research and a little faith, you can have manicures, pedicures and even hair color that doesn’t come from a box. Where you ask?

Here’s where the faith part comes in…check out your local cosmetology school. Yes, seriously. Every salon superstar has to start somewhere and that somewhere is cosmetology school. They offer great rates and unless you’re asking for something super complicated like turning your jet black hair platinum blonde, then chances are they can accomplish it quite successfully. If you’re still shaking your head and thinking, “NO WAY” it might help to know that the students are under tremendous pressure to do a good job, they want to do a good job – their grade and their future depends on it, and the instructors are never far behind. Still unsure, send your sister there first! Kidding, try a manicure or just go in for a trim to see how they handle it.

Free massages? No way! This concept of visiting schools doesn’t need to be limited to cosmetology schools alone. The warm and skilled hands of massage students are just waiting for your stiff neck and sore back. Yep, massage students just like cosmetology students, need people to practice on. The good news is that they cannot turn your hair Easter egg pink at a massage school. What they can do is knead out all of those knots and sore muscles for a quarter of the cost of a professional masseuse. Most larger cities have a massage school or two, give them a call and find out when they take appointments. Many schools schedule practice massages on specific nights.

Become your own barista. How much do you spend each month on drive thru coffee? Many families spend upwards of $100 a month on those tasty caffeinated drinks. Did you know you can buy a high quality espresso machine for less than what most people spend on coffee drinks in a month? It’s true and what’s even better is when you own your own espresso machine, you control what goes into your coffee, cappuccino, Americano or whatever you prefer and it always turns out perfect. Plus, you don’t have to tip or wait in line. The savings is phenomenal. Yes, you’ll fork out $100 dollars for that coffee machine but you’ll save almost 1,100 during the year on coffees you would have purchased at the coffee shop.

A wavering economy doesn’t mean you have to give up life’s little luxuries. A little creativity and you’ll be sitting in the lap of luxury for a tenth of the price. Happy saving!