I used to go to the hairdresser every six to twelve months or so. Even well before the CoLC I found it infuriating to have to spend that much money on something I don't even enjoy. Thankfully I realised that the best cut on me is a fairly straightforward bob which is easily sorted at home with the kitchen scissors. This was pushed partly by the CoLC but also my general stubbornness, of course. I'm never going back to the hairdresser at this point, I don't like spending either time or money on it and frankly I am getting more compliments now than I ever did before.

Apart from that we haven't changed much, but that is because I have always baked bread, cooked my meals from scratch, made my own lunches to bring, rarely buy food on the go, don't have any subscriptions, no club or gym memberships, no frivolous self care habits or otherwise. My most outrageous hobbies are making clothes which, whilst expensive, also kind of pays off in the end.

I grew up poor, I am poor now, and I don't expect that to change. So I just do what I've always done as that's all I know to do. As long as I'm not hungry and in a cardboard box on the street, I'll probably be fine.

The worst part about these conversations is that people don't generally understand the concept of not being able to cut back on anything because you never lived in a way that allowed excesses in the first place. How do you cut back on holidays when you never had one? 🙃