Culture for Free

What happened to do the days when browsing a museum or visiting your local zoo were affordable?  Rates continue to go up to these normally affordable cultural ventures.  Now, thanks to Bank of America some of you gals can visit local zoos and museums for free (there’s that beautiful word again).  If you have a Bank of America credit card or bank account (with debit card) you’re eligible to visit certain museums and zoos for free during the first weekend of every month.  Check http://promotions.bankofamerica.com/museums/ to see if the museum you want is on the list.

Staycation or a Regional Getaway

All though gas prices are starting to fall (a teensy bit) traveling is still really expensive! We just have to face it, a dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to.  As summer winds down and we scrounge to make last minute vacation plans, we all realize that we just can’t afford much.  That’s where the staycation or regional vacations come into play.  Chances are, with in a couple hour drive of wherever you live there are some pretty awesome places to visit.  Do you have a lake close to you, a casino even a day spa? Or how about a great city to check out? There are probably tons of things for you to do in your area, that don’t require a flight or five tanks of gas.

 I live in the North East and I know there are tons of things to do with in my area.  If you don’t want to travel at all or lay down the big bucks for a hotel, than a staycation is right for you.  How many times have you passed a local attraction and never went in? Or how many times did you say “I’m going to do that” and never actually did it?  Well, a staycation provides just the opportunity to do that.  As a girl born and raised in New York I was embarrassed to say that I had never visited the top of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and many other “tourist” attractions.  I guess I just take them for granted as I see them all the time.  Well I am now proud to say that I have seen the city from the top of the Empire State Building and looked up in awe at the Statue of Liberty.  What? I needed a staycation.

Every Day Minerals

So to us babes on a budget, there is no sweeter sounding word than the word: FREE!  It’s a word we don’t get to use that often, and that’s a shame, because it’s a lovely word.  Anyway, back to the matter at hand.  Every Day Minerals (everydayminerals.com) offers a FREE sample set.  All you have to do is pay for shipping ($3.98).  The free sample set includes: 3 foundations, one blush and one concealer.  You will find that a lot of online mineral companies offer samples, but this is the only free set I have found.  As mineral make up becomes more and more popular, more and more shades are becoming available.  This is a great way to check out a sampling of shades before ordering the real size thing.  Finding a suitable foundation and conceal color is difficult, this is just a way of making it a lot easier.

Just a warning, the sample sizes are teensy-tiny, but they are soo cute!  Don’t let the size fool you, because you get a big bang for your buck with these mineral products.  To get to the sample set visit the website and click makeup and then custom kits.

Travel Zoo

When was the last time you visited the zoo?  I’m sure it’s been a while.   Now there is a totally new kind of zoo, Travel Zoo.  Travel Zoo is a weekly email with the top 20 travel deals on the web.  This weeks deals included an all-inclusive vacation in Cancun for $449 or a 1-bedroom suite in Waikiki for $105.  Whether you are looking for cruises, an all-inclusive vacation, flights or just tickets to a show, Travel Zoo is an amazing resource for us on a budget.

Restaurants

Ok, so this is a non-beauty related post, but it is a bargain post. 

I LIVE for food.  To me a night out at a restaurant, is so much better than a night out in a loud, jam-packed bar.  However, restaurants (especially nicer ones) can get pretty pricey.  That’s where restaurant.comcomes into play!  Restaurant.com is this amazing website that offers $25 gift certificates to select restaurants for only $10!  Be advised, there are usually some restrictions, sometimes you have to spend at least $35, some don’t include alcoholic bevs and some are only good for Monday-Friday, but it’s still an amazing deal!

What’s even better about restaurant.com? They always, i mean always, have out coupon codes. Several months ago they had out a coupon code for 80% off! That means I got a $25 gift certificate for only $2!!  The 80% off coup is currently no where to be found, but I did find this 40% off coup which is good until the end of the year.

The site is so easy to use.  You can search by state or by zip code and chances are, one of your fave restaurants or a place you’ve been dying to try is on there.  Once you select your restaurants all you have to do is print out the gift certificate from home.  This post is making me hungry…..

Wen Haircare

So, I really am a sucker for infomercials.  Most of them real me in and have me reaching for my credit card, until I realize that I have to stop myself.  However, one infomercial really sparked my interest and that was for Wen Haircare.  I haven’t ordered the trial set yet, but I was wondering if any of you ladies have tried it out at all.

I know $30 isn’t the cheapest of haircare, but if it works it’s worth it and you do get a lot for that $30.  There is also a 60 day money back guarantee.  Also, it says 30-day supply, but if any of you have tried the Pro-Activ “30 day supply” you know it lasts a lot longer than that.

Beauty Crunch

Ok, so I am all about thriftiness, and “drugstore” beauty brands, but Beauty Crunch caught my eye (http://www.beautycrunch.com/).  This is an amazing site for us gals who want to have some brand name make up with out the brand name price.  The reason why this site caught my eye is because all of the palettes they have.  They have palettes from Stila and Too Faced that are from previous collections or are discountinued.  Most of the products (especially the palettes) are over 50% off the original retail price! Most of the palettes are in the $11 range and that’s pretty awesome! When I get my next paycheck I will definitely be placing an order, so expect a review quite soon

Training Nights

I do not consider myself cheap, only thrifty.  I do not buy poor quality products, nor do I choose quantity over quality, I am simply a sale shopper, drug store maven, trial and error kind of girl.  There is one area however, I think we should all spend an extra couple of bucks on, and that is our haircuts.   A haircut can make or break your look.  It doesn’t matter how flawless your make up is, if you have a bad mop sitting on top of your head.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are plenty of girls who have spent a fortune only to come out with a terrible haircut, but there is usually a reason why hairstylists charge so much. 

  But us thrifty gals are in luck.  We don’t have to be banned to a life of Super Cuts, nor do we have to spend a paycheck on a haircut.  This is where salon “Training Nights” come into play.  A training night is where junior stylists, usually trying to get a job or to build a clientele base, provide cheap haircuts (sometimes color and different treatments) under the keen supervision of their master stylist.  While this is really popular in big cities (check out http://www.allure.com/directory/atlanta/training/training for an awesome list of training nights in the “big cities”), it is also available in salons across the country.  Just give any salon a call and ask them if they have such a thing.  It’s a great way to look fabulous and not break the bank!

Welcomes and Intros and all that good stuff

Hey everyone (probably only Ashley right now)! I’ve been spending so much time reading blogs lately, that I thought I would jump on the writing bandwagon.  I’ve recently become OBSESSED with hair and make up (not that I was a complete bum before hand) thanks to Youtube stars like Pursebuzz, Makeupgeek, EmilyNoel and Xteeener and to bloggers like Necessary make up (check her out-she’s awesome!), but one thing really bummed out about some of these.  That they used make up I couldn’t afford! Xteeener and EmilyNoel are great at using drugstore brands all the time, but I got jealous about watching the tutorials or reading the reviews on tons of expensive make up brands and products.

I’m a girl on a budget, and a tight budget at that.  I will be paying off school loans FOREVER, and am working a crummy job right now just to pay the bills.  I can’t afford to spend $20 on a single eye shadow.  So this blog will revolve around being a Babe on a Budget, it will mostly deal with beauty, but also dabble in other aspects of life such as travel, decorating, etc. 

 

Now, on to a little bit about myself.  My name is Melissa and I’m 23 years old.  After spending way too much money on a public relations degree, I decided it wasn’t for me and realized my passion was teaching.  Now I’m working as an administrative assistant at a college where they help pay for my tuition (yaya!).  I still live at home (boo!), but am being quite thrifty and am currently saving a lot of money.  It sucks, but there’s no shame about it. 

Thanks for reading and I look forward to questions, comments, pictures, thoughts, whatever you want!