Thank you for your support and feedback on my columns on cost cutting. Many people are looking for ways to cut costs and at times only look at big ticket items, missing the small ticket items. I look forward to more suggestions as we move towards taking more personal responsibility.

About ten or so years ago my hairline began to disappear. I took a look at it one day and decided that I may as well take it all off because I did not want a George Jefferson look.

To maintain an even look I had to go to the barber every two weeks and fork out more than $25 each time for a haircut and shave. That amounted to $50 per month for someone with hair growing on only half his head.

A few times I tried to reason with barbers that because they only had to cut half of my hair, the price should be lower. But to no avail. I forked out more than $50 per month plus $10 in tips. By the end of each year I was paying out $720 for haircuts.

This went on for more than ten years, so in total I had paid out nearly $10,000.

This story would be the same for any man going or gone bald. Then one day my wife suggested I buy my own machine and learn to trim myself as need be.

Heck, what did I have to lose? I was taking it all off anyway. After a year I took her advice and purchased my own machine for about $50.

So, essentially, by purchasing your own machine you can save yourself nearly $1,000 per year. In the course of 30 to 40 years of baldness that would be about $30,000 to $40,000 in savings towards your retirement funds.

It may take a few times to get a hang of trimming yourself. Have no worries, though, hair will always grow back.

On another issue, by conservative estimates the average person spends something in the range of $10 to $20 per day on lunch. Which at the end of the week you are looking at $70 to $140.

Each month $280 to $560. Each year $3,640 to $7,280. Rounding it off you are looking at $5,000 to $10,000 per year just on lunch alone.

Think about what you could do with an extra $5,000 to $10,000 in your bank account each year. In 20 years you could have nearly $100,000 to $200,000 put aside for your child’s further education and/or your retirement funds.

So what to do? Starve every lunch?

Nope not at all. Our parents and grandparents survived just fine taking leftovers or waking up early enough to make themselves lunch to carry to work.

Take a moment to think about how much you can save by taking your lunch to work. Treat yourself now and then, but remember, “a penny saved is a penny earned”.