Agreed! We were both sitting in our CPA?s office and had agreed to start investing for retirement. It had been a long road but we as a family were finally debt free and now we were looking at retiring in as little as 10 years from now. Through cutting back and saving we had gone from thousands in debt to now having a substantial retirement package. We had been so excited that we might be able to retire in 20 years (we were both in our early thirties) that when our CPA had suggested we could retire in half the time our ears perked up.

The catch would be that we would give up the most costly extra we had and put it in retirement. We both agreed and I knew that my husband would have to give up golfing, a luxury we could afford but was unnecessary, at least from my viewpoint. He had taken up golfing as a way to do business but it had turned into a very time consuming affair. I was looking forward to having him home some more! I have to admit I was unsure of what would be my largest expense but after we got home and checked our expenses on the computer I was shocked! My hair was my number one expense!

I did the numbers again and was amazed that all of my hair care expenses were almost twice as much as my husband?s golfing fees! My husband smiled and rubbed his head. He had buzzed his head a few years ago when I asked him to. And we had taken both of our boys for buzz cuts when we had started on the pathway to financial freedom. My husband had always commented that I should save money and time by getting my haircut by the boys? barber. Make it a family thing. Now it looked as if I had no choice!

When the boys came home from school my husband announced at the dinner table that we would all be going to the barber shop tomorrow for a special day. Special for him but I was wondering if he was really serious. The next morning we all hopped in the car and drove to the barbershop. I felt like this was all a bad dream and I would wake up soon. The minute I realized it was not a dream was when the clippers came to life and I was staring at them making their way to my right ear! This was my first time to ever sit in the barber chair and I had to admit it was comfortable! I was still unsure this was real but could feel the clippers eating through my hair. Joe the family barber had asked me what I wanted but I was too shocked to answer when we first came in. My husband and two boys had walked me over to the barber chair and the tissue around my neck was nothing I had experienced before. I had always worn a smock when I got my hair done but now I had a tissue and pin striped cape around my neck! My husband had whispered in Joe?s ear something and now the clippers were chewing up my hair. Joe never used scissors during the entire cut and had turned me away from the mirror so I had no idea what was going on. In a matter of about twenty minutes he turned the clippers off and then got some edging trimmers and started shaving around my ears and neck. He then took some wax and rubbed it all over my head.

When he turned me around I was looking at a very short flattop! But it looked very feminine and Joe had done a tremendous job. He had given me very pointed sideburns and given me a very natural taper in the back. The top was flat but messy enough to give it a nice feminine touch. The wax gave it a very wet look. My hair on the sides was about ? inch long and the top looked to be about an inch long. I was also back to my natural color of brown with some of my blonde highlights barely showing on the top. I looked on the ground and saw a mound of bleached out dry hair that just minutes before was attached to my head! Joe then gave me a mirror to view the back and I was practically bald in the back. He called it a fade and I have to admit that it did make my neck look more graceful.

Joe dusted me off with talcum powder and took the cape off. I looked somewhat taller with my hair this short and I could not quit rubbing the back of my freshly shorn head. My husband had video taped the whole thing so I was looking forward to watching it. It was definitely worth the sacrifice to retire in ten years. The kids would be out of the house and we would have some time to travel.

That night we watched the entire process again and my two boys were laughing and having a good time reliving the shearing of mommy. The looks on my face were quite funny, from nervous laughter to sheer terror. I noticed my husband kept rubbing the back of my head and there was a bulge in his pants. We put the kids to bed and had an incredible night! I was unsure of whether he liked it or not at the barber shop but tonight erased any doubts!

The next morning the kids went to school and my husband went to work. I had some work to do on the computer and so I sat down with my cup of coffee. I decided to run some numbers to see how much money I would save with my new do. It was a rough estimate but with less styling products and shampoo and no more colors and trims at the expensive salons, it came out to $1000.00 a year. Even with more frequent trips to get my haircut that was significant! Joe charged $8.00 for a flattop!

After doing my work I decided to watch the video again and found myself getting turned on by watching the clippers get rid of my hair. There was something hypnotic about the buzzing sound of the clippers and after showering and towel drying my new do, I found myself looking forward to my next trip to Joe?s??

To be continued