Times are tough, the economy is struggling and many people are looking for ways to cut back—me included. 

As I shelled out almost $30 for a simple kid’s trim at one of those sports-themed children’s hair boutiques recently, it occurred to me: trimming my budget could be as simple as trimming my own family’s hair. (And by family I mean everyone except me.) I quickly calculated that this snipping scheme could save the Metz clan more than $500 every year! 

So off to the Internet I went, in search of the answers to my do-it-yourself hairdo questions. Unfortunately the World Wide Web was unable to unlock the secrets to kid's hair cutting—although I did learn that the FLOWBEE Vacuum Haircut System now costs more than $100.

Plan B: I headed to the professionals at Sakada Studios. This family–friendly full-service salon would be the perfect place to hone my skill as a kiddie hairdresser. But almost as soon as I entered the salon, I heard from the staff that cutting a child’s hair is often harder than cutting an adult’s hair. 

And as I watched the skilled precision of stylist Tracee Moe, expertly cutting the moving target that was my 3-year-old son, the self-doubt began creeping in. Rightly so. When it was my turn, I couldn’t even hold the scissors, the hair and the comb at the same time. 

After 45 minutes of tears (mostly mine) this money-saving plan was a bust and my son looked like Jim Carrey’s character from the movie Dumb & Dumber. This was a lot harder than I ever thought it would be! Thank goodness for the buzz cut.

In the end, I learned not how to cut my family’s hair, but that such a job is better left to the professionals.