Here's one 250% price increase that's worth it

Paying 250% more for something sounds like a ripoff, but even in a recession and without a job, I've discovered that it's worth it.

After about a year of getting my hair cut at a Paul Mitchell school for $10, I went back to my previous hairdresser Thursday and happily paid her $35.

I tipped each hairdresser $5, although the handy tip calculator on my cellphone shows that a 15% tip would equal $1.50 at the school and $5.25 for the fully-trained professional who already has her state license. The tip isn't the point.

The point is that short of cutting my own hair for free, going to a cosmetology school to save money wasn't worth the time. What should take an hour or less to do often took two hours, and the cliche "Time is money" kept popping into my head as I sat while a student cautiously cut away.