How to stay blonde in a recession

I'm not sure if I have ever done a blog post about beauty products or routines.  Not really sure why that is.  Maybe I'm afraid of coming across as vain if I post about that?  Oh wait. I have posted about weight loss before, haven't I?  Good.  I've already come across as vain then.
So, today's vanity post is on how I've managed to stay blonde during this recession.  In case you don't know, most blondes you see over the age of, say, 25-30 probably do some sort of maintenance to their hair if they are a very light blonde.  Blonde hair has a tendency to darken as we age.  It's true for men too. And now I've given away a huge secret- so don't tell where you heard it if you call someone out for coloring their blonde hair.  They may never forgive me.
Anyway.
I first tried my hand at coloring my hair in high school.  I'm not sure why I did it.  No one told me that once you did it,  you had to keep doing it or your hair would look funny.   So, I kept coloring, even though my hair was still naturally very blonde.
Fast forward to college.  I had it "professionally" colored a handful of times but hated how expensive it was.  (Also, I put professionally in quotes because I don't know if JCPenney or Mastercuts in the mall should count.)
So, throughout college it was a yo-yo effect of trying to color my hair myself, then eventually thinking I should go to a real salon, then decide to do it myself again. Over and over.
I even tried to go "natural" with the color once- it was not pretty.  I was still naturally rather light blonde, but I went too dark. Blech.  (I just realized this post would be way more fun with pictures. Stay tuned.)
Then, after college, I got married and continued my trend.  Except some stylist at some point explained to me that coloring my hair with permanent box color was not the way to go.  If I wanted it to look more natural, I should get my hair highlighted.  And boy was he right.  (And expensive. Highlights cost even more than all over color.)
And, to top it off, I should NEVER use a box color again.  They ruin your hair and are "cheap" for a reason.
So last year,in a recession, I found myself questioning my need to color my hair.  I'd never been a fan of how expensive highlighting my hair could be.  But I'm also quite vain when it comes to my hair.  Could I really still afford to shell out at least $125 every time my hair needed highlighting?  Really?  It seemed a bit extreme.
  Last year I got my hair highlighted around Valentine's Day.  By the time it was growing out and needed a re-do it was nice outside and we were spending more time in the sun.  So my little brain got to wondering if I could go back to that good old blonde stand by: Sun In.   However, I had distinct memories of the orange effects Sun In could give.  So I googled and lo and behold, found this:

If I could play some nice "Ta-da!" music here, I would.  Because that is exactly what that shampoo and conditioner has done.  Also, not pictured is this John Frieda Lightening Spray I found.  The shampoo works very well, but still I need a little boost here and there, and that's what the Lightening Spray does. It's very similar to Sun In without the orangey effects.
And now that it is after Valentine's Day, one year later, I can say this stuff works!  Here's a picture of my hair this last Friday.  I was attempting a Pinterest hairstyle- and failing. But don't notice the hairstyle- notice the highlights!

This is not a paid advertisement.  I am in no way affiliated or reimbursed by John Frieda.  I'm just an extremely satisfied frugal shopper who is incredibly pleased to not be paying out the wazoo for my blonde locks anymore!  So, if you have blonde hair, try it and tell me what you think.
-If you don't have blonde hair, I still recommend the John Frieda products- I can only imagine that their other color lines are just as fantastic.
What have you done to cut back during the recession?  Sometimes limitations guide us toward really great discoveries, don't you think?