Go to a hair dresser that has a salon built onto her house. Her prices should be very reasonable. Check the price of a color, haircut, deep conditioning and a blow dry.
Choose a style that lasts a while between cuttings and doesn't require a lot of styling products.

Choose hairstyles to work with rather than against your hair type.

To make my shampoo go further, keep an empty bottle in the shower next to the current bottle of shampoo you are using. When you are ready to lather up, squirt a SMALL amount of shampoo into the empty bottle and then add a 'shot' of water and shake it lightly. This distributes the shampoo over your hair more evenly, while using less. It also lathers up much faster than doing it the conventional way.

Collect complimentary and sample bottles and packages of hair care products and send them along when going on short trips. This is especially good for kids who tend to forget to bring things home.

Find a beauty school or college in your area. For simple perms and cuts, they are just fine and much less expensive then the traditional salon.

Give up perms, hair-coloring and highlighting. Let your hair grow to below your shoulders and get a friend to trim it straight across every few months. Trim your own bangs, if you have them. Long hair can be worn down, in a ponytail, in a braid, in a French braid, or up in a bun. It doesn't have to be blown dry or curled or set. And without chemicals, coloring, and heat, it can repair itself and look shiny and healthy. Beautiful! Easy! Feminine! Cheap!
Instead of using the expensive detangle products from the store, make a homemade version using 1 part conditioner to 10 parts water. Then put it into a recycled pump hair spray bottle. It works wonderfully.

Most hair does not benefit from daily washing with shampoo or from being washed twice in one bathing as some shampoo manufacturers suggest. Actually, doing these things can dry out your hair and scalp and make them prone to other problems. Find the least expensive shampoo that works for your hair, and use it only as often and in the quantity that is necessary to keep your hair healthy and manageable.