BILLINGS — The Man Shop, a Billings barber shop on Grand Avenue, offered free, back-to-school haircuts on Monday.
The opportunity was offered by the barber shop in an attempt to cut back on expenses for parents as students return to the classroom in the next couple of weeks.
Watch this video to hear about the impacts on families:
For Billings parents such as Natalie Bradshaw, it was a nice break during stressful times.
"We were planning to come get his haircut this week anyways," Bradshaw said Monday afternoon. "When I saw that it would be free, I was like, 'Wow, this is awesome.'"
Bradshaw said expenses can stack up, especially with the price of school supplies increasing.
"It's things you don't think about, like you don't think about adding into your budget getting your kids' haircut," Bradshaw said. "But it adds up. Especially if you have multiple children and school starting doesn't line up for when you get paid."
Bradshaw said she's felt the struggle and knows other parents have too.
"I see a lot of parents that struggle to get the little things kids need every day," Bradshaw said. "That's why this is such a good thing for the community."
Man Shop barber Roni Mounteer said she was happy to hear about the free haircuts. Mounteer has children herself and said she understands how challenging times can be.
"It's going good. We've got tons of people showing up," Mounteer said. "I've got a few kiddos myself, so I know how important it is to look nice for school."
And Mounteer made sure to not just offer haircuts to her clients, but also handed out a little bit of advice heading into the new year.
"Oh, you like math?" Mounteer said to one student while cutting her hair. "You're going to be so good. Math will take you anywhere in life."
Students left the barber shop ready for that first day, while parents enjoyed a financial break.
"It's nice to kind of take just a little bit of stress off of parents," Bradshaw said.
