Bublin, how about doing it every 6 weeks instead? That way a 1/4 inch trim would leave you with at least a 1/2 inch retention. And if your hair is average growing and you are practicing good haircare habits (see the Wanakee thread) you should have 4 inches+ inrease in length a year. That is a whole foot in 3 years.
If I have fine hair, don't moisturize, don't seal my ends, don't PS and I am approaching BSB or might be at it when I was under 3 inches in 2007, all because of regular dusting and low mani, then imagine how much good getting rid of tear notches before they have a chance to tear at your strands will do in keeping them strong. Since you can sense when your ends are in bad shape, try the 6 week schedule and see if your ends do fine with this. I really think they will. And if not, then you can try one month. But just know that the shorter the time between dustings, the smaller the amount you will need to cut. So if you do decide it will be 4 weeks instead of 6, then do not cut a lot. Remember you only get 1/2 an inch of growth in 4 weeks so you don't want to be cutting off that growth.
candy626, you have the right idea. It is not about getting a blunt cut but simply removing the tear notches that will appear on all the ends before they wreck havoc on your strands. You do it early, they are still so tiny that all you need is a tiny trim and you are left with nice strong strands that have a much better chance of lasting throug styling trauma and just the abuse the elements unleash on our hair.
Thank you so much! Your hair is very beautiful as well!! 
