For years, I've felt like a sap whenever I bought razors.

It killed me to spend $2.50 to $3 a blade for my Gillette Mach 3. Yet the few times when I used cheap disposable razors, it was like shaving with a file.

It shouldn't have come to this. I've used Gillette razors for decades, and I like them. The rub is the cost. In my book, a fair price for refills would be about a buck.

I'm a believer in markets, but it doesn't seem like the razor-blade market gives me what I want. Instead of competing on price, Gillette and Schick largely seem to be engaged in a silly arms race to improve a product that already works perfectly well. Two blades, three blades, four blades—when will it stop?

Not anytime soon, apparently. Schick will soon launch its own five-blade razor, and says that prices for it should be 10% to 20% above the Quattro, its four-blade razor that was introduced in 2003.

Gillette, a unit of Procter & Gamble, got there first. Its Fusion Power MVP—an early version of which went on sale in 2006—has five spring-mounted blades and battery-powered micropulses to reduce friction "so you barely feel the blades." The Gillette Web site has a video of a mechanic with a giant razor blade on a car lift.

Razor makers, I have news for you. A razor is not a sports car. It won't make us feel young again or turn women's heads. We don't like shaving, and no matter what you do, we never will. All we want is a razor that will do the job without nicking us, either literally or figuratively.

But Gillette and Schick have a different view. Gillette is constantly doing research and development to create the perfect shave, says Mike Norton, a spokesman. "It's not the number of blades, it's the science behind the blades that gives you a better shave."

Jackie Burwitz of Energizer Holdings, which owns Schick, says, "If you look at the sales data, consumers are willing to pay up for a better-performing razor."

There you have it. There's more money to be made developing fancier and fancier razors than in keeping the same razors and engaging in a price war. In other words, we American males have only ourselves to blame for the five-blade razor.

Over the years, I've compensated for the rising prices of razor blades by using less of them. Whereas I once might have changed blades every week or so, I now go two or three weeks before popping in a new one.

A colleague of mine is married to a thrifty Frenchman who waits at least two months before changing razor blades. He has gone as long as six months. When he does change blades, it feels "like a warm knife through butter," says Jean-Philippe Masson, 36 years old. "If you changed every week, you would not appreciate that pleasure."

That's the French way. The American way, of course, rarely involves denying ourselves something. Instead, we look for a way to get it cheaper.

Maybe that's why there's a thriving market out there for after-market razors.

There are people still selling blades for Gillette Trac II, the two-blade razor I used as a young man. A Web site advertised a 100-pack of after-market refills for $49.99. Alas, I haven't owned a Trac II for many years.

Instead, I went to my local CVS pharmacy, where the chain was pitching its "three-blade shaving system." I paid $12.50 for a razor and 10 blades, bringing my per-blade cost to $1.25.

I've been trying out the CVS razor for the past couple of weeks. It was just as comfortable as the three-blade Gillette I've used for several years.

The Gillette might have given me a slightly closer shave than the CVS razor. I really can't say for sure. I can't tell the difference between a great shave and good one. But I can tell the difference between paying $2.50 and $1.25.

To be fair to Gillette, I agreed to try out its latest, greatest razor. So Gillette sent me a Fusion ProGlide Power razor, a five-blade razor that hits the market in June. It will have a suggested retail price of $12.99 for a razor and two cartridges. A four-pack of refills will cost $17.99.

I used the new razor over the weekend before sending it back to Gillette. It was a closer shave. But when I finished, the smooth face I saw peering back in the mirror was still my own, not George Clooney's. And I'd still feel like a sap spending $4.50 each time I changed blades.

So I'm sticking with the CVS razor. Until I find something cheaper.

Write to Neal Templin at cheapskate@wsj.com

For Original Wall Street Article Click Here

Making small daily decisions to save money can help you afford for bigger, more important purchases and investments.

By Trent Hamm, Guest blogger / August 13, 2010

Textbook rental services are on the rise as college students look for ways to save money when buying textbooks.

By Alissa Figueroa, Correspondent / August 9, 2010

Textbook rental is becoming an increasingly popular choice for college students, who’ve seen book prices surge in recent years.

Students can cut their upfront costs in half by renting, rather than buying a textbook, according to the National Association of College Stores, a a trade group for textbook vendors.

And retailers across the country are responding, with local college bookstores opening their own rental services to compete with online book rental sites, like bookrenter.com, which offers free shipping and access to some 3 million titles through a partnership with Amazon.

The National Association of College Stores says about half of its 3,000 member stores will offer book rentals this year. That's some 1,500 independent college bookstores, up from only 200 to 300 last fall.

Barnes & Noble announced on Monday that it, too, would expand its pilot textbook rental program, started in January, to include all of its 637 college bookstores. Students can also rent textbooks from the company’s website.

But aren't paper textbooks (whose cost has increase at twice the rate of inflation over the last two decades, according to the Government Accountability Office) a bit, well, last semester?

For students looking for digitized alternatives, their options are growing as well. Last week, Barnes & Noble announced its new NOOKstudy software package, which students can download for free to access the bookseller’s digital textbooks.

The service allows students to tag, highlight, search, and take notes on their e-textbooks, and offers the option to rent a digital book for the semester at a reduced price.

Contrary to what its name suggests, NOOKstudy is not accessible from Barnes & Noble’s e-reader, the nook, or another mobile device – it can only be downloaded onto a PC or a Mac. Smaller devices are not suitable for viewing textbooks’ graphic-heavy pages, says the booksellers’ website.

The makers of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader thought they’d solved that problem with the Kindle DX, a wider version of the original e-reader designed to make reading academic texts easier.

Last year, the company gave students at seven universities access to the devices with their class materials preloaded onto them.

But as the Village Voice reported last month, the experiment didn’t go very well – several students given Kindles bought the physical textbooks for their classes instead, citing difficulty in taking notes, navigating the books, and reading the color graphics that were shown in black and white.

Of course, there is also the cost of e-readers themselves, which, at around $150 to $200 are a steep investment for any student on a budget.

Another option could be open-source textbooks, as are available on curriki.org, a nonprofit that seeks to provide "universal access to free curricula and instructional materials for grades K-12," according to its website. For college professors, though, who are generally very specific about which textbook their students work from, it could be a long time before open-source curricula are adopted widely.

Friday, 30th April 2010 (by J.D. Roth)  Exerpt

I love stories like these!  This is a couple who delayed their instant gratifacation (debt bearing) honeymoon, waited, and paid for it in cash.  

Click Here to see video.

Cure poisen ivy, repel insects-and clean you house....all with vodka!

Click Here

I have actually used some of these and they work.  I can't wait (with the exception of poisen ivy) to try the others.  

This Saturday Night Live Skit is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.  

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1389/saturday-night-live-dont-buy-stuff

From Mark Zaifman's Blog

www.spiritusfinancial.com

"When it comes to managing your personal finances, spending, particularly overspending is one of the most challenging aspects of living within your means. It’s not that you don’t have good intentions, because most people really do want to stay on a spending plan, it’s more complex than that. Spending money causes an emotional rush in our bodies. It’s a natural high. It’s short term pleasure for what could turn out to be long term debt. It’s the nexus between money and your emotional intelligence (EQ) that often creates the problem of overspending.

Create a speed bump on the road to spending

Each time you wake up and go to work, you’re making a conscious decision to trade your precious life energy, the limited time you have on this planet; and trade that time for money. That’s a powerful decision with huge impacts on your lifestyle. Are you receiving the highest amount of compensation possible for the exchange of your precious life energy?

Now take it one step further. You’re hearing about the new 3D TV’s that are about to hit the consumer outlets later this year. Let’s say these new TV’s are going to sell for $4,200 each. Gulp! is your first reaction. Second reaction is how cool it would be to have that TV to watch movies on. Then you think about the cost. Well, you say to yourself, I just received that 1.99% 6 month interest offer on my credit card, I’ll put it on my card and pay that sucker off in 6 months-no doubt about it. Next comes the purchase and the amazing “sugar high” you feel throughout your entire body when you sign on the dotted line. And the finale is the hangover that occurs later when buyer’s remorse kicks in and you wonder why you just spent that kind of money on a consumer item.

Here are some suggestions on creating a speed bump to at least slow down the momentum on your potential road to purchasing an item. First, make sure you avoid impulse purchases. These are usually emotionally driven and tend to be the reason most people suffer buyer’s remorse. Stop yourself before making the purchase, and give yourself a cooling off period for at least 24-48 hours. If, after that time, your purchase still feels right, at least you’ve given yourself time to really think it through.

Second suggestion is to calculate how many hours of work it will take to make this purchase. Don’t use your gross hourly rate, instead be honest and use your net hourly wage, taking out taxes, cost of commuting, clothes, etc. Then say to yourself, is it worth trading x amount of hours of my life energy for this purchase? This exercise has usually stopped me dead in my tracks when I’ve been tempted to exceed my spending plan.

Keeping yourself honest

Making a new year’s resolution to stop overspending or even creating a “budget” are all good things on the road to living within your means. But even with the best intentions, it’s harder than most people think. The only true solution to the problem of overspending is to develop the discipline to stay within a  spending plan. Otherwise, consumption quite naturally becomes excessive, and the rude awakening arrives with the monthly statement.

To guard against overspending, I recommend creating and maintaining a credit card expense journal, which is similar to the check stubs in a checking account. Keep a weekly running total of credit card expenses and deduct the end-of-week total from your checking account balance. Then when your credit card bill arrives, you have already deducted the expenses out of your checking account and you’re able to pay your balance in full that month. If you’re unable to pay the full balance off each month, that’s ok short-term, but realize that month you borrowed money and you didn’t live within your means. If this occurs for more than 3 months, you have a trend that needs to be looked at closely.

Increase your money consciousness

Awareness into your relationship with money is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give to yourself. Does it take courage to look inside and understand what’s causing the fear, anxiety, overspending, under saving, under earning, conflicts with your spouse/partner, etc-you bet it does. Yet at the end of the day, what most of us truly want, is not the house up on the hill, or the latest sports car or other material possessions, and yes, many of us desire these items, but at our core, what I would argue we’re all really in search of is peace of mind.

It’s the feeling that your financial house is in order and you feel at peace with your money and your life, you feel secure about your future. And security in regards to your finances is a big thing. When you feel out of sorts with your money, and especially about your financial security, you’re causing yourself undue stress, which can ultimately lead to illness and even disease. Nothing can be more important than your health.

If money has often caused you stress and anxiety, tell yourself this year will be different. Become fearless. Summon the courage and look inside at what’s causing you to feel the way you do. Monitor your thoughts carefully. Remember, as you think, so shall you be.

As you embark on this journey of self-discovery, know that what’s waiting for you on the other side is financial freedom. This feeling of liberation is worth its weight in gold."

I was hosting our lovely Easter family party and found that non-sliced ham is not only much tastier, but also a ton cheaper. 

Instead of buying processed food for snacks, buy produce.  It is not only healthier, but it is better for the environment and less expensive.