Irrational frugality

I like to shop around because I have time to kill. I am rich in time.
 
HillCountry said:
You have to realize your time cost money , too.
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And when this thought process surfaces to me....I repeat the words
Drain Bamage....grab the one I want and move on to the next event.
So this is life in retirement...counting sheets of TP....eek
 
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CardsFan said:
Nothing beats home made beef jerky! Get a dehydrator, mine is a Ronco (yea, really) that I bought over 20 years ago for maybe $19. I have found if I slice the beef myself (with a slicer inherited from FIL) I can always slice against the grain to make sure it is not tough.

Just made 2 batches for the annual Labor Day camping trip! Got 2 bottom round roast for $2.50/lb. 4 lbs raw beef makes about 1lb dried jerky.

FYI, I have found that the Lite Soy sauce (low sodium) tastes much better.
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Dehydrator would be nice--but the slicer is what I'm really looking for. I also started with two roasts last weekend (about 6.5 pounds), but sliced by hand.... (Dad had slicer, but sold in a St. Charles garage sale, I suspect.)

As for taste, the customization is what is nice. My wife hates the pepper/cumin/curry smell in the kitchen when I prepare the marinade, and I can't eat it around her, but boy does it have a nice burn!
 
HadEnuff said:
... I usually season my burgers, but came to the conclusion that it would likely be just as easily done, maybe more easily done, when I'm cooking them rather than while I'm pressing them, just because I do get a bit of that slimy burger fat on my hands while pressing, and the fewer things I have to touch during the process, the better...
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What my wife does when making the burger patties is calling me over to sprinkle seasonings on them, so that her hands do not touch the pepper grinder or the spice containers.

This reminds me that I have not had grilled burgers for a while. Time to eat some.


PS. And speaking of "irrational" frugality, I do not have any. All of my frugality is rational. :angel: I cannot help it, if an observer does not share my rational and logical thinking.
 
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Speaking of shaving...

First, soap. Yes. I just use whatever liquid soap is next to the sink. This works in any location, any country. Bar soap if need be. Rinses quickly and thoroughly from my 3-blade razor.

Also, the blades themselves. This has to be one of the all-time most frugal things I've ever done! Two years ago I made a discovery. The Dollar Shave company has their blades produced by a company in South Korea - Dorco. Dorco has a US/Canada distributor, so I ordered a box of blades and a handle from them. I just got the 3-blade model, basically replacing my beloved Gilette Mach3, which I had been using to shave my head and face. Mach3 blades were fairly expensive.

My order was $31, and for that I received a handle, a 4 and 6-blade sample and 24 3-blade cartridges. The date they shipped was September 5, 2014.

I have shaved my head and face approximately 220-230 times since then. I average twice a week, sometimes three. And I can't believe it, but I'm still using those blades! After the current blade, I have two more left from my original order. It's incredible!

So some time in October I will feel a bit of excess drag and decide that my last razor is finished and will dispose of the cartridge and put the handle away as a backup. I may even shed a tear or two, might take a photo. I will then take my new handle and new box of cartridges and begin another 2-year journey. By the time I finish with those, I'll be well into retirement.

Bonus fact: The new order was cheaper! $26 That is some cutting-edge frugality there...

The Great Shaving Ripoff
 
dixonge said:
Speaking of shaving...

First, soap. Yes. I just use whatever liquid soap is next to the sink. This works in any location, any country. Bar soap if need be. Rinses quickly and thoroughly from my 3-blade razor.

Also, the blades themselves. This has to be one of the all-time most frugal things I've ever done! Two years ago I made a discovery. The Dollar Shave company has their blades produced by a company in South Korea - Dorco. Dorco has a US/Canada distributor, so I ordered a box of blades and a handle from them. I just got the 3-blade model, basically replacing my beloved Gilette Mach3, which I had been using to shave my head and face. Mach3 blades were fairly expensive.

My order was $31, and for that I received a handle, a 4 and 6-blade sample and 24 3-blade cartridges. The date they shipped was September 5, 2014.

I have shaved my head and face approximately 220-230 times since then. I average twice a week, sometimes three. And I can't believe it, but I'm still using those blades! After the current blade, I have two more left from my original order. It's incredible!

So some time in October I will feel a bit of excess drag and decide that my last razor is finished and will dispose of the cartridge and put the handle away as a backup. I may even shed a tear or two, might take a photo. I will then take my new handle and new box of cartridges and begin another 2-year journey. By the time I finish with those, I'll be well into retirement.

Bonus fact: The new order was cheaper! $26 That is some cutting-edge frugality there...

The Great Shaving Ripoff
Click to expand...

Based upon your story, I visited the site and placed and order. Nothing irrational about it.
 
GravitySucks said:
My grocery store had Barbarsol on sale for 88 cents a couple years ago. I bought 5 and it lasted two years.
Great investment!
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+1

My wife (who is the real bargain hunter) can normally find Barbasol for less than a buck and buys 2-3 at a time so I never run out. If I predecease her she may have to find a boyfriend so it all gets used up.
 
GravitySucks said:
2 months! Spendthrift! My Gillette 5 blade is from Christmas and I hardly bleed at all when I use it.
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Actually I bleed most with a new blade if I am not careful! But after a couple of weeks, perfect for a month. After that, tougher and tougher. But it make the unveiling of a new blade special...
 
Just bought a pack of AtraII 18 bux and change. Thanks says the dual will fit my handle.
 
dixonge said:
The Dollar Shave company has their blades produced by a company in South Korea - Dorco. Dorco has a US/Canada distributor, so I ordered a box of blades and a handle from them. I just got the 3-blade model, basically replacing my beloved Gilette Mach3, which I had been using to shave my head and face. Mach3 blades were fairly expensive.

My order was $31, and for that I received a handle, a 4 and 6-blade sample and 24 3-blade cartridges. The date they shipped was September 5, 2014.
The Great Shaving Ripoff
Click to expand...

Fascinating that Dollar Shave Club advertises as great value, but they resell someone else's blades at a higher price. It was recently bought by Unilever, so obviously they see profit in it.

I also use Dorco, going on 3 years now. The main site is www.dorcousa.com

I started with the Pace Trial Pack which comes with a handle and 4 different blade styles to try. I found the 3 blade cartridges gave me a lot of little nicks and cuts, maybe because the blades are farther apart. I like the 6 blade with trimmer cartridges best. Yeah, I know 6 blades sounds ridiculous but they give the best shave. I go through 2 cartridges a month, shaving every day. Gillette blades last longer, but Dorco are still better value. Another good thing is ordering online you just buy what you want, without having to surf eBay or the drug store shelf to find exactly the blades I want.

I understand the most frugal way to shave is a double edge safety razor, but I have never tried one.

Edit: I forgot to mention you can often find promo codes for Dorco by searching the web, or on the Dorco Pace Facebook site.
 
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Double edge is cool, you can shave down your face and up your neck w/o turning the razor. One blade is all I need, don't want to be pulling hairs out with the first so the rest can shave them again.
 
The mention of Menards reminds me they sometimes have full size bottles of name brand shampoo and conditioners rebated for free..I would pay the sales tax on about 5 bucks...maybe .33 a bottle, this worked out until I found a brand I did not like. I had 5 bottles of it, but I can't bring myself to throw it away. Every 6 months or so I'll try it just to see if by some miracle I suddenly like it
 
MY DH has told me to toss the shampoo but I tell him it's my "Armageddon" shampoo. Personal hygiene items always seem to be in great demand in all the end of the world books and movies.
 
All this talk of frugal purchases of disposable razors from people like Dollar Shave Club and Dorco doesn't sound too frugal to me. GreatLaker mentioned double edged safety razors, and this is what I use.

A few years ago, I got fedup of buying disposable razors because it seemed that just as me and my skin were getting used to a particular razor, the manufacturer would come out with a "new and improved" version. The new version would either have more blades, or extra pads full of some gooey substance designed for smoother shaves, or they would just redesign the razor to make it look like a turbo-charged racing car, or some equally nefarious and questionable scheme.

I wasn't having any of it, and in my annoyance at these "ever evolving" product lines, I remembered the way my Dad shaved. I cycled over to the local shaver and cutlery shop, bought a Merkur safety razor, a pack of blades, a cake of shaving soap, and a shaving brush, and went to work. Over time, I ditched the shaving soap and brush and went back to using hand soap, as RobbieB described, but stuck with the safety razor and blades. I buy the replacement blades from CVS. They're cheap, each one lasts a couple of months or thereabouts, and the Merkur safety razor is a nice, well balanced, solid little piece of metal that will last me for decades.

Disposable razors? Pah! I f*rt in your general direction. (That was a Python reference. I wasn't actually being rude, but rather, using the cheap ruse of a reference to a revered comedy team as a cover for being somewhat base.)
 
Well one's frugal is another man's spluge..one poster used the example of avoiding a credit card fee charge by raiding the ATM's to pay for a private helicopter ride in Hawaii. That was him being frugal
 
I'll probably be banned from the site if I admit this. Yes, I try various razors (currently Harry's) to find a better deal. BUT: when it comes to shaving cream I probably am off the deep end. It lasts a long time but I use Bond's shaving soap (love the fragrance and "soapiness" with a badger brush. Brushing it on, dab of water, and working up a thin but very lubricating lather makes all other forms just seem, well, crude!

Got started on this when saw SIL using it, and then DS. Tried it. Suggest it as a nice gift to yourself unless the splurge is just too painful.
 
Every man should treat himself to a good old fashioned "barber shave" from time to time. Go in and sit down and get the full treatment. The cape, the hot towel, the hot lather and a "straight shave" with a freshly stropped straight razor.

You'll feel like a new man!
 
RobbieB said:
Every man should treat himself to a good old fashioned "barber shave" from time to time. Go in and sit down and get the full treatment. The cape, the hot towel, the hot lather and a "straight shave" with a freshly stropped straight razor.

You'll feel like a new man!
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The barber shop that cuts my hair does this. I am WAY too squeamish/paranoid to have someone using a straight blade on the front of my neck. Sends shivers down my spine whenever someone is in another chair having that done.:hide:
 
RobbieB said:
Every man should treat himself to a good old fashioned "barber shave" from time to time. Go in and sit down and get the full treatment. The cape, the hot towel, the hot lather and a "straight shave" with a freshly stropped straight razor.

You'll feel like a new man!
Click to expand...

Indeed.
My barber was mastering an apprentice and asked if I would sit in for a free shave. Wonderful.
Next time in it was a half price shave, and now they're full price.
Only adds $10 to the $12 haircut every 2 or 3 months.
 
GreatLaker said:
I understand the most frugal way to shave is a double edge safety razor, but I have never tried one.
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I use an electric shaver...it cost $40 and I've had it for 10 years, so that's $4 per year. If it lasts another 10 years then I'm down to $2 per year for shaving.
 
I use an electric shaver until my beard got too tough. Then the clean feeling of being clean shaven was tough to beat. Being retired now. I shave every other day unless I have an important meeting.

I have tried everything mentioned here. I got stuck on Trac IIs for 10 years and am now stuck on 3-blade Gillettes until my blade supply runs out. A new blade is always a treat.
 
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