Sometimes cheaper is better!

[NMBurb02]

In an effort to tighten our financial belts, my family has been purchasing less expensive versions/brands of everyday products for quite some time and each time I add something else to the list, I am surprised by the matching or even greater quality (particularly when you factor in price) of the less expensive alternatives!

A few examples:
-Shaving cream; Barbasol shaving cream for -Razors; Gillette 2 blade disposables vs Gillette Mach3 or Fusion. I can get about a 2 year supply of the disposables from Costco for $25 (I have a full beard, so they are only used for shaving my neck and cheeks, making each one last longer) whereas a 1 year supply of the 3 or 4 blade razor heads was running $50 or so and resulted in more irritation.
-Coffee!!! This is my latest switch. I typically make coffee at home, but while on the road or too lazy to make it in the morning, I would stop by Starbucks to grab a regular coffee (~$2 for 16 oz), Americano (espresso and water; ~$2.50 for 16 oz), or occasionally splurge on a mocha latte ($4+ for 16 oz). Recently while at my local Chevron, I picked up a cup of coffee and did 60/40 machine-made mocha/medium roast and loved it! Plus, it's only $1.69 for 24 oz and I use their drink rewards card, so each 6th one is free, effectively knocking the price down to $1.41 each. I get my coffee and chocolate fix each day (sometimes heading down the hill from home in the afternoon just for some coffee) for about 1/3 of what I was paying at Starbucks and I enjoy the coffee much more.
-Deodorant; went from the $4.50 per stick high tech antiperspirant/deodorant to $2.50 per stick Old Spice High Endurance deodorant (no antiperspirant). No pit sweat with Old Spice whereas I constantly had to re-apply the more expensive stuff throughout the day to have the desired effects.

Do any of you have any similar non-motor oil or oil/air filter experiences?

 

[dave123]

you get what you pay for.........

 

[simple_gifts]

Bar soap works fine for shaving cream.

 

[hisilver]

Switched to Barbasol long ago...lasts forever and is cheap and I get a great shave. You can definitely get by without top shelf toiletries.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: dave123
you get what yo pay for.........

Like name brand labels and their big marketing budgets?

My examples are of situations in which I got more when paying less. I see no reason to buy $200 jeans when $25 Wranglers or Target brand (Denizens) fit well and last just as long, if not longer.

That being said, a recent promotion and the need to buy a suit that actually fit me after having lost 30+ lbs has resulted in my choice in work attire (business casual to business formal) jump up a few notches on the quality and price spectrum. However, I still look for deals and have only purchased work clothes that have been deeply discounted, like 30-60% off.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
In an effort to tighten our financial belts, my family has been purchasing less expensive versions/brands of everyday products for quite some time and each time I add something else to the list, I am surprised by the matching or even greater quality (particularly when you factor in price) of the less expensive alternatives!

A few examples:
-Shaving cream; Barbasol shaving cream for -Razors; Gillette 2 blade disposables vs Gillette Mach3 or Fusion. I can get about a 2 year supply of the disposables from Costco for $25 (I have a full beard, so they are only used for shaving my neck and cheeks, making each one last longer) whereas a 1 year supply of the 3 or 4 blade razor heads was running $50 or so and resulted in more irritation.
-Coffee!!! This is my latest switch. I typically make coffee at home, but while on the road or too lazy to make it in the morning, I would stop by Starbucks to grab a regular coffee (~$2 for 16 oz), Americano (espresso and water; ~$2.50 for 16 oz), or occasionally splurge on a mocha latte ($4+ for 16 oz). Recently while at my local Chevron, I picked up a cup of coffee and did 60/40 machine-made mocha/medium roast and loved it! Plus, it's only $1.69 for 24 oz and I use their drink rewards card, so each 6th one is free, effectively knocking the price down to $1.41 each. I get my coffee and chocolate fix each day (sometimes heading down the hill from home in the afternoon just for some coffee) for about 1/3 of what I was paying at Starbucks and I enjoy the coffee much more.
-Deodorant; went from the $4.50 per stick high tech antiperspirant/deodorant to $2.50 per stick Old Spice High Endurance deodorant (no antiperspirant). No pit sweat with Old Spice whereas I constantly had to re-apply the more expensive stuff throughout the day to have the desired effects.

Do any of you have any similar non-motor oil or oil/air filter experiences?


I have a beard and don't shave much. When I do I just leave some soap on my face when I am done with my shower.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Bar soap works fine for shaving cream.

I have really sensitive skin, which was one reason for growing out the beard in the first place, so I need to stick with sensitive skin shaving creams. I have tried other stuff like combo face wash/shave gel and some non-lather shave stuff, but they don't provide the combo of close shave and irritation control I need.

 

[andyd]

Yah, I discovered Barbasol ages ago. I leave the house every morning with a thermos of black coffee, 2 bananas and 3 PBJs. When I want coffee, I go to a gas station. I drive old cars that I fix myself with junk parts. When I smoke, I roll my own. I make my own bread. I am a baby boomer, raised ,by best generation-ers with whom the lessons of frugality were ingrained by the Depression and the War. I was 12 yrs old before I realized what my Grandpa called Dayo bread was really day old bread

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02

-Coffee!!! This is my latest switch. I typically make coffee at home, but while on the road or too lazy to make it in the morning, I would stop by Starbucks to grab a regular coffee (~$2 for 16 oz), Americano (espresso and water; ~$2.50 for 16 oz), or occasionally splurge on a mocha latte ($4+ for 16 oz). Recently while at my local Chevron, I picked up a cup of coffee and did 60/40 machine-made mocha/medium roast and loved it! Plus, it's only $1.69 for 24 oz and I use their drink rewards card, so each 6th one is free, effectively knocking the price down to $1.41 each. I get my coffee and chocolate fix each day (sometimes heading down the hill from home in the afternoon just for some coffee) for about 1/3 of what I was paying at Starbucks and I enjoy the coffee much more.

I only drink coffee/espresso/cappuccino I made at home, even with quality coffee such as Lavazza(bought from Amazon when it has lower price than usual) my cost per cup is less than 20-25 cents, and it tastes better than $2-3 a cup at Starbucks.

We stock up meat and seafood(pork, chicken, shrimp ...) when it is on sale at good price(40-50% off or more). Our grocery bill is usually around $60-80 a week, except when we have our friends or relative come over for dinner/party.

 

[Oregoonian]

Originally Posted By: hisilver
Switched to Barbasol long ago...lasts forever and is cheap and I get a great shave. You can definitely get by without top shelf toiletries.

Last I checked....Barbasol....was $1.29 at Walmart.

WALMART SEEMS TO HAVE THE CHEAPEST PRICES ON THINGS LIKE THAT, shaving cream. razors (especially with a coupon) and many other personal use products.

 

[Boomer]

I shave with a mug and brush and Williams shave soap; have for years. And I use Weis or Giant (local grocery store brand) two blade inserts for my 30 year old Gillettte handle. I buy store brand cereals at a large discount to brand names as well as English muffins and milk.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
Last I checked....Barbasol....was $1.29 at Walmart.

Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel is around $4 a can. Once a quarter I can "splurge" to give my sensitive skin what it needs.

 

[Rand]

I roast my own coffee its so good... I cant drink starbucks, mcdonalds, (insert any name here)

 

[Tdbo]

Been doing similar things for years. We use a lot of coupons, utilize double coupon promotions, shop the grocery ads and use store brands, as necessary to get whatever we need at the lowest cost.

For shaving cream, I use Edge a lot. Kroger frequently runs it on sale for $1.49. Until they recently changed their coupon policy, I would get .55 coupons doubled, making the shaving cream .39. Obviously, I stock up when that opportunity arose and have 8-10 cans on hand.
For rasors, same deal. At our grocery in the clearance bin, they had four Schick Hydro 3 rasor handles with 2 blades for $4.55. With $4. coupons, that lowered the cost to $.55. With the purchase of all 4, that made 8 blades $2.20. Since I use an electric during the week, that is about 8 months of blades.
Deodorant is usually < $1 with sales and coupons. I stock up at a good sale when I have coupons as well.
We use coupons and have the Entertainment book as well as a dining club membership to eat out at a discount. When I buy coffee away from the house, it is from Speedway.
I utilize every means to save money. I even use credit cards to get the 4-5% back when I pay at the pump on gas. (Always pay in full @ end of month.) I also utilize on any purchase that I can get rewards back.
We save quite a bit of $$ this way, and that frees up $$ that can go to investments.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
Originally Posted By: dave123
you get what yo pay for.........

Like name brand labels and their big marketing budgets?

My examples are of situations in which I got more when paying less. I see no reason to buy $200 jeans when $25 Wranglers or Target brand (Denizens) fit well and last just as long, if not longer.

That being said, a recent promotion and the need to buy a suit that actually fit me after having lost 30+ lbs has resulted in my choice in work attire (business casual to business formal) jump up a few notches on the quality and price spectrum. However, I still look for deals and have only purchased work clothes that have been deeply discounted, like 30-60% off.


Hit a secondhand store. I have a suit jacket I think I paid fifty bucks for.

It's an Armani. Ten years ago, it retailed for about $300!

 

[jcwit]

Originally Posted By: dave123
you get what you pay for.........


Obviously never worked for a large corporation as a Procurement Officer, Director of Purchasing.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I don't shave anymore, but I used to. (After eight years of marriage, my wife told me I should grow a beard. Dang it, she couldn't have said that eight years ago?!) When I did, I spent way too much money on shaving supplies before finding what worked: the cheapest single-blade razors from CVS and Barbasol or similar regular shaving cream.

Note: per my friend (who shaves with it), Barbasol changed recently. He says the new cans are a little smaller (same price, of course) and his girlfriend insists is smells different (if so, he can't tell).

For deodorant, Old Spice frequently has a 2-stick pack on sale. They discontinued the "Fresh Classic", many stores have them on sale. (I just bought four for $1 each.)

 

[jcwit]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
Originally Posted By: dave123
you get what yo pay for.........

Like name brand labels and their big marketing budgets?

My examples are of situations in which I got more when paying less. I see no reason to buy $200 jeans when $25 Wranglers or Target brand (Denizens) fit well and last just as long, if not longer.

That being said, a recent promotion and the need to buy a suit that actually fit me after having lost 30+ lbs has resulted in my choice in work attire (business casual to business formal) jump up a few notches on the quality and price spectrum. However, I still look for deals and have only purchased work clothes that have been deeply discounted, like 30-60% off.


Hit a secondhand store. I have a suit jacket I think I paid fifty bucks for.

It's an Armani. Ten years ago, it retailed for about $300!


Nothing wrong with trying the Pawn Shops in your area. Yesterday I got a NIB Citizen Eco-Drive Chronograph complete with instructions, warranty, and tags for $75.00, its a $300.00 watch from the on line discounters.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
Originally Posted By: dave123
you get what yo pay for.........

Like name brand labels and their big marketing budgets?

My examples are of situations in which I got more when paying less. I see no reason to buy $200 jeans when $25 Wranglers or Target brand (Denizens) fit well and last just as long, if not longer.

That being said, a recent promotion and the need to buy a suit that actually fit me after having lost 30+ lbs has resulted in my choice in work attire (business casual to business formal) jump up a few notches on the quality and price spectrum. However, I still look for deals and have only purchased work clothes that have been deeply discounted, like 30-60% off.


Hit a secondhand store. I have a suit jacket I think I paid fifty bucks for.

It's an Armani. Ten years ago, it retailed for about $300!

I have tried secondhand/thrift stores, but with no luck. After my weight loss I am on the thin side and wear "slim fit" jackets, pants, and shirts. My freakishly long arms makes finding well fitting shirts difficult, so I generally have to search high and low to find something that fits and buy it on 50% off or BOGO sales, or buying something too large but with the proper arm length when it is on clearance and pay $15 to get it taken in. Even then, I generally do not pay anything near full price. On Friday I picked up two jackets at Macy's: a Calvin Klein for $62.30 (65% off) and an American Rag (not high fashion, but looks good on me) for $50 (28% off), plus got 20% off by making a $2 donation for women's heart disease research. Of course, it took me nearly 2 hours to decide on those jackets and two shirts because of my frugality and general indecisiveness.

 

[mechanicx]

There use to be a major brand (not store brand) of shaving cream that was a little cheaper than even Barbasol that was just as good. I can't remember the name and don't see it anymore.

Razor blades are just outrageously priced and don't last long. Even for the cheapest Gillette Sensor twin blades, it's like $15-20 for a pack of 10, and they seem to be continously going up in price. They're even made in a lower cost country like Brazil as if mass production of razor blades wasn't cheap enough. A person can go through a 10 pack in about month. And that's their cheapest cartridge! Not that long ago I use to pay about $3 for a 10 pack of razor cartridges, and it seems like they lasted longer. Pure rip off.