Frugal Experiment #1-Razor Blades

Welcome to my first experiment in frugality. This is where I test out those frugal concepts and post the results of my efforts. Please keep in mind that the results I do post are completely unscientific and that if you try the same experiment at home, you may end up getting different results. I am posting these so people will have the benefit of someone else’s practical experience and perhaps use that in your decision to try something.

My first frugal experiment involves razor blades, or more precisely, how long can a person make one last.

All This Can Be Yours…If The Price (Book) Is Right!

I have started keeping a price book. What is this? Basically, it’s a small, three ring binder where you keep track of what certain things cost at which store. The best way to gauge the price of something is by unit cost instead of the price tag on the shelf. A price book is also a good way to see if that buy one get one sale is really a good deal vs. what it costs normally or what it costs down the street. It’s also very helpful in comparing the cost of making something from scratch vs. buying convenience food.

Adventures in Frugality

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, times are tight for a lot of people economically. The price of gas has gone up. The price of food has gone up. Other than our paychecks, one may be hard pressed to find something that hasn’t gone up.

A few years ago, in my household, times were very, very tight. My husband had lost his job and we were living on my wages and his unemployment while he went back to school. We could barely afford to live in the place we were living, and eventually we ended up moving into a small place in a not so great neighborhood with cheap rent which included heat and water. Eventually, the Hubby graduated from FVTC, found a job, and we were slowly but surely getting back on our feet. We still live in this cheap little apartment with most of the utilities included in the rent (but the neighborhood has gotten much better), and because we decided to stay put, we were able to start putting some money away into savings. But lately, I’ve noticed that the money we live on is getting tighter and tighter, and I fear that we won’t be able to put money away in a savings account in hopes that some day, it will be put as a down payment on a house. When I realized this, the stubborn part of me said that not having money to put in a savings account is just not an option. And there has to be a way to be able to save and live within our means when the cost of everything is going up and our paychecks are not.