How to Save Money on ..

How to Save Money on Razor Blades

 It seems like I go through a razor blade at least twice a month.  Gillette and Schick have a virtually monopoly on the razor blade business. It’s a classic business model were they give you the razor system at below cost and make their money on selling you blade cartridges which can cost up to $2-3 a piece.

 A recent article from the Chicago Tribune shares some tips on extending the life of your blade.  The primary thesis of the article is that razor blades wear out mainly from rust and not cutting hair.  Because blades are often left wet after use they develop micro-rust which dulls the edge of the blade.  The article suggests drying your blade after each use with either a hair dryer or a soft cloth will greatly extend the useful life of the blade.  The article comments on a few people whose tests of drying their razor blades after use has led to a life of several months versus a few weeks.

The savings:  Well if you assume $2 a blade and you also assume you extend the life of the blade from 2 weeks to a month you would save 12 blades a year at $2 for a total savings of $24.  Of course results, costs can vary quite a bit.

Extending the Life of Razor Blades  (Chicago Tribune)

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How to Save Money on College Textbooks

 I remember term after term I would have to shell out hundreds on college textbooks.  It seemed universities had us over a barrel in terms of extracting what little cash we had to purchase required textbooks. Here’s a few simple tips that can help you save hundreds possibly more on textbooks over the life of your student years.

 1. Get the syllabis and required reading list as early as you can so you can snap up used textbooks before they run out and you have to purchase brand new copies.

2. Go online to book comparison shopping engines and check for discounted textbooks. You might also try ebay as well. Purchasing your college text books online is often much cheaper than purchasing them through the college bookstore.

3. If you or your friends are planning to purchase quite a few textbooks from Amazon consider going in on an Amazon prime account.  Do the math first to see if this really makes sense.  Sometimes bookstores have flat fees for shipping so at a minimum try to purchase your books together so you can cut down on shipping charges.

4. Do you have a friend going for the same degree? If so plan on alternating your classes with her. This way you can buy one book for the two of you.

5. Start a book exchange.  The beauty of courses within your degree is that most of the students in your class are going to be taking the same courses you are.  Before the end of the semester offer to gather a list of emails from students. Ask them to email you a list of their current text books then put together a master digest of everyone’s current books to facilitate exchanges.

6. When it comes time to sell your books don’t just sell them to the college bookstore, go online and see who will offer you the best price. Also consider selling them yourself directly on Amazon or Ebay.

 Got any other great tips on saving money on college text books, drop us a line in the comments section.

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GoDaddy Coupon Code for Domain Registrations

I use GoDaddy to register many of my web domains including HowtoSaveMoneyon.com.

Yesterday I registered a new domain and used the two following coupon codes to save money:

 Deal: $2 off any order
Code: goox3004at

Deal: 10% off any order
Code: SAVETEN

This is another coupon code that I have not tested so it may not still work

Deal: 10% off any order
Code: SAVENOW

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How to Save Money on Diamonds

Diamonds are graded and priced according to the four C’s:  Cut, Clarity, Color, and Carat.  Most people who shop for Diamonds focus on Carats but you can save a lot of money by purchasing a diamond that is a fraction under a full Carat. No one outside of the diamond industry is going to be able to tell the difference between a 0.90 and 1.00 carat diamond but the cost of going for the full carat can be significantly more.

Where you shop for diamonds also has a big impact on the price of a diamond. Shopping at a tier 1 jewler like Tifanny’s is going to cost much much more than purchasing a diamond from diamond wholesalers or internet sites.  I watched a segment on TV were Costco begain selling diamonds and they were compared with diamonds from other major branded retailers like Tifanny’s.  The Costco diamonds were judged to be as good in quality but significantly cheaper.  Most people are paying a mark-up of 10-50% for the privalage of buying from a major branded jewler.

Posted in Jewelry | 1 Comment »

How to Save Money on Magazine Subscriptions

I typically subscribe to five or six magazines each year.  One site that I found offers really good deals on magazine subscriptions is budgetmags.com.  I can often find popular magazines for as little as $3.95 per year.  I’ve read some negative comments about budgetmags.com but I’ve ordered about six magazines from them and haven’t had any problem. One frequent complaint I’ve read is that it takes 6-8 weeks from ordering until you start recieiving your magazines in the mail.

BudgetMags.com

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Find Money Saving Coupons on Ebay

Search for popular branded coupons on Ebay.  I often buy a few cans of campbells soup when I go shopping.  To save money I do a search on Ebay for campbells soup coupons.  You can often find someone selling a group of coupons together for a $2 with the face value savings of $10 

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How to Save Money on Gas

 With gas reaching $4.00 a gallon here are some tips that can help you save money on gas.

1. buy a fuel effecient car. ultimately this is one decision which will have the biggest impact on how much money you save on gas.
2. group your errands together so you need to make fewer trips
3. remove any excess weight from your car
4. check to see if tires are properly inflated
5. look into park n ride programs that let you drive to a nearby parking lot and take public transportation to work
6. live close to your work
7. see about carpooling, not just to work but for groceries, gym, movies, etc
8. look into gas credit cards that rebate a penny or two per gallon
9. buy a gps system, pick the optimal route, spend less time on the road looking for your desitnation
10. take off slowly from a full stop
11. park in the first stop you find
12. walk into the drive-in restaurant, don’t idle it wastes gas
13. get low resistence tires.  specially designed tires that create less friction with the road and ultimately use less gas

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