Always shave after shower, because skin is becomes soft and ‘ANY’ razor runs smooth (I have a very basic razor (yes similar to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Merkur_heavy_duty_safety_razor.jpg , but in plastic ). I don’t even feel the need to use any cream or gel since it makes no difference.
Why stick un-necessary chemicals (gel, after-shave etc.) on your face, it might damage skin in the long run.
Above all, save environment from these chemicals and save some money too.
Trust me, all these corporations churn out the gizmo products which create some much pollutatnts in the manufacturing process.

I cringe everytime I grab a pack of blades at the store. I got a Schick Quattro and the latest offering from Gillette in the mail just in time to avoid having to buy new blades. After these two freebies are gone I will check out ebay!

I think I’m calling it good at 5 blades for now. I’m sure there will be something better in 3 years, but I think would have to be some great new polymer and not more blades. At that point, I might be tempted, but I’ll also be down to my last 4-5 blades with the current system. I purposely didn’t buy so many that I’m locked in. I tried to buy just enough to get me to that next cycle. At that point, I can make the decision to adopt the new way or continue with my Gillete Fusion Power.

I’d look into that razor, but for now I’m pretty happy with my solution for the next 3-4 years.

I bought a 1964 DE Gillette adjustable for $28 on eBay, and bought a 100 blade “sample” of Platinum Coated Double Edge Razor Blades from encure.com for $25.

I shave almost every day and change my blade every Monday. That’s almost a two year supply of blades for $25. I also ended up investing in a badger hair shaving brush and some shave soap & cream. The low cost of the blades will offset these expenses in a few months.

It took about a week to get used to the razor. Even if I rush, it easily shaves better than the Gillette Mach 3 turbo I replaced. If I take my time, I can get an amazingly good shave that’s much better than anything I got from the Mach 3.

A good resource is shaveblog.com. It focuses on superior quality, but I was just happy to find a way to get away from the mach 3 blades without sacrificing shave quality.

I tried to buy an Amazon gift card and got burned on Ebay. The guy had 45+ positive ratings, but didn’t deliver to any of the 5-10 people that bought the Amazon gift cards. Ebay ended up reimbursing us for most of the fraud. Since then, I haven’t gone back to that.

I have bought coupons in the past. It worked out well.

Another thing you can do on EBay to save money is to buy gift cards and buy coupons.

If you’re going to be shopping a big national brand store, a lot of times you can buy, say a $100 gift card, for $80 to $90.

You can also buy coupons.

I tried (in vain) to convince my wife to do this with baby formula. There are a lot of $5 coupons floating around from mothers who don’t use a particular brand, and the coupons get sold for $2 or $3. When you are buying a lot of cans of formula it can add up.

BUT, I was amazed. This thing was fantastic and gave me a shave as good as my trusty Mach 3, but in half the time and no mess in the sink. And it cleans itself, all you need to buy are replacement cleaning refill which is inexpensive and lasts quite a while. Although the initial cost was fairly expensive, I think it pays for itself over the course of a year.

But I digress, yes ebay is a fantastic source for some health and beauty items you need to constantly replenish.

I’ve been trying to think of other great ways to save money with Ebay and common expenses. If anyone can come up with some, let me know.