Would you believe me if I told you that I spent a grand total of $26.10 on razors last year? Or that that amount was for BOTH of us?
My friend Kris told me how to buy razors for cheap last year at a Halloween party, and even though I was skeptical, I tried it out. The secret is a web site called Dorco. They make the generic versions of all of your favorite blades. And after a year of using them, I can tell you that they work very, very, very well.
Let's compare, shall we? An 8 count of Gillette Fushion Proglide cartridges is $32.99 on Amazon, which is $4.12 per cartridge.
With Dorco, you're buying in bulk, so it's a 24 pack (or rather, six 4-packs) of their Pace six blade/1 trimmer cartridges for... $29.32. Yep, you read that right. That works out to $1.22 per cartridge.
To answer your burning questions:
1) Yes, you do have to buy a handle ($6ish for the most expensive one), and no, the Dorco blades will not fit on your current razor handle. You're still coming out way ahead for the one-time investment of the handle.
2) Shipping is free on all overs over $25 ($40 for my Canadian peeps).
3) The razors and blades from Dorco arrive in less than a week.
4) Dorco carries equivalent cartridges to all of your current favorites (women's, men's, disposable, two to six blades, etc.)
5) And finally, how is this legit? I dunno...magic? Dorco is a South Korean company, and Dorco USA is their California-based distribution arm. So it's likely the combo of overseas goods + a generic brand. At any rate, it literally saves us hundreds of dollars a year.
How to save: Use this link to save 15% off and start shopping! :) After your first order, they'll send you specials all the time--I just make an e-mail filter to weed them out until I need a coupon code. You know, sometime in fall of 2014!
Next, couponing.
A lot of people ask if I like the show Extreme Couponers. The answer, surprisingly, is a big ol' NO. A lot of the couponers cheat (i.e. use a coupon for a 4-pack of yogurt on a single cup, because they know how to game the bar codes), the stores bend the rules to be on the show, the couponers become grocery item hoarders (did you know that toothpaste has an expiration date?) and they torture their family and friends with their couponing habits. Of course, that's generalizing, and I realize that there are a few people that legitimately extreme coupon to give to charities or to help their families.
Again, this is a pretty easy process. How to save:
1) Acquire coupons--I do this by subscribing to the weekend Washington Post (cheaper than buying it weekly at the store) and by asking family & friends for their coupon inserts. Once you have them, label the individual packs (SmartSource, P&G, Red Plum) with the date that they were in the paper. If you forget the date, it is printed in super tiny letters on the spine of the pack.
2) Find a site you like that tells you how to use your coupons--mine is SouthernSavers.com. In the link, you can see all the deals for my closest grocery store, Harris Teeter. Southern Savers also covers other grocery stores like Food Lion and Safeway, drug stores like Rite Aide and CVS, and National Stores like Target and Wal-Mart. They'll also take you right to printable coupons--just be sure to make an alternate e-mail address for all of the coupon spam you'll get! And remember how you labelled your coupons with the date? These sites will tell you what pack of coupons to go to! I just store all of my coupons in a $2 magazine holder from Ikea, and not some big, crazy binder.
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| Not necessary (in my opinion). |
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| I usually disguise myself as a thin blonde woman while I secret shop. |