Gillette Fusion Razors Overpriced No More

The competition for razors is stiffening like never before due to online sales. This is a billion dollar industry long led by Gillette's quality and colorful razors. In 2016 I have dedicated time and energy to testing out various razors, so take this review as merely my personal experience, however it's a very vested opinion.

Let's start with how you can save, I have rededicated my face to Gillette's newest razor the Proshield, however I was unwilling to do so without saving money. So what did I do? I thoroughly reviewed Target, Sam's Club, Walmart, Amazon, Jet.com and all other available vendors. Who won? Sears.com with a 50% savings from my normal shop (Target).

These razors go for $31.98-$38.64 at your most common retailers at any given time. This is a steal! $2.25 a razor which will last you 2-4 weeks is still a better price than most all your other similar products. 

Runner Ups:
Harry's The Truman
- This razor is enticing as it is low cost, though I estimate with the savings shown above that they are the same price. My experience with The Truman was that the razor did not last as long, the gap between the razors was larger causing cuts, clots and discomfort.
Target's Up and Up
- This is a great low cost razor. You can save money using this razor, however you're cutting down on the quality and comfort that your face deserves. My wallet misses this one for sure, but my cheeks don't.
Dollar Shave Club
- The name sounds like a steal, but is it? The gillette razors cost me $2.25 each, and they last me 2-4 weeks per razor. However the comparable razor at the shave club would cost me $9/month. At the price shown above, this club is twice the cost for me. But costs aside, I just did not like the razor as much. It left me with razor burn more often than not.

Not convinced? Run your own experience and cost analysis. This is one of those commodities you'll want to explore as it has significant long term savings. Check our Askmen.com's great article on additional razors as well as most of the mentioned.

Need shaving cream? I've found the best price at Sam's Club and Costco unless you intend to buy in bulk.

Buy unwanted gift cards and save BIG!

If you're like most folks, you know where you're going to shop and what you're looking to buy...but did you know that you can still save big? Or maybe you've been sucked into an ad or drug into a store by a friend and found something you want but you're hesitant to buy it unless you can save money.

There is a solution for you! This is a secret I have used for years and friends have begun telling me that I need to start sharing some of my secrets. Am I cheap? No. Am I frugal? Sometimes. Personally, I like to think that I am a resourceful buyer.

Start saving at Raise.com

The Lesson:
Use a gift card on your next purchase to save up to 58%.

How?
Use a trusted discount gift card website to buy a gift card below face value and then apply that to your purchase whether you're in store or online. You're likely going make the purchase anyway right? Why not save some money. Did you get a gift card you'll never use as a gift? You can also use these website to trade in your gift card or get cash back.

Read More:
So here's the detailed secret, you can buy gift cards at a reduced price for TONS of stores and websites to save money. Looking for gear from your favorite sports team? Try Fanatics.com, but wait, get up to 14% off gift cards to Fanatics.com on trustworthy gift card re-sale websites such as giftcardgranny.com. Personally, I am a fan of raise.com. Raise is one of the top gift card resale sites out there. You can opt to receive physical gift cards or online gift cards. The best part is, typically you receive them immediately by email. The longest I have waited for deliver is 1 day. It's rare, and that was months ago for AMC movie theaters.

Before I show you some real examples of how I have saved, let's summarize the steps it takes to save "HUGELY":

1. Sign up for Raise.com 
1. I am giving you $5 toward your 1st Purchase!
2. Then go to Ebates 
1. This step permits you to save via Cash Back!
3. Within Ebates, seach for Raise. Hit Shop Now. 
1. You should be signed in if you did Step 1
4. Purchase the gift card for where you want to shop. 
1. In Store? Be sure the GC is available for instore. Even if it's not, most stores will manually type in the gift card. E.g. TJ Maxx. 
2. Online? Be sure to continue following these steps
5. Head back to Ebates to find the store you intend to use the gift card. You can still earn cash back via ebates when using your gift card. Yes, this is totally double dipping, and they don't mind it. 
6. Don't forget to use the Wikibuy App or Ebates to identify promo codes for potential more savings.

Here's a real example from today. Bored on a Saturday night browsing the web after attending a college sporting event, I wanted to see what awesome team apparel I may want to buy. I started at Bucky's Lockerroom and found an item I really wanted. They had 20% off. I know not to fall for the initial offer, so there are a few things I do before moving forward with my purchase.

First, I check the search engine (e.g. google.com) to see if the item is for sale less elsewhere.
Another tool I use is Wikibuy and Ebates as a browser extension.

Another step you can take is put the item in the cart in both websites, be sure you have Wikibuy, Ebates and/or the Honey Chrome extension and see if those free services are able to find a promo code for additional savings. Using Honey will prevent you from earning Ebates rewards. You can take codes that work from Honey, but you have to restart the Ebates connection then use the promo code.

In this case, I found the item for less AND with free shipping from Fanatics.com. (Disclosure, Fantatics.com also operates Bucky's Lockerroom, why the prices are different is beyond me, but you can use Fanatics.com gift cards on partnered sites in the event the price is cheaper) However, there is one important step to do, which is what this particular blog is focusing on. I checked Giftcardgranny.com to see if Bucky's Lockerrom, Fanedge, or Fanatics had gift cards for sale. I found out Raise.com had numerous gift cards ranging from $10.00 to $500.00 for up to 13.8% off.

After the discounts on my purchase, I owed $172.97. I could buy $175 worth of giftcards for $150.95, or I could buy $170 worth of gift cards for $146.71 and pay the difference of $2.97. I opted to pay for $170 worth of gift cards and pay the difference, as the total of $146.71 + $2.97 is $149.68. Meaning I saved $1.27 out of pocket versus paying for $175 of gift cards.

But wait, are you confused yet? Let's summarize this quick...
My total before the 20% coupon from the vendor was $210 (+$5 shipping), however after the promo code the total was $172.97.

Then, I bought the gift cards at Raise.com in under 30 seconds, and applied those to my purchase because they were available immediately. Therefore, I paid $149.68 instead of $215. That's the sales pitch version. But honestly, with the gift card tactic, I simply saved an addition 13.8%. I was going to make the purchase either way for $172.98, but I stopped and considered the gift card method and saved an additional $23.29.

BUT that's all the general savings from just the gift card savings process I am telling you about. Don't forget, heading to Ebates to buy the fanatics.com gift card can yield you 1% or more in cash back. Then going to ebates again for the Fanatics.com purchased can yield another 1.5%+ percent back. And all you had to do was click a few buttons.

Does the savings stop there? Heck no, if you pick wisely, the shop you choose to buy may have a rewards program.

Here are some more brief examples using this strategy for how I save on ordinary every day purchases. PS, I love Target, and this process does not work to save at Target. Why? Because you can save 5% using their debit card and you cannot likely find a deal anywhere that you can buy a gift card and get close to 5% off the  gift card value.



Example #2: I was craving Boston Market for dinner for the family. We usually spend about $30 when we go there, so I purchased a $25 gift card for $22.06 and received 11.2% savings. Now Boston Market is often a place you can find coupons for in your local paper so stack up the savings! No need to print the giftcard, they can scan it on your phone.

Example #3: We love movies, we end up going to our local AMC theater all too often. I am a stub rewards member, which is great savings however I like to maximize my dollar. I frequently by gift cards via raise.com for AMC Theaters savings typically 10-12%. Most egift cards you can add to your online account and redeem during check out. Otherwise all digital and physical cards you can redeem in person at the theater. If you aren't a concessions person or you don't buy tickets in person, I would suggest not buying the $10.00 egift certificates as many of those require physical redemption. Either way you save though!

Example #4: Sears has a new washer and dryer for $2,500. The average savings by buying a gift card is 6.8% so for every $500.00 you save $33.90. Five $500 gift cards and you could save $169.50. When I bought my first house recently, I HAD to get smart and shop like this otherwise I am confident we'd still be sleeping on the floor.

BLOGGER NOTICE:
I am not an employee of any of these companies, nor do I purposely mean to endorse any of them or their services. I use this as an example of how I live, how I shop and how I save. I will be forward, I hope to one day make money from blogging about this and make a difference in the lives of others through getting the most out of their dollar. If you're like me and you want to treat yourself on occasion and save money along the way, then these sort of things are helpful. It sounds like work, and sometimes it is, but usually it's just front loaded. Anytime you can repeat savings, the value is stretched further. As with anything in life, all of the above is subject to change as companies may try to combat some of these savings strategies. While I don't equate this as being as crazy as the coupon professionals, the savings can be significant.

RESOURCES:
Click HERE to join Raise.com and start saving: http://geta.raise.com/radams10 This link gives me referral credability and additional savings. I appreciate you giving me credit for teaching you to save.