(Part 3) Best products from r/Frugal

SE Pennsylvania.

I didn't even realize you keep chickens, we do too! I don't fool myself into thinking it's an economic choice since feed $costs$ but I like that the many food scraps generated by my kids go to the birds instead of the trash. All-in-all my 7 hens probably are comparable to the cost of buying premium free-range eggs in stores, but I also got my coop/run and basic supplies plus my first 7 birds for $20 - an amazing craigslist deal from someone moving out of state.

Some other cheap meals that we enjoy and seem to be economical:

• Mexican foods, bean burritos, breakfast burritos, tacos, taco salad. A big jar of salsa, a container of sour cream and a bottle of hot sauce will last for lots of delicious Mexican meals
  
• Asian foods, any meat and/or tofu over bunches of rice or noodles. Those frozen bags of mixed vegetables in the supermarket are amazing for stir fry. I've found I like to make lots of extra sauce from whatever recipe we use so that it stretches more. Soy, Hoisin sause, and Chili oil are all amazing and add tons of flavors.
  
• American foods, potatoes and anything really. Crock pot full of pork chops and sour kraut with some home made mashed potatoes rocks. Roasted potatoes and grilled chicken breasts with roasted broccoli. You can get a sack of potatoes that will last for tons of meals for a few bucks. Home made BBQ chicken pizza is popular in our house. A waffle iron is worth investing in, make huge batches and freeze the leftovers. Reheat the waffles in a toaster or toaster oven if you have one. Homemade syrup isn't hard, but get the maple extract online and I recommend making your own vanilla extract too. It only took my wife who bakes a ton about 20 months to go through a whole 1.75 liter bottle of vodka-turned extract! Can you imagine how much that would have cost had I bought the little tiny 2oz. bottles at the store?! Like BBQ? seriously try this BBQ crockpot chicken. Serve it on potato rolls with coleslaw on top (easy and cheap to make) and you are gonna have a good time. We marinated our chicken overnight in the sauce and cut down the cooking time because they weren't frozen.
  
• Edit: WATER, I almost forgot one of the biggest things we do to stay healthy and frugal is drink lots and lots of water. Find a bottle or canteen that works for you (you want to learn to like and prefer water) and buy a few of them. I'm a big fan of nalgene canteens and bring two of them to work every day so that I have a goal of drinking a half gallon of water. Seriously you have no idea how much you save by not drinking alcohol, coffee, soda soft drinks, etc... by drinking lots of water you have also just eliminated a massive source of sugar in your diet because even healthy options like juice naturally (or unnaturally) have lots of sugar in them.

Let's start at the beginning. How do you cook the rice and the beans? We fix a big pot full of rice and beans (okay, it's actually two pots) every week or two and this is how we do it.

First the rice. You can add a lot of flavor to the rice by cooking it with stock. It's easy to make your own stock. Throw a big onion (quartered), some celery, some carrots, and some rosemary (or other herbs you like) in a pot of water and let it simmer for a few hours. If you eat meat you can throw in a soup bone or some leftover chicken bones. Then mix this stock half and half with water when you boil your rice. When we cook rice Mexican style we also toss some oil in the pan and fry up some onions first then fry the rice a bit before adding the liquids. It's subtle, but I think it adds a bit more depth to the flavor of the rice.

For the beans, start by soaking them in plain water for at least 8 hours before boiling. And change the soak water every couple of hours. The more changes the better. You do this because it dissolves and removes the indigestible sugars that cause gas. And no matter how good beans are for your heart, this makes you easier to be around. When you are ready to boil the beans, cut up an onion and some garlic and throw that in the water too. If you can get epazote throw some of that in there. It really adds something to the flavor. I like a half and half mix of black beans and pinto beans. My wife likes to add garbanzos, but I think they ruin the flavor. We then throw the beans and onions with some of the water in a blender and make frijoles refritos. If you can get Mexican oregano throw some of that in too. It adds a lot of flavor. And lastly you need to add salt when frying the beans. Enough salt really makes the difference between disgusting and delicious.

Okay, now you have great tasting beans and rice. You can eat them plain. They really are delicious. But I usually like a hot sauce to spice them up a bit. I just ran out so I made a new one today. I started with about a quarter cup of home grown, dried, crushed cayenne peppers. I added a few cloves of garlic, a couple chipotle peppers a friend gave me, some salt, and covered it all with vinegar. Then I put that in the blender and let it blend for a while. It really kicks it up a notch. It's a lot cheaper and, in my opinion, better to make your own salsa, but you can use Siracha or whatever you have. You can also put some cheddar cheese on top of your beans. That's always nice.

Good luck and bon appetit.

Edit: By the way, did you know that you can screw the blades and collar from a standard sized blender (like an Oster) onto a mason jar or other standard threaded salsa jar or spaghetti sauce jar? You can then turn the jar over and stick it on the blender to make your hot sauce without having to clean the carafe. Great time saver.

Mostly, I really like to build and fix stuff. I don't really care whether it's the HTML of a website or the stem of a shower faucet -- it's just the act of figuring something out and making it better that I like, for whatever reason.

I have a small collection of tools -- a power drill, some gardening stuff, etc. I also have a bass guitar, but I bought one of these itty-bitty little headphone amps so I don't piss off the roomies and also so I don't have to lug an amp around everywhere -- since they're pretty much just an empty box with a speaker in it anyway.

I also like reading, but (partially thanks to Reddit, I'm sure) my attention span is so short that sitting down and reading is tough, so I've gotten rid of pretty much all of my books and opted instead for audiobooks. There are great sites like librivox.org where you can download oodles of classics read aloud for free. Currently I'm listening to all 65 hours of 'Atlas Shrugged' while I fold Noteboards, a product I created and sell (also thanks to Reddit). Also, nothing beats the time I drove across the country by myself listening to 'The Godfather' and 'Fight Club' and zooming through the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Death Valley.

Singing is also really fun, and takes zero space. When I'm not listening to audiobooks, I'm singing along to musicals ('Book of Mormon' today) or 90s rock.

The stuff that takes up the most room is my push-reel lawn mower which is easy to disassemble, and my healthy collection of Nerf guns.

EDIT: I also do some graphic design. This graphics tablet is tiny and flexible, and works great.

Certainly! Here's what I have so far:

Bleach:

Body wash:
Old Spice High Endurance Pure Sport Scent Men's Body Wash 18 Fl Oz
6 pack
$23.34 every 6 months
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GR9OIQ/

@ Weis we’re spending $4.49 per bottle, so $26.94 every 6 months
We will save $3.60 every 6 months with Amazon S&S
a savings of $7.20 / year

Canned tuna:
Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore in water, 5 Ounce Tins
24 pack
$33.29 every 3 months
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XPPAA0/

@ Weis we’re spending $1.99 per can, so $47.76 every 3 months
We will save 14.47 every 3 months with Amazon S&S
a savings of $57.88 / year

Cat food:
Hill's Science Diet Adult Tender Tuna Dinner Chunks and Gravy Cat Food Can, 5.5oz
24 pack, 3x @ $20.51
$61.53 every month
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WOC8SU/

@ Petco we’re spending $1.17 per can, so $84.24 every month
We will save $22.71 every month with Amazon S&S
a savings of $272.52 / year

Coffee creamer:
International Delight Amaretto Liquid Creamer
288-Count Single-Serve Packages
$14.55 every 3 months
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00284TNL8

@ Weis we’re spending $2.29 per bottle, so $27.48 every 3 months
We will save $12.93 every 3 months with Amazon S&S
a savings of $51.72 / year

Deodorant:
Old Spice High Endurance Pure Sport Scent Men's Deodorant
2 pack
$4.65 every 4 months
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008CC3NHK

@ Weis we’re spending $4.49 per stick, so $8.98 every 4 months
We will save $4.33 every 4 months with Amazon S&S
a savings of $12.99 / year

Dish soap:

Dishwasher detergent:

Fabric softener:

Laundry detergent:
Tide Laundry Detergent, 50 Ounce
2 pack
$11.97 every 2 months
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UX2KU0/

@ Weis we’re spending $16.49 per bottle, so $32.98 every 2 months
We will save $21.01 every 2 months with Amazon S&S
a savings of $126.06 / year

Paper towels:
Sparkle Paper Towels Giant Rolls Pick A Size, White
8 count
$7.57 every 2 months
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BLZ1ZV6/

@ Weis we’re spending $11.99 per package, so $11.99 every 2 months
We will save $4.42 every 2 months with Amazon S&S
a savings of $26.52 / year

Razor blade cartridges:
Gillette Fusion Manual Cartridges
12 count
$34.71 every 4 months
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004B8AZH0/

@ Weis we’re spending $3.44 per unit, so $41.28 every 4 months
We will save $6.57 every 4 months with Amazon S&S
a savings of $19.71 / year

Tissues:

Toilet paper:

As someone who just switched from cartridge razors about a month ago:

>The first is it takes a lot more skill and effort to use the safety razor.

I couldn't disagree more. I was terrified at first, and was almost shocked at how easy it was to pick up. I nicked myself once, the very first time - and haven't seriously since. And really, that's why god invented styptic pencils.

>With the safety I might be able to shave the time down to 15 but it's still with much greater effort.

...I don't know how you're shaving that it takes you 15 minutes. I mean, if you're using a brush and everything - yeah, probably - but I don't currently have the money to invest in one, so I've been using regular old shaving cream from a can (I know, blasphemy. I'm sure I'll switch eventually - but seriously, it works just fine.)
You have to make shorter strokes than you would with a cartridge razor, but that's it. It takes maybe a minute longer - but not significantly so, or I wouldn't do it. ~5-7 minutes, max.

>Third thing is cutting yourself is more common but it's not just easier to do, you can also actually leave a scar if you haphazardly use it on your face or rush.

Again, I was terrified of this, and find this to be incredibly misleading. You can nick yourself, but you honestly would have to try pretty damn hard to cut yourself any worse than you could with a cartridge razor. Maybe if you, like, sliced it horizontally across your cheek or something, but why would you do that?

In addition, while it does have a higher intro price - from that point on, your blades are dirt cheap. I mean, seriously cheap. Like, 100 blades for ~$15 cheap, though when first starting, you should spend a little more and get a variety pack to see what blades work best for you. Even still, it pays for itself inside a month or two.

For anyone looking to switch - this is the one /r/wicked_edge recommended me, and I've loved it so far. I'd never switch back, because I honestly haven't found a single downside. Blades are cheap, shaving is quick and close, and most importantly to me - my face doesn't constantly hurt anymore. If you're prone to razor burn, a safety razor will change your life.

Some comparison math for those wanting to see the numbers right now:

All from Amazon.com, and the cheapest I could find at a decent quality...

• Gillette Fusion Pro Glide w/ Flex ball and two blade refills: $10.59
  
• Gillette Fusion razor blade refills, 12 count: $40.99
  
  __
  
  
• Merkur Long Handled Safety Razor w/ guard, w/ 1 platinum-coated double-edged razor: $29.85
  
• Personna Double-edged Razor Blades, 100 count: $14.54
  
  Already, the totals are: Fusion, $51.58 and the safety razor, $44.39.
  
  Now, let's shave.
  
  I'm not including cream or soap, since that's a preference for people, and can change prices drastically for what people use. Personally, I use absolutely nothing; water works just fine and I don't break out at all like I would if I applied some sort of substance on my face prior to scraping it off.
  
  We'll give Fusion the benefit of the doubt as well, by getting THREE shaves out of a single blade. The double-edged razors, we'll toss out after every shave (yup, double-edged or not, resharpened or not, one and done for this experiment). We're going to shave twice a week. That's 104 times a year (I wanted a figure close to 100, because I like that number).
  
  Fusion: One razor, 35 blades (three shaves per blade). That's three packs of replacement blades, totaling out to 38 blades including the two that come in the starter pack...$10.59 + ($40.99 x 3) = $133.56. You can go an additional nine shaves before having to buy another replacement pack.
  
  Safety razor: One razor, 104 blades (one shave per blade). That's two packs of replacement blades, totaling out to 201 blades including the one that comes in the starter pack...$29.85 + ($14.54 x 2) = $58.93. You can go an additional nine...ty-seven shaves before having to buy another replacement pack.
  
  The craziness is that even after giving as much home field advantage to Fusion as I could, they still cost over $70 for the first year. Realistically, you can get a lot more shaves out of the single-blade, double-edged razors which increase the longevity of a single replacement pack. If treated properly, one 100pk can last over three years. Those "moisture" strips on blades today last maybe a shave, and they're just about worthless afterwards; hairs constantly get stuck in between the blades and are difficult as fuck to remove, thus causing frustration or added swipes to get all the hairs off your face; and these added technologies like a swivel head, vibrating shaft, lubrication spitting spout, or rotating super ball does nothing differently than what you've already learned how to do with the contours of your own face and how the products treat your skin, rendering these features completely redundant.
  
  It's a no brainer.
  
  Edit: Oops, messed the links up. FIXED NOW!
  
  Edit edit: I just want to state that I am in now way shunning the use of the pro glide if it works for you. If you have found a way to increase the longevity of those blades, and you prefer them to any other blade, then by all means, continue to shave with what you like best. This price comparison is to show to those one the fence about trying a new method, or are searching for new methods to save a couple bucks, that there is an alternative. This formula is very basic, and doesn't contain all the variables that go with shaving (i.e. sharpening blades, the actual amount of shaves you can get from a single cartridge, a high quality durable electric pre-shave, hair growth and thickness). This is just to show that the single blade product at its most basic level is a much cheaper solution to shaving needs.

Kitchen: victorinox 10" chef knife for under $40 www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000CF8YO

The rest of the kitchen can come from goodwill initially. Replace with quality to fit your needs, but I could outfit a livable kitchen with less than $100. You can also just use your roommate's stuff.

Bed: I slept on an air mattress for a while once. It sucked, but I would rather do that while saving for a good bed than any alternative I came up with.

Furniture: roommates supply this while you save. I haven't used my own furniture in almost 6 years.

Clothing: assuming your old life went down in a fire I would go to a target, jc penny, tj maxx, ross, etc and buy 5 outfits that will cover your work clothing. Maybe $200. It might not look great or last long but it covers what you need it to and you can go purchase it tonight if you needed to. The rest you can gradually build up like everyone else.

Entertainment: books are cheap. There are lots of free things to do in most cities. Hang out in parks, play sports/games with friends. Share a bottle of wine or whiskey. Go hiking. Find friends with camping or boating stuff and go with them. I went camping for three days with borrowed gear and car and spent $35 on gas that I split. The food was no more than what I would normally eat.

I shave with a top of the line Edwin Jagger 89L that cost me something like $30 (& $10 for Badger brush and soap) due to the fact i have a dense wiry beard that goes in every direction that normal cartridge/disposable/electric shavers won't shift, especially on the neck area.

200 Derby blades (each giving 4 shaves on average), used every other day for $15 - gives me 5 years worth of blades!
All purchased from Amazon


Recently i forgot my shaving kit on a vacation trip, so I bought a cheapo Gilette double edged razor for $5, a tube of Ingram shaving Lather for $2.50 and a Boarbristle shaving brush for another $3) at a local drugstore.

I had an unopened pack of Derby blades in my washbag, so i used them with the Gilette.

The results were as good, if not better than the top of the range luxury DE blade kit.

So it's down to shaving technique and blade quality - the cheapo razor, lather and brush (lather whipped up in a wide cappuccino mug)


If you're really budget conscious, and don't like the plasticky feel of the Gillette razor, try the Egyptian made Lord LP 8122 for around $5-10. This is a great metal razor, comparable to the high-end european metal EJ/Merkur models. The finish may not be as perfect as the chromed EJ/Merkur models, but that's only cosmetic and won't affect the performance


Derby or Astra are excellent budget razor blades.
I'd recommend badgerhair brushes over boar-hair, as it feels a lot nicer and doesn't get bent out of shape. Still whips up and applies the lather just as well.

For an outlay of $30, you too could be shaving with no additional costs for 2 years or more, depending on your beard growth.
($5 Lord LP 8122 + $15 Derby blades + $2.50 tube shaving soap + $5 badger-hair brush + $2 cappuccino mug)

This explains it pretty well

Keep in mind they're fixing up one that went well past it's routine maintenance. Usually you can use a tool that came with the sharpening kit which turn the blades by hand instead of with a drill. What took them 5 minutes with a drill would normally take 30 seconds by hand if you did it once a year.

This is the kit I use - It was $15 when I bought it

And here's my mower It's also down in price. I paid almost $80 (It's around $60 now :/)

I love my mower, but if I could change anything I probably would have gotten an 18 inch model. With a 5,000sf lawn I can do it all in under 30 minutes. I'm pretty happy about that, but it'd be nice if it took a little less time.

Can you recommend a brand? I found this that's got both the mattress and the frame for like $350, and free shipping. Looks like a great deal.

My plan was to get a memory foam mattress with a down or down alternative topper, i feel like that would be a good mix.

I transitioned to wet shaving about 4 years ago, and now you'll have to pry my Merkur Progress out of my cold dead hands (a great transitional razor because the blade depth is adjustable!).

Info:

There are lots of resources out there to help you learn all you need to know, from youtube videos about wet shaving to other guides.

Hardware:

I already had a brush my grandfather used, got some great soap, purchased a sample pack of razors (You'll find some blades are better than others). (I'm linking to westcoastshaving because I had a great experience from them, of course you can get this stuff wherever you want.)

Tips:

• It looks like a big upfront cost to get into it, but the payoff is that once you have all your stuff, you just need to replenish soap and blades, both of which are waaaay cheaper than "modern" equivalents.
  
• Lather up well.
  
• Go slow, you can nick yourself easier. Meditate; use this time to reflect on this action as a time honored thing all your male ancestors participated in.
  
• Only use the weight of the razor (i.e. don't push it against your skin). Use small (1-2") up down strokes without lifting it off your skin (largest chance for nicks is when blade first contacts your skin).
  
• You'll find you get a closer shave and may be able to go a day longer than with "modern" multiblade razors.
  
• Rinse blade and brush well and then flick dry (standing moisture on a blade is its worst enemy).
  
• I get about 10 shavings from each blade.
  
• After a week you'll have the hang of it and never look back.

A Nokia Lumia 520 (~20$ to ~50$ for 8gb + ~16$ for an SD card). You could get one of the sansa ones, but for the minor price difference I think the Nokia is a much better deal. It has a much nicer UI and screen (and way better battery life), and will also function as a GPS navigation unit and has pandora esque radio functionality (neither of which need a data connection). It's also a phone, but you can just put it into airplane mode. IMO definitely worth the extra 10$.

And for those of you who see time as money: this popcorn maker is a good investment. Occasionally it will go on sale for $10 (which is how much I paid for mine). It's nice because you can basically put the popcorn in, go do something else, and just listen.


I completely agree with OP, popcorn is the best frugal snack ever. You can pay $3 for a bag of potato chips or you can pay $2 for a huge bag of popcorn kernels that, when popped, basically equals... Idk, like 25 bags of chips? Just add butter and salt (or whatever seasoning you like, but with an air popper you can't use oil, so I like to melt a bit of butter for mine), and it's a great snack! (Not to mention a much healthier alternative to chips).

Expanding on the "buy school supplies online" idea -

You can get six months of free Amazon Prime for being a student - if every roomie threw in ten dollars, you could probably cover them for the whole semester.

Item | Price

-- | --:
60-Pack pens | $5.29 | http://www.amazon.com/BIC-Round-Medium-Point-GSM609-Blk/dp/B0012YVGOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376848239&sr=8-1&keywords=pens
500 Sheets College-ruled paper | $14.15
25-Pack Pocket Folders | $9.99
144 pencils | $15.99

You might have to pay for shipping, I didn't check which things get free shipping under Amazon prime. If you do, though, it'll be <$5

So for about $50, you'll have all your basic note-taking supplies done. That should easily cover four people for a semester, those pens and pencils could cover four guys for all four years, assuming you're good about not losing them. If you re-use the folders, the only thing you need to buy again is paper.

All your school supplies, shipped to your door, each guy throws in ~$13. Can't get more convenient than that.

> Do the nicads drive the brush as hard?

The original battery in the brushes is a nicad unless you're talking about one specifically advertising a lithium battery. Lithium powered brushes are much more expensive brushes (Phillips makes some but most other companies don't bother).

> The store-bought with regular batteries just are not very powerful in my experience and the power slacks off fast.

Even Duracells are actually pretty bad for high drain devices unless you're buying something like their lithium line (absurdly expensive). They're only 1500 mAH compared to the 1800-2200 of good (not usually sold in local stores) nicad rechargeables and Alkalines drop in voltage gradually over their lifespan. The latter causes what you describe. NIMH batteries are much more steady and drop off suddenly near the end of their life.

Use something like http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Precharged-Rechargeable-Batteries-16-Pack/dp/B007B9NV8Q instead for everything except extremely low drain devices like remotes. Those are 2,000 mah NIMH batteries and each of them actually provide more total energy than the sub-C ones in most rechargeable brushes in spite of the smaller size. A pair of them is actually a lot more juice than the integrated batteries.

> What is the optimal charge time for such things?

Charge time, which is what you can control, is dependent on the charge rate, which is determined by the manufacturer and how long you use the brush. The ideal charge time, however, is barely enough to completely refill the battery after an average brushing. But you can't possibly do worse than what the manufacturer intended, which is overcharge it as much as physically possible. That timer gadget you have almost certainly costs more than replacement toothbrush batteries, though, so it's not really worth it unless you have a lot of other battery-powered bathroom devices to attach to it or don't feel like you could pull off a battery replacement.

> Oh, and previously the brush was used by two people, which may also have abbreviated its life?

It actually should have increased its battery life. It would be overcharged for fewer hours per day and the extra drain would have caused it to develop its memory (actually voltage depression, not what people think of as memory) at a slower rate.

> I see the link is for the rotadent.

They're all the same general construction. A motor, on/off switch, and a battery crammed into a plastic tube and attached to a driveshaft that attaches to the brush head. The only significant difference might be that some other brands could use a pair of AA size nicads instead of a sub-C nicad.



I just realized I have researched waaay too much about rechargeable batteries over the years.

They do it for items like this and this and this.

It's pretty common with electronics. OP's "this made me go to Amazon instead!" is silly because as you can see, Amazon does it, too. They'd have been no more able to help him as Best Buy.

Get a Edwin Jagger De89 it's a very nice medium DE and comes with good blades, a franks shaving brush I like this brush more than the Edwin Jagger 1ej946sds, a blade sampler pack every face and razor is different so what works well for one person in a razor may not work well for someone if you don't like it else change the blade, once you find a blade you like order in bulk , and [Proraso Shaving Cream ](http://www.amazon.com/Proraso-Shaving-Cream-5-2-147 /dp/B000RI8BZQ) this will last you for a while. Now come join us over at /r/wicked_edge/.

Amazon sells these mattresses that are similar to ones sold at Ikea that get shipped to you in a duffel bag and they unfold.

Here's a twin for $160. It's the #2 best selling mattress on Amazon. Here's the best selling mattress list if you're interested.

Another suggestion is to go to Target and get the Target brand air mattress. When I first moved to an apartment, all I slept on was my air mattress because I couldn't afford a bed. I've had it for 3 years with no problem. Here's the one I have. It's $46 plus you'll need a pump ($15). There are cheaper ones if you want a smaller one.

Also, I'd second someone's suggestion of buying a futon. It can function as your couch and bed. Good luck!

Don't even question it. Great price, great mattress, free shipping, no need to go to a store.

http://www.amazon.com/Signature-Sleep-Contour-Inch-Mattress/dp/B004LQ1RJ2

I would spend a little more on the knives. cheap knives, imo, are a waste.

Going with something like Forschner would be good, inexpensive, and last.

Chef's

Bread

Paring

Optional - mid size Utility Knife

That's $60 - 80 for all the knives you'll need to last you a long, long time. I would add a honing "steel" for sure, and perhaps a whetshone later on to keep them in excellent shape.

I've seen people recommend the Gophone, Nokia Lumia 520. It has an internal memory of 8GB with a microSD slot compatible up to 64GB.

It has a better GUI and more bells and whistles than what you're looking at for only 5 more dollars.

Don't forget it also has Wi-Fi, so I assume you can download iHeart radio or TuneIn radio and use around the house.

I hope this link works.

I got this sampler. Ok, so my memory was fuzzy -- it was $25 for the 100.

There are several brands (Derby being a popular one, which I enjoyed for my most recent shave) being sold for $30 for 200. 15-cents a blade!

Amazon basics are rebadged eneloops. There are a few different options available there.

If you can shop at costco they have eneloops, 10 aa/4aaa plus a smart charger that is actually good for about $30. I liked this pack so much I bought about 4 of them recently.

Thanks for the link, I did some exploring on there. If I understand the setup properly, all I really need is an antennae like this one

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007MXZB2/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

per TV. Each of my TVs are flat screen HDTVs which should have digital tuners by default. I'm thinking about doing the exact thing you described here. I will call up and cancel all digital cable, purchase 1 Antennae per tv (as I really am only interested in channels 2-60) and then have Netflix and High Speed Internet and I should have every channel I need!

This sound about right?

I actually have a safety razor which is so much cheaper than disposable razors. I'm not sure how you've used one blade for a whole year. I switch em out once every other week but I shave my head, A whole lot more surface area. Still though, one blade in a year?

I thought buying a 200 pack and having that last me 2-3 years was impressive.

I do dry the razor after every use (and only shave every other day) but do not have a sharpener...

Edit: I have a box of these.

this works. it's not perfect, but it will help. also, earplugs, though i rip them out when i sleep. combine the sleepmate with a fan to get more frequency coverage.

I purchased a lifetime license for PlayOn and the channel runs quite well on Roku.

For live sports, I got myself a Mohu Leaf Antenna.

Enjoy the cordless living!

If you are planning on getting an antenna, I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Leaf-Paper-Thin-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B004QK7HI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371506259&sr=8-1&keywords=hd+antenna

It seems like laminated construction paper, but t actually works. I live in suburban Tampa and I can pick up 50+ stations, easily. That's how I watch live network TV that I don't want to miss.

Pretty sure it is this one

It sounds as though you've pretty much got it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004QK7HI8/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1377658433&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165

This is the antennae we use and it works well, although if I had to do it over again I'd go with the amplified model. Using the unamplified version we only get ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, and CW.

Speakers are likely to use less power than a small fan, however if you really need white noise you should buy one of these. A good nights rest is priceless.

http://www.amazon.com/Conditioner-Marpac-formerly-Sleepmate-980A/dp/B000KUHFGM/

I've picked up this antenna and have been extremely happy with it.

I have this one and I'm very happy with it.

AmazonBasics AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries are cheaper and virtually the same exact battery (maybe even better).

That being said, the only name brand I buy is Scott toilet paper - it's the only brand that's guaranteed safe for septic systems.

A good chefs knife, honing rod, sharpening stone, end grain cutting board and some butcher block oil. I have all this stuff and enjoy using it regularly:

• http://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox-47521-10-Inch-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B0000CF8YO/
  
• http://smile.amazon.com/DS4F-14-Inch-Diamond-Steel-Sharpening/dp/B00004WFSZ/
  
• http://smile.amazon.com/SE-DF8524DS-Diamond-Whetstone-Sharpening/dp/B001A6G0A2/
  
• http://smile.amazon.com/Madeira-Mario-Batali-M-10-Grain/dp/B0091EY8WC/
  
• http://smile.amazon.com/CLARKS-Butcher-Block-Oil-Conditioner/dp/B00FE72UQ6/

http://www.amazon.com/Signature-Sleep-Contour-Inch-Mattress/dp/B004LQ1RJ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409014943&sr=8-3&keywords=tuft+and+needle

This "Signature Sleeper" has a ridiculous amount of good reviews on Amazon. I am considering getting it. Anyone have experience with it?

It's my gf's, and she's at college right now, so I'm not sure of the exact model or brand. But it looks like this. Yellow rim, clearish plastic lid with a tray for heating up butter or oil while the popcorn pops. I'll ask her tomorrow for a specific brand.

Presto on Amazon $23 prime eligible

Both razors and shaver are available cheaper, and I haven't had any problems at all using this razor and these blades.

If you want a cheap smartphone, get the Nokia Lumia 520 or the 521.

Porasso shaving soap. There are some things you shouldn't skimp on, shaving soap is one of em.

If you live in an urban area, you will most likely get the signal to watch your major sports on ABC, FOX, NBC, & CBS in HD with this. I am watching Jeopardy right now and watching the hockey game tonight.

Put your zip code here to see what kind of signal you will get.

Disposable razors are harsher on your skin, and don't give as close a shave.
It's also not expense to get started either, double edge razor blades are dirt cheap, you can buy 200 for $10.30 here so they are much cheaper than disposables once you get past the initial cost of the razor which also doesnt have to be a lot, you can buy a reasonable safety razor for $11.95.