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What is your best money saving tip?

Well, as many have said, just set a budget. That is very important. I occasionally try different things. Right now, I am spending about $2.50/ month in blades, about $2.50 in shaving cream, and my VDH Boar hair brush I have had for about a year and a half which brings its cost down to roughly $0.01/ per day or about $0.30 per month. Oh and my NDC TTO razor was $10.00 which I have had for 1 month now, plus my 1970s Gillette travel razor I paid $10 for 3 months ago. Total on razors per month, right now, is $13.33 The grand total I am spending per month on wet shaving goods is: *(Drumroll)* $18.63 (Probably a little high because I have not completely used up my first 10 pack of blades that I got from my local grocery store) This number will come down because I came into wet shaving for the economy and comfort, and am not interested in expanding my collection at this time. Plus, everything I buy (William's, VDH Deluxe, Brush, Blades) are all purchased locally which reinforces my local economy. My drugstore blades, and William's create jobs here in the US, which is what we need right now. So I suppose that the moral of this story is to buy local. The only wet shaving product I am not able to purchase locally are the razors.

I know the brush will wear out eventually, but I am not willing to spend the money on a badger hair brush that I cannot buy at my grocery store, or my pharmacy. Even if they did bring one in, I probably would not pay the price.

Another tip: Put together a Poor Man's Shaving kit. You have your basic essentials:

1. Razor (Get it online or from an antique store for under $10
2. Drugstore blades
3. Drugstore soap, or cream (This might be where you can splurge a bit. Nothing over $10.)
4. Bowl or mug from the kitchen (If it is absolutely necessary for lathering. I hand lather or face lather just to save time on cleanup. Plus you can store your drugstore soap in the containter it came in instead of buying a mug.)
5. Witch Hazel, AS, ASB (pick one and only one and nothing over $8)
6. Soft washcloth (Which you should have anyways in your linen/bathroom closet/cupboard) Use it for hot/ cold towel treatments, and for application of Witch Hazel, or your choice of aftershave so you can again save on cotton applicators.
7. A brush that is going to last you at least a year. (My VDH Natural is still going strong after a year and a half, and in my opinion is pretty soft, and really reliable. You can rub it on the spackled walls to soften it up sooner. Keep this budget under $25. This allows you room to buy a VDH Badger brush.)

At most you should spend on this kit is about $40.

I realize that I have mentioned VDH products quite frequently, and by no means am I afilliated with them. It is what I have at my disposal at the local drugstore.

So, to conclude, the moral of my story is to shop and buy local. This limits most budgets, yet leaves room for small expirementation. Also, keep your kit as bare bones as possible.
 
I wish I knew of one. Personally, as a returning, new wetshaving enthusiast, my problem is with soap. I have only two brushes, a badger and a boar, one razor, and a few too many blades, as I continue my search for blade nirvana. I have about a dozen or more soaps, and I certainly need to control myself there. I keep thinking I should PIF some soaps, if slightly used ones would be acceptable. After all, I only shave one face once daily. I'm just a sucker for a new soap.
 
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