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Free Rhodium-plated Toggle

OK, so maybe the thread title is a bit click-baity, but I want to tell my little tale.

A few months ago, I purchased a beautiful refurbished rhodium-plated Toggle off the B/S/T. It was an extravagant purchase that I didn't need, obviously, but a Toggle had been on my wish list for a long time. I by-passed a beautiful one about 6 months before that, and I just couldn't let this one get away.

At the same time, I couldn't really justify spending the money for it.

So, I began to "work off" the cost, little by little, day by day. I'll explain. For one thing, I used to purchase lunch every day at work, at an average cost of $6/day. I also wasted a fair bit of gas by not driving carefully. So I began making my own lunch every night and taking a bag lunch to work, and I began "hypermiling" in my car.

By my reasoning, every day that I packed a lunch from home I saved $6 I would've spent on lunch (I know I was eating food I wouldn't otherwise eat, but to be honest most of the time we would open a pack of lunch meat on a Sunday or Saturday and then never touch it again, and I was throwing away old meat at the end of the week). Every time I filled up my car, on average I saved $3. I also sold one razor, for $25.

I kept a running tally of the amount of money I have saved, and tomorrow will get me to and slightly past the cost of the Toggle! So the way I figure it, I essentially got a Toggle for free! (Please don't pester me with how/why this isn't true, because of the cost of the food from home, etc; I know it isn't REALLY true, but we honestly DID throw away a lot of meat, a fair bit of cheese, and even, occasionally, a fair bit of bread that got moldy before we ate it.)

Anyway, I wonder if I am the only person crazy enough to do this sort of thing to justify a completely unnecessary purchase? Have any of you done a similar thing to make yourself feel better about purchasing some sort of shave stuff that you really didn't need?
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
Nice one! Did you lose any weight? I keep a mental tally of things I sell on the bay, and savings I make, with the aim that my shaving hobby effectively costs me nothing. I use that as a justification for my spending. I am not sure why that should concern me; perhaps in some way I think that I am not deserving of spending money on myself. Something for me to think about 👍
 
I rationalize things in terms of what I would spend on frivolous things like $5+ coffees or eating out with the family and spending $100. You really have nothing to show for those purchases and we very rarely scrutinize them like we would buying a new piece of shaving gear. Buying something tangible that equates to a few cups of coffee or lunch at a cafe is never a poor decision in my opinion, particularly if it's something that has residual value like a razor. So that $30 I spend in eBay for a very decent vintage razor is completely justified and worth the cost. If I want to offset that cost then I can do what the OP did and choose to not get the coffee or not eat a meal out that week.
 
I do this all the time. Whether its something related to shaving or something else for one of my many hobbies.

I loathe eating at restaurants. Hate it. Nothing against the people who work there, they work very hard, but I cannot justify spending the amount of money a typical meal costs per person ($20 - $30+ depending on where you go) knowing that money will .. ahem .. be flushed in the next 24 hours with nothing tangible to show for it.

My wife is the exact opposite, she likes the experience of going somewhere she has never been to and trying new things. That's great - but its not me. Over the years we have come to an agreement that it's ok if I just get a small salad or a bowl of soup as long as I do not act all angry about the prices and ruin the experience for her ... :001_tongu.

I then use the money I would have spent on say a steak dinner, to buy a new chisel for my lathe or a sack of grain for brewing. I'm happy, she is happy and we both enjoy ourselves but not at the same time .. uh .. that didn't come out right, but I assume you get what I mean. :biggrin1:
 
This is almost exactly how I built my CD collection in the late 1980s. My lunch budget was $5 and CDs on average cost $15. Three lunches equaled a CD. And then Columbia House and BMG made it even cheaper. With about 200 CDs, most of my music is now streamed, but I cannot see my way to getting rid of them, until I no longer have a device that can play them (CD player replaced by DVD player replaced by BluRay player).
 
I do this all the time. Whether its something related to shaving or something else for one of my many hobbies.

I loathe eating at restaurants. Hate it. Nothing against the people who work there, they work very hard, but I cannot justify spending the amount of money a typical meal costs per person ($20 - $30+ depending on where you go) knowing that money will .. ahem .. be flushed in the next 24 hours with nothing tangible to show for it.

My wife is the exact opposite, she likes the experience of going somewhere she has never been to and trying new things. That's great - but its not me. Over the years we have come to an agreement that it's ok if I just get a small salad or a bowl of soup as long as I do not act all angry about the prices and ruin the experience for her ... :001_tongu.

I then use the money I would have spent on say a steak dinner, to buy a new chisel for my lathe or a sack of grain for brewing. I'm happy, she is happy and we both enjoy ourselves but not at the same time .. uh .. that didn't come out right, but I assume you get what I mean. :biggrin1:
Excellent example of compromise in a relationship. It sounds like you have wonderful rapport with your wife. I love hearing things like this. 👍
 
Brother Kingfish,

These kinds of clever strategies are somewhat common. You're not "the first to do it." But, congratulations! You're a wise man.

And please do give us a report on the Toggle razor after you've used it for a week or so! Tell us what you don't like, as well as what you do like about it. Few of us has first hand experience with a Gillette Toggle Adjustable Razor. Please fill our cup of knowledge.
 
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Congratulations!

First, eating food from home means you know what you are eating (less salt, less fat, etc. than most restaurant food.) Far better for you in most cases!

Second, using less gas is good for the planet!

So, you deserve the Toggle! (Now you need to start on your next razor!) :a29: :a29:
 
OK, so maybe the thread title is a bit click-baity, but I want to tell my little tale.

A few months ago, I purchased a beautiful refurbished rhodium-plated Toggle off the B/S/T. It was an extravagant purchase that I didn't need, obviously, but a Toggle had been on my wish list for a long time. I by-passed a beautiful one about 6 months before that, and I just couldn't let this one get away.

At the same time, I couldn't really justify spending the money for it.

So, I began to "work off" the cost, little by little, day by day. I'll explain. For one thing, I used to purchase lunch every day at work, at an average cost of $6/day. I also wasted a fair bit of gas by not driving carefully. So I began making my own lunch every night and taking a bag lunch to work, and I began "hypermiling" in my car.

By my reasoning, every day that I packed a lunch from home I saved $6 I would've spent on lunch (I know I was eating food I wouldn't otherwise eat, but to be honest most of the time we would open a pack of lunch meat on a Sunday or Saturday and then never touch it again, and I was throwing away old meat at the end of the week). Every time I filled up my car, on average I saved $3. I also sold one razor, for $25.

I kept a running tally of the amount of money I have saved, and tomorrow will get me to and slightly past the cost of the Toggle! So the way I figure it, I essentially got a Toggle for free! (Please don't pester me with how/why this isn't true, because of the cost of the food from home, etc; I know it isn't REALLY true, but we honestly DID throw away a lot of meat, a fair bit of cheese, and even, occasionally, a fair bit of bread that got moldy before we ate it.)

Anyway, I wonder if I am the only person crazy enough to do this sort of thing to justify a completely unnecessary purchase? Have any of you done a similar thing to make yourself feel better about purchasing some sort of shave stuff that you really didn't need?

Please excuse me for asking but how much was the purchase price of the Toggle ?
 
This is a great strategy and one I use often to get what I want. I go at far as pinching water and electricity and skipping meals and mowing my own lawn / taking my own leaves etc... I love this post.
 
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