Shaving off some of your budget

As I write this, I’m continuously playing an old Gillette Venus shaving commercial over and over again in my mind.  Why would anyone not want to be a goddess running down the beach with gorgeous legs and hot foreign men around you?  Seems like a silly question to ask, yet whenever I shave my legs I never see myself running down the beach or meeting up with any hot foreign men… Gillette’s advertising is super though and while I stand in the shaving aisle at a major retail store, I think to myself that I should buy one of their razors.

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Financial Blogging Conference 2011 (aka #fincon11)

I am thrilled that I was part of the first ever Financial Blogging conference in the United States!  As much as I am a “new” blogger, I’m very happy that I jumped at the chance to be part of the conference back in April.  I was not sure how I felt about attending as the weekend approached though.  To be honest, I thought I might be viewed as an outsider because I do not consider myself a true blogger. In reality, I am a blogger since you are obviously reading my blog “The Financialite” right now but I do not blog as frequently as my peers.  I do not blog as much as I should because my focus has never been to do this full time.  The goal of this blog has always been to connect and engage other likeminded financially conscious individuals.  My goal is not to give you any coupons, limited time offers or ebooks available on my blog… It’s just not me.  My goal is merely to help others around me become financially conscious of their decisions.

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What Did You Do About Netflix’s Price Increases?

Now that the initial shock of “ohmygod, how dare they increase their prices by 60%” has worn off, how do you really feel about your Netflix subscription? I have to say that I think Netflix’s concept is outstanding. In 1999 when Netflix first launched, it was a subscription-based digital distribution service that probably none of us were members of. Over the next decade, Netflix became a household name as a provider of on-demand internet streaming media. With over 10 million subscribers and over 100,000 of various movie and television titles for its customers to choose from and continuing to grow at record speeds.. why would you not subscribe to their services?

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My LOVE/HATE relationship with Target

I should confess that I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with Target.  I know that sounds a little flighty, but I do.  I continually go to their “super” stores with good intentions and a definite list, yet come out with an entire cart full of items that I “need.”  It’s so easy to get sucked into the store for hours going aisle by aisle and thinking that you “need” additional items that were not on your list.  While each of us is working on a monthly budget, an unplanned trip to Target can quickly make us blow our monthly budget.  Here is why I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with Target:

To Buy Generic or Not?

This is a question that is often asked and debated – would you buy a generic item over a brand name item just because its cheaper? Not all generic or store brands are created equal and not all brand name items stand up to their hype.  When everyone is looking to cut corners, including their weekly grocery budget, does it make sense to purchase generic items?  They will lower your final bill, but do they leave you feeling a bit bland about your purchases?
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