@arkandel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
To me the multi-blade stuff are just gimmicks. We fall for it because they look cool in their cool packaging and their cool commercials.
...won't front. I only bought my Fusion because the colors drew me in. I'm not ashamed. I'm a peacock. You've gotta let me fly.
MSB free since 24/3/2018
@faceless It sounds like you might be the target audience for some of the fancier safety razors then! May I interest you in one of these models, some of which are actually called things such as The King Cobra Classic?
... They work in an identical fashion to their $30 counterparts but!
@sockmonkey said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
Does anyone have some really really reeeeeeally intro stuff about retirement planning? Not just the planning part but how to actually get the money into those funds? Do I..just go to the bank? Can I do it online? Aaaaaargh getting old noooooo.
I have some money I need to invest but I have no idea how to do this. I know that for my needs, I do not need to waste money on a financial advisor to manage my cash -- I should just park it somewhere. But financial matters seriously make my eyes cross and I have trouble even using the retirement calculator on Vanguard. My retirement plan at this point is to get dementia so I don't realize that I'm living in a dumpster.
Message me. Seriously. I work in one of several marketing and communications departments (yeah, legit, we have.... five? one for each of our business lines) at one of the largest investment firms in the US. (In the world, actually, as we have several trillion AUM.) And the most ethical one, IMO, specifically because of its weird ownership structure. And no, I don't say that because I work there. I took a paycut to work there, specifically because of how impressed I was by their treatment of average investors and the fact that they've quietly supported the fiduciary rule for yeeeeeeeeeeeears, kind of in the exact opposite manner of the fuckheads that caused the mortage meltdown. (If you don't know what that 'fiduciary rule' is, look that up. And if you're an American, be horrified that this isn't required by regulation or law. Seriously. Then call your 401K provider and be like, "The fuck?")
Now, I cannot legally give you financial advice, because I'm not FINRA licensed. In fact, I could very much be fired from my company for doing so because that's a great big fat no-no. And I do not want to be fired from my company because, like.... I enjoy eating and having a place to sleep and stuff. But I can probably walk you through the basics of what those funny words in your company's retirement plans are if you have one, or how to set up an IRA (that's Individual Retirement Account) for you if you don't.
And if it turns out you need an IRA, I'll give the Friends & Family hotline for my company if you want it. It's set up so that people who work at the company but aren't in a licensed role -- like me and pretty much my entire department -- can give it out to, well, friends and family who ask them for financial advice. (No, we do not receive any sort of commission for this. It's literally just to keep us in compliance, so we don't accidentally break the law by trying to help you. The only money I can make off my friends there is a referral bonus for people they hire.)
If you have a retirement plan through your employer, you're pretty much stuck with whatever your benefits team picked for you, unless you want to open an IRA on top of that.
@arkandel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
@faceless said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
@arkandel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
@faceless I personally use a safety razor. It shaves great, and for an one-time investment of under $100 I can get replacement blades for almost nothing. And the razor itself will last for basically your whole life.
Got a link? Googles pulling up some results that I'm not sure if I'm looking at the right thing/brand/etc.
Right now I'm using a Gilette Fusion, which with their disposable cartridge razors, comes out to about 8 for somewhere in the ballpark of $25, I think? I can go through one of those cartridges a week, easy. So something long-lasting and/or cheaper, while not being cheaper quality? Would be excellent.
To be honest I don't think the brand matters too much; I bought one from a small store in a town I was visiting for like $60 like... two years ago? And it's still in pristine condition. It came with a pack of something like 50 blades, and I'm just starting to run out now.
And the blades, especially compared to fancy multi-blade razors cost nothing. For example this is the first 4+-star match from Amazon which features 100 blades for like $10. Even if you only use them once (I use mine a few times before they are dull, but your beard might vary
) they are absurdly affordable. And I love the shave they give.
My advice though, make sure to get something that comes with a base or stand... just to protect the blades by not resting them against the counter.
To me the multi-blade stuff are just gimmicks. We fall for it because they look cool in their cool packaging and their cool commercials.
I am not a fan of disposable razors. ($16 for TWO disposable cartridges that leave me stubbly and scraped, fuck you.) Will these blades you linked work in any safety razor?
Are men's and women's razors actually different?
'Cause I seriously feel different between like, a 4-blade w/moisturizing strip shaving my legs and the cheaper 2-blade one from the same brand. Like, seriously, the latter one makes my legs cry and hate me.
Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.
@auspice said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
Are men's and women's razors actually different?
Whether there is a difference? Like a real difference and not just by perceptions? I don't know.
Do I feel like there's a difference? Most definitely.
I dunno if I notice a difference between two vs four blades. My experience is that cheap razors feel the same regardless of if they are targeted for men or for women.
I do notice a difference between a cheap and more expensive disposable razor, though. And if there is no swivel head? Ugh. No.
@auspice What I've unearthed through some basic searches is that guy razors tend to be geared towards a thicker hair with no real difference in moisturizing aftereffects (since that razorburned, grizzled look is out). I use a men's razor I got from the Dollar Shave Club. Love the damn thing. It works SO much better on my legs and underarms than the girly razors. And the fact that 4 blades with the guy razors is pretty much standard is such a win for me. I have variable skin, its not all super smooth like the women's fashion industry wants to insist, so having those extra blades to come in and 'clean up' behind the first two is a Godsend. The razor handle was $10, I get one pack of 4 bladeheads every month for like $6, and their shave butter is to DIE FOR. My skin feels way better than it ever did with all those stupid girly creams, rinses, soaps, etc. So spread out across the months, I spend maybe $10 a month on shaving stuff and I love it.
Oh. And none of those frou-frou gaggingly cloying 'feminine floral' or 'refreshing citrus' scents. The shave butter has a very subtle but pleasant scent that is unnoticeable by the time you rinse off.
Like I read those 'frugal' sites all 'Just buy the cheap disposables! They're totally the same as those 4/5 blade heads you've been spending $18-20 a month on!'
The nicks and bumps on my legs 
@Miss-Demeanor That's great to hear. I've been debating trying DSC because it'd def. be cheaper. But I'm really afraid of like, downgrading? Because I do have the Venus handle thing blah blah. And that whole 'moisture bar' thing is like, necessary for me. My legs have all kinds of scars and shit on them from an active childhood. I need the extra help, too. 
Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.
@auspice I will say this. The DSC saved me from the overspending on products that get price-jacked beyond belief for women. I will recommend getting the shave butter to go with the razor (though it DOES have a moisture strip on it!), if only because it has worked far, far better than any shaving soap, cream, spray, etc. that I have found. And it doesn't take much, like a nickel size dollop covers a whole leg. So the 6 oz bottle lasts for MONTHS. And occasionally they run sales, which make it a great time to grab a few extras so you can just sit on it and just get your monthly razor shipment. Also, if you find you start stockpiling blades? You can defer the shipments for a few months with a couple clicks, then they'll just send you out the next shipment on your usual date the month you tell it to resume. But I've found 1 blade per week is pretty much on par.
@karmageddon said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
I am not a fan of disposable razors. ($16 for TWO disposable cartridges that leave me stubbly and scraped, fuck you.) Will these blades you linked work in any safety razor?
I believe so. From this link:
A: There’s no question about it: razor technology has changed hugely over time. Double edged safety razor blades ARE interchangeable, and any brand of razor will hold any brand of blade.
Also, this is a good read: https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edge/comments/2sj3jg/do_all_safety_razor_blades_fit_all_safety_razors/ .
@auspice said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
Are men's and women's razors actually different?
No idea. But maybe this link can help?
@arkandel Thank you!
Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.
@auspice said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
We're laying down in the dark not making a sound. Shh.
I used to us DSC club until I found out that their blades are exactly the same thing (exactly, color and all) as the store-brand razors from my local grocery chain, handle used interchangeably. In my experience they will shave just as well as the more expensive ones, but they will be more irritating.
@auspice said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
Re: #15: I'm sure y'all probably heard of this or something similar, but I find it pretty spifferoo. http://app.migrainebuddy.com/
For my commute to work, I had been walking to one bus stop, getting on the bus, transferring to a second bus, then walking to work from there. Repeat going home. Total trip? About 2.2 miles walking and 3 hours total commute (per day).
I found recently that by walking to a further bus stop from my apartment (1.5mi roughly vs. 1mi roughly), I increase the total walking to 3mi, but cut down the time to 2 hours per day.
It's been hard, but it's doable. The hardest part of the day is the first half mile. I hate it. Getting out of the apartment to get started is the single worst part of my entire day. I suck at self-motivation, it hurts, my legs scream at me. By the time I make it to the bus stop, I'm fine. Some days, I'm able to jog or run portions of the 1.5mi home.
But that first half mile is brutal. I know I should stretch first, but... pathetic as this sounds: I don't know wtf stretches I would even do.
You actually should be careful about stretching muscles that aren’t warmed up. In terms of helping prevent DOMA ice/cold packs and post-exertion stretching is much more important and less likely to cause injury.
When my practice included a lot of athletes I met quite a few who caused injury over time by trying to force stretches prior to workouts and where the muscle wasn’t warmed up.
If you look for beginner runners stretches online those are good places to start as long as you’re not hypermobile. I highly recommend the active isolated stretching technique for both warm up stretching (but again you need to expect to go easier pre-workout than post-) and for post exertion or to increase mobility (that and time was the only thing that helped me resolve frozen shoulder and has helped many of my former clients as well, it was always part of what I taught therapeutic clients when they needed homework). There are tons of great you tube videos if you search on it—IME even as someone with formal instruction in it reading a book about stretching vs seeing it in action was always hard to understand.
Just woke up from a night-terror, so I can use the distraction. I had started to google a few stretches before bed- gonna look at this active isolated stretching.
The trick is going to be to remember to make myself do it.
@mietze said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
When my practice included a lot of athletes I met quite a few who caused injury over time by trying to force stretches prior to workouts and where the muscle wasn’t warmed up.
I don't have the same kind of exposure to actual athletes but it drives me to sigh when I see working grunts in our weekly soccer games either show up and go right into a full game without any sort of warming up first - and those are folks sitting in front of a computer all day, sometimes a good bit out of shape - or going into these half-acrobatic kinds of static hip and calf stretches they've seen athletes do on TV.
I am very reluctant to offer unrequested advice to anyone (it's just a no-no), but when the fuckers ask I provide it, and then they don't follow it.
@arkandel said in Health and Wealth and GrownUp Stuff:
To me the multi-blade stuff are just gimmicks. We fall for it because they look cool in their cool packaging and their cool commercials.
...won't front. I only bought my Fusion because the colors drew me in. I'm not ashamed. I'm a peacock. You've gotta let me fly.
