Posts with tag costs

In today's economy, we're all doing what we can to stretch a buck. We don't want to skimp on our beauty routines, but this isn't exactly the best time to splurge on new products. In fact, we're trying to make the products we have last as long as possible.

Cosmopolitan had a few great suggestions for keeping up on your beauty routine while keeping the costs down ... way down. We put a few of our favorite tips in the gallery, but we'd love to hear how you're being a budget beauty in the comments!

As gas prices rise, the appeal of online shopping grows. There's no driving to the mall, no driving from one store to another to compare prices -- all it takes is a computer, a credit card, and a few clicks of the mouse. There's just one drawback -- the shipping costs.

Think about it -- how often have you found a great deal (or just a great item) online, and gone through the checkout only to find that you're being charged $10 or so for shipping? For that amount, you could drive to the local branch of a store and buy it in person. So what's a savvy shopper to do?

Check out FreeShipping.org, of course! You can shop by brand or category through over 800 name-brand stores to find free shipping coupons. That means you can get free shipping from JCPenney, Macy's, Target, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Best Buy, and many more. So, no matter what you're shopping for, you're likely to find a way to get it shipped to you for free!

In today's Style Section of the New York Times, Natasha Singer's article "Newly Petite Skin that's an XL" chronicles the various crises faced by people -- mostly women, mind you -- who have undergone "body contouring" (the invasive surgical processes by which excess weight is removed).

True, you can go from size 22 to size 8. But it's costly, in more ways that one. For starters, the price can hit $100,000, and do you think your insurance is going to cover it? More importantly, the procedures have quite a few associated health problems, not the least of which is a great deal of excess skin.

Consider the case of Melissa Byrd, for instance. As Singer points out, Byrd went through gastric bypass surgery and ultimately lost 150 of her 300 pounds. But it came at a tremendous cost -- in short, she suddenly had a lot of skin to deal with. Byrd admits that, before her surgery, her doctor tried to prepare her: "I saw photographs of people who looked like shar-peis," she acknowledges, but goes on to add, "but I didn't really care then."

Certainly, body contouring can change a person's health and a person's self-confidence. But at what cost?