Who writes here
A household that counts, not a deal hunter.
I am not a financial adviser or an economist. I keep the books of an ordinary household, and I got tired of tip lists that never put a number on anything. So I work the other way round: I start from the expense, find the public data that says what it really costs, work out how long the object meant to cut it takes to pay for itself, and publish the result — including when it says to buy nothing.
The name comes from a scene everyone knows. You hesitate before a purchase, you ask around whether it is worth it, and you get an opinion. Never a number. Mr Deal is the one you ask who, instead of giving his impression, pulls out the calculation: at your usage, here is how many months until it pays for itself.
The site started in French, where it tracks French public data. This American edition applies the same method to American numbers: federal price statistics, EIA fuel and electricity data, and the costs published by AAA and the IRS.
The rules I hold myself to
- 01
I start from public data, and I say which
Weekly gas prices and state electricity prices from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fueleconomy.gov, AAA's Your Driving Costs study, the IRS mileage rate: that is the base of every calculation, with the link. And when I calculate, I show the method so you can redo it with your own numbers.
- 02
Every calculation shows its assumptions
A break-even point does not exist in the abstract: it depends on your mileage, how many people live with you, how often you use the object. Articles give a worked example, and each article's calculator redoes it with your numbers. If the two disagree, yours is right.
- 03
I am not a financial adviser or a repair technician
On credit, investing, insurance and public benefits, I refer you to the competent body: it is neither my job nor the purpose of this site. On electrical work, gas and anything that would void a warranty, I refer you to a licensed professional. That is not a disclaimer; it is the best advice I can give on those subjects.
- 04
I say when to buy nothing
A good share of products sold as money savers never pay for themselves at the use people really make of them. Saying so, with the numbers, is the only thing that makes the rest of the site credible. An article whose calculation says "no" carries no link to that product. That rule has no exception.
- 05
What this site will never do
No coupon codes, no price alerts, no countdown timers, no "last chance". Everything designed to make you decide fast is the opposite of what this site does: it exists to help you decide slowly, with a number.
- 06
How this site makes money
One way, in plain sight: links to Amazon earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Those links are searches, not product pages, and they always come after the verdict, never before. No brand pays to appear here, and no product price is displayed on the site.
Spotted a calculation error, a questionable assumption, a public figure that has changed? Write to info@bs-media.fr. Corrections reported by readers are applied and dated.