Daily Dose of Common Sense

In a move that will appeal to tens of people, designer men’s shorts are now carrying a price tag of more than $500 a pair. Tom Ford, Armani, Prada, and others have shorts on the market that will set you back hundreds of dollars. It seems like the wrong year to sell such an extravagant item considering the economy is in the tank. Remember, you don’t even get enough fabric to fully cover your legs.

For the cost of one pair of Tom Ford’s $650 chino tennis shorts, you could buy:
- 32 pairs of shorts from Old Navy.
- 13 pairs of shorts from H&M.
- 16 pairs of shorts from Banana Republic.

If you can afford $750 shorts, good for you. The question here isn’t whether you can buy them. It’s whether you should buy them.

Recently, the New York Daily News did a comparison about some of the different services the United States Post Office offers. In each case, they sent a first-class letter, a Priority Mail letter, and an Express letter at the same time to one address. In 8 of 10 tests, the first-class letter and the Priority Mail letter arrived on the same day.

A stamp costs $.42 (for now) and Priority Mail runs around $4.95. Priority Mail means delivery within 2-3 days, which even the Post Office admits is generally how long it takes for first-class mail to arrive. So, if your letter doesn’t need insurance or tracking, save some dough and just slap a first-class stamp on it.

[via PatsPapers.com]