Whats something that is only worth getting the expensive version of?
I grew up with $20 walmart blenders, and hated anything that required a blender.
Recently bought a ninja and there is no going back. I'll never use a crappy blender again.
Anything else like that?
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Boots.
A cute little passage from Terry Pratchett, but it holds very true if you ever need boots.
Paying for quality boot work, especially the kind that can be re-soled, is worth it for anyone who has to wear boots with any regularity.
When I first got a job that needed boots I was using an old secondhand pair. It was hell. Eventually I saved up for a quality pair and was totally worth it. I've not underspent on boots since.
As for suggestions as to what brand to go with these days for that... I'm less sure on that because I'm researching new brands myself since Red Wings are a joke compared to what they used to be. Danner still seems pretty all right these days.
You don't truly appreciate a good pair a boots till you park a 2 ton pallet jack on your toes and laugh it off.
I dropped a semi truck lift gate on my toes one time, and didn’t even notice until I went to walk away and realized I was pinned down. Red Wing doesn’t fuck around with their safety toe boots.
Best part of my time in a warehouse was that I could keep the safety boots after I quit
They let me keep the condoms when I quit the whorehouse too.
Well now we know why the cumfarts are maggoty, huh
I’m not an animal.
I rinse them before I reuse them.
That makes me even more worried as to where the maggots are coming from
Safety boots with steelcap? That's another category though. Don't want to use them for a walk.
That hasn't stopped me. Just think of it as training weights.
I always walk my dog after I finish work in my steel capped work boots. The times that I actually do walk in my sneakers is so weird, like I’m not used to not having weights on my feet while I walk.
The shorter version of the Discworld quote is "being poor charges interest."
And the interest is paid out to the rich, one way or another. Lately it’s been through retail, since we don’t qualify for home loans anymore.
Redwing still makes some good stuff, but they also make some "fashion" stuff that looks similar. Unfortunately happens with a lot of quality workwear.
Rose Anvil on YouTube cuts boots and shoes in half and explains how and why they are designed the way they are, and where corners are cut, and what to look out for. He's a good resource for checking out a boot you are interested in.
Most of your "good" brands still have some crappy stuff in their lineup, but you might not be able to spot it by just looking at a web page.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check out those vids.
Wearing a 16 year old pair of Redwings as I'm typing this. I haven't even looked after them properly (e.g. greasing them frequently) and they're still in good shape. Gave them a new sole a few years back.
I wear a similarly old pair of Chippewa's that have also been poorly treated, and they are still good (though I don't have a job that would beat them up anymore)
I second boots. I went through 3 cheap pairs of hiking boots (between £40 - £70) all promising the world and dry feet. In the end, sacked it off and bought all leather boots with a vibram sole. Requires maintenance of waxing them but they've had many miles in them now and just as good as day 1.
Yes, second to boots is getting quality boot wax.
Upvote for discworld quotes. Pratchett was full of good advice. Some of that advice may have required living in a world full of magic and dragons but it was good advice all the same!
Clothes in general. Sure, you can get and Old Navy T-shirt for ~$3-4, but they break down quickly. However, even a mid-level shirt from someplace like Land's End or Eddie Bauer on sale can last year after year. Same with pants, jeans, coats, jackets, belts and other clothing. It's also why it sucks to be poor. Needs need to be met immediately, but since you're needing to keep food on the table and a roof over your head, so you buy what you can afford, even knowing that it's more expensive in the long term.
I agree, but I also disagree.
A lot of people completely mistreat their clothes and have no idea how to wash them properly or mend them.
I have lots of cheap Old Navy tees kicking around in good condition because I wash t-shirts on gentler cycles and hang them out to dry.
With modern detergents, you can wash almost all clothing on 30 degrees C and a regular/gentle cycle, as long as they're not visibly stained.
The dryer is the death of clothes. That stuff you pull from the filter used to be your shirts and pants.
Old old navy clothes were actually well made. The newer ones are definitely hit or miss.
I wish I could wear down my old navy stuff so I could replace it.
Georgia boots are the shit...
Tires?
Generally, don't skimp on anything that goes between you and the ground. Shoes, mattresses, tyres... your future you will hate you for cheaping out on those.
Anything that separates you from the ground. So a bed, shoes, your health..
:cries in American healthcare:
I can't even afford the cheap shit!
Tires
Floors, carpets, stairs, your feet, a bicycle, maybe even your car, dirt, gotta invest in good walkable dirt, uhhh, what else here... socks, probably chairs, ladders, flights, if you're flying always invest a lot in it, uhhhh. yeah probably some other stuff.
I dunno I guess the point of my joke is that I think this is one of those heuristics, or like, general expressions, that ends up taking longer to say than what it actually means. "invest in your shoes and bed" takes longer to say than "invest in anything that keeps you off the ground".
Isn't dirt a synonym for ground?
Chair and tires too.
I'll add ladders to this list. You don't want a ladder to fail you when you're at its top.
For most things in life I generally follow Adam Savage's advice: "Buy cheap tools until you know what you really need from that tool, then buy the best version you can afford."
However, when it comes to things that are related to safety or protect you from harm the more expensive/high quality they get, that advice goes out the window. Case in point, PC PSUs. You probably don't want your newly built PC to burst in flames because you skimped on it to buy a poorly rated PSU.
Kitchen knives, definitely. A good knife is a fucking godsend.
Quality underwear (once you're an adult).
A good office chair (not necessarily one of those expensive as fuck mesh ones - I hate those... But something quality).
Also, I'd distinguish between pointlessly expensive and quality.
Idiots buy expensive gaming chairs. They feel like you're sitting on plywood. I don't care how many colors it has im going to be sitting on it for hours a day.
Put that into a good office chair, where they put research into making sure you're comfortable for that entire time
You can get open box, unused steelcase chairs on eBay for cheaper than "gaming" chairs, BTW. There's no reason to buy those abominations.
And, let me tell you, those chairs are worth it. I paid about $1200 for my Leap (I needed an extra tank one for a drafting table desk) and have had it 15 years now. 8-10 hours a day my job is to ensure that my chair does not float away using only my 200lb body mass. Not only is it still in good shape* I never have a sore back even after a long day of ballasting. Prior to owning the Leap I’d go through a $100 office store chair in a couple of years.
*the seat cushion was a little worn at the edges and the cushion not quite as supple so I replaced that this year.
I paid $230 for an open box Think v1 like five years ago, still use it everyday. I tried to upgrade to a v2, but the wife ended up with it instead.
I bought a boring looking office chair from an ergonomic furniture store about 10 years ago. I spent about $600 and it’s still just as good as it was when I bought it.
That’s a sharp contrast from the shitty $150 chairs I would keep buying from Costco and having to replace because the foam or seat started to collapse after a couple years.
When I started working at home due to COVID, I decided to buy a new chair. I was tired of having shitty chairs with "genuine leather" (aka leather spray paint) that would peel off over time. So I looked into chairs and landed on a nice gaming chair. Sure, it's ugly, but it's gotta be comfy right? Nope. Sitting in this thing for hours at a time has quite literally translated into a pain in my ass. I had to eventually get a seat cushion to sit on, because it was killing me otherwise.
In hindsight, I should have just gone with a traditional office chair.
Ironically as someone who is physically very large, (I’m well over average height, and like 250lbs) gaming chairs are some of the only chairs that I can comfortably spend hours sitting in. Every single ergonomic chair I’ve tried has been garbage, and I’ve tried the ultra expensive ones through my job. Hell, I’m sitting in one right now as I type this. But ergonomic chairs all suffer from the same issue, that they’re built with the average body size in mind.
I far prefer my Arozzi gaming chair, because it’s one of the only chairs I’ve used that has actually been comfortable for extended periods. The seat cushion is foam, but it has a mesh “sling” underneath which stretches. So I get the firmness from the foam, but the flex of the sling. So it doesn’t go flat over time like cheap foam-on-plastic/wood chairs, and it doesn’t fit my ass in weird ways like mesh ergonomic chairs. And the entire seat is designed with bigger people in mind, so the armrests are a little bit wider, the back is taller and actually reaches my head, etc.
Plus gaming chairs seem intended to be as uncomfortable to sit on as possible. They're horrendous. The cheapest Ikea office chair for 130€ is worlds better than the priciest gaming chair you can find, since they all share the car seat form which is supposed to protect you during impacts, not be good for your back.
Allow me to sell you on my gaming chair that cured my back pain. I got a secret labs chair in 2020 because it was the only chair under a grand that could arrive in less than 3 days. It replaced a Herman Miller I used at work.
The Herman Miller can only be sat in one way. It's very light so climbing around it is just going to tip. You pretty much have to use it in the hr approved ergonomic position. Doing that for 8 hours a day just hurts. My gaming chair however is heavy enough that I can press my legs against the wall, or kneel on it without wobbling, or crosslegged. I can also sit with my neck on one handiest and my feet across another. Sometimes I lie with my legs at the head resting my head at the seat cushion.
The best sitting position is the one you don't stay in long, my gaming chair lets me do that and my back just stopped hurting. When the chair starts to age out I do plan on looking at ergo chairs as well, there seems to be a market for "weird chairs" that enable uncinventionak sitting but they seem to go a little too far as well, I do want to sit normally as well sometimes too. Gaming chairs really seem to hit my requirements of heavy, tall, wide and large armrests.
Anything OXO is tops in the kitchen
I wouldn't buy their knives, though. Victorinox makes great knives for a reasonable price. I've had mine for ~5 years and I haven't had to sharpen it, although I do hone it every once in a while.
Victorinox are literally professional-quality knives. They’re used in restaurant kitchens around the world. They’re that nice middle ground between “so cheap they’re almost certainly made out of pig iron” and “so expensive that only niche hobbyists will pay for them.” They strike a nice balance, where they’re quality knives and they’re cheap enough that a restaurant can afford to keep dozens of them on hand without going bankrupt.
Man, I get they're not for everyone, but after having a mesh chair, I will never go back. Currently on my second one in about 8 years, so it's not exactly BIFL material but the first one lasted longer than a 'normal' chair ever did, and neither were particularly expensive, as quality chairs go (I paid ~$150 for the first and ~$225 for the second, got both during sales, so I'm not sure what the regular price would have been but I'd guess $300 or so).
Yeah, I get so uncomfortably sweaty on my back if I sit on leather for long
It's absolutely a choice of personal preference - I just wanted to be clear that the super trendy silicon-valley office chair company from a few years back isn't necessarily best for everyone.
Mesh chairs can be extremely comfortable if you run hot.
I agree that it's possible to not like the style of a Herman Miller Aeron chair, or to not find it comfortable (if it's the wrong size or not adjusted correctly), but you can't deny that they're incredibly durable (especially for mesh!). I've been sitting in mine daily for over a decade, and the mesh is still as tight and un-torn as it was the day I bought it -- and it had probably spent years in a trendy dot-com company office before that!
Shaving razor. I don't mean the big brand stuff but getting yourself something that isn't the cheapest available is a godsend. Stuff lasts you an entire month or two instead of going dull after 2-3 uses.
I actually say the cheapest option is buying a good quality Safety Razor, and then packs of blades for pennies each.
It's how I've shaved for years, and I'm never going back to the multi blade bullshit disposables.
I’m actually looking at going back as the safety razors don’t work as well for me as the multi blade stuff. I’ve been using double edges for probably 7-8 years now and when I have to use a disposable when traveling it just works so much better for some reason.
I'm actually surprised to hear this. To confirm, you mean the shave cuts closer with a multi blade? I can understand it being faster or easier to do, but I don't usually hear that the shave is better compared to a DE
Yup. I’m trying to figure out what I’ve been doing wrong. It may be a time thing. I don’t have a lot of time to shave, but I can go over an area multiple times in the same direction and a disposible will work better. I usually don’t go against the grain as it irritates the hell out of my skin so it’s with the grain and the disposable cuts closer.
It’s most likely a time thing since I only have time to do a single pass and quite often with no extra oils, creams, etc.
It could have to do with the make and model of the razor. Some have a more aggressive angle than others. There’s also the blades. Have you tried feather blades?
Yeah I usually do 2 passes as well using only a staging soap(no pre shave oil). If you prefer to do things faster, I will say a fixed blade is usually faster. I personally don't mind the extra time, considering it's cheaper and better for the environment to use a DE (so long as you don't give in to the urge to keep buying a bunch of razors, soaps lol)
I'd highly recommend the Leaf razor. It's like the best parts of a safety razor and a disposable razor combined. No guesswork on angles or anything.
Oh I'm pretty good with any razor just because I learned how to use cheap garbage razors.
This is big RE: the kitchen knives. Science/engineering has figured out how to produce good steel, so it actually does not cost much to produce a very capable, good knife. Maybe you had to spend a lot for a good knife 200 years ago, but not now.
I got a Mercer chef knife from a restaurant supply store years ago. Just looking it up, it costs <$25, and it's designed to be used all day by professionals. The often recommended victorinox fibrox is similar. They are easily sharpenable, and can do whatever you need.
I also have a ~$200 chef knife I got as a gift. It's super nice, but the only real non-cosmetic differences are that the edges of the back of the blade are rounded over to make it a little more comfortable to hold while choking up on it, and it has a long warrantee that includes sharpening.
But now is the question about longevity:
Will it hold a year of kitchen work and then be basically done or will it have near/equal/better resiliency than a proper forged non-mass produced knife?
Eh, it's really not that much money to get a half decent set. Learn to sharpen/hone a knife and learn how to use a knife properly and you can make even cheap knives last basically forever. Babish has a <$100 knife set that's serviceable as a professional set.
I'm very into cooking and have a $700 set of Wüsthof knives and they're awesome to use, but 100% unnecessary. They'd be no better than a dollar store knife if I didn't learn to take care of them. So many people drag knife edges sideways on cutting boards, cut on improper surfaces, cut in ways that dull the edge quickly, and then throw them in the dishwasher. Then after a year of not sharpening them replace them for more than the cost of a good sharpener.
With proper care/use and almost daily cooking I sharpen my chef's knife once a month, and my other knives once every few months. For $50 you can get a sharpening system with a guide that makes it almost impossible to fuck up and you'll never pay for knives again.
Forging really isn't necessary for a good knife. What matters is the heat treatment, which isn't all that difficult.
I mean, it's not going to break on me. I think there's enough debate on the "stamped vs forged" issue to show that it's not a huge difference that would be noticeable to most non-professionals. Maybe if I used my knives all day every day, I'd notice a difference in edge retention or ease of sharpening, but just making dinner ever night, I don't notice a difference.
Some of it is also going to be experience using it.
Like I have Rada and Cuisinart and Wustoff knives. The Rada is super cheap, and very sharp and holds an edge well. But its handle is pretty uncomfortable, and god forbid you're trying to chop a large cabbage in half, you'll hurt your hand on the top it's sooo narrow. But I can hit it with something and it's going to cut that cabbage the easiest because it's a narrow blade. The Cuisinart were a gift long ago, and really were just overpriced worse Rada. They have thin blades and don't hold an edge as well as the Rada. The Wustoff have the most comfortable handles to hold IMO, and nice thicker backs that make them hold up to lots of abuse - you can chop bones and such without worry. They also hold an edge pretty well, but also sharpen nicely. People also seem appreciative of Wustoff so you get some status when using them FWIW.
I actually think there are things that the cheap versions can work as well as the expensive ones, but in such a PITA way that you'll infrequently use them. Cameras are one of these things - pretty much any camera can take a picture, but try a low end Motorolla phone camera vs a mid range OnePlus or high end Samsung / iPhone and you'll have so much more frustration with the Motorolla you'll get a different phone to get a "camera that works". Same with ILC - you can get a Canon 4000D and it'll be capable of taking better technical shots than the high end smartphone. It'll just require quite a lot of skill. Put it next to a high end Canon R5 and you'll see how the quality of life improvements and everything else will make it a lot more fun to use.
I second the desk chair as a fat crippled IT worker that spends 10+ hours a day in a desk chair. I used to get a new $500ish chair every 3 or so years when it fell apart. This last time I saved up and dropped about 2.5k on a really nice chair rated for 24/7 use by someone much heavier than I am and it’s a life changer for my back, and this thing should last a lot longer
Really depends on what you need. I've been using a $500-600 24/7 rated office chair daily for over a decade and it's still as fantastic as the day I sat in it on the floor.
The $700 one I have at my other desk is good, but not quite as good as the cheaper one, but I didn't sit in it at the show room before getting it either.
Do you have a brand recommendation? I really need to replace my office chair
Yeah, the brand I went with was concept seating. I’m about 6’7” around 400 pounds - fat gut, big bones, decent amount of muscle - was a lineman before I got crippled. I am 100% a fatass, no excuse, but also big in other dimensions as well. Most chairs, even the big and tall ones from staples and the like, will get a bit of a gangster lean after a year or so of use as the chairs base plate slowly warps and tack welds come loose. You can grind it down and patch up the welds, but not much to be done about the plate warp. The concept seating chair I got has a massively thick base plate that seems like it will hold up to a lot more. One other thing I really like about the one I got is that it doesn’t have the most common failure point, the piston. Instead it has a fuck off huge solid threaded shaft that you use to screw the chair to the right height then lock it with a massive lock washer. Additionally it doesn’t recline or move in any other way other than to spin and roll. You can loosen bolts to adjust the fit then tighten them back up, but nothing is easily adjustable with levers and stuff which I love because those are just failure points and I’d much rather spend the time to set it up once Ave never worry about it again
Herman Miller or Steelcase.
I bought a pair of used (probably dot-com-era surplus) Herman Miller Aeron chairs for me and my wife over a decade ago for like $350 (don't remember if that was for the pair or per-chair; either way it was a bargain) and they're still going strong.
I bought a nice sharp knife for my Mom because hers were dull. She has a utensil drawer she throws all the knives on.
From the drawer, into cutting the cardboard box, then the veggies, and straight into the dishwasher. And people wonder why their knives go dull so quickly.
Tbf, I keep my crappy box-cutting, hole pokinng Ikea knives in the kitchen drawer too. But if you do that to my good knives, I will stab you (with the Ikea ones).
Absolutely, growing humans will almost never wear through clothing.
They're just going to grow out of them.
Your kids should absolutely suffer the indignity of uncomfortable and itchy underwear.
It's definitely that important. /s
What's special about quality underwear? I bought a bunch of fruits of loom ones which is pretty cheap but I never noticed it being and issue.
More comfortable and better able to wick away moisture... Even after a fair amount of exercise your underwear shouldn't feel damp.
Any brand recommendations to look in to?
For men's, blue sky and step one are both good options.
Thanks for this! I’ll look into it
Instead of an office chair, I opted for a loveseat, on risers, that I can pull fit inside of my desk.
Risers end up being necessary for a standing desk, if you have a loveseat, apparently, because a loveseat sits much lower than most good computer desks that I've found, so to get comfortable typing position, you need good risers. You're also gonna need a couch that stands up higher than your loveseat's feet, so you can clear the feet and pull the desk in far enough (it might still not be enough, frankly). You might wanna opt for castors, though, since then you can make use of a standing desk, if you have one, which is probably a good idea instead of sitting on the couch for too long.
And, you know, after all that, I get a seat that's kind of frankly not that comfortable to sit on for extended periods of time, because nobody has engineered their couch for you to sit on for multiple hours. I would wager that's probably a bad thing anyways. I've been looking into standing-to-sitting desks, in order to overcorrect from this problem of sitting in one position, and get a desk that I can sit on the floor with, and basically whatever position I want. But that also kind of sucks, because there are only two and they are both like 1000 bucks.
On the other hand, a loveseat is much better for spooning, than having two office chairs. So that's a bonus, if you wanted to spoon at your computer. Or you could just cast your screen to the smart TV you probably already have and buy a bluetooth computer controller for like 20 dollars or less.z
I hope someone reading this gains some insight because of this. You should buy a regular chair. It's expensive but just buy it please I'm begging you, don't make my mistakes again.
Agree with the underwear, I'm still wearing pairs daily that I bought from 2015. Around $15 a pair.
Quality knives do not have to be super expensive. The trick is to maintain them. Honing of course, and unless you are a super enthusiastic home cook, a proper sharpening by a pro on Japanese wet stone twice a year is all it takes. That's like at most USD 20 in most places, probably less. Even mid range knives are fine, so long as you keep them sharp.
And you don't need a lot. In theory a good chefs knife and a good paring knife will do. In practice, you also want a bread knife and filleting knife, but you can start small.
Anything that separates you from the ground for long periods of time. Shoes, tires, mattresses, computer chairs, couches, etc…
It's almost always better to not buy a cheap sex toy. There's no regulation of the industry and many materials in cheaper toys are just straight up dangerous. Here's an article (it's NSFW, there are pictures) that goes over what materials are and aren't safe.
Like thinking you’re wearing a 100% silicon butt plus to an MRI….
For the unaware: A patient wore a buttplug into an MRI, because it was marketed as 100% silicone. It had a metal core. It was rocketed up into their abdomen. The patient survived with serious injuries.
Silicon is a crystal. You're thinking of silicone.
Ouchie!
My first toy was hard plastic. After a couple years the painted coating was coming off. After that I only buy medical grade silicone, sometimes with hard plastic bullet inserts which can be replaced but never even touch my skin unless I'm taking them out for washing or replacing the battery.
100% silicon butt plug
I believe in the adage of, "If it sits between you and the ground, don't skimp".
Shoes, socks, desk chairs, lounge chairs, sofas, car( seat)s, mattresses...
You spend too much time in or on all of these things to be uncomfortable.
I also see posted here the Adam Savage advice of buying cheap tools first, and then upgrade after you better understand your needs. I also think that's great advice you can apply to most things. Just not the above things.
Custom building a computer? Don't cheap out on the power supply or you might end up with a smoke machine
Escorts
It's pronounced E-sports
It's pronounced escrow
It’s pronounced escargot
Escar go where, though?
Which in America, we call snails with dirt.
It's pronounced ex-spouse . . . Wait, what was the question again?
Pretty sure that it's exposure. The question is "to be or not to be"
What were you expecting for $5, 🦞?
Maybe not the expensive expensive versions but good headphones and earphones make a massive difference.
Laptops. Cheap and midrange ones defined how people perceive laptops in general: slow, hot and awful to use. Expensive ones are usually amazing, but you still have to do your research before purchasing it.
Also, cigars. Nothing comes close to proper Cuban ones.
For most things, imo, there's a middle ground. I don't think that getting the super-high end version of anything is worth it unless you truly use it enough to justify it, like for work or a serious hobby. But the cheapest option is usually junk that will do a poor job and won't last; if anything you'd save money by spending a little more for something decent, even if it's not world-class.
I'll say a vacuum.
When I was a college kid in an apartment I bought the bottom-shelf, bagged Dirt Devil vacuums and dealt with it. All the clogging, hair in the brush, cheap quality/you get what you pay for, etc. Then I moved into a house I got a mid-range Bissell to help deal with all the pet hair. The thing was questionably designed, still got a bunch of the hair in the roll, and needed regular upkeep to make sure it functioned properly. When that one went out I wasn't going to pickup the same thing even though it technically lasted for years.
I recently picked up a Shark Rotator and it sucks in the best way possible. Was it expensive? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I can vacuum my whole house knowing I'm getting as much dirt, dust, hair off the floor as possible. And I'm not going to have to deal with even half the problems the low-end vacuums have. It pivots and gets right up against walls. There is a clear window to see the brush roll from the top. It also uses fins that just don't collect hair anyway. The whole canister comes off in one easy motion and I can dump it without spilling all over the now clean floor. There are two roll speeds for hard floors and carpet. The brush roll doesn't spin when it's locked upright so it's not flinging stuff around or grinding into the carpet while I try to clean corners or the couch. And even though it's one of their "heavier" models it's still lighter than the Bissell I lugged around for years.
This is a case that better design and features comes with a price. And those design choices can directly make your life easier. So if you can afford it, go for it.
Sure, but I'd also avoid Shark at all costs because they're not really made to be serviced. Also bagless, which generally suck in a bad way. I'd suggest something like a Sebo model with the electric brush head. Easy to service, last a very long time, use bags which are just cleaner and avoid needing to think about cleaning out dust storage areas to keep airflow up, and have great canister options.
Yeah, ask anyone who uses a vacuum regularly (like a custodian) and they’ll tell you that bagged vacuums are far superior to bagless. Go get a Sanitare commercial, or an Oreck commercial. It’ll last forever, never break, be easy to service, and it’ll suck a fucking golfball through a garden hose. My Sanitare commercial literally lifts the carpet up off of the pad, and virtually every single part is replaceable, (though I doubt I’ll ever need to replace anything except the brushes, bags, and belts.)
Commercial vacuums lack a lot of the bells and whistles that home vacuums have, but that’s because they’re laser focused on two things: Reliability and suction power.
I could rant about vacuums forever. So many people complain about vacuums not working well, but also never pull out and clean or replace the filter.
If you're getting a BIFL buy-once-cry-once vacuum, I'd go straight for the Miele cannister vac. I went into an ADHD deep dive on vacuums a year ago when my own Shark needed replacing. Splurged on one and it completely changed how I feel about vacuuming. Of course, I'm 4'11, so ymmv on that, but using a good cannister vac that is lightweight VS pushing around something big and heavy makes a world of difference.
Plus, I like that it uses bags instead of a cannister; I was tired of emptying the cannister and getting a face full of dog hair and dirt that I then also had to clean up (again). That may also be personal preference, though.
I picked up a karcher shop style vacuum for my home, cost a bit more than the cheapest home style vacs, but a lot cheaper than the expensive home style vacuum, and boy does this baby suck (in a good way). I feel like most of the home vacs are only expensive to make them small and maybe a little quieter. But if you don’t care about that, you can get a very good vacuum for relatively cheap.
Some are expensive for filtering reasons. It can take some engineering to build HEPA or similar filtration along with seals that actually have the filters work, plus managing motors or filter designs that aid in the high speed airflow needed for a vacuum.
We have a Roomba for so many years now and what it taught me is that consistent daily effort > heroic occasional effort. It's not a great vacuum at all but it runs every day for a couple of hours and that keeps the floors so much cleaner than any good vacuum. No way am I going to vacuum every day everywhere like it does. Two dogs, two cats, three girls, so much hair, and clean floors.
Mattress and shoes.
Both of which you use multiple hours each day, and can really break your body if they aren't ergonomic.
The cheap ones also break often, costing you more money in the long run.
Parachutes.
Power supplies and motherboards for PCs
generally if either of them go the rest of your investment goes with it. Worst case scenario the power supply damages the motherboard meaning your cheap purchase made you lose more parts.
Yup, power supplies and batteries are also usually the first components to die. All the more reason to avoid cheap ones.
The current motherboard situation is a total clown fiesta though. There is no such thing as a cheap motherboard any more.
And you will have to upgrade them whenever you upgrade your CPU these days.
Almost like socket types aren't a thing anymore...
What you said + nicer motherboards often come with bios flashback which should (IMO) be a mandatory feature for motherboards on platforms like AM4. Makes CPU compatibility much better since a supported bios version can be flashed anytime, no matter what CPU is currently installed (if a CPU is installed at all!).
Toilet paper. Once you rip through cheap one, you'd pay anything to buy better one in the first plce.
One better: A bidet, leave the toilet paper behind and stop rubbing your butt raw with paper.
Butt how will I know that my butt is clean if I can't make the paper look like the flag of Japan? 🤔
If your TP looks like the flag of Japan after wiping your ass, you should go see a doctor.
Wooosh
You still wipe, just once or twice instead of 14 or 15 times.
15 times? You have the time for that?
Once you start, you can't stop... Hence why I got a bidet.
I too, second a bidet. Especially a heated water bidet.
My wife and I love ours. We've been having our home remodeled and have been hopping through AB&Bs. We've missed it a lot.
Not having a bidet is the worst part of going on vacation
This is the way. This way you use way less TP and get the good stuff.
I'd really like to try a bidet - as unmanly as that may sound. I'd feel much cleaner and my butthole could sparkle in the sunlight.
Cheap one ply toilet paper will make you question whether there really is a god or not. I'd sooner wipe my backside with a corn cob.
Cheap one play recycled plywood was exactly the thing my high school used to supply. It was real pain to shit in school. Literally.
Actual plywood might have worked better (!). I hate one-ply and I have a whole shitload of it because I bought it on sale without realizing it was one ply. Only good thing I can say about it is, ---- OK there's nothing good I can say about it.
Apparently my parents prefer one-ply because it doesn't clog their septic tank? I (being connected to the sewer system and using decent two-ply Costco-brand paper) feel kinda sorry for them, TBH.
It probably is better for the septic tank, but so would be wiping yourself with your bare hand for that matter. And I'm not sure you'd notice the difference from using one-ply paper.
My high school was worse - they had TP holders designed to only allow you to take like two sheets at a time, and they had absolutely awful 1 ply paper. It's been over 15 years and I still remember that bullshit. I'd rather be in class, but instead I'm stuck here wiping my ass.
I bought of pair of real, honest to goodness birkenstock sandals. They were stupid expensive compared to the shoes I normally buy.
.....now I almost never wear any other shoe. They fit, they're comfortable, the straps dont cut into my feet now that they're broken in, and I can take them to the store to get resoled for way cheaper than if I had continued my pattern of buying cheap sandals and running them into the ground every few months.
Pretty much all kitchenware is worth getting the good stuff if you can afford it, even if cheap versions will work.
Probably safety-related items.
One exception is one particular chef knife. Most cheap knives you get what you pay for. But there is one, the Victorinox Classic Chef Knife, that is around $30 but is competitive in comfort and sharpness with very expensive knives.
Edit: I was incorrect on the model, it's the Fibrox Pro 8" Chef’s Knife.
You're right! Their santoku is very good too. These knives are used by professionals in kitchens. I used one for years. I finally got a Wustoff set and a JA Henkels Zwilling Pro, and I do greatly prefer using those, but if you only have $30 then the Forschner/Victornox knives are outstanding values for the money.
I'll let you in on a secret: it's not just Victorinox Fibrox; other cheap commerical-style knives (Mercer, Dexter-Russell, etc.) are decent, too.
America's Test Kitchen also ranked Mercer highly, but dinged it for a handle that gets slick when wet or greasy. For the Dexter-Russell knife they tested, it was very dull.
I feel like there are too many exceptions to this rule. Maybe dont get the cheapest but you dont need to spend a lot to have a very good:
I could go on but I believe Ive made my point.
It used to be the case that cheap brands were prone to the enamel chipping off easily, so Le Creuset was considered "worth it" because it not only doesn't chip, but if it does it's got a lifetime warranty.
It seems like cheap enamel maybe has gotten better recently, though.
That's interesting, I didn't realize that! I think it may have, because I've been using my Cuisinart one that I picked up pretty cheaply at Marshall's a few years back and it's been pretty solid—no chipping at all. I had been wondering myself why I would shell out for a higher end one if the cheaper one is working, but that makes sense if the cheap ones used to be worse.
I do have a Le Creuset French press that I splurged on that I enjoy, but that's neither here nor there.
Yeah, one thing I'd say to be careful of (unless you just want it as a splurge) is not to be fooled into thinking that just because a brand is famous for being good at one thing, that everything else it makes is also high-end. For example, All-Clad invented stainless steel-clad aluminum cookware and is still the best at it, but you'd be a chump if you bought an All-Clad teflon nonstick pan instead of a cheap T-Fal one. Le Creuset non-cast-iron stuff might look pretty because it comes in the same colors as their enameled cast iron dutch ovens, but there's otherwise nothing special or premium about it. Kitchen Aid made famously-durable stand mixers (until recently, at least), but doesn't mean you should get a Kitchen Aid can opener or something.
You're best off mixing-and-matching between brands according to what experts like ATK say is the best tool in each category.
Very good point. I'm still early on in trying to build my collection of kitchen implements, but that is something I've been learning very quickly.
I would definitely agree on the Le Creuset stuff, as far as the French press goes! It probably wasn't worth what I paid for it, though the ceramic does keep my coffee a little warmer a little longer than glass ones and looks nice on my counter top. You could probably get one just as good/nice looking for much cheaper.
Man I misread your comment as going in the other direction and I was about to go off about how good a cheap Lodge cast iron pan is.
Cost doesn't mean quality, but at the same time be sure you pick the right item. I have a subscription to America's Test Kitchen, which has for the most part served me well. For more expensive items, they will often pick a favored item and a less expensive "best buy". I honestly use them more for their equipment reviews than for their recipes at this point.
There is one thing I would point to for needing to go for the expensive option. If you want a high quality stainless steel skillet, you want it to be fully clad, aka triple ply. There are cheap skillets with an aluminum disc on the bottom, sometimes deceptively marketed as "fully clad base" or "tri ply bottom". They perform poorly, scorching food and sometimes allowing the disc to detach. I have an All Clad skillet, but I hear Made In is also good.
Completely agree. Didnt put stainless steel on my list because of it.
Lots of kitchen tools are like that. Expensive probably isn't the right word, more like minimum acceptable quality. Restaurant supply stores are great for this: a restaurant owner won't buy the fancy brands, but they also won't get something that won't do the job right. When you get something more expensive than the restaurant supply store, you are mainly paying for cosmetics.
Food processors and mandolins come to mind: they are a pain to clean, so unless they work really well, you're better off using a knife.
Stock pots you can get thin, crappy ones from Walmart that will never let a large volume of liquid get up to temp without scorching whatever is touching the bottom. Better to save your money for something with thicker material.
Also,
For non-kitchen stuff, one that immediately comes to mind cause I just bought one is plant grow lights. Even with LEDs, you need a pretty high power output for it to be worth anything, and power output isn't even the right metric. I'm far from an expert at it, but a couple of things to look out for is if it uses a USB port, it's junk. USB (specifically type a) cannot produce enough power to be remotely useful for plants, so all those weird no-name brands you see are just annoying purple lights. Good brands will tell you the wattage, the PAR, the brand of LED used, and so on.
Weber kettles are fantastic in this regard. They're not super expensive brand new and can be downright cheap secondhand, but if you take care of them they'll last decades. Also, Weber is pretty good about their warranty, and replacement parts can be found in most bog box hardware stores
Lol, that's exactly who I was thinking of. I have had several cheap kettle grills, and they only last a couple years, even taken care of decently. I got a weber, and it still looks new after a few years, plus the metal is way thicker so it holds steady temperature way better.
I always just use a spoon (or sometimes two, in the case of portioning cookies) without issue. I never saw the appeal of these. Then again, there are probably people who eat more ice cream and make more cookies than I do.
Definitely agree on the rest. For measuring cups, also pay close attention to how the handle is connected to the body; I've had some that look like a single tack weld was done and they break off in now time.
That's the point, if they are super cheap grocery store quality, regular spoons will do the job better, at least for cookie dough. I've bent spoons using them to scoop ice cream.
When I talk about the expensive version of a cookie dough scoop, it's also still really cheap. Just checking prices online, I can get the restaurant supply store cheapest imported one for $5 (the brand is Choice). The made in America one that I have (Vollrath) goes for $12, and it seems like the exact same design.
For dedicated solid aluminum ice cream scoops with defrosting liquid filled handles, the cheap one is $3.50, and the fancy one I have was probably a whole $10.
The ones you'll see for sale at a grocery store end up being roughly the same price, but way crappier.
Depends on your definition of "expensive", but in general, (semi-automatic) espresso machine under $450 is probably not worth getting. Most of the time, Areopress ($30) or moka pot will make better coffee than anything under this price rage.
Funny enough, I'll never use a Ninja again after getting a Vitamix.
3D printers. Yes, there are lot of $100-$300 models out there. Unless you want 3D printer repair and maintenance to become your new hobby, just go buy a Prusa (or other well supported, full featured printer).
Niche musical instruments. A "cheap" hurdy gurdy can cost up to 2000 dollars and still sound like a bag of cats in a washing machine.
Some new recent models that are relatively cheap and sound okay exist now, but you really need to do your research.
Nearly everything, TBH. You just gotta decide which things are important to you. Like, do you do a lot of working on cars? Spend some good money on tools - totally worth it. Tinker with something once every couple of years? Cheaper tools will get the job done, and maybe last several years at that rate.
This is true of your blender too, honestly. I don't blend stuff often and don't really care, a cheap blender is fine for me. Anyone who likes blended stuff and uses it often? Totally worth getting something really good.
I haven't seen it mentioned, so let me say: Outerwear. Especially if you are into snow sports, the difference between quality outerwear and cheap garbage is not just getting wet sooner. It could very well save your life if you're wearing something that will keep you dry while maintaining breathability. And nothing beats lifetime no questions asked warranty where you just hand it in and it gets repaired for you. In the long term this saves a decent penny whil also reducing your environmental impact
Same goes for base and mid layers. Cotton will kill you, and lots of cheap synthetics don't breathe well. Spend money or higher end synthetics or merino.
Lastly, don't get cheap goggles from Amazon or eBay. Heck, don't get the cheapest models from even more reputable brands. You will want your goggle lenses to provide good UVA and UVB protection, while also providing contrast enhancing features like polarization and very importantly: fog resistance. You will not have a good time if you can't see where you're going. I can't stress enough how big of a difference visibility makes for your enjoyment and safety.
Motorcycle helmets, and lawyers.
Most other things, I cheap out on -- for example for my professional tools, I buy a lot of good midrange Chinese brands. Usually quality is high and price is affordable. Same goes for phones, laptops, gadgets, and so on. I live near China though.
blender yes. Vitamix is really good
Custom golf clubs versus off the rack. Took 30 strokes off my game.
Haircuts / hair dyeing
God damn. I heard they help, but I didn't realize it was that drastic.
It is the auto-aim you see
How tall are you? I think the impact is much greater if you're outside of average heights or strength levels.
I'm dead-on average.
Wow, that's amazing then! I had a huge improvement in my game when I finally bought a decent set of clubs instead of using the 30 year old clubs I got at the thrift store. Before then I always figured the clubs were more of a status symbol, thinking they'd all more or less perform the same. I was blown away with the difference it made in my control.
What exactly did you have done custom? Just custom stiffness handles, cut to length, or what?
It's been 30 years so I don't really remember. They were higher quality and cut to fit my stance, which is a little weird because I have big boobs. Also I was starting from a really low bar -- 56 handicap. The biggest improvement was the distance with my woods.
That's awesome! I couldn't for the life of me fix my slice with woods and a driver, despite hitting pretty straight with irons. After 3 years of that shit, I finally took a couple of lessons. Two 30 minute lessons fixed what I hadn't been able to fix in three years. Golf is a crazy game. The tiniest little things can affect your game dramatically.
I should get my wife some custom clubs. She's shorter than average, and she has large boobs, so maybe that is also throwing her game off too. It would be rad if she improves enough that we can hit the standard courses together. Right now she's solidly in the par 3 course skill tier.
Watching Harvey Penick videos helped a lot too.
Caulk, screws. Very much not worth having saved a few dollars when these things end up not working.
Most liquors, but gin and tequila in particular.
I would say depending on the purpose, you can get some cheaper stuff. Like I'm not gonna expect people at a college party to make rum and cokes with the nice stuff. And they're just shooting back tequila for fun.
But I also still wouldn't get bottom shelf. Its still worth avoiding that. I worked at an Albertsons liquor store back in about 2010. You could get a handle of Albertsons brand liquor for $10. Was always tempted to get some just to see how bad it is, but could never force myself to do it.
If you're just making cocktails or doing shots, get the third cheapest, unless it's something like a G&T comparison or something.
Office chairs around 400 to 800$. It's god damn pricey but an absolute life change if you spend a ton of time at your computer. Are so much better for your back and butt and is worth the money 10x over considering the pain it'll save you.
If you can't fork up the cash, do a ton of research, learn a lot about specific models and then on Facebook marketplace (or any other local marketplace) search up "office chair". Oftentimes people sell premium office chairs without ever knowing, this way you can snag some for ridiculously cheap. Usually around 100-200$ but if you are lucky 10-30$.
Also avoid "gaming" chairs. Like most gaming related stuff, they're awful and you're just paying for the edgy look. I had multiple of these and each one was an ergonomic catastrophe, even expensive ones.
A mattress
And your pillow.
And my axe!
Husband and I just splurged on a king sized Wink Bed. Oh man. Night and day difference from our last one. I think the old one was just a mattress-firm brand name mattress that I had had since I was a tween, though, so it probably wouldn't take much to out do that lol.
Now that more devices are on USB-C, but the standard isn’t labeled well, it’s worth getting a good cable/charge block that will regulate power appropriately.
Adam Savage had the team that does CT Scans of various products and you really can start justify why some good charging cables cost $100.
I probably wouldn’t spend that kind of money but I’m willing to spend more on one really good one that I can use in many devices.
Wow lots of replies but here's another one. Anything that connects you with the world. Boots, glasses, headphones
Nah, glasses don't have to be expensive. I notice literally no difference between pairs I've had that were over $400 and pairs that were $50. It's just shaped glass... And whilst I mostly agree with you on headphones, there are a very small number of manufacturers out there who are doing some fantastic budget headphones. The earbuds I use now cost me $40 and shit all over any others I've had (and have lab verified frequency response curves to prove they are legit too). Should add, that even though they are budget, some of their products can easily cost over $1k, but then they are emulating headphones that cost over $5k...
Glasses are one I’d specifically advise against spending tons of money on. All of the different brands and designers are all owned and manufactured by the same two or three lens manufacturers for dirt cheap. I can guarantee that the $400 pair of glasses is using the exact same lenses and frame materials as the $40 pair, because they’re both made by the same companies on the same machines in the same factories using the same materials.
The only reason different designers and brands exist is to give customers the illusion of choice. The same way Nestlé owns an entire conglomerate of food companies that are on the shelves next to each other so you can “shop around”, the glasses brands you’re comparing in the store are all owned by the same company.
Glasses are only expensive because those lens manufacturers also own the major glasses retailers, and force smaller retailers to play by their rules if they want to be able to sell their glasses. The glasses only cost ~$10 to manufacture and ship, regardless of the style. The rest is pure markup.
Buy those fuckers online for like $50 a pop. Hell, if you want to spend $400, just buy like six different pairs. Now you can style them for your particular needs. Maybe you have a daily beater pair, then a more classy pair for going out, a sports pair for working out, etc… And they’re all made using the exact same machines that the $400 glasses were made on.
Google Luxottica (which is one of the main lens manufacturers) just for a glimpse of how wide their ownership goes. All of the big optics companies have focused on vertical integration. So they own the companies that produce the lenses, the companies that produce the frames, the companies that market the frames, etc… And they only keep them separate to give the customer the illusion of choice. When you walk into a LensCrafters, it doesn’t matter which glasses you buy; All the money is going to the same parent company regardless.
Er, the lenses are still stupid cheap. I literally paid $50 all told for both frames and lenses. And I just searched for online budget retailers here in Australia, went with the first result, and their single vision lenses (even with my current prescription which is a bit fucked cos my eyes are vastly different and one of them is so bad the lens may as well be the bottom of a coke bottle) start at $AUD9.95. Bifocal is a bit more expensive, but still quite reasonable with prices starting at $AUD42. Sure, they have fancy Kodak lenses for $AUD280, and getting coatings and UV coating costs more (I still say that $AUD80 for the ultra premium ones with added blue light filtering and all those bells and whistles is "cheap" compared to what I used to pay), but there is no reason you can't get a pair for under $AUD50 that'll do you just fine.
Someone's lucky enough to only need single strength lenses and/or have choices of lens suppliers.
My previous pair was single strength, cost me $60.
The ones I recently got are different strength in each eye and a reading field since I'm both near sighted and 41.
The new ones cost me almost 10 times as much WITH a Black Week discount. These aren't designer glasses or anything. They're the cheapest rims that could accommodate big enough lenses from the cheapest optician using the ONLY lens supplier available in Europe.
It's a huge fucking scam and the only way to avoid being taken advantage of would have been continuing to have truly atrocious vision.
Nope. Both eyes are vastly different, and I've never shopped around for lenses, just buy what the optometrist recommends me. I am in Australia, so things may be different due to that. And I feel you on the limited frame selection thing, one of my lenses may as well be the bottom of a coke bottle, I too don't get much choice when I select a new pair.
Yeah, sounds like the lens situation is vastly different because Australia. I'm gonna look into seeing if I can't find a much cheaper supplier online for my next and/or reserve pair in spite of my pain in the ass ..
As for frame selection, that doesn't really bother me as much since the one I got costs basically nothing compared to the lenses and looks good on me.
I just mentioned it to point out that the glasses weren't so expensive because I'd foolishly gone for one of the name brand/designer frames 😁
Nah, no need to apologise for that, I was just trying to relate to you on that issue. It doesn't bother me either, I could not give a fuck how I look 95% of the time (special occasions like weddings etc are different. And I bet my mum wishes I gave more than half a shit about my appearance in public hahahaha). But I do like to have choices (even if my ADHD does mean it takes me FOREVER to actually make a decision), so it does annoy me somewhat.
As for the online supplier, if you're North American, theres an online store called glasses are awesome (that's not actually it's name, but if you say the wrong thing is the right thing on the internet, someone will invariably correct you. It's like Zillow or zenni or something? Starts with a z, that much I do know. Used to get mentioned on Reddit a lot), but they were super cheap when my mate ordered their spider jereusalem knock off glasses for a costume party. His prescription is a bit more normal than mine so he might have saved some money there, but even with shipping from the states to Australia, it was still absurdly cheap (I think it was less than $AUD40).
Edit: Googled it like a sane person, its www.zennioptical.com and I just clicked on the first pair I saw. All up, they wanna charge me $USD26 before delivery for the most basic options (most basic lenses, no coatings etc. the coatings costs were kinda reasonable though, started at $USD4 and went up to like $USD35), and that includes a $USD9 additional charge cos my prescription is so insane. Seems pretty good to me. Way cheaper than what you suggested yours cost (you didn't give an exact price, but I'm not an idiot so I can figure out the ballpark of "10x more than $60" hahahaha).
Welcome to my boat, my inattentive brother!*
Yeah, I was actually looking at Zenni Optical already. I've managed most of the prep, including setting up my virtual try-on and finding out how wide my glasses need to be (my overall head size including my fivehead is "gigantic" but apparently My face with is only "large" 😁) so now I just have super technical stuff to find out. So technical that I'd need to ask my optician.
How exactly am I gonna get someone who's evidently paid partly on commission to give me the data I need to buy somewhere else? 🤔
*by which I mean that we're in the same boat and I too have enormous trouble choosing things. Hell, I'm pretty sure I got the wrong prescription the last time because the uncertainty of my ADHD/anxiety combo made me so uncertain which image was clearer some of the time 😂
For me here in Australia, my yearly check up (although I only go every two years) is paid for by the govt. Back when I was at uni and super poor, I still went to my childhood optometrist cos I still lived at home, she lived within walking distance, and why not? And over the four years, she'd do my exam for free, then give me all the info I needed to be able to go to the super cheap optometrist to get them made there. This was back in 2003, way before we had all these budget options we have now. So, being able to get a pair for $180 as opposed to the $500 my childhood one wanted for hers was worth it. To be fair though, her range was pretty damn stylish compared to the other.
And I dunno if you're saying that in case you think you might be offending me, but even if you weren't, a phrase like that would indicate you're an ally anyway! Also, who can get offended by being called brother? Although, I am male, maybe that's giving me some bias... Anyway, my weirdness aside (it's friday night, I've had a couple of beers hahahaha), yeah, shit. It's fucked. I actually get a double length session when I go now (still for free!). Twas my first time seeing this optician and she asked me "do you have ADHD? Or maybe youre otherwise neurodivergant?" And I was all "yessasssss...?" So now we take longer and do more stuff. I've never really fucked up, but there's been some glasses I've had where I'm like "yeah, this is like 85% instead of the 100% the last pair were..."
Mattress
I used cheap mattresses my entire life and had back pain most of my adult life. We broke down and bought a good mattress a few years ago and my back pain went away almost immediately. It's crazy how much of an impact it has.
I like my 10€ headphones. The thing is, you don't really notice how bad the sound is if you never try the more expensive models.
To name a few. I'll leave some stuff for other people.
Gasoline?
For me it's toner for printers: I have a Brother laser printer at home that is not heavily used but at least once a week. I thought I'd save some money when I bought some cheap ass toner from Amazon that cost about half of what a original Brother toner costs and promised something like double the capacity.
Oh boy... I had the worst mildly infuriating two years of printing you could imagine: always disappointed of the printing quality but not THAT disappointed to replace this shitty but still at 2/3 capacity toner. I paid money for that toner so I'd squeeze every last page of shitty quality prints out of this fucking toner!
Last week I gave up and bought an original Brother toner and it's a bliss. 🙄
Scissors comes to mind. Don't spend a lot, just don't be shit dollar store ones.
Office chair
Safety equipment, especially SCUBA. Also clothes, shoes, your bed, and your computer chair.
If you drive a lot, a "low-end" luxury model that isn't fully equipped will likely drive better, be more comfortable, and every feature it does have will be at least a little bit nicer than the equivalent in the "normal" brand.
You might even get a lower sale price on a used luxury car vs buying a new Toyota or something these days.
Maintenance will definitely cost more, but the experience of having that work done is a whole lot better than how it used to be on all the shitty cars I've had.
Not everyone will agree with this one, but I pay more for better seats on planes too, and tend to fly only with Delta for status. That's because I have extra blood clot risk and need the wiggle room, and because I have beef with most of the other companies due to many years of experience.
My travel curse has largely been managed after getting all the stuff that gets you through the lines faster, including global entry.
Recently we were about to miss our transfer and there was a dude waiting at the gate when we deplaned who loaded us into a Porsche and drove us around the runway directly to our next gate. That was probably random, but there's a 0% chance Southwest or Spirit would do that.
Also treat yourself to some fine dining if you are able, even if it's just once every year or two.
Maybe get someone to deep clean your place (even once a year) .
Note that I am in no way a baller when I say these things. I always thought you had to be rich to get anything cool like that, but it's not attainable than you think, assuming you're not in a paycheck -to-paycheck situation (which many are and I certainly was for like all of my 20's and a good chunk of my 30's).
A mattress, sheets, and at least one pillow. It can be expensive, but the first time you lay down in a bed that’s actually comfortable, you’ll know it was worth it.
USB sticks. Hold longer, have more speed.
I'd take issue with the "only," but setting that aside: musical instruments. Guitars, for example. You can find perfectly serviceable guitars for cheap and they'll be playable with a decent setup, and you can obviously find deals. But in general, if you try your $100-$200 Fender acoustic guitar or mandolin and then go to a guitar shop and try out a high-end Martin, for example, there's a world of difference.
I've actually heard that a lot of beginners quit because no matter how hard they practice it sounds like trash and feels bad to play, and it's to do with the cheap guitar they got.
Yes, this is especially true when dealing with a cheaper guitar with high action (distance of the strings from the fretboard). Without a proper setup (which will generally try to get the strings as low/comfortable as possible), it can make the process really hard on your hands, especially with an acoustic. You're much more likely to quit if, in addition to slow beginner progress, it also literally hurts you to play it or the strings won't stay in tune properly, etc...
What are examples of decent acoustic guitars to look for used?
The only brand of acoustic I would buy blind is Yamaha. Great quality control, especially in the FG series. Anything else, play them first.
I don't know about that. I've run across some real turds from Yamaha over the years. That said, it's been about 20 years since I last played one and maybe they've upped their game. For my money Guild makes the best lower-priced guitars, though granted they're mostly more expensive than Yamahas.
I'm saying this mainly from bass perspective. But generally you have to get lucky in the cheap department to get decently good instrument. When you shift to like $500 range it gets better and for "normal use" $1000 is good enough (normal = not professional, just hobby player). Most things above $1500 are usually just waste of money to show off.
(All calculations including pre-owned prices.)
Another approach for electrics is to take a cheap body and swap out the electronics with something from a much nicer instrument, in addition to a proper setup. Far cheaper route and you'll end up with a $100-$200 guitar that sounds and feels like a $1,000+ guitar.
I got a super cheap electric guitar kit that I'm going to build (someday). Is there a good source for electric guitar electronics (pickups, etc.)? Or would you just recommend buying cheap used guitars and "stealing" the electronics?
I'm thinking that my electronics are super low quality so I'd like to upgrade.
Aside from ebay, Reverb will have a lot of pickup options, both new and used. For example, I bought a set of bass pickups out of an $850 Fender bass to put in my ~$100 Squier bass. I think I paid like $50-$80 for the pickups by themselves.
That used to be really true when I was a kid in the 79's, but not so much today. Back then, a quality guitar cost way more than the cheap stuff and the cheap stuff was rubbish.
Nowadays, with CNC machines everywhere, there are lots of modestly priced guitars that are very playable. The junk that we used to have to settle with back in the day only exists in the realm of "toy" instruments that almost aren't intended to be played.
Seriously, $300 can get you a very playable instrument, especially in electric guitars.
Guitars are definitely an anomaly in instruments just because of the economy of scale.
Then you have the other end of that spectrum like anything with the words "Contra Bass" attached to the front, where the acceptable ones start at $10k
Cooking spray is straight up gross and an extra expense. Get some regular oil and a cast iron skillet, you will go through the oil maybe once a year? The skillet will outlive you.
Also don’t hate yourself, a little butter goes a very long way friends
Cooking spray is hit and miss with store brands, though. Walmart's store brand is shit, but imho the Safeway store brand is superior in spray coverage, flavor, and pricing.
Ain't no spray that's as good as some plain old olive oil or butter... And you can just buy a refillable spray bottle for your oil if you really prefer spraying.
Adli's beer is usually locally sourced. I lived in Columbus OH for a time, and the selection was actually pretty good (depending on season).
I've also seen Aldi stock horrible beer, both in Columbus and elsewhere.
Trader Joes has good store brand beer...
Their Howling Gourd beer and ciders in the fall... So good. You have to get them fast at our location, otherwise they sell out very quick. Of course, our store has people driving from literal neighboring states to shop there, acting like animals and loading up their carts by clearing out whole items as if it were toilet paper during lockdown, so that might also affect our stock 🙄
i would too, if they weren't all around me...
As far as cooking spray goes, you pay for the can and then you pay for the product inside. A silicone brush and a few drops of good cooking oil works equally good and you know exactly what you're cooking with.
A square cooking skillet pan. So many of these will bend if it's not made of cast iron, but found the scanpan one to work wonderfully.
https://www.surlatable.com/scanpan-es5-11-square-griddle/PRO-5844956.html?cgid=SCA-428040&start=-4
Anything that broke and you need a replacement of.
Everything that you use for prolonged amounts of time every day. For me it was ergonomic chair, keyboard, pillow. Expensive is a word, but I would rather think higher quality when choosing replacement for stuff I use.
Another category of things is hobby equipment, for me it's instruments. When I buy one it's to last. So when I was buying digital piano I went for one over my budget because I don't plan to get rid of it for next 5-10 years still, and it was 5years ago. Overall stuff that you don't usually think of buying frequently.
Last category I think of i go for higher quality stuff then generic ones are travel stuff. Last thing you want during your trip, short or long, distant or near, is to deal with faulty bag, broken wheel, or such.
A refrigerator with a good ice maker is worth the extra expense. Our ice maker just gave out, and I'd forgotten how much a pain in the butt it is to make ice in plastic trays.
Made the leap to an undercounter ice maker when we renovated, since the fridge ones keep breaking, and it has been the best decision, despite the initial ridiculous cost.
I go through sooooo much ice and ice water every day now. It makes me so happy every time I open the door and see the heap of perfect clear cubes waiting to be scooped into my cup.
Not necessarily expensive nowadays, but I agree. Just bought a new fridge because our old one gave up. Icemaker is a must. I fucking love icewater. It broke once a year ago, until I fixed it, it was awful. Never going to not have fresh ice now, so of course our new one has that. Now it's on its last legs, and the icemachine doesnot work anymore :(. The new one also has a larger inside volume due to better insulation!
Sounds nice, I'm looking at buying a new fridge and they aren't that expensive, but it's worth it for the icemaker alone, I love ice water also (and tons of ice in my diet coke!). Living in Utah, the colder and wetter something is, the better. The air here makes your throat parched, so it's great to have that ice water pretty much year round.
For the few things that I do want chilled, I prefer reusable cubes - they don’t melt and make my drink all watery.
Hmmm, reusable cubes. I hadn't considered that, I want some!!
Toilet paper.
Flux core solder for electronics
The cheap stuff doesn't stick to the things you're trying to solder. The good stuff melts and flows into the joint like magic. It's really satisfying.
GPU's, usually the budget ones have worse performance per dollar ratios
Rtx3060 is loved so much with a reason
I am going to replace my 980ti this year. Most expensive GPU I ever bought, but I have been using it for almost 8 years. I am not optimistic about my next one lasting that long. Waiting for the Supers to release so I can get some benchmarks and see what prices do.
I bet a lot of users will get 8 years out of a 3080 if they bought it at launch. 4080 value went uh, a bit downhill
Take a look at the rx cards as well
I am actually hoping the 4080s causes a $200 price drop on the 7900XTX. I think the 24 GB of memory makes it the best long-term prospect.
Windshield wipers (that don't go SQUEEAK SQUEEAK & actually let you see out the window).
I always buy shitty ones. They last just as long as the expensive ones, and when you wipe them off when installing, they work just as well too.
Ymmv if you live somewhere with actual temperature changes though.
In my experience,the cheap ones have worn out\ripped from Sun damage or lack of use about every year. I've had an expensive one for about 2-3 years now and they work amazingly.
I would argue blenders/mixers aren't on that list. Used my mothers fancy one, used fancy ones at school, used friends fancy devices. And used my rubbish $12 blender from BigW, so I do not see why anyone pays more than $12 for a mixer ever.
Boots, though, shoes, headphones, and laptop. Those are good to be quality.
Nutella.
If by expensive version you mean the original Italian gianduja spread. The Ferrero version is overly sweet and tasteless in comparison.
The Nutella receipe is different in every country based on consumer testing panels.
And wherever you go, its always a spread that technically isnt chocolate spread, as there is not enough cacao in there :p. Well, depending on the country's law at least. I know here it isnt legal to call nutella a chocolate spread. Label can only say "hazelnut spread"
After buying chocolate spread in italy on vacation I will never buy nutella again. Right now I rotate between the italian coop store brand dark chocolate and pan di stele because I can't find my favourite gianduja in stores anymore :( i think they went out of business during covid.
I grew up in Italy, around a fancy food business mostly focussed on chocolate. While I am familiar with the top Italian (and Belgian and swiss) chocolates, plus a number of artisan's hazelnuts spreads... what's wrong with Nutella they are obviously an industrial product, what's there so bad to never buy it again?
This is so hard to specify because it really depends on a lot of factors. It's usually more like there are specific models that are really worth getting, or pricepoints or brands depending.
Like, I don't think cordless drill/drivers that are sub $100 are really worth it if you're ever going to do more than screw into pre drilled or pre made screw holes. But a Bosch (blue), Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, etc are all pretty good. They're just usually over $100.
You're right about blenders - I never had a use for Oster blenders, but a BlendTec in 2008 changed my life (well, not really, but did do things that I have uses for at least).
Ohh, pressure cookers - I don't want to risk it exploding, so I avoid the $70 and under crowd. Actually, I went Kunh Rikon which is pretty expensive, but also really hard to screw up (like 6 layers of safeties), and easy to get refurb parts for seals and such.
Lots of safety equipment - there's all sorts of ... "fake" in that it won't actually work stuff at super cheap prices. I'm thinking like laser safety glasses or chain saw safety pants. Mid range is def worth it there.
Dishwashers IMHO. I've used cheap ones before and they clean poorly and are extremely loud. Depending on your house, you won't want to be in the next room to them. OTOH, Bosch higher end ones, like the 800 series, cost a pretty penny, but are darn near silent and actually live up to the washing claims - shit just comes clean in them. I'm usually surprised in a good way. Oh, and that third tray for silverware - I'm never going back to the basket (though lots of brands have that now).
Stand Mixers - especially if you want to get into bread or attachments for grinding things. I strongly recommend the Bosch Universal Plus. That thing is like a power tool for the kitchen. We've abused it for over 10 years and it's not slowing down. I know many people online who have had them for 30 years.
Vacuums - look into Sebo.
Definitely dishwashers. When we were poor students moving out of the dorms into our first real apartment, we cheaped out on as much as we could but shelled out more than 1k on a proper good Miele one. Got one with less features but better energy and water efficiency and it just does its job and does it well. Every time I am at someone else's place and they have to prewash their dishes I feel more validated in this choice.
I'm gonna say phones. If you're getting a new phone and you're on a budget, always get a refurbished flagship from Samsung/Google (they support those ones for 5-7 years of updates now). They're often far better than new budget phones for the same price. They are built better, they last longer with far better specs, and are generally far more refined in all aspects.
Interior wall paints (and rollers/brushes). I recently remodeled my house.and decided to buy the really good stuff instead of just the well known brands from the DIY store. Man, what a difference that makes. Painting is sooo much easier and it dries much nicer.
I've been happy with Home Despot's Behr paint. What brand(s) do you like?
Kelly-Moore!
I'm from Europe, so we don't have that brand here. I used Sikkens Alpha Rezisto. It's washable and scrub resistant. Perfect since I have pets and kids.
With the expensive paints, single-layer is actually true, so it really isn't all that much more expensive.
I have learned this the hard way. You’re not really saving any money (or time or energy) if you have to apply five coats to get decent coverage.
That's true, but color is going to play at least as much of a role in coverage as the material itself.
It used to be headphones but the stuff in recent years out of China is so good on sound quality. You can get what used to cost over $1000 USD for < $350 with great stuff @ $150 & even servicable stuff @ $20 for a spare.
Cuisinart food processor
KitchenAid mixer
Vitamix blender
Kan chef knife
Silicone rubber spatula (won't melt)
Stainless steel measuring cups and spoons
You have to be very careful with KitchenAid mixers - I think the 700Pro is the only currently made one that's worth very much - the gears strip out in most of the cheaper ones, and all of them made from like 2000-2014 or so. At least if you mix anything in there you couldn't do about as easily with a hand mixer that's $20 on Amazon.
Nothing. I always pick the mid-range products
A good quality bread machine.
A good tip for bread machines is that a lot of people buy them but then don’t like them, so you can get good secondhand ones cheaply. I love my bread machine - it was about £120 new, but I got it in a charity shop for £10.
Huh. I just use a bowl, and the oven.
The difference between my Zojirushi and the Black and Decker we had prior is indescribable. My home made bread suddenly wasn't dry from the middle down and would last without losing freshness for a whole day extra. With the same ingredients. It's absolutely worth it to buy a quality bread maker.
After years of baking bread almost every day, I second this.
I grew up with the cheapest and most worn down vacuum cleaners. It was awful, everything from having to pull it out of a cabinet to finding an outlet and, having bad suction, awful cleaning heads and annoying hoses.
So when I got my own apartment and worked for a bit I decided to go all in on a Dyson Absolute V12 Detect. It's actually very painless and super quick to vacuum now. Also a bit fun.
With a rechargeable battery it's wireless and the battery lasts me about 4 vacuuming sessions in my apartment, no keeping track of vacuum bags and filters. All in all it takes me from touching my vacuum to being done cleaning my, albeit 1 room apartment, about 10 minutes. It's great!
I don't know if that's just a German thing, but: Swiffer.
The knockoffs are all crap.
Luggage.
You don't want to be repacking your shit while late a for a flight because you're a kg over the limit and it's gonna cost an extra $100 if you don't and mistakenly rip the zipper off your carry-on. You really, really don't.
You don't have to completely break the bank either, but if you value your sanity, I wouldn't spend too much less than $200 on a carry-on/check-in pair.
WTF, Ninja blenders are the cheap junky ones.
OLED tv
Using a Ninja and thinking it's a good blender. I'm so sorry you missed out on the Vitamix experience.
(｡•́︿•̀｡)
I just bought a $16 personal blender from Walmart and I love it so far. I juice fruit and smoothies.
Most things work right after buying them. Give it a year and reassess
I just struggled with any blender where the blades were only at the bottom. Was always a fight to get it to blend everything.
That's usually actually down to technique - you need to fill "normal" blenders in a specific way to have enough liquid on the bottom to make the vortex.
It's also heavily dependent on the shape of the jug. For example, even just among Vitamix blenders, the restaurant-standard 5200 with the tall skinny container apparently works noticeably better than the 5300 with the low-profile (short and fat) container designed to fit under kitchen cabinets.
I like that the top comes off and becomes a bottle. I can't turn it on with my hand inside and cleaning is a lot easier.
Condoms.
A laptop. Specifically one of the bussiness lines like a ThinkPad or Dell. And a phone wih an AMOLED screen. $350 will do that.
Outdoor gear and clothes. You can go cheaper on the smaller less critical items, but if you're in any kind of backcountry setting you really do want everything to just work and not break or fail. It's a safety issue on the one hand, but it can also mean the difference between a pleasant excursion vs hours of suffering. Remember kids; the elements are the biggest danger in any backcountry endeavor. You are far more likely to die of hypothermia and/or exposure than you are from wild animals or other people.
Helmets