Mine… My Xbox 360 slim only costed 129 euro back in 2012 and to this day still work like brand new, you would think that the disc drive would stop working but no. Never had the need of open it or clean it’s insides. Still great, I just don’t use it anymore since I feel it’s outdated and loading speeds are better nowadays.
Battery tester $7
portable clothes washer and dryer: they’re both 20 years old now and i bought them used on craigslist five years ago and they’ve already paid for themselves multiple times over. regular sized mobile washers and driers are normally 2x the price of traditional washers and driers, but they’re 1/2 the price used; i got lucky and mine were 1/4 the price.
mobile clothes washers are driers are great because they don’t require any special electrical, water or drain hookups that traditional washers and dryers require so you can use them anywhere where there’s electricity, running water and a drain. i hook mine up to the kitchen sink for the washer and use an exhaust hose w a window for the dryer whenever i need to do laundry; then i use their built in wheels to put them in the closet when i’m done.
their regular sized capacity means that i can wash the same tings that that a traditional home washer and dryer can do, but since they use regular 120 volt electric plugs instead of the special 240 volt washer/dryer plugs, they take longer to finish; but still worth it, especially in a rental situation where you can’t install traditional washer & dryer electrical and plumbing hookups.
What the f I never hear of that or knew it was a thing. My goodness I could have used that years ago… sounds awesome!
they’re not advertised much in the united states and i think it’s because the profit margins are bigger with the traditional home washers & dryers since portable ones require more more machinery and electronics to clean clothes, whereas the traditional ones rely on your home’s specialized power grid and plumbing along w simpler machinery.
they’re more common in places where 240v grids aren’t as plentiful like latin america and asia; which is where i learned of them.
also know that well known appliance company branded ones (eg magic chef, black+decker, maytag, lg, speed queen, ge, etc.) are the same as the off brand ones, but w a company logo and price tag attached.
portable?? can you share an example of what you mean, this monkey brain is having trouble unserstanding
the driers are self explanatory and you don’t have to bother with anything beyond plugging it in if you get a ventless designed dryer.
this video shows how you can connect a portable washer to both a kitchen sink, like i do it, and to traditional washer/dryer hookups.. there are many different styles of portable washers; the smaller ones are more affordadable; but their small size limits their usefulness and this video only focuses on the traditional sized ones.
this one seems to be a decent AI generated review of the smaller/cheaper ones.
Plastic cutlery. Not the single use kind, but more like normal cutlery. Originally bought when my oldest was a baby, but now I’m the one using them the most.
I travel a lot for a living, and I often find myself arriving late, after any eateries in the area have closed. I started by packing a metal fork and some cup noodles in my checked luggage, but it didn’t take me long to instead start keeping cup noodles and plastic cutlery in my carry-on. This way I can go to bed without being hungry even if/when United (why is it always United?) misplace my luggage.
I got a racquetball for a couple bucks. I place it against the wall and use it to work out knots in my back and shoulders. Better than expensive massage therapy. Better than muscle relaxants except for the worst cases.
Simple reusable tie wraps. I haven’t bought any in years because I can just undo and reuse.
A shoehorn. It makes putting shoes on so much easier, and for just a couple of dollars. I’m perfectly capable of putting my shoes on without it, but I enjoy not having to.
I started using one because the back would always wear out (heel counter, I think it’s called) so the shoe horn has reduced that to nothing. Now the shoes wear out first, so I’m sure I’ve saved the cost of a couple pairs of shoes by now.
Plus I feel classy using it 😆
I feel classy using it
I have one of those long shoehorns that let me put my shoes on without even leaning down. It makes me feel downright aristocratic. (And it’s metal too, no plastic for me!)
The gf made fun of me at first for using it, but now she does too, especially as she likes to take off her shoes without untying them. 😒
She brought home a metal one a while ago after our long plastice one broke, but this one already bent somehow. I keep bending it back, but it must be made of the cheapest metal possible because it keeps bending again. Still works, just looks stupid. I’ll have to ask for a quality one for Christmas. It does make me feel rather gentlemanly when I put on my work boots!
Ecco sells metal shoehorns that are a) cheapish b) nigh indestructible and c) long. It’s honestly surprising how massive those things are. Could club a burglar to death with one and not dent it.
I have one of those, shoes are on in seconds. My wife refuses to use it (various reasons) so she will struggle for a minute to get her feet in, walk down the apartment hallway still struggling, get to lobby and sit and fix the back of shoes. Maybe one day she will come around.
A long full shoe horn marketed for old people so you don’t have to bend down just makes things so much more pleasent
My Nintendo and controllers from 1987 still work.
Do free things count?
I think so!
I found a TV dinner table on the side of the road and this beautiful thing has been with me for a decade, continuing to find great use cases!
I’m still loving my iPod Classic. I got it a little Bluetooth dongle so I can listen via my hearing aids. I find iTunes beyond irritating though and am always looking for an alternative for adding music.
Back in the day, I installed Rockbox on mine. completely eliminated the need for additional management software, just drag&drop my music via a file explorer.
Ooo I haven’t thought of Rockbox in a long while!
I still have my SanDisk mp3 player for audiobooks. It feels more straightforward to use for that purpose and the battery lasts for like 3 days of listening and is lighter than my phone.
Oh man… I didn’t even think of flashing the old iPods I have. But now… I might seriously fix the one that I prepped for a SSD.
My first Chromecast i bought years ago for 20$. It’s still faster than the Google TV with a remote and I quite like to use my phone as a remote.
LTT screwdriver - although quite expensive has been a great tool when moving a few times, and for everything really.
An old receiver I got used, for 30$ has been with me for 5 years now, and it’s sadly starting to misbehave, but I can’t afford a new one ATM so I’ll suffer through it as it powers everything I throw at it with ease.
I love my version 1 Chromecast! I feel like the “cast to TV” feature that’s built into TVs is hit and miss. And I swear my TV objects it’s own ads into things I stream.
Where my Chromecast, it displays my desktop/tab without any issues.
I’m 41. As a college going-away gift I suppose, my dad bought me a basic screwdriver where the bits can be flipped for larger and smaller Phillips and flat heads, all stored in the shaft. It’s got a floral handle. That thing is both my husband’s and my favorite screwdriver despite having acquired many more tools in the interim, and it probably cost four bucks back in 2001.
I finally got one of these after using my normal bit-swap screwdriver with no ratcheting about a month ago and I’ll never go back
Bonus: craftsman make one that will ratchet the same way no matter what way you twist it. Just hold the ring and twist, screw goes in. It is amazing
I ordered my first Chromecast the day they were announced (Amazon exclusive at first BTW).
It was a different time with Amazon. They got confused in the rush or orders, and sent me like 7 emails in 20 minutes all contradicting each other about my order. I was mostly curious when it would arrive, so I called to see if they had any idea, since them emails ranged between 2 weeks and 4 months.
They apologized for the confusion, overnighted one to me, and refunded my money.
Amazon’s customer service 11 years ago was excellent to the point of irresponsible.
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. It’s still kicking. The amount of times I’ve used it, it saves so much time than looking for the proper dedicated tool.
A metal wallet. Definitely worth it if you don’t carry a lot. Mine is maybe 10 years old now or more.
3+ year old used Lenovo Thinkpads, these things are great if you need a budget laptop that’s not for gaming. A lot of companies lease them. When the lease expires you can get them very cheap because they flood the market.
General Military Surplus. We have a shop a few kilometers a way that sells surplus. They get in brand new stuff all the time. Still in packaging. It’s built well. Keep in mind military surplus isn’t just in the field stuff. Laptop bags, shirts, blankets, hats.
A pet. Worth every penny. Got my cat from a shelter, he’s been there for me through thick and thin. Gives great hugs.
whats the interior of your wallet like. I like them but the interiors have been plastic and eventually break.
You can buy replacement wallet windows pretty cheaply if yours have deteriorated.
All metal with a nylon strap. Here is a link:
https://www.trayvax.com/products/armored-summit
That company makes a lot of different kinds of metal wallets. There are other brands out there as well. But, that’s why I use.
thanks. thats a neat design. I have been using the aluma wallet style and the interior tearing has been a weakness. This looks nice.
I love my poncho liner lol, it’s perfect for a hammock blanket. I think it was maybe $5.
Heck my wife stole mine, I spent more on mine. Those things are great.
My wife did a cert class for data analytics and needed a work horse laptop. I bought her a used i7 Thinkpad from eBay.
It’s so damn fast… m2 drive 32 GB of ram it’s literally only limited in speed by the user input.
Just an amazing deal for $450
Edit it was a t14 gen 2.
I just got mine a few weeks ago and it’s so impressive. I bought it used for $150 and I can tell I’ll be using this for years.
I juuuust retired a t420s recently… off lease computers are absolutely the way to go for buying new to you laptops.
Toss in a SSD and a Linux distro… and you’re good for 6-8 years imho
Where would I buy a cheap thinkpad?
Amazon or Ebay probably. Sometimes you can find an electronic recycling place and just ask.
ebay is a good source though more expensive, places like marketplace often have decent deals, check out electronics recyclers and wholesalers, if you have any. Those are generally good places to look.
My first thought was some military gear as well. A scarf or travel utensils or bag or something. Actually even the gloves I got are probably over 20 years old.
Rescued pets cats be priceless, though keeping them fed and healthy and happy can cost a fair bit.
- couch cup holder
- crockpot
- rice-cooker
I got an instant pot and it has completely replaced the rice cooker (I really loved) because it flat out makes better rice and it does it faster. Outside of a rice cooker costing less, there was just no other reason to keep it around from that point on.
White rice just takes a 1 to 1 ratio of rice to water, then 4 minutes at high pressure cooking and a 15 minute slow release and it’s perfect. All in under 30 minutes total time.
Skyrim for $3 on PS3. Best money I ever spent on a video game.
Safety razor: When you need to shave with a razor, these things work better than disposables and are cheap as hell to replace the blades for. Still on my original pack of blades from 10 years ago (got a gross of blades for maybe $20) and am not even halfway through - I might not ever have to buy blades again.
Can’t remember when I bought my de razor, but it was old even then. And it’s the quick and convenient trapdoor type. I rinse and flip the blade after each shave as it only takes a few seconds. It even came with a travel case. Flea market price range, I think, well under 10€.
I have a big stack of blades I ordered from somewhere as well and they’ll last a while.
If you don’t already do this, drying off your blades can make them last even longer.
Yup. I haven’t bought shaving supplies since when I bought mine in 2020. Bought a bunch of shaving cream in sticks, a decent brush with a lather bowl, an okay handle with a bunch of blades, and I still have enough supplies for years to come.
100% this. Went all in and bought a really nice open comb handle to go with it, then stopped shaving completely a year or so later. Haven’t looked back.
E: I really did enjoy shaving with it, just got tired of shaving.
yeah I am not sure if I will ever run through my blades and I got them free to boot from my brother who moved over to straight razors.
This. I bought 500 feather blades for $40 (which is more of a steal than a deal) in 2013 and they will last me many more years
I have probably tried 3 dozen blade types, and Feathers and Gillette Yellows are the tops. Double the price of the cheaper ones, but absolutely a nice “splurge.” Decided to grow out my hair and beard for a while to mix things up, but I still have a big grab bag of blades for when I change moods again.
Even at double the price you still end up paying under $0.10 per shave - maybe $25/year - and that’s if you pay full price. A small fraction of what you’d pay for cartridges or disposable razors.
Yup, double edge blades are so cheap compared to cartridges. I got pretty long life out of blades too, so it got even cheaper.
A 100pack of astra blades… they just keep going and going! I suspect that they multiply inside that box tower that they come in!
Bruh fr. I got a 200 pack back in 2012 and I still have like 40 blades left lol.
Came to mention Safety razors. I bought a £30 razor and 100 blades for £7 11 years ago. I’m about 2/3rds the way through the blades.
Bought a cheap 5€ safety razor some years back and liked it. I kept cutting my face, but I thought I’m just too stupid to shave.
Bought a 20€ razor later on. Turns out I’m not stupid, the 5€ one was just bad.
This was such an improvement bit only are the blades better but since they are cents each and not dollars I just get a fresh blade when ever it want to. Bought a pack of 100 for like 6 dollars a few years back and only recently had to restock.
Use some of the savings to get a nice brush and soap it will make a world or difference over the stuff in a can.
Got a set with a box cutter and a foldable knife a few years back for $7, haven’t really used the knife much but the box cutter has been used a ton. It’s really nice to just be able to replace the blade when it starts getting dull, and it has allowed me to use it for a lot of precision cutting for a lot of different projects, plus it’s really easy to fold or unfold so I don’t have to worry too much about cutting myself.
