…to a reasonable degree, at least.
Generic medicines
Reading glasses.
Aliexpress has really cheap ones. Buy 2 as sometimes they’re not up to scratch (1/10 I’d say).
I don’t cheap out on things. Rather, when I’m shopping I’m already looking for something that fills the need and is inexpensive. That’s the goal. The default stance is to spend as little money as reasonable.
Toothbrush. Anything you’ll use comfortably will do the job.
I have to disagree. A good electric toothbrush makes a big difference, personally.
It can, yes, but even a cheap toothbrush used properly will do the job. No need to buy brand name when the store brand will do.
This is a miopic viewpoint. It may be good enough for you but not everyone’s gums/teeth are the same. Some people are predisposed to gum disease and using a good electric toothbrush helps immensely.
Sonicare might be expensive but it leaves my teeth feeling cleaner. It’s like having that perfectly smooth clean feeling after a dentist visit every day. No way I’ll ever go back to manual scrubbing like some sort of troglodyte.
My dentists visits improved dramatically after getting a sonicaire
Electric toothbrushes with the rotating head collect germs behind the brush head. Enjoy your tasty germ colonies…
I always clean my brush after use. Take off the top rinse and completely dry whole brush
Same goes for toothpaste, apparently. I asked my dentist once, and according to her the type or brand doesn’t matter that much as long as it has fluoride in it.
as long as it has fluoride in it.
that’s the standard dentist answer for that question, except when you ask the 10th one
I thought it was 4 out of 5? 😆
We’ve been brainwashed by advertising to think that the paste and mouthwash are what matter. They help, yes, but brushing is what matters most. The toothbrush is not just an applicator.
That said, I personally find Sensodyne to work better than other brand’s product for sensitive teeth.
The first round of tools for any hobby or DIY project.
If you don’t know what you want from a screwdriver, snips, circular saw etc. then there is no point in buying the super primo bells & whistles expensive stuff.
Once you’ve used a tool and learned what you don’t like about it, or what you actually use it for, or how often you actually use it… Then you can make the informed decision to just buy another cheap one, or splash out on something that’s actually fun to use.Buy the 2nd last tool you will ever need.
There are rare occasions where “buy once cry once” apply. But it’s rare
I call it the Harbor Freight rule - If I need to buy a tool for the first time, I buy the cheapass Harbor Freight version. If I then use the cheapass version enough to kill it (or make me wish I was dead instead), then I spring for the expensive version.
“Buy once cry once” seems to apply very well to wire cutters. (Link is to a YouTube video about how terrible most wire cutters actually are)
My attitude has become to buy high-end tools because even if I don’t use them again, I got the best possible experience when I did to decide whether it was worth it, and chances are I can resell it (keeping the box and all accessories) for barely enough discount to have rented some piece of shit that I couldn’t choose to keep if I wanted to.
And bad tools make bad products. A tablesaw that can’t cut a straight line and starts to wobble after 10 uses doesn’t make you want to keep doing that. When I’ve replaced a bad tool with a good one, I like the feeling I get when it just works properly.
I’ve bought enough cheap-shit tools over the years to change my attitude entirely on this. I’ve gotten lucky sometimes, but usually you pay for what you get.
I like this approach, it reduces waste significantly.
Power tools are sometimes the exception to the rule of buying cheap tools. Saws are probably the biggest exception. My cheap corded ryobi saw is awful because it’s so flimsy, and the deck bends. The makita saw I replaced it with is 100x easier to use, more accurate, and safer.
Buying cheap tools applies to hand tools, air tools, hydraulic stuff, etc.
Yeah I got a cheap Harbor Freight jigsaw and I hate it. Cut line indicator is useless, blade slips out of the roller guide so the cut doesnt stay square or straight, the keyless clamp is so inflexible I’d rather just have the classic screw-tight mechanism…
I put it away and used a circular saw, coping saw, and japanese pull saw to finish the project rather than keep fighting with it.
For most people, tools. Most tools will be able to complete the essential tasks. Most people will get by with cheap or used tools.
I have a motto “cheap gets the job done, expensive does it faster”. If you are a hobbyist working on your own time there, feel no pressure to get a “real” tool. Additionally if you are a hobbyist short on personal time, you might want something better.
To go along with your motto, cheap breaks replace with expensive if you still need the tool.
Buy the 2nd last tool you will ever need.
When you are replacing it, then you upgrade to the last tool you’ll ever need
Cell phones and plans. Any phone is good enough for regular use these days. And any carrier uses the towers of all the other carriers, it’s not like the old days where there was CDMA vs GSM.
There is at least ONE exception in the US: Firstnet. They primarily use AT&T’s towers, but they have some additional resources that other carriers don’t have - they have additional towers and entire network bands that other carriers don’t have access to. This allows us to still have coverage in natural disasters or network congestion times. In addition, if there’s a natural disaster that knocks out coverage, they have satellite-based trucks that stage DURING the disaster, then come online as soon as it’s over.
A few years ago, I had to ride out hurricane Ida in New Orleans (long story). The western eyewall passed directly over the house we were in, and the primary trunk lines coming into the city got destroyed by a cable tower that collapsed into the Mississippi. The next morning I had cell phone coverage when none of the other carriers had come back online yet. We didn’t even have power, but my phone worked perfectly.
You have to be a first responder to join - you have to be added by your department’s communications coordinator.
Bell and Rogers actually don’t share their towers in Canada.
if with cell phones you mean the non-smart, dumb phones then I can agree. however if you buy the cheapest of smartphones, what you’ll get is even more datamining than usual, which you may be even unable go remove because it’s bootloader cannot be unlocked.
but I would say don’t cheap out on tech generally, because you’ll get extremely weak security and nonexistent respect towards you as a customer.smartphones is a dirty business. don’t support the bad actors with your many, and then long term with your data
Nah, cheap phones often have their bootloader unlocked/unlockable. Really happy with my POCO M5 running modified AOSP. Also, unlike every expensive phone nowadays, it has 3.5mm jack, SD card slot, and exceptional battery life for hiking/trekking (it survives 5-6 days as just a camera+map phone with all power saving on, in comparison people with flagships typically only last 2-3 days with the same usage and power-saving techniques).
I mean beside the fairphone and pixel with calyxos and graphenos or the librem 5 (and THATs a niche user that’ll like that one) the rest all seem equally malicious towords us users.
that’s true, but at least try to buy one that’s not extremely locked down, or unnecessarily convoluted to unlock. that instantly rules out all samsungs, for both of these reasons and for destroying phones when sent for repair to an official service
The most expensive and cheapest phones are not worth it. Anything in between is good enough. For me at least prepaid phone plans are better than contract plans.
Can find great deals for 2yo second hand high tier phones
I believe what you say about networks using each other’s towers is incorrect for a large portion of the world. Where do you live?
Newborn diapers.
Get the cheapest Walmart special you can find. Newborns don’t poop or pee enough to warrant fussing over fancy diapers.
Once they get bigger and the contents start getting…bigger, then spend more on better diapers.
Plus buy only one pack ahead of time since you don’t know if they will even fit. None of my newborns came out small enough for newborn size anything.
I actually had the opposite experience with my son. When he was a newborn and wasn’t eating solid food yet he didn’t have any solid poos and was blowing out the Pampers at least once a day.
Once he was size 2 we started buying store brand but it was also the same time he started eating real food so he would blow out far less often. Now he’s 11 months old and hasn’t had a blowout in probably a couple months and we’ve been using store brand diapers with great success
If you’re not a contractor, power tools. Buy the harbor freight version first when you need it. If you end up using it enough to break it, then you get a quality one.
Sorry, but this only applies to drills and sanding machines. Maybe a bench grinder also you can cheap out on. Hand tools are fine to cheap out on also.
Circular saw, table saws, miter saws, angle grinders, etc…
Any spinning blade, if you cheap out, don’t be surprised if you get life-alteringly injured when you “use it enough to break it”. I was just helping some friends renovate where they had a dirt cheap miter saw and it was just about the most dangerous experience of my life.
If you are doing any big renovations, at least get makita, Milwaukee, or dewalt. You can get a TON of cheaper stuff second hand. Quality at a lower price. I got a professional older model hilti hammer drill at a tiny fraction of the price.
It really depends anymore…it can be a tough call.
I grew up using only quality tools, because cheap tools were truly shit until perhaps the 90’s, at the earliest.
HF tools used to be utter shit, but their “branded” tools are good these days. The wrenches and sockets are as good a Craftsman used to be, and equal to the store brands from Home Depot and Lowes. And overpriced Matco/Snap On can kiss my ass. I have some of their tools, they’re nice, but not worth the price.
Their branded cordless tools are good too. One thing they do differently is put the battery controller in the tool, while Milwaukee puts one in the battery. So don’t do anything foolish with the battery.
I don’t think they’re as durable as Milwaukee, the plastic seems harder, so more prone to cracking. And the warranty isn’t very long.
But with the massive cost difference, it’s a good place to start.
But exactly, that is the difference between a drill and spinning sharp metal at high speeds.
If a drill breaks, it isn’t going to send shards of metal-cutting fiber disc 20 meters per second at your face.
If a saw sucks ass like the one I used a few days ago, you can’t safely cut through wood and you end up doing dangerous things like putting your body weight on the top of the miter saw to get it down all the way, gripping the piece closer to the blade to try to get it to cut better with less tear out or to not slip, etc… which can easily lead to a finger being cut off. It is MUCH more expensive in the US especially to have to deal with a dismembered finger than the cost difference between a chinese amazon $100 miter saw and $200 entry level 10 inch dewalt.
There are a ton of people who can’t afford that. That is fine. Then spend $100 on good quality assorted hand saws. a $40 japanese pull saw, $30 for a Spear & Jackson hand saw, $40 for a pair of bacco chisels, and an angle cut box and you can do a lot more than that $100 miter saw much more safely at the cost of it being at half the speed.
If a saw sucks ass like the one I used a few days ago, you can’t safely cut through wood and you end up doing dangerous things like putting your body weight on the top of the miter saw to get it down all the way, gripping the piece closer to the blade to try to get it to cut better with less tear out or to not slip, etc…
There is a big difference between cheaping out on blades/never replacing them and cheaping out on the saw itself. I agree I wouldn’t get the absolute cheapest miter saw, but a relatively cheap one with good blades that are replaced often shouldn’t be significantly more dangerous than a more expensive one.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Prioritize quality on the sharp things. Works the same way with kitchen knives, not that you have to buy something expensive, but you should always keep it sharp. A sharp knife is dangerous, but a dull knife is dangerous and less predictable.
I forget which brand it was, but I once bought a drill…charged the battery overnight, went to use it…and it died within 3 seconds. Literally 3 seconds. Thing cost like $100 a couple of years ago. Now I got a DeWalt, and it’s fine.
This is very situational. I’m not a contractor, but I spend a significant portion of my time doing hobbies that require power tools. I don’t need a drill that will last for an entire day at a jobsite. Ryobi works fine for me. On the other hand, I wish I had never spent $600 on a cheap planer; I knew I’d want a better one eventually, and sure enough, I found a need to upgrade after a few years. Now I’ve spent $3600 on planers. I could have just gone with the $3k one and saved myself $600.
If I’m going to use it once, I borrow it. If I’m going to use it every few months, I buy a cheap one. If I’m going to use it every week, then it’s worth it to me to buy something I can keep for at least a decade or two.
Seconded. This has been my strategy for accumulating personal tools.
Proper/professional grade stuff I have:
- Circle saw
- Drill
- Screwdrivers of various sizes, especially PH2
- 13mm ratchet spanner
The rest is of a lot more dubious quality.
That is something I would disagree with. Especially when it comes to battery powered tools which seems to be everything nowadays.
If you go with one of the big brands you are almost guaranteed to get a spare part later. If you only use your drill once a year, the battery might be dead in a few years if you don’t take care of it. Of course your battery might cost the same as a no name drill, but that is still a fair point IMO.
Now that you have a drill maybe you need a saw later. If you went with a big brand they typically have a large range of devices that work with the same batteries. So you can reuse your battery from the drill and also don’t need another charger for that single device. This is also not limited to tools only. Maybe you need a light or a battery powered radio for something totally unrelated.
Pretty good for anything that can’t kill you if it fails. Even beyond power tools.
So, for example, yes to drill. No to compressors, jacks, etc.
That’s pretty good advice, thanks.
For jacks I always assume that it can break at any moment. That is why I put the spare tire under the car when I have the car lifted. If the jack breaks, the car will fall on the tire and not on my face.
Jack stands too. But not harbor freight ones
I have never broken a 10 mm wrench, but I have lost a few. So I bought a ten pack on Amazon.
It’s always the 10!
I keep one in my center console, my keychain, and random cheapies mixed in around loose tools, on top of whatever is part of the sets. Periodically we’ll still have a hard time finding one when its needed and have to replenish.
Are they hanging out with the lost socks?
nice, you’re good for 6 months
So long as he doesn’t try to use them!
Dishwasher rinse aid.
I too started using rinse aid after watching technology connections. Got a generic bottle and that shit works great!
Hot dog buns. In my opinion, the generic, white, store brand buns make the best hot dogs.
I like top split buns. They don’t fall apart
Over the counter medications. Store brand ibuprofen, allergy meds, cold medicine, etc. Sometimes as much as 1/7th the price, just make sure the active ingredients match amounts and you’re set.
The problem with store brand medications is they often will have the same active ingredient, but then will have a cheaper or less-effective catalyst used. This generally causes them to be less effective. At least this is what I was taught years ago. I’ve definitely noticed a difference in cold/sinus meds. Generic does not compare to brand name Sudafed.
Decongestants are a weird one. Pseudoephedrine is available but is behind the pharmacy counter where most people don’t realize they can get it. Pretty much every other nasal decongestant has been replaced by phenylephrine which is extremely ineffective. Both the generic cold/sinus meds and sudafed PE will be most likely be phenylephrine, and you might as well not waste your money at that point. Actual pseudoephedrine (sudafed or a generic if they make it) will help.
Reminder, I am not a doctor, pharmacist, or healthcare worker. I’m just a rando on the internet who has heard a lot about this.
Meth heads ruined pseudoephedrine. The last thing I want to do when there’s a compressor filling my sinuses with 300psi of pain is wait in the pharmacy line, show 3 forms of ID, and get questioned about why I need medicine.
Look at me. If I were to start crying from the pressure in my head, the tears would shoot forward 20ft…
Most of the time, yes. Though certain cough medicines have been apparently using benzene in them, which is insane. (Cheaper to produce)
You can look for carbomers in the inactive ingredients list, but they don’t have to put that info in if they don’t want, which is insane to me. We need regulations that ban carcinogens like benzene being used for the manufacturing of drugs.
Most people are being very specific, but I’d say consumables in general. Rarely is a name brand food or medicine any different than generic. Often they’re literally produced in the same factory. Stuff that’s meant to last, generally a more expensive product will be made more durable (not always), but this isn’t a consideration with consumables. If it’s a one-time use or edible, I’m going with the cheapest option 99% of the time.
I agree except for condiments. They’re cheap enough already compared to how long they last that I think it’s worth springing for the good stuff. Duke’s Mayo, Grey Poupon mustard, Cholula hot sauce, Ken’s Steakhouse salad dressings, etc. If a bottle lasts you six months, what difference does a few dollars make?
For staples like flour, bread, canned products, OTC meds, who cares. I’ll go as cheap as possible.
You’re calling Ken’s good?
My friend once wrote a letter to them about how bad their blue cheese dressing is. In return they gave him a voucher for a lifetime supply of it. That shit is disgusting, IMO.
Their blue cheese is terrible, but some of their dressing varieties are quite good IMO. I consider their Lite Caesar and “Simply” Greek some of the best off the shelf brands. Come to think of it, I don’t know of any blue cheese that isn’t from the refrigerated section that is worth eating.
That’s a “lol eat shit” response if I ever saw one.
It’s funny how people won’t cheap out on something like a mattress or clothing but consistently buy the cheapest food possible which is going into their bodies.
You spend at least or about a third of your life on a mattress. That shit’s important.
And most people eat food at least 2 times a day.
Yeah, but you don’t eat the same meal every single day, and you don’t purchase several years worth of food all at the same time.
I agree with eating healthy, but if you’re buying cheese-it’s, as an example, the generic brand is equally bad for you as the name brand. You should still try to make healthy choices, but name brand doesn’t make anything healthy.
I think it’s funny you used cheeseits as your example because that’s one of the few things I won’t buy generic of because they’re just different. Little cookies, crackers, chips, and chocolates are usually brand specific in taste (though don’t assume you prefer the name brand, you may prefer the generic!) so they’re not fungible. I’d rather skip the calories than have generic cheeseits or Doritos.
Clothes and housewares. Buying secondhand is vastly cheaper, better for the environment, and can get you surprisingly high quality sometimes.
Over the counter medications. If the active ingredient is the same, delivered in the same way and in the same dosage, the effects will be the same.
Games. There’s no good reason to not wait for a price drop and/or sale unless it’s some multiplayer thing and you want to play with friends. In the modern day, you’ll even usually get an improved product after more time has passed for patches and updates.
I love second hand shopping for everything, even smartphones and laptops. Just yesterday I bought several pairs of shoes for the kids, some nice sweaters, toys and two wine glasses second hand and I paid 18€ in total, no lie.
Society was brainwashed into buying new shit, while drowning in second hand shit that just looks slightly different. Insanity!I agree with all of those. Some of my favorite clothing I’ve gotten thrifting. I’ve been able to find never worn brand name clothing for way cheaper. Heck. I recently got a pair of Eddie Bauer shorts, never used (still had the baggie with spare buttons attached to the waistband), for $5.
On board with the thrift shops! I got a $250 brand new wok for $10 and it’s the best one I’ve ever used.
Fun Fact, Zertec is just Citrizine Hydrochloride but 10x the price of generics.
In case someone needs to hear this:
DO NOT PREORDER GAMES FROM AAA-DEVELOPERS/STUDIOS
Second thrift stores, especially for any small appliance that a couple might get 2 of from their wedding. You can often find a brand new crockpot or juicer or coffee maker. 👍
Also anything potentially breakable. Crockery, glassware etc. Best to have something that’s already been stress tested in someone else’s home.
Air filters. For car, HVAC, etc. Branded or OEM stuff is usually overpriced.
One exception: I wouldn’t buy a noname filter claiming to e.g. be a hepa filter or haning high MERV rating - I wouldn’t trust a brand that might not be around long enough to be penalized for false advertising
Yeah, agreed. If I needed a filter for allergens I wouldn’t trust noname brand too
