What's the best and worst value household items you ever bought?

[Dung Beatles]

Best and worst purchase experiences. Just for kicks.

I am a notoriously thrifty spender no matter how much money is in my pocket.

Why spend ten dollars when you can avoid spending even one dollar?

When I do buy something, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that I don't use it. Because then I can't bring myself to get rid of it on the principle of avoiding waste but it's entire existence becomes a blight on my psychological state.

It's a toss up for best value.

1 My steamer. I've gotten more mileage out of that than any other pot or frying pan in the house.
2. The bulk Costco plastic wrap I purchased almost 20 years ago in california. I'm still using it's seemingly endless bounty of saran wrap.

Worst

1. The expensive fucking breadmaker I bought. Damn thing never made a single edible loaf of bread. Probably my fault.
2. The juicer. First time I had to clean that thing I never wanted to mess with it again.
3. The blender. I got this because my wife said she liked frozen alcoholic drinks. After her first hangover, she never wanted another one again. And there it sits in the bottom shelf of my kitchen island. Mocking me.

[Devil]

Best - A sous vide machine. They’re pretty cheap. I think I paid $130. Just get one. I don’t give a fuck how good you are at grilling. You have never cooked a piece of meat as perfectly as you can do with a sous vide machine. Just sear it on the grill or in a pan when you’re done cooking it and it’s fucking perfect. Whatever temperature you like your steak, it will be exactly that temperature all the way through except for the sear on the outside. Fucking buy one. That’s what everyone in my family is getting for Christmas.

Worst - An air fryer. It looks good on paper, but It’s totally overrated. I got one with a big basket but it doesn’t cook wings, for instance, with the same crispness unless you only have a single layer of wings on the bottom of the pan. That’s just not enough. So you have to cook multiple batches and it’s not a fast cooker at all. I ended up throwing my air fryer in the trash because it was taking up unnecessary counter space.

[W. Rabbit]

Best: Coleman 4 person inflatable hot tub with heater and air jets. ~$500 before COVID, then ~$2000 at the height of Amazon gouging, now somewhere around 700-800. Bonus: kills all coronaviruses. Fits on and weighted for most large decks (do the math first...), or inside the home for year round usage. Downside: replaceable water filters also gouged on Amazon, must buy in bulk but these can be cleaned and sanitized for re-use. Shave whole zeroes off the cost of operating a traditional spa. 104 degrees.



Worst: "Exercise desk", in other words one of those bicycle machines you put your laptop/book on and peddle away calories while building leg strength through resistance training. Only the resistance maxes out and you plateau early, essentially making the whole thing a glorified laptop stand with pedals that sits in the corner of your bedroom. One positive, it takes up far less space than a real desk, even if the low budget piece of shit does continue to break and bust plastic parts all over. Worst $200 I've spent in years. I get more work done on my laptop while planking than I do with this future garbage dump candidate.