I’m curious, what’s an item, tool, or purchase you own that you feel has completely justified its cost over time? Could be anything from a gadget to a piece of furniture or even software. What made it worth it for you?
A local NAS for storing all my files, if you consider all the value I deprived from Google and Microsoft by not engaging with their cloud bullshit.
My solar panels have. Literally.
Setting up a fully automated system to download, track and organise … eh … Linux distributions …onto a NAS under the stairs. I used to subscribe to a bunch of services that would … eh … provide access to all sorts of … eh … Linux distributions … for a flat monthly fee, but I realised that I often was only really interested in one or two specific Linux distribution so I really didn’t need to pay for these services.
Now I just download the … eh … Linux distributions that I actually want to install. It also prevents my kids from … eh … endlessly installing different Linux distributions. Not really a productive use of time.
Any gadget/tool/product with standard AA/AAA C/D sized batteries and a bunch of rechargeable batteries. Mostly, if I leave a gadget is because it doesn’t work, or because the included rechargeable battery is depleted and hard to replace.
I’m the other way around. Anything I buy i want to run off 18650 (or similar) cells, and i don’t like anything that requires disposable batteries.
My tractor has more than paid for itself.
My Nancy pelosi stock bot has done really well
The modem. At some point ISPs started charging a rental fee for their provided modem. When I noticed it was 12 dollars a month, not sure what it might have gone up to by now. You can buy a decent modem on the lower side of a hundred ish dollars. Pays for itself in the first year.
DE-razor I shave with a new blade every second shave and it’s still cheaper than any other shaving method that I’ve tried. On top of that the shaving soap last for ages (literally years) and the shaving experience is fantastic if you get the right razor.
Don’t go down the fancy road to start with though. I have some expensive stuff that I don’t use and have fallen for a cheap razor from temu and proraso green soap. Also just a nylon brush works fine for me to lathe up the soap
I bought a box of 50 blades and a case of arko soap like a decade ago for probably $20 and I haven’t finished either one yet. I’m only like halfway through the soap.
Hell yeah. No more plastic, aerosols, costs a fraction of those 8-blade washing boards, and gives me at least as good a shave after a little practice. Zero regrets.
$20 Cabelas fleece. I bought one in late 2014 and wore it everyday for half the days out of the year ever since. It’s overdue for a good replacement, though.
I also have two DE razors and for a while was intrigued by the idea of the cheapest shave. -Pennies per shave
- Beefy Laptop
- Rechargeable tools (especially the Impact Driver)
- Local library membership
I have two 10,000 liter water tanks in my basement that I use to harvest rainwater, and another 2,000 liter tank on my roof. From October to around May I close the city water and use only rainwater. I’ve been doing that for a bit more than 10 years now, and it paid for the installation cost in about 4 or 5 years. I also have solar water heaters, but it’s hard to tell how long they took to pay for themselves because I also have on-grid photovoltaic panels for energy generation. My energy bill is about 1/6 of my neighbors’, and the photovoltaic panels paid for themselves in about 5 years as well.
When you say "I close city water’, sounds like you are also drinking that water? Sounds like a cool idea that I too have been thinking about. That water needs disinfection though
I’m not a native speaker. I just mean I use the city water supply when it’s not raining season, and when it starts raining (about half of the year here) I stop using (and paying for) it and use only rainwater. As I wrote in another comment here, my city has a lot of natural springs and I get water for drinking there.
Wow. Thats very cool. I’m planning on getting a solar system installed this winter too (costs less in the winter). Here power supply is not reliable but solar is fairly cheap thanks to China. Infact I’m pretty sure we have a very impressive solar system for a country of our status. (Pakistan)
It’s been more than a decade since I installed mine, so there are probably more options today, but when I did, you were either on-grid or off-grid. On-grid means you “sell” your energy production to the energy company, but if the city power goes out, so does yours. Off-grid means you don’t use city energy at all, but it was much more expensive because it required batteries for storing energy… however, I remember recently reading about people using their electric car batteries to power their houses when the electricity was out, and I’m sure batteries are much more affordable nowadays because of how much electric car technology has developed.
Batteries are quite expensive. Lead-acid batteries are readily available, but don’t really work well for powering a house on a regular basis, because they don’t have a very long life cycle. LiON batteries work very well, but they’re fire hazards. Even worse, if you live in an area where you get freezing temperatures, they must be kept inside, because they can’t be allowed to freeze if you’re cycling them. LiFePO4 is the current best option. If you don’t charge them above 80, 85%, and never discharge below 20%, you should have a nearly infinite lifespan. But that means that for every 30kWh of power you use, you want 50kWh of battery. And currently LiFePO4 battery banks run approx. $1000/kWh (+/- depending on band). If you heat your home with electricity, and you live in e.g. North Dakota, you’re going to want more like 200kWh of batteries, because even high efficiency heat pumps can suck a lot of power when it’s -20F.
I’m currently working on getting a 17.7kW system approved by the local utility. It looks like I’ll need to step down what I’m feeding into the grid, because the line capacity out where I live is only 10kW, and they will only approve 75% of the line capacity for grid-tied systems.
Bit different here. You can be on grid or off grid too. But the government has limits. They don’t want to buy all the power lol. Despite the fact that they don’t produce enough themselves.
You are put on a waitlist first. Now we do have one side of the house under solar already for a year. But thats my uncles side, and they are on grid by now plus have have batteries. And yep batteries are the expensive part here too. But you can manage a combination too.
I’ve got a 5kw battery/solar system for my little off the grid trailer home. Batteries were at $1000 a piece, at 2.5 kw a piece, last year. They are currently $800 each so prices are dropping year over year
You drink the rainwater?
Not directly, but I probably could. I have nets in my gutters so insects and leaves don’t fall on it and I have another filter before the tanks in my basement. I regularly do tests to check levels of pH, chlorine and other stuff. The chlorine tablets I use says it’s used to make water drinkable, and I use the rainwater to cook and make coffee (so I only consume rainwater that was treated and boiled).
My city is in the middle of mountains and it rains a lot and it also has tons of public water fountains, so every weekend I just go to a natural water spring at the bottom of a mountain and fill some bottles to drink through the week - the city’s water company do weekly tests on the fountains and every fountain has a QR code for you to check that fountain status.I think that’s a cool option for preparedness, but seems like a bit of a hassle compared to just using municipal water. But I’m guessing the municipal water is also fairly expensive where you live
There were a couple of years with extended drought season and the city’s water reserves got dangerously low and there was rationing. Since then, I got another five 260L barrels and tons of 5L bottles filled with rainwater under my stairs just for use on my lawn, garden, and houseplants. I don’t believe the climate is going to get any better in the future, nor that the population will get smaller or industry will use less water. Every year is hotter than the previous one. What I expect are longer and longer drought seasons, and I don’t think I’m prepared enough :P
Filters, hommie.
I mean, I know, but wouldn’t those also increase the cost?
I pay $200 a month for water in the seattle suburbs, plus $180 for city drainage, and a one time $25k fee for hook up to the water system. So yeah filters might be a cost.
Ditched gaming chairs, got an ergonomic office chair with several adjustment points.
It’s mesh seat and back, so its breathable in summer, gentle and supportive. I sit upright with no back pain. I lock it in place upright if I’m not using the armrests (eg: controller). Comfortable enough you quickly forget its even there, which is what you actually want in your practical furniture.
Every ‘gaming’ chair I’ve used cost almost as much, was a sticky pleather mess that flaked within months, pneumatics shot within a year, weird ‘racecar’ leaning back, fucked up my neck. But hey, at least it was in garish pointless colours? (Also, fuck those chairs that have the little ‘edges’, are they supposed to cup me in my seat Luke a cot? Because they get in the way).
I will never game in a gaming chair again. Quality ergonomic office chairs are DESIGNED for sitting in for hours at a time, and it shows. I’ve converted several others now.
I need to find one of those. I have a mid one my parents got somewhere years ago but I’m short and if I sit in it properly my feet dangle off the floor which is uncomfortable so I always end up slouching. It is also has the mesh stuff but I’m not a fan of it. It doesn’t feel as supportive and it’s not like I’m overweight or anything.
Office chairs are designed to be sat in for long periods. Gaming chairs are designed to look cool on twitch.
Absolutely agreed. I got a decent office chair over a decade ago, and it’s been good since. I think it has a teeny wobble that popped up in the last two years, but other than that the padding and such are still great.
Thank you, +1 to your converted list
A book. Teach yourself Perl in 30 days.
I bought it around 25-30 years ago. I have dyslexia and autism and have had problems learning from books in the past, but something about the way that was written just clicked for me.
It allowed me to write some pretty cool software, including a huge system that ran a large animal charity for a very long time, tons of automation software and scripts, and several full webuis. Indirectly it led me to a new career where I write perl every day.
(I can write in many other languages now, but that was the keystone of everything for me)
I have a kegerator that isn’t seeing much use as I don’t really get full kegs of beer anymore these days. We were buying cans of seltzer by the case and I figured I could just make my own. So I got a new 5 gallon keg for around $100 and some connectors and stuff. Got my co2 tank filled. Filled the keg with water and cranked the pressure up. After a day or two I had decently carbonated water. Pour a glass like you would a beer, add a little lemon or lime juice for flavor and boom. Seltzer. Been doing that a few years now. Between the co2 fills and the water from my tap it probably costs me $2-3 per 5 gallon “batch”. Compare that to $10-15 for a case of twenty four 12oz cans.
I have a similar setup (keezer), and i really want to start kegging a wider variety of drinks, but I’m not going to make a whole 5 gallon batch of tepache. Putting 1 gallon of liquid into a 5 gallon keg isn’t ideal cause you either have a lot of oxygen in the headspace, or have to waste a lot of co2 purging.
Unfortunately, 1 gallon kegs are way more expensive than 5 gallon kegs.
For all others who didn’t own a pub before: things like sodastream do basically the same and are easy to place and handle.
Woa.
Boring answer but my hair clippers.
Ain’t been to the professionals for years.
I do look like the wild man of the woods though
Good answer - pays for itself in less than a year.
It takes a bit of learning and help, but you can get good at doing a gradient.
I’ve been doing a #1 or #0 all over for ages. Clippers work out great for me. No skill required.
My system goes like this:
Summer arrives and it’s hot, time to clean shave my head and beard and look like a nazi skinhead.
By the time winter comes I’m looking like a hobo but my hair is nicely covering my ears and my face and neck are protected by my beard so I don’t feel so cold.
Summer arrives again, time to clean shave again.Hadn’t even though of this. I don’t think I’ve seen a barber in 2 years. I’m glad my partner had experience shaving their dad’s head though, they do a nice job
