Electrical tape. Just wrap it several times around the worn section. It will protect the cord from moisture (to an extent) and you from getting shocked. And tell your wife to use the battery when she’s in the recliner. 
We’re remodeling a bathroom. Everything has cost more than we thought it would. I’m at the point where I’m proud that we have managed to do the whole thing with completely new fixtures and a tile tub surround for $3k.
You beat me too it. I too was floored by the cost of a USB extension and found them at a dollar store. Also found a nice USB combo cable with different plug in fittings. And a headset for my phone.
I’ve used the cheaper unbranded “universal” laptop adapters for years without any problems.
I must third this. The dollar stores are excellent for things that are usually outrageously marked up – batteries, cables, etc.
I wanted a car charger for my iPhone, but I refuse to pay the $30 AT&T wants for one. I happened on one when I was browsing in a Five Below; lo and behold, it’s even stylish. Got a few cases, as well – total cost was less than what AT&T wanted for the car charger.
Part of me knows that if everyone shopped for accessories this way, then they’d start marking up the actual hardware, and Nice Things would be harder to come by. But I ignore that part of me and go cheap as often as possible.
Psst… Chlorpheniramine, not guaifenesin. And Tussionex is the best cough syrup ever.
I shop so infrequently that I nearly always get sticker shock. The most recent one was when our iron quit working. I thought we’d replace it for about twelve bucks, but came to find out that getting one equivalent to what we had would be closer to sixty bucks. Geez, maybe we could just heat the old one up on the stovetop!
Are you saying I can “transcribe” my music cassettes to a computer? That would be sweet.
Oh, and sticker shock for me? 18.99 for that tiny tube of abreva.
Yes, you can. If you have a “line out” on your cassette player. (I’m told if you lack a “line out” on your tape player you can use the headphone but it won’t be as good.) I bought a whole bunch of audiobooks from my library booksale so quality isn’t an issue. You can use free programs like Wavasaur and Audacity to do this. I had guy I know who works at a record store and has access to a turntable. He made a file of a vinyl record for me and it was great. But he has all this cool equipment. But like I said, an audiobook doesn’t need the high quality.
I found my local Target has those for $11.99
Thanks for that phrase. “Sticker Shock” is exactly the phrase I was looking for but couldn’t think of.
Painter’s tape.
I know it sounds dumb, but having never bought it before, I was surprised to see it costing anywhere from $7-$10 per roll. Call it ignorance, but considering how much of the stuff I went through, it just felt like a lot of money.
Mortgage broker wanting to charge 2% of the loan amount to save me 1/8 of a percent over the bank advertised rates on a refinance loan. I guess a lot of people think those are just normal closing costs…
I told a friend she should be able to pick up an apple corer for less than a dollar at the grocery store. Then the other day I happened through the kitchen junk aisle at Wal-Mart and was surprised to find that the cheapest one they had was 3 bucks! :eek:
I just bought a brand new Honda Fit this wknd and as the guy was handing me the keys I handed the spare to my husband without thinking and salesdude said “careful, that costs $250 to replace.” I almost snatched it out of his hand! JAYSUS! What happened to taking your key to the hardware store and getting a copy for like $20? You could even get a kitchy leopard print if you wanted to get crazy or something. The super nutso thing is I bought the LoJack system that suposedly protects the whole car from theft if it’s stolen for $500 - I can’t believe the anti-theft system costs the same as the TWO KEYS.
$7-$10… Heck, I was tripping when I saw it at $4.
Too add to the cable ripoffs.
Back when I bought my first HDTV I also owned a laptop. I figured, hey, it’s a high end TV so I may as well buy the PC-TV video/audio adapter. Expecting to pay anywhere between $15-$25 I was completely shocked seeing it at $99.99. This was back in 2005 so I’m sure they’d be much cheaper by now.
I’m also surprised each time I go in to buy a pair of shorts from the surf shop. No, not surf trunks but normal shorts. These things run at $50 a pop on average. I can pick up jeans for $10-$15 a pair… I really don’t see why they cost so much. They’re nice but not that nice.
I just have a Corolla but there’s some kind of chip in the key that the car recognizes? It isn’t even a security system but that’s what must cost a lot to replace.
I’ll jump on the Monster Cable bandwagon. That’s brilliant marketing. It seems like every reliable source says that you should NOT buy Monster cables, it’s all hype. Within reason, find the cheapest ones you can on the internet. What kills me about Monster cables is their markup is not just a little bit… say 10 or 20 % more… They’re like 400 - 500 % more than similar cables.
Yep. A copy of the key made from a simple blank won’t do you any good because the immobilizer won’t disengage when you try to start the car.
:eek: I bought mine at a dollar store. Of course the rolls sold there were smaller, but rather than pay through the nose, I made do!
Air. From the machine at the gas station to air up the tires. Seventy five cents!!! I drive out of my way to the Hess station and wait my turn to use the free air machine. Though I’m told you can ask the clerk at the pay-for-air station to turn on the machine for you to use for free when you buy gas there.
200 feet of split rail fence installed.
I priced it before hand at Menards and materials ran about $500. I could rent a post hole digger for $60 and get a friend to help me dig the 20 holes in a few hours.
Went to a fencing company to see what they would do it for. I figured if it wasn’t that much more I’d have them do it. They’d just send out a couple guys who could do it faster than me. No setting the posts in concrete or anything. Just dig, drop the post, back fill.
Oh yeah. They’ll do it allright. For $3,500.
My fiance and I are registering at the usual stores and I won’t let her register for a rolling pin because she can’t find one for under $20 and I refuse to let anyone pay a Jackson for a foot long stick of wood.