Probably our $85/mo group rate for Xfinity cable (not the vanilla option). Our cable bill in OR was up in the $250/mo range, then add on streaming to that. So a basic savings of about $2000/yr. Also, no $5,000/yr in property taxes.
Kerrygold butter at Costco. The two-pound box is about $13 (I think). On Amazon it’s $32. We don’t buy a ton of stuff at Costco, but the things we do buy there justify the annual fee.
Agree. Even as a one geezer household what I save on Zyrtec alone more than covers the annual fee. All the other fun stuff is bonus.
Hearing aid batteries, prescription eyeglasses (that’s several hundred bucks saving right there), Ocuvite eye vitamins savings translates into tasty snacks, gourmet chocolate and other little fun, harmless extravagances.
My other good bang for the buck is my on line subscription to the New York Times. Don’t have a tv or cable but the NYT never fails to entertain me for many hours a day as well as inform. I’d give up lots of other things before I gave up that~maybe even butter.
A small jar of hot pepper flakes I purchased some time before 2011, when I lived in my old town, for $3. I’m eating some on pizza as I write this; it’s a 6oz jar and I still have about 2/3 of it left. It’s still good, and still ignites anything it’s added to.
My kindle. I take it everywhere and it has been priceless at chemo.
KindleUnlimited. I read voraciously and now I can zoom through read-oncers (lots of fantasy) or return it without feeling like I’m wasting my money.
My couch. Sure the springs are dying and the fabric is ripping but I bought it from a Goodwill in 2000 for $90 and it was in new condition, or nearly so.
Another thing that’s valuable to me as a traveler is TSA Pre-Chek. When I got it a few years ago, it was $85 for five years, though I sprung for the $100 Global Entry upgrade (even though I haven’t flown overseas since then.
And in college my group of friends played endless hours of Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary and a few other board games. Given that many of those games cost about twenty bucks, we certainly got our money’s worth out of them, many times over.
I forgot about PreCheck!. I have Global Entry and since I currently get my membership reimbursed through my credit card (AmEx), I’m getting infinite return on my $0 investment.
The only downside of PreCheck is that word is getting out, so I’m now finding short lines rather than no line as previously.
Same. These panniers are awesome. I’ve had mine for twenty years, before I went Ortlieb I was replacing them every year or so.
At least TSA is no longer (as far as I can tell) allowing the airlines to hand out PreCheck status like party favors. In the early years, when they were trying to get people to sign up, the lines were not only long, they were also filled with clueless passengers slowing everything down.
I think pets give alot of bang for the buck. I know vet bills, etc., but still little enough for unconditional love and companionship and animal beauty. (I only have one pet at a time, so my expenses aren’t huge).
I agree that just pet ownership give a big bang for the buck. They are also huge for elderly folks. I know a couple of people who’s only reason to get out of bed is to care for their pets…so they get up for love and probably live longer because they are moving instead of laying.
Same same. My wife and I both have Ortliebs for our bicycles and I can easily use the same pair on both my bikes with racks. I also have large Ortliebs for my dual-sport motorcycle adventures and recommend them there as well. I did break one of the quick release handles and it was easy to get replacement parts.
Oh yes. Like you, my bike was my iron horse. I felt like a cowboy riding the open range when I was on it. And I did a few SaddleSore 1000s too. My BMW had cruise control, and heated grips and seat. I’ve done some long rides. It was great.
I might pick up an electric motorcycle. But my wife says we have to finish our house remodel first. So I’m hustling on that!
Last week I got off a plane from Japan, an A-350 with over 300 people on it. Most of them formed a massively long queue for the immigration kiosks, but those blessed few of us with Global Entry just wandered up to an automated station, flashed our passport, got our pic taken by facial recognition, and then moved on to a much shorter line (maybe 3 people long) for the two immigration officers dedicated to processing Global Entry passengers. after that you still have to wait for your luggage to arrive on the carousel, but you’re not standing in line anymore - you’re free to wander around the baggage claim area, visit the bathroom, and so on. When you’re dog-tired after a 12-hour flight, it’s nice to be able to stretch your legs like that. Worth paying for.
With the most modern GE kiosks you don’t even need to flash your passport or touch the machine.
Just walk up, face the screen, it finds your face, takes a pic, decides whether it likes you and your pic, then directs you to the non-line with the officer, or retakes the pic. The officer’s tablet has the constantly updated list of just-approved entrants (and those who’re disapproved or need more face-time with a person.)
If your face is on his screen with a thumbs-up he says “welcome”, taps your face to admit you, and away you go. Takes about 30 seconds and most of that is the computer “thinking” about your pic, and you walking the 15 feet from machine to human. If the computer has a thumbs-down, you get directed to a short line for a more comprehensive conversation with an officer.
When you do this twice a day at work, it’s nice that its quick. But it’s open to anyone who’s willing to pay a tiny fee.
What, you commute via international flight?
Since I shoot muskets, I’m going to say black powder. 
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He’s a lead sled plane dog
Nope. I live locally in Greater Miami.
But a common workday is drive to work, process in through TSA, fly to a nearby Caribbean island, come right back to the US never having gotten off the plane, process through US immigration, customs, and TSA, then fly to a different nearby Caribbean island, come right back to the US again never having gotten off the plane, process through US immigration and customs a second time, then drive home. Or process through TSA for the third time that day and fly to US domestic destination or a yet another island to process through their immigration and customs and possible country-entry security / contraband screening, followed by a van ride to a hotel.
There are lots of variations on this theme. But dealing with US and/or foreign officialdom more than once per workday is commonplace.
Ever fly Miami to St Martin? We fly Pittsburgh to Philadelphia/Charlotte/Atlanta/Miami (whichever works out best/cheapest) every year, then on to St Martin.
Once in a rare while I get to SXM. Good times.