Agreed. We have added “Clear,” allowing us to go to the front of the pre-check line in many airports. It’s not a lot of “bang for the buck” though. It’s pricey.
I don’t want to buy someone else’s refurbished stuff. That’s what I do.
E…g, a long time ago I saw a tower case by a garbage can on trash day. I grabbed it. Turned out a front panel jumper was installed wrong causing a short. But no damage was done. Played with that box for a few years.
I’ve picked up a couple boxes for practically free that had a common problem. The keyboard plug was put in wrong at some point causing a little fuse to blow. Replace the fuse, working box.
That’s the “bang” part.
I got money, I can buy new computers. But “Where’s the fun?” as Mr. Teatime would say.
Got it. I’d misunderstood.
I can recall playing those fix-em-up games for their entertainment value. Nowadays my definition of “fun” incudes the proviso “with exactly zero frustration”.
Which kinda excludes tinkering with half-busted stuff. I admire your sense of adventure.
I haven’t had great luck with plastic wrap since the box it usually comes in is only slightly less flimsy than the plastic wrap itself leading to a lot of tangled waste trying to get the box to actually cut the plastic.
One day at Walmart I see a glorious hard plastic container that has a roll of plastic wrap in it and refills right beside it. Best of all, it’s Walmart house brand so it is cheap and they will always have it. It cuts plastic with laser precision. Best $10 I ever spent.
I always read through threads like this in the vain hope of coming up with something no one else has mentioned yet. But as always, I am not the first to anything. My high-value-added items are, like others have mentioned:
–TSA Pre-check: this is the one thing that always makes me say “best purchase ever”
–Costco: we have the executive membership and not only do we save hundreds of dollars every year, we get something like 2% back annually as a reward certificate. Couple that with points from the Costco credit card and the annual fee is well more than covered.
Cast iron cookware. Specifically a 9inch Lodge pan I got for less than $5 at a thrift store a couple years ago.
Gave it a little restorative cleaning and seasoning and put it in the camping gear.
Always works, not hard to clean and care for and easy to fix if the nonstick gets sticky.
My contribution to this thread is Origami shelving. I first discovered this line on HSN.com and I love them They come in different sizes and can be used in the kitchen, bathroom, etc. They’re folding metal shelving units that come already assembled and all you do is unfold them and latch them. You decide whether to add wheels or not.
I’ve used my 12” cast iron fry pan for many years. It’s a little cockeyed on the bottom (rocks a bit on the flat stove-top), but I don’t have the heart to replace it. It’s seasoned to perfection and has never let me down. I’d sooner replace my kids.
JK 