# Your most "Bang for the buck" purchase **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 20, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086 "2011-06-20T00:47:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/21 "2011-06-20T13:08:53Z")
My French Press coffee maker. I have it at work and I have saved a ton of money with it. Rather than spending at least $3/day on coffee, I buy a 12-ounce bag for $6.99 once every week-and-a-half. Not to mention, I don’t spend calories on the impulse purchases that sometimes used to go with my coffee purchases. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/22 "2011-06-20T13:25:30Z")
A store was going out of business and selling their display items. They had an Ohio flag! I paid about $3 for it. It’s a good quality fabric one, not cheap polyester. We’re the only people on the block who put out both the U.S. and the state flag. A full-size state flag would cost about fifty bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/23 "2011-06-20T13:41:16Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > I’ve gotten free pizzas from delivery drivers for letting them play a few games. So when the pizza delivery guy comes to your door, you open it and say, “So… do you like games, young man? I have something to show you in the back bedroom!” ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/24 "2011-06-20T14:13:14Z")
Our [SodaStream](http://www.sodastreamusa.com/store.aspx?gclid=CMq3nubUxKkCFcov2godpWFGcw). The amount of soda, sparkling water, and other fizzy drinks we’ve made with it over the last year has been ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/25 "2011-06-20T14:24:43Z")
By far the most “bang for the buck” purchase I’ve made is a tiny no-name handplane (far smaller than a palm plane, so maybe a thumb plane) that I got from a dollar store some ten years back for two bucks or so. Despite the cheap, pressed-from-sheet-metal body and extremely simple overall design, the plane simply works like a charm, taking off beautiful shavings from small-dimension woodwork projects and hard-to-reach places. Usually, very cheap Chinese tools are unusable crap, having blades that aren’t sharp and can’t be made so, but this one is different. I’ve used this pocket change investment countless hours over the past decade, and it’s still the best small plane I’ve handled. Alas, the store I got it from stopped carrying them after the one batch had sold out. Had I known how good they were, I would’ve bought 20 on the spot, to last me and my buddies a lifetime. I’ve never seen these planes anywhere since, even though the unusable crap-variety can be found most anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/26 "2011-06-20T14:55:23Z")
It’s a toss up between my 12" Lodge cast iron griddle pan, use it for 98% of all my cooking, got it for the princely sum of $12.00, or either my Yugoslavian SKS semiauto battle rifle ($80 out of pocket for a new unissued/unfired rifle) or my H&R Topper Deluxe Classic single shot 20-Gauge shotgun… ($65 for a used but unfired model) ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/27 "2011-06-20T14:56:24Z")
Macy’s has terrible pricing control, but it makes for great buys for the buyer. I once bought a ralph lauren polo shirt for three dollars. I looked at the price tag and it said something ridiculous like 6.99, but when I brought it up to the register it rang up as 2.99. It is a fantastic shirt and only three dollars! ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/28 "2011-06-20T16:44:17Z")
My beer brewing equipment. Expensive investment but I am able to create gallons upon gallons of craft beer tailored to my own tastes for about 50 cents a bottle in ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/29 "2011-06-20T18:06:35Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Our [SodaStream](http://www.sodastreamusa.com/store.aspx?gclid=CMq3nubUxKkCFcov2godpWFGcw). The amount of soda, sparkling water, and other fizzy drinks we’ve made with it over the last year has been ridiculous. I’ve wondered about those. Do you have an opinion of their diet sodas? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/30 "2011-06-20T21:31:07Z")
Thirty five years ago, before they were at all common, we bought a Cuisinart. My wife and I use it probably ten times a week. Grind hamburger, sometimes mix dough, make milkshakes, chop olives for my breakfast spread, make pesto sauce,… Now the bowl is disintegrating and I don’t think I can replace it. The ones I see in the stores are so complicated (owing mainly to increased safety features) that they are a real pain to use, although I guess I will have to get used to it. But the most trivial item is a keyholder that I bought some years ago for 99¢. The only marking on it is, “HUA XING”. It consists of a metal holder into which slip two small metal cylinders that have a hole in them that you can thread an ordinary key ring into. A simple button push releases either one of the cylinders so that I can release my house keys without taking the car key out of the ignition. Best by far keyholder I have ever had and I cannot find its duplicate anywhere. It will last me forever, but they would make little gifts. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/31 "2011-06-20T21:40:47Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > But the most trivial item is a keyholder that I bought some years ago for 99¢. The only marking on it is, “HUA XING”. It consists of a metal holder into which slip two small metal cylinders that have a hole in them that you can thread an ordinary key ring into. A simple button push releases either one of the cylinders so that I can release my house keys without taking the car key out of the ignition. Best by far keyholder I have ever had and I cannot find its duplicate anywhere. It will last me forever, but they would make little gifts. [Like these?](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dmisc&field-keywords=pull+apart+keyring&x=0&y=0) ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/32 "2011-06-20T22:20:13Z")
While we paid a pretty penny for it, the Breville Ikon espresso machine we bought several years ago has more than paid for itself. We paid around $450, but it’s built like a tank out of cast aluminum, and almost every part is user-servicable, unlike your average espresso machine - on most machines, when your pressure seal blows, you toss it and get a new one, but I’ve replaced the pressure seal for $8, and it worked good as new. It makes superb espresso as well - with a very durable heating element and 13 bars of pressure, it makes espresso with the perfect temperature and excellent crema. We mainly use it to make Americanos, but will occasionally make cappucinos, and it froths milk quite nicely. Once you’ve made a cup on a machine like this, if you go back to a $100 espresso maker, with poor temp control and weak pressure, it feels like you’re drinking vaguely coffee flavored water. I ran some calculations, and we’ve probably made 4,000 shots of espresso since we bought it - at $2.50 per coffee if we were to buy drinks at Starbucks or Peets, that’s over $9500 in savings after the price of the machine. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/33 "2011-06-21T14:32:07Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > So when the pizza delivery guy comes to your door, you open it and say, “So… do you like games, young man? I have something to show you in the back bedroom!” Mmm! You got muscle-y arms, Mr. Pizza Boy! Love to see how you work a joystick! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/34 "2011-06-21T14:37:00Z")
My smartphone (a now almost obsolete T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream). Google Maps Navigation works better than any stand-alone GPS system I’ve seen, holds more music than the 80-CD case I no longer have to lug around, plays games, lets me surf the web, and even make the occasional phone call. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/35 "2011-06-21T14:56:53Z")
In 1982, on my first job out of grad school, I bought an HP 16C scientific calculator for $120. It still sits on my desk, in its little wooden stand, and I use it if not daily, than weekly. How many other tech devices not only work but are productive after nearly 30 years? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/36 "2011-06-21T14:59:54Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Does a music album count? Because boy oh boy, have I listened to the hell out of [Drawing Dead](http://homestuck.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-crew-drawing-dead-2). In the same vein, I bought _Civilization 2_ back in 1996 for about 40... because of that game, the add-ons, the websites with maps and scenarios, my cost/hour must have decreased to about .02/hour. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/37 "2011-06-21T15:06:28Z")
I spent $5 for a used portable radio/CD player that also used to get TV audio (before the age of digital TV). I only use it when the power goes off, but then it is a godsend. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/38 "2011-06-21T15:20:38Z")
[This eye liner](http://www.target.com/Sonia-Kashuk-Dramatically-Defining-Liner/dp/B003GWVTZO/ref=in_de_display_children_0?ie=UTF8&altString=Sonia%20Kashuk%26%23174%3B%20Dramatically%20Defining%20Long%20Wear%20Gel%20Liner%20%26%2345%3B%20Cocoa) is also among my most brilliant purchases. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/39 "2011-06-21T15:40:25Z")
My [GarlicZoom](http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&pq=garlic+tools+with+wheels&xhr=t&q=garlic+zoom&cp=9&qe=Z2FybGljIHpv&qesig=PgGUpPZbSZmj70l33Kjcmg&pkc=AFgZ2tkKbiNgwqiCu0IZvDeH3kAMZi6r6qPltI4l-SnkR-Mzmcu1gtsNfKypKdS4759vfD3yBoRjgmQsIps-ctS5x7yBjnbrOw&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=XFj&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1131&bih=1145&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7969999616424095081&sa=X&ei=vLoATrqJIuTk0QHovLzPDg&sqi=2&ved=0CF8Q8gIwAw). I use a lot of garlic in my cooking, and I love this little gadget that minces the garlic as you roll it on any surface. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086/40 "2011-06-21T16:07:03Z")
Years ago, my inlaws were up camping and forgot to bring their hibachi. We were coming, up but couldn’t find it in their house, so we picked up a $2 grill for the week. We ended up keeping it and using it for years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-bang-for-the-buck-purchase/586086.md?page=3)