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35 People Share Times They Cheaped Out On Something And Couldn’t Go Back To Its “Luxury” Version After
Money has never been such a sensitive subject as it is now, as we live in times of a cost of living crisis. Most households have been forced to rethink their priorities when it comes to spending and rethink most of their purchases very well before actually buying them.
Meanwhile, we have long heard about investing in more expensive things because it’s more sustainable and the chances are you’re going to use them for longer. In fact, we previously wrote about expensive purchases that really paid off according to people in an article you can find here.
But this is not always the case. Often our tight budget forces us to look for cheaper alternatives and they don't always disappoint us. Quite on the contrary, cheaper versions of the same products can be very pleasantly surprising if you know what to look for, according to people from this Ask Reddit thread.
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I absolutely love candles and recently discovered that Michael’s (the craft store) sells these large yankee-resembling candles that are permanently on sale for $3. It’s way more satisfying to have 6 matching candles burning throughout your house than one nice $20 one in a single room by itself.
* If you're committed to name-brand candles, check your local TJ Maxx, Ross, HomeGoods or similar store to get them for like half the price.
* IKEA also makes great cheap candles. Their tealights in particular are surprisingly fragrant.
* To the people expressing concern about all the chemicals I'm inhaling when burning cheap candles: Just wait 'til you hear about my [drug] problem.
My washing machine.
back when I first moved out of home, my father went with me shopping, and kept pushing me to buy the basic model. its got no electronics that you can see - just two knobs you turn and click into place. let it do its magic.
that was ...god... 2001? 2002? it's still going. my dad didn't get a choice and my mum wanted all the bells and whistles. since then they've gone through three. my sister moved out of home a few years later, her husband is a snob when it comes to home appliances. they're up to machine two themselves. mine is still going strong.
Clothing from second hand. Now I can not buy expensive clothes.
Bonus, sometimes the clothes you can get second-hand are higher end as well!
It goes without saying that the cost of living crisis has massively affected our finances, the way we spend, and our lifestyle, which has left many of us anxious and uncertain about ways to cope. Not only are we rethinking our spending habits, we have realized that things we used to afford are no longer attainable.
In such financially challenging times, it’s all about saving when you can and spending cleverly. Bid farewell to impulse shopping and retail therapy and welcome to the world of sustainable consumption, whether it’s groceries, homeware, or clothing.
Speaking of clothing, sustainability, or rather the lack of it, has long been an issue of fast fashion. More and more people, designers, and fashion experts are speaking up about the negative impacts of wasteful consumption on our planet and its people. The idea of consuming clothes thoughtfully and buying less is as appealing as ever since today, many people no longer have the budget for it that they used to.
Makeup. You can get some really brilliant products for such a cheaper price rather than having the "brand" on it. Kylie's brushes are dog s**t, for example, and they're retailed at $318. All of my brush sets have cost me £20 at most, and I'm a makeup artist so I need good quality stuff. Brands don't make it good.
Shampoo. I used to spend a fortune thinking maybe THIS time my hair will be silky and beautiful and life will be great. Now I buy a cheap sulphate free bottle and run through the tiniest bit of any conditioner at the ends. Saves me a fortune.
And as already mentioned, all drugs I buy are generic from the supermarket. My 16p paracetamol works just the same as the named brand £1.50 lot.
I buy my moisturiser from Aldi. It’s the best facial cream I’ve ever used.
Bleach for 50p from the supermarket bleaches just as well as the £2 domestos bottle.
Man I’m starting to sound like my granny.
It’s very good, my skin is stupidly sensitive and a lot of moisturisers cause flare ups for me. But the Aldi and Lidl moisturisers which are the Nivea and Olay dupes, are fine with my skin! Can use them day to day and when my eczema is playing up. I bulk buy for the year and save a tonne. The only thing is they don’t have SPF, so I get that a big SPF pot separately and just use a bit underneath the normal moisturiser.
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Yeah I find most cheap over the counter drugs, like paracetamol, are the same as the branded stuff. If you want "fast acting" paracetamol then wash it down with coffee as it's mostly the caffeine they add that makes it fast/better acting in the first place.
With the paracetamol, the supermarket own and the branded one will have the same product licence number and will actually be the same thing. There was a program on UK TV some years ago comparing different over the counter drugs and, their prices and their marketing. One example was a painkiller targeted at period pain which cost £3.50 for a box. It has the same product licence number as something else which cost about £1. The £1 product was marketed at something else. For shampoo, I have to use something like Nizoral as I have psoriasis on my scalp.
I use a brand of shampoo called Suave Clarifying. It's like $3 US for a bottle that's near quart sized!! The stuff lasts me for months and I wash my oily a$$ed hair every other day. I could never see spending $29 US of a "designer shampoo" that doesn't get my hair clean to boot.
As a hairstylist I can say this isn't always the case. There's so many hidden chemicals in store bought shampoo that can be cancer causing or cause scalp issues or build up on the hair. There are definitely some salon brands that are c**p. But if you find a genuinely good one, the trick is less is more. You don't need to use as much of it as a store brand. Sometimes people think it doesn't work because it makes the hair feel oily, that just means you're using too much.
Generic medications are required to carry the same active ingredients as the name brand so unless it's something like flavor, the generic is always the smarter purchase in the pharmacy.
Yet there are exceptions. I was on a cheaper, generic anti-depressant (after being on a branded one for a while) and it went straight through my system undigested! Never had that happen on the branded ones. Made no difference to me as the prescription price on the NHS was the same, but obviously they'd have preferred me to be on the cheaper version.
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Just about all store brands are as good as name brands. Except the Walmart Good Value store brand.
That's because Walmart's brand is called Great Value. You've been tricked into buying a sub-par product.
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I would caution people to not buy the bargain brand shampoo. After a year of using the bargain brand (i was temporarily poor), my hair turned into hag hair. I buy the good stuff now.
I’d spend more money on a good conditioner than shampoo!
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Im the opposite. I used to use suave 3 in 1. I atayed with my sister once and used her girly products and really like the stuff. So now my shower looks like a woman lives here.
I have to be careful because some reason like 90% of shampoos and conditioners cause me serious skin irritation. Fortunely, RenPure is cheap as heck and it's perfect! I pay like $8 for 32 ounces.
I started losing my hair so just shave it all off now. I used to use shampoos to thicken my hair and whatnot. Obviously no need for that anymore so I just use one soap for everything: Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Liquid Soap. It's pretty much all purpose, so I use it for my 'hair', my body, my laundry, my dishes, etc. I use Peppermint during the spring and summer because it's super cooling and not-overly fragrant. It's great. I use Almond for the other two seasons.
Thanks for the recommendation. I've seen this in the store and always thought of trying it. But I have only seen it in Lavender scent, not my favorite, so I didn't buy it. I looked on their website and they have unscented. Thanks again!
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I buy the majority of my cleaning supplies at the dollar store.
try shampoo bars and bio-coconut-butter (virgem) for your face. cheap, no cancerous products, not so much damage to the planet
Yes, I am a granny and also understand the value of generics !! I use Aldi face creams too, but the perfume they use is ghastly. I try to find another type there but to date, they all stink the same rank smell. I can't be the only one who hates the smell( not like the usual face cream with soft aromatic perfume)
Pantene 3 Minute Miracle is easily the best conditioner you can buy. It's really affordable...like $5 most of the time. You can find it at the dollar store and it works like a dream on my thick, coarse, curly, often over processed hair. Seriously. Try it. I've tried a zillion different things to tame the frizz and nothing works as well. It also smells good.
Makeup artist here--- would love if anyone knows the ALDI moisturizer mentioned!
dollar tree sells the most AMAZING retinol cream…. better than olay & loreal
I'm with you on this. I wish my mom was alive so she could see how the apple didn't fall very far.
This person doesn't sound like a granny, this person just sounds like someone that has figured out the tricks that the companies use and refuses to play along. Same as me!
While a lot of store brands are frequently made in the same factories as name brands this is one I can’t agree with re: lotion. I used to struggle with dry, itchy hands that bled every winter but ever since I discovered lotion from LUSH my hands stay silky all winter long. I might be able to get something cheaper at a farmers market but for now I’ll stick with LUSH. Sure, their products are expensive but they *work* and they actually look and smell like their ingredients!!
I agree with everything that you said except hair care products. I have galaxy hair (think pinks, blues, greens and purple) My hair has been like this for over 15 years, so with all the bleaching, and coloring my hair is fried. BUT my stylist says that I have the most healthy hair she has seen on anyone she dyes (basic dyes included) It is because my stepmother (a high end stylest) once told me if you want healthy hair it is a chore, and I should be buying the best products I can afford. I follow yhese steps 1first and formost I only wash my hair every one to too weaks. In the beginning of spacing out my washes it sucks, your hair DOES get oily. Keep it off your face by doing a ponytail or something. Go as long as you can stand it THEN wash it. Your hair gets trained to not get oily until a day or 2 before uou actually need to wash it. 2.Wash only your roots with shampoo, and let the shampoo run down my hair instead of ruffing up your with shampoo, use fingertips, never nails to massage it into the scalp. Shampoo wipes out all the good natural oils, and makes your hair more prone to get oily to replace it. 3. Only condition the strands, and try to keep it off the scalp because it clogs the folical. 4 dry your hair with an old tee shirt, only squeeze dry. The material on a normal towel rips at the cuticles of uout hair, and roughing it up to dry it does the same. 5. Finish with it's a 10 miracleleave in treatment (about 25$ a bottle but worth every penny. By doing ALL OF THIS I only have to buy shampoo/conditioner like once every 8 months, and it's a 10 like once every year or so. So I DO buy the more expensive products, but I have to buy them WAAY less often, adding up to about the same cost.
I went "no shampoo" with Dr. Bronner's Sugar Castile Soap. Can be used for hair, face, body, handsoap, etc. All natural, organic, and moisturizing. My very long hair has never looked better, and using an all inclusive product has decluttered my shower, saved me a ton and cut plastic usage in half. Castile soap is good for cleaning virtually everything and can be bought by the gallon. Great stuff.
Ex hairdresser here. Yes the quality of non salon products has improved a lot, but there's still a lot of filler and c**p in them. Also if you have been using a high silicone shampoo / conditioner, you need to get that out before a good shampoo can take effect. A teaspoon of baking soda added to your shampoo and left in for a minute should do that. A lot of hairdresser don't understand how to choose the right shampoo for the client's hair, AND never tell the client how to use them properly. So here's my 2 tips on how to get the most of your Salon shampoo 1) use way less that you think you need - about the size of 2 peas 2) Shampoo twice (yes!), but on the first shampoo, give your scalp a good scrub then rinse out immediately. You can even use a cheapie for this. On the second wash, massage throughout your hair, then LEAVE IT ON until you're just about finished with your shower. You can put conditioner on the ends at the same time. Boom.
I have to disagree on shampoo. My hair is kind of temperamental. I usually use Shea Moisture coconut oil shampoo that I get from Costco. In an effort to save a little money, I switched to Pantene, which I was fine with when I used to use it years ago. I don't know if they changed the formula or something, but my scalp and hair became dry. Sometimes, it's worth to splurge a little on something if it works for you.
I agree with this, apart from the shampoo, I do find different shampoos do work differently on my hair (but my scalp is fickle). Aldi hot cloth cleanser has been a game changer for my oily skin!
I use Mane&Tail for my hair, but man it's working so well. And if you need a little extra umph, get some argon oil. Doesn't matter the brand, just make sure it's just argon oil
+1 for the Aldi brand face cream. Their hand cream is rare to find, but absolutely divine.
L'Oreal collegan face cream, $10 at dollar general. Best face cream EVER! Palmers shampoo and conditioner, $6-$8, doesn't strip hair, leaves it soft. Even if you dye it.
The best shampoo/conditioner for my dry, wavy hair is Suave keratine infused. It is the best at controlling frizz that I have ever used and my hair is so soft and looks better than it ever has.
My man didn't believe that generics were the same so I would just put them in the brand-name bottle. Told the woman at work I used generic shampoo, They all said I was crazy. My hair was 4 ft long and shiny. Some are a lot younger than me, They are gray, I am 64 with no gray. Just saying.
I feel ya'. I tried all kinds of shampoo for my super oily hair, and the best one is Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Sometimes the basic stuff gets the job done better than anything else.
Best guess a 16-pill packet, that tends to be the size. Currently 29p at Aldi - the comment was written 5 years ago.
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Get a hair mask. I think they sell them in store now. Use like once a month. And leave it on for like 5 minutes
I make my own face moisturizer.. I have some 'fine lines' that I guess I could say struggled with over the years...I have found that no matter how much I pay for face creams, none erase fine lines..I make my own now and my face is softer and the fine lines are still there but I dont have more at least. Though I'm aging so they will come lol. I know what is in my face cream, it smells lovely and I control the ingredients.
Best shampoo I found was years ago called Coles home-brand egg and cream shampoo. They stopped making it years ago unfortunately.
In the UK Superdrug Vit E range is exceptional- it has no fragrance, usual choice ie day, night etc, as with all the own brands all cruelty free and vegan, it's as good as high end brands (I think better) and so cheap!!!!
All shampoo is a waste of money. Just use conditioner. It puts back into your hair what shampoo strips out (hence the name) and it cleans your hair just as well as shampoo anyway.
If one has oily hair, it needs to be washed. Conditioner will only make things worse I feel. I'm no expert though, but..common sense.
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"Paracetamol?" Jeebus, just say "acetaminophen" (Tylenol). This isn’t "Jeopardy!"
So to find out about shopping cheap, as well as making sure you buy clothes as rarely as possible to make sure your wallet and our planet don’t suffer, we spoke with Orsola de Castro, the co-founder of Fashion Revolution and the author of “Loved Clothes Last.”
According to de Castro, people don’t have enough knowledge of ways to make their clothes long-lasting because brands don’t encourage clothing repairs and clothing longevity. “Of course, the emphasis is always on buying new.”
De Castro argues that if we had cheap repair stations in all fast fashion stores, then there would be a direct correlation between buying cheap and being able to afford repairs. Meanwhile, if all luxury brands offered in-store repairs for their expensive clothing, we would understand the value of maintenance.
Most Asian car brands. They may not impress as a status symbol but most Hondas/Toyotas/even Hyundais are more reliable, will take you to a mechanic a lot less, and will hold their value better than many other brands, including luxury options like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, Cadillac...etc.
For years I paid 35+tip for a men's haircut at Korean Salons... because Korean women "know how to cut Korean men's hair"...
Last year I started going to a barbershop that cuts my hair for 13 bucks. Not only does my Mexican barber cut my hair for a fraction of the cost, he cuts it better than any Korean woman I've met.
Mid range Android phones. Just got a moto g5 plus for $200 on Black Friday. Never paying for a flagship ever again. This phone has everything I need plus the battery still has 50% left at the end of the day.
While I agree regards not paying stupid money for flagship phones. Especially as with many you're just paying for the brand name while the workers are exploited. As a cyber tech I've to express concern regards some of the cheaper models - especially the unknown Chinese brands. Many of these contain serious spyware and connect/report everything to servers in China.
“The world of fashion is ensuring that citizens keep buying without a real sense of responsibility for what has to come next,” de Castro said.
“The way things are now, we’re very used to buying things that are incredibly cheap. Sometimes repairing might seem even more expensive than actually buying cheap. So that’s a difficult mindset to change. People do believe that buying something cheap is also a way of saving money,” de Castro explained. According to her, “the trick is to do both–buy cheap and maintain.”
Kind of out there, but last year my partner and I purchased a electric meat grinder. It had all these fancy attachments and nozzles, so we assumed it would be able to do a lot.
The very first time we used it, it got stuck several times, sent the mince out with black bits through it even after washing, and was so loud that the neighbours could hear. Eventually, one time we used it sparks flew up the machine and it promptly died.
We got a nice little 'stick on the counter' manual one after that and its done everything we throw at it with perfect precision. Would never ever go back.
TJ Maxx. Seriously. I get like 3x the amount of athletic gear there, the same big name brands.
Underarmour, Nike, Reebok. All for like $15 each depending on the clothing. Big name sports bras? $7 at times.
I’ve been waiting for this thread. About a month ago I was staying at a friends place and forgot a razor.
I needed to shave bad as I was starting to look like hair lip Steve. So I asked my wife to get me a razor from the grocery.
She came back with a pack of 8 top of my usual top of the line Gillette triple double whatever things. $50. But no stick. Just the heads.
The friend I was staying with gave me one of his humble shick duos. $8 for 12 INCLUDING THE STICK.
Friends - it was the most incredible shave. I didn’t cut myself once. It sliced right through my disgraceful hair lip like a dream. Will honestly never ever go back to those 15 bladed wank fest pat rafter shaving con jobs.
Hear the truth and believe it people. Luxury razors are a scam.
Moreover, one of the biggest problems is activists and people saying that fast fashion is so badly made you might throw it away after a few wears. “That’s not strictly true. Fast fashion is simply made, which means it’s simple to repair. If you take a beautiful vintage piece, the delicacy and the intricacy of the hemming would be difficult to repair,” de Castro explained.
Bath towels. We're a beach towel family, now. Bonus is they are much larger and wrap around bodies better, with more area for drying and covering your bits. The different designs make it easy to keep track of whose is whose, too.
Domestic sewing machines. The more money you spend, the more time and money you'll be wasting on repairs. Keep it simple, Sally. You'll often find that something ancient, beat to hell, and dirt cheap outclasses modern computerized machines that cost thousands of dollars.
I've been using a basic 1968 machine for decades, I only bought a new one because the wiring went on the old one. The new one is basic and sturdy too (and I found someone to rewire the other one so now I have TWO machines!)
POPSICLES
I'm a poor college student and I was at the grocery store when suddenly I had the craving for some popsicles. So I stop by the frozen desserts aisle to buy some and find these generic brand popsicles in a plastic bag for $1.79. The bag had 10 popsicles in it and I figured: why not? So I bought it and tried one, best popsicle I have ever had in my life. Now I eat two everyday, only problem is now I'm back home for Christmas and having withdrawls.
Meanwhile, any old Zara, H&M, or Boohoo piece can be easily repaired. Anyone can pick up a broken hem. Anyone can resew a broken button. Moreover, “the materials they use are often a combination of polyester and cotton, which makes them sturdy and resilient, but also impossible to biodegrade.”
It turns out that a blender fabric is not recyclable, but since it’s sturdy, it has very good longevity, so make sure you maintain it as long as you can.
My roommate used to buy chai lattes in coffee shops. Then she noticed they were basically just pouring liquid chai over the steamed milk and being done with it.
So she tracked down the stuff on Amazon, paid 18 dollars for 6 cartons, and will never buy chai lattes in a store ever again
Cables. 99.99999% of people do not need the $200 gold plated HDMI cables.
De Castro argues that if you've bought cheap clothing from any of the fast fashion brands, that doesn’t mean you’re unsustainable. “A trick to actually spending less is if you have bought cheap, then repair it by all means.” Otherwise, another way is to invest in good quality clothing, which does not always mean expensive.
“Add another layer–invest in good quality clothing that is either designed by a sustainable brand or buy secondhand. Try to look for good quality clothing that is either vintage or secondhand. Before buying, apply a checklist: turn your clothing inside out, check for seams, check for quality, and check for the overall state of the piece. And whatever it is you have in your wardrobe that is fast fashion–mend it,” de Castro said.
boxed mac and cheese. no one believes me that i think it tastes better than any homemade, baked, 6-cheese, 2-noodle delicacy. i just want my neon orange powdered b******t, alright?
Those knock off brand cereal bags. They are bigger cheaper and I usually can't taste the difference.
Pregnancy tests. $2 at the dollar store in a panic, or even cheaper if you plan ahead and buy them in bulk online. Never buying a $20 drugstore test again. Cheap enough you can just... take one whenever you need peace of mind.
Mascara. Drug store mascara is just as good if not better than any $25+ premium makeup brand mascara.
How am I the first to mention the Ozark Trail (Wal-Mart brand) knockoff Yeti tumblers? $7, and they might work better. We have one Yeti and four knockoffs...
Plates.
I had always bought fancy plate sets that looked good in the past and they always ended up chipping and breaking on me. One day I decided to just get the plain white 10 dollar Canadian tire pack. I've never had a better plate. No chips, no b******t, the bottom doesn't scratch my table. Very satisfied.
The smartest thing to do: buy professional dinnerware made for restaurants. Not the fancy sets designed for specific dishes, the basic ones. Easy to wash, immune to any temperature or hard sponges, never chip or get scratched, almost unbreakable. And they are not expensive. Maybe not as cheap as a basic ikea set, but definitely less than any other casual brand.
I got a safety razor handle and use double edged razor blades. Way cheaper than Gillette/Schick and still get several weeks out of a blade. Also doesn't clog on my double thick whiskers.
A lot of Target brand stuff like their basic groceries and cleaning products. But most notably Target brand Nyquil tablets actually has decongestant in it unlike regular Nyquil. It makes a lot of difference.
I always find good stuff in this store too (there are always huge discounts if you look properly)
French press > coffee machine
I have a Bodum French Press since like the beginning of times (and a also the Traveler edition). Best coffee ever, at least for me.
Amazon Basics has really good HDMI cables for $6.
On the other hand, Amazon overworks their employees so much that they have to pee in bottles.
Laundry detergent. My roommate is obsessed with trying out the most crazy, fancy, smell-goody laundry detergent and she let's me use it. From what I can tell it does the exact same thing the generic detergent my mom used does
Here’s the thing, it really has an awful lot to do with your washing machine. I had an ultra fancy front loader, and went through a bunch of detergents trying to figure out which one would actually get my clothes clean. Turns out, it was that crappy front loader. Replaced it with a really basic, no bells and whistles, top loader, and now my clothes get clean no matter what detergent it use.
Towels. Expensive towels are soft, but they don't absorb water. You keep rubbing them on your body after a shower, and you're still all wet, and the towel is barely damp.
A $5 towel that's rough on the skin dry MUCH better than a $40 soft one. "Super absorption" only applies if the towel is in contact with the water. If the towel is soft, it's because there is little friction and there isn't much surface contact.
Expensive towels have a lot of fabric softener in them at the start. If you wash them a few times without the softener, they will absorb the water very well, and they are usually denser, wich makes them better than cheap non-dense ones. Just make sure they're cotton, and not polyester.
The Home Depot version of the Magic Erasers sponges. They are half the price and work just as well.
Tuna, the name brands are now just cans of some tuna-like puree whereas the off brands have nice large chunks (shout out to Aldi).
I think with tuna it is important, on the other hand, to be careful about the brand. So many dolphins and other sea animals get caught in tuna nets or hooks. Tuna is not something to consider lightly.
WyzeCam is a $20 1080p security camera that I discovered this year. It beats the more expensive Arlo by miles, in price, quality, customizability (local micro-sd or free 14 day cloud recording), and affordability (No fee or subscription for cloud recording). I returned the 720p Arlo camera. I prefer Headphones from Audio Technica over Bose beats. Colour Pop lippie sticks are better quality than any lipsticks you'll find from luxury makeup brands at a ridiculously low cost. They're highly pigmented, last longer, animal cruelty-free and made in L.A. not China. Kylie Jenner loved them so much she literally copied them, ingredient for ingredient and makes her lipsticks in L.A. too. I used to buy Warby Parker eyeglass frames but now I'm using Goggles4U.com. Store brands like Kirkland, Up & Up, Equate and Great Value make comparable products in almost every category that are less expensive than the more recognizable branded ones.
Pop tarts. The store brands have more icing, are softer, and generally taste better all around.
Walmart brand has nearly twice the filling, too, which definitely improves the flavor
2 buck chuck Pinot Grigio. Even cheaper and just as good....Aldi’s Winking Owl
Personally I can't agree on the cheap wine. Ok, expensive wine isn't always necessarily great and cheap wine doesn't have to be bad. And paying thousands for a big-named vintage wine is more a collectors item than a wine to drink and I certainly wouldn't do that. There are well priced wines, at good value and very enjoyable. An if - like me - you like to explore vineyards in different countries (Napa, Rioja, Tuscany etc.) then you might find good wines from small, unknown producers for little money. But there is often a difference between cheap, mass-produced wine and wine from a more refined producer. But in the end: It's all a matter of taste. Drink what you enjoy...enjoy what you drink. I never found a great 2$ wine that I enjoy though. But for 10-20$ you can find something quite enjoyable.
Saline solution for contacts. 2x 16oz bottles for less than 1 12oz bottle? Yes, please!
I’m talking about typical multi-purpose disinfecting solution meant for contact lenses. Not pure saline solution.
Note: this post originally had 47 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
I absolutely love how everyone on Panda comes together as one when we have a money-saving post. YOU ARE MY PEOPLE!!!!
Yep. Got all different shapes and sizes for my gallery wall. One can of matte black spray paint and they all match.
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I'm a nut for free software. I've got two favorites: 1. Gimp. It's an image-editing software. It's not pretty, and it takes some getting used to, but it does everything I want it to do. 2. Audacity. This free audio editor is better than a lot of paid software I've tried. It's my go-to audio editor.
Inkscape is also a pretty good vector art tool and is free. If you want it just for inking, you can turn off the 'fill'. It's got its issues, but, again, free. Worth checking out, at least.
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Aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Why anyone would pay grocery store prices for these things when you can get it from a discount store way cheaper is beyond me. You're not keeping these things so why pay top dollar for them?
I/we hand-wash & reuse Ziplock bags. Well, the "heavy duty" large & small shortage bags get reused. The thinner "sandwich" or "snack" bags don’t get reused, but we don’t buy/use that size often. The "heavy duty" bags don't last forever, but they last longer than ONE, SINGLE use. 💯 Double-bag and suck the air out, and it's a great way to store all sorts of frozen foods in the deep freezer.
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Stud finders -- I have two fancy ones which have never worked very well, then I spied a little gizmo at my local hardware store, It's a rare earth magnet in a small housing that also has a level for under ten bucks - the magnet finds the screws in the sheetrock every darned time. It's super fast and has been 100% reliable.
Store brand mouthwash. Exactly the same ingredients as Listerine but one third the cost.
There's a very prevalent myth among music-lovers that's been disproven by science that gold audio connections are somehow better. The gold prevents them from corroding; that's all. It seems a little odd to jack up the price of a cable from $5 to $50 to buy gold rather than buying a new audio cable every 350 years, or not letting your guitar amp sit it water for weeks at a time.
On the other hand, even if you can't isolate the sound, given the fact that your ear drums are acoustic, your brain can register the "inaudible" difference between acoustic and digital, because there's lots of wierd compression going into digital. In fact, I think it's pretty fascinating how much audio coding leaves up to your brain to fill in the gaps. So yes, go with lower levels of compression, even if you can't understand why you like "the same" sound better.
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Buying store brand items at the grocery is the the way to go. Many are name brand products with a different label. They always have a money back guarantee, in case you don't like it.
Got this little lotion travel pack with two scents, coconut milk and rose vanilla. I got at the dollar tree because my hands were dry and it was a two pack. BEST LOTION EVER!!! I went back recently for more pens (they write like butter!) and I saw two big bottles of the same two scents!! I stretched out of the line to reach over and grab them both!! The brand is Spa Luxury if you're interested. It smells amazing and absorbs nicely leaving my hands smooth for hours.
People really pooh pooh generic or store brands, but we didn't have a choice when the pandemic hit and the shelves were empty at the grocery store. So, we tried the Kroger brand of refried beans and they are SO much better that the name brand I had always bought in the past. Much creamier and about 79 cents cheaper per can
Strange to see so many people thanking Aldi for their products. Aldi where I'm at sucks. Constantly out of everything and 90% of the time the food is SO ripe, you have to eat it within that day or the next or it rots
I go to Aldi specifically for chocolate and sweet pickles. The rest is just about the same as any other supermarket around
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Sun glasses. Sun glasses and I have complicated relationship, in which I am the aggressive part, and I switch my fellas on a regular basis after completely breaking or scratching them to the core. Those RayBans may have a name and possible quality with them, but no fella can survive my Godzilla mode, not even RayBans. So I stick to the cheap models that feel right when I look through them.
I discovered you can buy wholesale sunglasses and I'm never going back. A box of 15 for $30-40. Stash them everywhere, doesn't matter if you lose them because they're so cheap and you have so many.
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Nope. I bought cheap brands instead of the top of line brands, and will never buy cheap again. Especially clothing, and food items.
Washing machine repair. Do some homework on the model you own on youtube. Lucked out the model i was using only needed a -$12 part + delivery. Saved hundreds on buying a new machine. Also tools, IKEA and thrift Shops like Daiso/Ninso/MrDIY have like really cheap tools for everything. Once bought screwdriver for 25cents.
The only thing I've really found that the name brand taste better the generic is Campbell soup. Tried many generics over the years and they always taste like the can. So I'll buy the store premade +usually plastic unfortunately) or make my own in my instant pot. My only problem with making my own, never. Manage to make a small batches I freeze some and then give the extras and there's usually 2 to 3 serving per container I give away. Also my grocery store every week that if I buy a product I get another product for free. I use this a lot. If the product I want is the free I look at how it balances out and I buy it for the free one and then donate to a local food bank..
When I worked at a dollar store in college, we had regular customers who would come in and buy about a dozen pairs of $1 reading glasses every month or so. They said most pairs got lost or broken in that timeframe, so there was no way they were spending $400 for a pair of bifocals that was gonna end up gone or busted in a few weeks.
I absolutely love how everyone on Panda comes together as one when we have a money-saving post. YOU ARE MY PEOPLE!!!!
Yep. Got all different shapes and sizes for my gallery wall. One can of matte black spray paint and they all match.
Load More Replies... I'm a nut for free software. I've got two favorites: 1. Gimp. It's an image-editing software. It's not pretty, and it takes some getting used to, but it does everything I want it to do. 2. Audacity. This free audio editor is better than a lot of paid software I've tried. It's my go-to audio editor.
Inkscape is also a pretty good vector art tool and is free. If you want it just for inking, you can turn off the 'fill'. It's got its issues, but, again, free. Worth checking out, at least.
Load More Replies... Aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Why anyone would pay grocery store prices for these things when you can get it from a discount store way cheaper is beyond me. You're not keeping these things so why pay top dollar for them?
I/we hand-wash & reuse Ziplock bags. Well, the "heavy duty" large & small shortage bags get reused. The thinner "sandwich" or "snack" bags don’t get reused, but we don’t buy/use that size often. The "heavy duty" bags don't last forever, but they last longer than ONE, SINGLE use. 💯 Double-bag and suck the air out, and it's a great way to store all sorts of frozen foods in the deep freezer.
Load More Replies... Stud finders -- I have two fancy ones which have never worked very well, then I spied a little gizmo at my local hardware store, It's a rare earth magnet in a small housing that also has a level for under ten bucks - the magnet finds the screws in the sheetrock every darned time. It's super fast and has been 100% reliable.
Store brand mouthwash. Exactly the same ingredients as Listerine but one third the cost.
There's a very prevalent myth among music-lovers that's been disproven by science that gold audio connections are somehow better. The gold prevents them from corroding; that's all. It seems a little odd to jack up the price of a cable from $5 to $50 to buy gold rather than buying a new audio cable every 350 years, or not letting your guitar amp sit it water for weeks at a time.
On the other hand, even if you can't isolate the sound, given the fact that your ear drums are acoustic, your brain can register the "inaudible" difference between acoustic and digital, because there's lots of wierd compression going into digital. In fact, I think it's pretty fascinating how much audio coding leaves up to your brain to fill in the gaps. So yes, go with lower levels of compression, even if you can't understand why you like "the same" sound better.
Load More Replies... Buying store brand items at the grocery is the the way to go. Many are name brand products with a different label. They always have a money back guarantee, in case you don't like it.
Got this little lotion travel pack with two scents, coconut milk and rose vanilla. I got at the dollar tree because my hands were dry and it was a two pack. BEST LOTION EVER!!! I went back recently for more pens (they write like butter!) and I saw two big bottles of the same two scents!! I stretched out of the line to reach over and grab them both!! The brand is Spa Luxury if you're interested. It smells amazing and absorbs nicely leaving my hands smooth for hours.
People really pooh pooh generic or store brands, but we didn't have a choice when the pandemic hit and the shelves were empty at the grocery store. So, we tried the Kroger brand of refried beans and they are SO much better that the name brand I had always bought in the past. Much creamier and about 79 cents cheaper per can
Strange to see so many people thanking Aldi for their products. Aldi where I'm at sucks. Constantly out of everything and 90% of the time the food is SO ripe, you have to eat it within that day or the next or it rots
I go to Aldi specifically for chocolate and sweet pickles. The rest is just about the same as any other supermarket around
Load More Replies... Sun glasses. Sun glasses and I have complicated relationship, in which I am the aggressive part, and I switch my fellas on a regular basis after completely breaking or scratching them to the core. Those RayBans may have a name and possible quality with them, but no fella can survive my Godzilla mode, not even RayBans. So I stick to the cheap models that feel right when I look through them.
I discovered you can buy wholesale sunglasses and I'm never going back. A box of 15 for $30-40. Stash them everywhere, doesn't matter if you lose them because they're so cheap and you have so many.
Load More Replies... Nope. I bought cheap brands instead of the top of line brands, and will never buy cheap again. Especially clothing, and food items.
Washing machine repair. Do some homework on the model you own on youtube. Lucked out the model i was using only needed a -$12 part + delivery. Saved hundreds on buying a new machine. Also tools, IKEA and thrift Shops like Daiso/Ninso/MrDIY have like really cheap tools for everything. Once bought screwdriver for 25cents.
The only thing I've really found that the name brand taste better the generic is Campbell soup. Tried many generics over the years and they always taste like the can. So I'll buy the store premade +usually plastic unfortunately) or make my own in my instant pot. My only problem with making my own, never. Manage to make a small batches I freeze some and then give the extras and there's usually 2 to 3 serving per container I give away. Also my grocery store every week that if I buy a product I get another product for free. I use this a lot. If the product I want is the free I look at how it balances out and I buy it for the free one and then donate to a local food bank..
When I worked at a dollar store in college, we had regular customers who would come in and buy about a dozen pairs of $1 reading glasses every month or so. They said most pairs got lost or broken in that timeframe, so there was no way they were spending $400 for a pair of bifocals that was gonna end up gone or busted in a few weeks.
