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33 Stories Of People Getting Something Truly Priceless For The Low Cost Of $1
According to legend, the entire territory of Manhattan Island was purchased in 1626 by a Dutch governor for the equivalent of $25. Today, the island and everything on it is valued, by the most conservative estimates, at half a hundred billion dollars. Well, that was one of the most profitable (for one of the parties) deals in human history, but what about us ordinary people?
As it turns out, many of us have cases where we spend literally one dollar (plus or minus a couple of cents), and in the end we get something much more valuable—in a material, social or personal sense. Still don't believe it? Well, then here's a new selection of stories by Bored Panda for you!
More info: Reddit
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#1
I was working retail and one of the old ladies who used to come in and look at the TVs in my department while they waited for it to be time for the bus back to their independent living facility came over all faint. She asked if I had anything sweet she could have. I got a Coke from the drinks machine in the breakroom and she drank it slowly, holding onto my arm. My manager had called her an ambulance and they loaded her up and took her away.
Diabetic. The EMT said the Coke was just the thing for her and slapped me on the back. I still remember her little wave as she left. She lived. I didn't save her life or anything, but that dollar made the difference between her getting into the ambulance conscious and with dignity, vs. unconscious and sick. She said later when I visited her at the hospital that she might have had to move from independent to assisted living without it.
So that was a good dollar. Best soda I never drank.
RELATED:
#2
TLDR: A wife, three beautiful children and frankly my life as I know it.
Story time: Back in Jr. High, I liked a girl and flirted with her quite a bit. One time, during a band trip, we stopped at a gas station and she bought me a pack of gum. I tried to pay her back $1 but she refused. So, I slipped the $1 in her pocket. She then slipped the dollar in my backpack and so began the back and forth with the $1 bill. We found silly ways to give it back and forth. I mailed it to her house. She stuffed it in a gum wrapper and offered me a piece. I then decided that I would ask her out on this $1. I wrote, "Will you go out with me" on it and put it in a note and gave it to her. She said yes (of course, it would be a terrible story otherwise, I suppose).
About four years later, I still had the same dollar kept away. On our anniversary, I wrote "Will you marry me" on the bottom of the dollar. We have been married for 15 years and have three awesome kids. We still have that dollar stored away.
Picture of the dollar for those curious
*update 12/17/2020 I logged in today to find this has gone a little viral. A year later! Thank you all for your kind words. A few days after this original post, we both decided to frame the $1. Here is the picture of the case.
#3
Bought an interesting looking silk blouse at a pay by weight goodwill outlet. $.99 per pound, so was less than a dollar, technically, since it weighed mere ounces.
Turned out to be rare vintage Versace. Sold it for around $700.
A few years ago, a thread appeared in the AskReddit community, the author of which once asked people: "What is the most a dollar has ever gotten you?" As of today, the thread has over 42K upvotes and more than 8.6K different comments, containing lots of true stories and their lively discussions.
And you know what? I had no idea that people could be this lucky. Some people—yes, of course—but that there could be so many of them? However, even if we filter out some obviously implausible and fictitious stories (which we actually did), we still get an impressive kaleidoscope of human luck.
#4
When I was 16 my aunt and uncle wanted to give me an old hand-me-down car that both my cousins used when they first got their licenses, but because of tax purposes (??) it made more sense to “sell” the car to me. I bought my first car for $1.
Robert Beveridge 5 months ago
I bought a car from my ex's cousin for $1. He permanently lost his license after one too many DUIs and moved to Hawaii, so he had no use for it. Served me well for six years.
#5
A wife.
I signed up for a river tour in a foreign country. It cost me an extra dollar to ride in the first boat leaving (didn't want other boats in the way of my photos).
Met someone on that boat who later introduced me to her cousin.
Been married 8 years.
#6
I bought a cookie for a dollar at a bake sale, didn’t really want it later on. Gave it to a lady I worked with, she loved me for it. I was her favourite after that. That lady was my a*****e of a boss. Best dollar ever.
Well, there are always two sides to any deal, and for some reason, we always remember that guy who paid 10K bitcoins for two pizzas 15 years ago, as a huge loser—after all, he spent almost a billion dollars on the order! On the one hand, we don't know how many more bitcoins that guy, Laszlo Hanyecz, had—and on the other, there was also a delivery guy to whom the bitcoins were paid!
It is known that it was a pizza ordered from Papa John's, but we don't really know where the crypto payment went next. That's a pity—after all, the final recipient may very well be considered one of the luckiest folks in history, too.
#7
I bought a McDonalds burger for this homeless guy near my old job. The guy was grateful, so he taught me how to make origami cranes and we became friends.
Fast forward followup, he got back on his feet and now has a nice apartment and a really annoying, yappy dog. Teaches craft classes at a local community center.
He teaches crafts, that is. His dog doesn't teach; that'd be silly.
Nuku Nyara 5 months ago
Aww, I'm sad, I was hoping to meet a craft-teaching dog. "I wanna pet that dawg"
#8
A rather bossy loud woman came into our shop to talk to my brother. My 6yo nephew told her she needed to leave so he could finish his homework. She laughed and left. I gave my nephew a dollar for getting her to leave. (I didn't tell him why he got the dollar).
Black Friday the local animal shelter has a special any black dog or cat for a $1. Nephew buys a dog with his dollar. So one dollar...
1. got rid of an annoyance
2. saved a dog's life
3. Gave my nephew a great pet
4. Annoyed the s**t out of my brother because he really didn't want another dog at the house.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
So sad how black cats and dogs are adopted far less than other coat colours :( my lil black kitty is asleep on my toes right now and he’s probably the sweetest little friend you’ll ever meet (when he’s not doing the Dark Lord’s work)
#9
Once bought a beer for 1 euro. Turns out you get a raffle ticket with each drink. Long story short I won a surfboard!
However, if you've been lucky once, it's far from certain that you'll be lucky in the future as well. For example, Edwin Castro made history a couple of years ago by winning a colossal $2 billion Powerball jackpot, simply by buying a lottery ticket at a gas station.
We already wrote that the guy bought several properties, including a luxury house in Malibu. Is it worth mentioning what happened to this house during the recent large-scale fires?
But another man, an Aussie who lost his family home in a fire shortly before the pandemic, bought a lottery ticket using his wife's favorite numbers for the combination—and won. Well, not as much as Edwin Castro—"only" a million dollars—but that was enough to build a new home for his family.
#10
My great grandma used to give all of her great-grandchildren a dollar every time she saw us. It was a sweet gesture, and all of us great grandchildren would love seeing her and enjoying the free money. She's recently been moved to a nursing home due to the risk of falling because her body is extremely weak (she's 95). I moved in with my boyfriend in August and went through my things while I packed. I found, concealed in a child's bible, one dollar wrapped in a note which read: "Dear baby smileaway, I can't wait until you're born! Here's your first dollar, make sure mommy keeps it. I love you very much!" A few weeks later, my mom, sisters and I went to visit her in the home, as my mom is her primary caretaker. I pulled the dollar from my pocket and read the note aloud. My great grandma's eyes lit up and she beamed. "Oh wow, look at that!" , she said. "I'm glad mommy didn't spend it all!"
It was a pretty priceless moment.
Edit: Added a missing great.
Edit 2: Whoa, platinum and silver? Thank you! You guys are so sweet! Glad I could make you smile!
Final edit: Keep your loved ones close!
Wild Cream 5 months ago
My grandma made me a teddy bear as a baby. Both legs eventually fell off - I still have the legs, and he’s actually sitting on a shelf holding both his legs in his lap. We decided to call him Legolas 🥲 (get it?) Makes me miss my grandma haha
#11
I found a huge book at this hole in the wall thrift store. It basically diagrams and explains everything about how an automobile works; but it was printed in the early 80's, so pretty out of date. However, it still taught me quite a bit and I'm essentially invulnerable against mechanics trying to f**k me.
The knowledge was worth way more than $1
Edit: Trying to find it so I can disclose the correct title
*Title is - Automotive Principles and Service
Published by Reston Publishing Company inc.; 1980
*Okay, I give; it's fixed.
#12
92 dollars. Worked a coat check at an auction and we weren't supposed to have a tip jar. Well someone placed an empty glass on the counter and eventually someone else thought it was a tip jar and started tipping. I said nothing. It got so full that I had to empty it, and then people no longer tipped because it was just an empty cup.
So I put a dollar back in, which made people assume it was a tip jar again and then the tips came flowing again. Second wave of tips made 92 dollars. So putting a dollar back in made me 92 dollars.
I regret absolutely nothing.
As we can see, what seems like a great deal to us here and now is not always perceived in the same way years later. For example, when Ronald Wayne sold his Apple shares for $2.3K in 1974, he could well consider himself a winner. Who could've known that a couple of decades later his entire share would be valued at over $300 billion?
It all depends on the time factor and the angle from which we perceive the deal. Today, we may consider ourselves incredibly lucky, but tomorrow—no one, after all, knows what tomorrow will hold...
#13
A friendship!
To clarify, I live in Europe and we actually don't have dollars here (duh)
When I came back from New York I had some dollars left and had them in my wallet still for a long time, even when I forget about them from time to time.
Once I was talking to a girl I met and started talking about America, she had never been there and I remembered that I had a dollar in my wallet, I gave it to her and she was really happy
Still talking to her to this day, only a bit less than we used to but safe to say I can call her a friend of mine.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
This was me with a toonie! (Canadian $2 coin) I was in Ukraine on a tour, and our guide was a lovely girl the same age as me, and we were instant friends. She was asking us about all the polar bears in Canada, and I was explaining to her that in some northern places, locals leave their car doors unlocked in case a polar bear comes along and a random passer-by needs a quick escape. I had a toonie in my wallet and there are polar bears on the toonie, so I gave it to her as a keepsake :) I hope she still has it and is doing well over there ❤️
#14
I used to work at a motel doing the night audit. There was a papa john's across the street, and in a "I scratch you're back you scratch mine" agreement they would deliver me a 10 inch pizza for a dollar as often as I liked. I would tip a dollar to the driver, and suggest papa john's to any patrons looking for a bite to eat.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
I worked at a fancy burger restaurant next to a Starbucks. We’d do a similar thing - we’d trade burgers and fries to the baristas in exchange for frappes and cake pops 😂
#15
When I was in high school I lived near a grocery store that sold packs of ten cookies for 1 dollar. On the few occasions I had a dollar to spare (my parents were very reluctant to give me money unless it was for school), my favorite thing to do was go there after school/sports practice, buy a pack, and eat them on the swings at the nearby playground.
A couple years ago, I was back home for the holidays and decided to recreate the tradition for old times sake. To remember a simpler time in my life. At this point, I was late in college with a steady job. Thus, I could easily afford to spend a dollar.
I went to the same store, bought the same type I always did, located the same swing in the same park I always sat on, and prepared for a nostalgia overload.
And let me tell you, the cookies were terrible.
If you have the means, treat yourself better than 10 cent cookies.
Uncle Panda 5 months ago
I did this with Moon Pies, two round graham crackers with a gooey filling covered in icing. They were nirvana when I was a kid but I tried them a few years ago and they were beyond nasty. I don't know if they got worse, my tastes improved, or both.
Want a personal story? In 2012, I was very interested in cryptocurrencies—from a theoretical, scientific point of view. I read a ton of articles, listened to a couple dozen interviews with experts... who was going to stop me from buying at least a couple of bitcoins? On the other hand, the following year I met my future wife—so I still came out on top, right?
By the way, if you also have a couple of personal tales from your life experience, or you witnessed a similar super-lucky deal of someone else's—please, do not hesitate to share these stories in the comments below. After all, the more stories, the more interesting!
#16
I won $40 off of a $1 scratcher once.
That was an awesome surprise.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
Most I’ve ever won is $20 (I don’t buy them but I get them in my Christmas stocking lol) what about you guys?
#17
Okay. To preface this, we grew up really poor and every now and then we would go to this cheap store where everything is expired and my mom would let me and my siblings (theirs 4 of us) have $1 to spend and so we would try to make it count and I think the most I ever got was a sucker, a tootsie roll, an apple juice box, and 8 gumballs.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
Remember 5 cent candies? Do they still make those? I remember tiny Swedish fish candies that were 1 cent each too. I used to love getting a loonie or toonie from my mum and going to the corner store to make my own candy grab bag
#18
When I was very young (around six, I think), I was sitting on a curb trying (and failing) to play my new (toy) guitar, when an old man put a dollar bill at my feet. I was absolutely flabbergasted, and tried to give it back to him, but he explained he was 'tipping' me. I was then introduced to the wonderful and lucrative world of busking, from which I have received lots of enjoyment and cash in recent years.
#19
Not a dollar but 60p. Got me 2 doughnuts from Sainsburys which I enjoyed with my mate when we went to a football match
Probably the most I've ever appreciated a food item, that 60p was literally all I had left in my bank account.
#20
I bought for 50 cents at Goodwill (on separate occasions):
A copy of Ticket to Ride Europe that was brand new and retails for $50.
An old war board game expansions brand new that I sold for $150.
A like new Gamecube copy of the Mega Man Legacy Collection that I sold for $65.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
I have a friend who is a pro at finding and reselling vintage toys. It’s so fun to go to thrift stores with her because she’s super knowledgeable about the value of the most random rare old toys 😂 last time I went with her we found some old McDonald’s happy meal toys from the 80s that were in perfect condition and apparently rare, and she made like $200 off the set on eBay. One of those niche interests that I think makes her super cool 😂
#21
Once at a slot machine 3 Euros got me 1000 Euros.
Sarah Jay Co 5 months ago
The only time I ever gambled, I was visiting Canada. I was 18. I put 25 cents in the slot machine and got 777 in 3 colours. Nothing came out so I was confused as I thought I’d win a few $. Someone came over a few seconds later asking if I wanted my $700 winnings in cash or credit. I took the cash and I’ve never gambled again. So technically I’m still on a winning streak.
#22
A full evening's entertainment.
I'd bet my friend a dollar he wouldn't break into our university's football stadium. He did. But he did so right in front of a security guard. Who then proceeded to chase him around, flashlight waving the whole time. In full view of the rest of us outside a fence.
This chase went on for probably 5 minutes, through the stands and across the field.
My buddy came flying out a different fence, but ripped his pants open in the process (sharp top to the chain-link). So he was then running down the street away from a frustrated security guard while giving said guard the full moon, if unintentionally.
Anyways, that led to getting beers while watching cop cars drive around the neighborhood slowly, I can only assume looking for a guy with no a*s to his pants.
Totally worth a dollar.
#23
Did this thing with scouts where we were given a quid to buy something with and then had to try and swap it for something better.
Ended up with one of those vr headsets you put your phone in, a pair of glasses with a fake nose attached, more perfume sticks than any rational group of 16 year olds could ever need, and a poster for a musical happening in the town that week.
#24
One hundred Swedish Fish. My local public pool sold them by the penny when I was a kid. My mom would send us in with enough money for admission, and if we were lucky enough that she gave a large bill to break for change, we'd go to the concession stand.
Treats at home were rather scarce, so I cherished any candy I could get my hands on at the pool.
It's one of my sweetest memories, in a literal and figurative sense.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
Yes! I mentioned this in an earlier post, I knew I wasn’t making it up - the 1 cent Swedish fish were so tiny but if you had a dollar you could get 100, and that was MIND-BOGGLING to me as a kid 😂
#25
Played a game at a fundraiser that had £1 entry. Had to slide the coin as close to the bottle as possible. Ended up winning a litre and a half of brand vodka. The following weekend me and some friends went camping for a few days. Safe to say that bottle went to good use.
Huddo's sister 5 months ago
My sister has spent (lost) way too much money trying to win bottles in this game!
#26
A girlfriend.
True story, girl I worked with was thirsty and didn’t have a dollar for a sprite so I went and got her one. Struck up a conversation and still together a year later.
#27
A dollar is about 50pesos in the Philippines, enough to buy a pack (24 pcs) of ice popsicles several decades ago. During summer breaks, I'd buy a pack and sell per piece to our neighborhood kids. I'd restock from my initial capital + earnings until the new school year starts and I'd earn about 500 pesos.
#28
Literally my entire life for the last three years. I took a break at work, bought an Arizona tea can, and had a breakdown. I was working a s**t job, living in a s**t apartment with a racist roommate and I was in a city I didn't know.
That breakdown led me to quit, move, find a better job, a better roommate, and a better city. Now I'm making 4x what I had been three years ago and just had an interview for a massive promotion.
#29
I spent around a dollar to 2 dollars a day for food in colombia. good food.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
Mmmm best meal I ever got abroad was a bowl of Tom yum soup made by a lady in an alley in Bangkok whose food stall was made of cardboard and a tarp. I spent the equivalent of about 60 cents on it, was given a container full of broth and meat and multiple little baggies of veggies and seasonings, and it was THE BEST soup I’d ever eaten! I tried to go back the next day but she was gone. I’ve still never found a tom yum soup that I’ve enjoyed anywhere near as much as that.
#31
McChicken with mac sauce, didn’t get charged for the mac sauce, beautiful.
Wild Cream 5 months ago
Honestly you shouldn’t be charged for just swapping chicken sauce with Mac sauce 😂
#32
Plants vs Zombies GW2. It was $0.99 on PSN store and my 3 year old loves to play it. That’s all he wants to do pretty much.
#33
I traded a bunch of $1 coins for $2 coins when my little brother was dumb enough to believe that, because they were bigger, the $1 ones were worth more.
What do you think ?
Apatheist Account2 5 months ago
I worked at a charity shop, and used to handle the books. Got the complete works of Shakespeare for £1.
Upstaged75 5 months ago
My last horse cost me $1.00. It's common when you're giving away a horse to sell it for $1.00 so that you have a bill of sale. Which is exactly what we did. The horse herself was not inexpensive to keep, but that's the case no matter the purchase price.
Lee Gilliland 5 months ago (edited)
Long time ago, I got a dollar that was still a silver certificate. I think I sold it to a collector for like $20 in 1965. Worth thousands now. *sigh*.
Apatheist Account2 5 months ago
I worked at a charity shop, and used to handle the books. Got the complete works of Shakespeare for £1.
Upstaged75 5 months ago
My last horse cost me $1.00. It's common when you're giving away a horse to sell it for $1.00 so that you have a bill of sale. Which is exactly what we did. The horse herself was not inexpensive to keep, but that's the case no matter the purchase price.
Lee Gilliland 5 months ago (edited)
Long time ago, I got a dollar that was still a silver certificate. I think I sold it to a collector for like $20 in 1965. Worth thousands now. *sigh*.
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