What have you bought that ultimately saved you $$ long-term?

[HomeAgain]

I'm going to guess this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_42401-15369-71465_1z0zvk9__?productId=3094501&pl=1

 

We have one and it's worth learning how to do yourself!  The previous owners had a dog and left the screens in bad condition.  For about $15 we repaired 4 of the screens in the house.

 

ETA: hanging our laundry 9-10 months out of the year has lowered our electric bill considerably!  We run the dryer for half an hour at night after I've done 2-3 loads.  The only things that go in it are the 'fluffs' (jeans, towels) and unmentionables. ;)  It keeps the house considerably cooler in the summer, too.

Edited April 22, 2016 by HomeAgain

[Carol in Cal.]

My first house.

Everyone said that the neighborhood I was buying in was topped out and that my new to me cute old home would not appreciate in value.  I bought it anyway because I wanted a place with some old fashioned charm that I would want to spend time in, since I was totally trashing my cash flow to get it.  

 

It did go up in value, a lot, and that enabled us to get the house we live in now.

[Sun]

I agree with many of the things said here. College education, hair clipper, dehydrator, laser printer. 

 

But, I'm not going to agree with the sewing machine. Yes, it could save you money. But, material is quite expensive anymore. $10-$12/yard. So, 2 or 3 yards to make a dress = $20-$36 + thread and zipper. You can go to the thrift or consignment store and get one for $8-$16.

 

And, unfortunately, I have this tendency to purchase material to make something... and forget it. So a closet stash of material isn't saving any money.

 

But, yes, we still sew some. It's fun and a useful skill. My oldest can easily alter clothes that she purchases used to make them fit better. 

 

I think my sewing machine has been worth it for alterations, and I got it as a hand me down. I've easily saved $100 in the last year by hemming DS's and my jeans rather than sending them out (jeans are something I don't have the hand strength to hem by hand). It's also a lifesaver for taking in clothing, and I can make many thrift store finds work for us precisely because I can take them in on the sewing machine!

[cottonmama]

Someone's mention of warranties reminded me...

 

Eyeglasses warranty.  I've gotten three new pairs of glasses, and two times were purely results of toddlers mishandling my glasses.

 

Renter's insurance.  There was an apartment fire next door during our third year renting.  I actually wish we had spent more for an insurance company with better customer satisfaction, but we would have been so much worse off without it. (Our company insisted on smoke damage removal even though we didn't get access to the building for over a week. The smoke smell had set in so badly that it wasn't adequately removed.)

[zoobie]

Cloth diapers (if you don't count the really pretty ones, ha) and about 100 IKEA 79c towels to replace paper towels and napkins

[HomeAgain]

Oh, that's another one!  Cloth napkins!  I keep a small stack of paper ones for company, but we use cloth every day.  The kiddos love them because it's laundry they can hang (we have a small drying rack) and fold, I love not having to add one more thing to my shopping list each month.  I don't even remember the last time we bought paper towels.  We used to use them for fried foods, but now I take the free newspaper we get weekly, put it under a cooling rack, and place the bacon or whatever on the rack.  Win-win.

[MyLittleBears]

Japanese cars. We just never have problems with them. Very mechanically sound. Totally worth the extra $$.  We have friends that keep buying chevys and have to replace them every couple of years. The last few, it was yearly. 

[Farrar]

The one thing I don't see mentioned a lot is better shoes and clothes. When I spend more and get something good, they last so much longer, I find it's usually well worth it.

[clementine]

My crock-pot and subscriptions to 2 healthy cooking magazines.  

 

 

[shawthorne44]

The one thing I don't see mentioned a lot is better shoes and clothes. When I spend more and get something good, they last so much longer, I find it's usually well worth it.

 

The trouble with that is then many people think, "If I spend more for shoes, they will last longer"   When in reality most of the time the extra money goes toward the name, not much better materials or construction.  So, any shoe better than Payless will last as long as the more expensive ones.  

 

There are exceptions out there though.  I swear by Sebago flats.   I've had boat shoes and penny loafers from them that I've worn probably 340 days in a year, and after a year they still look almost new.  I have more than one Sebago, but I stick with one for long stretches because I leave them in the car. 

 

Same with clothes.  It is possible to buy better construction.  Particularly in the very expensive.  But, expensive does not equal long lasting. 

[HS Mom in NC]

Sewing machine-Quilting is cheap hobby if you use coupons to purchase supplies, actually use all the material you buy and consider the amount of hours of enjoyment/entertainment you get for the cost of a project. If you enjoy that project and give it as a gift, even better.  If you use up all or most of your scraps in another project that pays too.  I'm short so being able to hem and alter things myself rather than paying someone to alter them or having to go to a higher end petite store saves money. I've made curtains and seat cushions very inexpensively.

Meal planning stuff, food storage and freezer-  I have a big folder with all my recipes printed on colored paper and in plastic sheet covers. Eating at home adn shopping for strategically planned meals for week can save a lot of money. As long as you're saving at least $50 a month with what you're freezing you're at least breaking even on a freezer here where it takes more energy to keep a freezer cool in your garage.  (My brother works for the power company.) If you shop carefully and use what you buy you can save more than that. We eat leftovers from dinner for lunch most of the time.

 

Used cars-we have 2 Toyota Corollas with great gas mileage and great repaid records. At 10 years we're still only paying for oil changes and brakes now and then.

 

Cloth diapers, breastfeeding and babywearing- Before we adopted #3 we never bought formula, bottles, or pacifiers.   We used cloth diapers and wipes for the older two except for that one trip we took.  We only had an umbrella stroller which was inexpensive. A visit from an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant is $50. If someone is having any trouble at all breastfeeding, it's well worth the $50.

 

Capsule Wardrobe- Learning to shop strategically for essential pieces and maximizing their use.  You can always add to it as budget allows or you can save more money by sticking to it long term. Learning how to dress the body you have to maximum effect helps too.

Outdoor Equipment-my hiking shoes and running shoes were not cheap but they've held up for years to hikes as long as 36 miles in 4 days plus all the preceding hikes to prepare for it. Wipe the dust off of them and they're still like new. My tent and backpack were well worth the investment.  I'm considering adding a kayak to that list.

[HS Mom in NC]

The trouble with that is then many people think, "If I spend more for shoes, they will last longer"  

 

She said better, not more expensive.  Better means better construction and/or better materials. People sometimes think the wrong thing because they don't listen or read carefully.  That's on them, not the speaker/reader.

 

[myfunnybunch]

I'm going with good shoes also. My shoes last forever. My closet looks like I am a shoe-holic, but I've had some of those shoes for ten years or more. I've got a pair that dh bought me when I was giantly pregnant with ds13 and needed slip-on shoes. I'm about to take them to be re-soled, because I like them so much and they still look great.

 

And with three boys, buying one good-quality pair (usually buying a size or two ahead at an outlet or on sale) that would make it through my three boys and still be wearable enough to pass on to the younger cousin was waaay cheaper than three pairs of cheap shoes.

Edited April 22, 2016 by myfunnybunch

[3 ladybugs]

Sew your own swimsuit and that will save you money. The most I have seen swim suit material for was $18 a yard. My last woman's swim suit called for 1.5 yards. Construction wise it was constructed like a $60 suit but I paid maybe $35 for everything including the pattern. So that has definitely saved me money. It has also saved me money when I can get nice denim on sale at Joanns and make my son's pants that don't fall apart after 1 month (holes in knees). 

 

Cloth diapers

Our house (no rental income or anything, just rents are high here and our mortgage, even with taxes and escrow, is cheaper then rent),

Getting a Toyota and a Honda and keeping them forever (16 years and 9 years respectively),

Camping,

Having family that lives in vacation destinations ;).

If you think time is money then getting premium gas in the 16 year old car is saving us money (DH has tested this theory out).

DH's education.

Skype! Oh my this has saved us THOUSANDS over the years! No family close by and we use this weekly at least!

Emeals. 

Big green egg. Sounds odd but when you can eat better at home then you can out, you don't eat out as much. 

The printer, it has a fax that was included with it. I didn't think much about it when I got it, but with taxes this year it has easily paid for half of the cost of the thing in faxing alone!

Donating to church - know it sounds strange (if your not devout) but when have not had much money and we donated, we saw it back with interest!

Sleep number bed - my in-laws got a bed about the same time we got ours and had to purchase another one (this time a sleep number for themselves) since then. Our bed is 11 years old and still like brand new!

 

Edited April 22, 2016 by 3 ladybugs

[Wheres Toto]

I spent a lot of money on shoes that are good for plantar fasciitis and a sleeping boot.  I'm sure that saved me money on visits to the doctor because the one time I saw him and mentioned it he was suggesting all kinds of other stuff - therapy, medications, possible surgery. 

[bethben]

I forgot one.  Ooma-- It's a voice over internet thing where I can get a home phone with call waiting, caller id, and unlimited long distance for under $5 a month.  If I wanted all these features with the local phone company and didn't want to "bundle", I would be paying over $50 a month.    Sometimes it's futzy which I think is more of an internet issue at times, but I'm willing to deal with some issues to save this much money.

[Junie]

The one thing I don't see mentioned a lot is better shoes and clothes. When I spend more and get something good, they last so much longer, I find it's usually well worth it.

 

This is also true for toys.  We have a lot of name-brand toys -- Fisher-Price, for example -- that have lasted through all of my dc.

 

And Legos.  The Legos that I had as a child went through my siblings, and then through a set of cousins, and then another cousin's child, and then back to my dc.

[TeenagerMom]

My sewing machine definitely saves me money!  Heck, just what we save in sanity products has made it worth it!  I made all of our Mama cloth for less than $50.  X2 females in the house with severe allergies to most commercial pads= a savings of $20 a month.  I just made drapes & throw pillows for my living room. Cost $3 for fabric from an estate sale and $7 in stuffing!  So $10 total for a savings of $50 for what it would have cost to buy those items (the cheapest) at our local Walmart.  I also use family cloth for myself since my bladder is shot after birthing 2 kids and I pee at least 1X every hour. 

 

My laundry line! We spent about $40 on it and it dropped my electric bill by a 1/3 each month! We've had it going on 3 years now for a savings of about $300!