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What is the BEST "value" you ever paid for?

ZF Lee

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For my allergic skin that is prone to breaking out in hives and drying out, this works very well:
IMG_2350.JPG
Works well also for recovering wounds, especially when an itch begins.

Had I used this when my allergies first broke out ten years ago, I would have avoided nights devoid of sleep, tears and anger from weeping allergic sores, further worsened by scratching provoked by that irritable itching....and saved my poor parents from a lot of grief as well...

And although MLMs are generally hated around here, I use Mary Kay facial products. Some acne-specialised face washes and masks and recommended washing styles helped clear off lots of pimples without much of the pains of poking the zits out.

I should have gone through that route of proper washing with the right face treatment products long before in my puberty.

Instead, I went through the conventional route of expensive 'spa' sessions that had people skewering your face and raining agony upon them. And the pimple places just got re-infected or worse, left craters.

Shit could be worse, but I don't want my girl to kiss a war-zone on my cheeks lol :rofl::kiss::rofl:
 

Paul Schuyler

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Interesting thread. I'd probably say this stuff.

2.jpg
Not the brand per se, but the product category. If you're not familiar its a (rigid) natural form of salt that eliminates the need for body deodorant. Regular deodorants (old spice, etc.) try to stop the skin from actually sweating via aluminum. This stuff, when its rubbed on wet skin, it creates a film that prevents bacteria on the skin from forming for most of the day. Bacteria is the source of the body odor. I've used these things for years and the big rocks last about 6 months to a year for around $6-8. Makes obsolete the entire category of body deodorants sold at every supermarket or pharmacy. They don't contain any perfume like deodorants. That opens you up to use more subdued, subtle and suave colones, if that's your thing (it's not mine). My only adjustment? I carve 'grips' into mine or occasionally you drop the things and they shatter.
 
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JWelch

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Great thread. My ears perked up constantly whilst reading this now all of the sudden I have a big a$$ shopping list.

A few months ago I purchased an annual National Park pass for $80.
Before we started traveling I promised my boy I would take him to Mt. Rushmore. The hug and “thank you, Daddy” I got from him was rewarding beyond words.
Since then we visited the Badlands, Big Bend NP, White Sands National Monument, Grand Canyon and have countless more planned over the next six months. Tremendous value when you consider each NP is $25-$35 just for a one time visit.
 

MJ DeMarco

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whilst reading this now all of the sudden I have a big a$$ shopping list.

Ha Ha, yea, I've been taking notes, the salt deodorant, the good razors, ya'll are making me go buy stuff!
 

ruzara5

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best "value" you ever paid for?
Automotive parts. Door handle broke. Dealership wants $60.00 went to ebay. Got it for $4.50 cannot wait for third party vendors and 3-d printing to get bigger and better.
 
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inputchip

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Going to have to say my Kindle. I can haul 100's of books around with my everywhere I go without wrecking my back! Not to mention the enormous value I have gotten from all the books I have read!

db0e71a6-0ea2-4818-9b01-9b3ae2d35a8b_1.d85625037c4e3ddf67a80492e950a919.jpeg
 

inputchip

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This is a great thread.

As producers, we should be keeping our eye out for how to improve on products in this thread. Think of how easy it is to sell something with immense value --> a true productocracy.
 
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JAJT

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Going to have to say my Kindle. I can haul 100's of books around with my everywhere I go without wrecking my back! Not to mention the enormous value I have gotten from all the books I have read!

I keep going back and forth on this.

I really think I should pull the trigger. Part of me LOVES physical books. The look, the feel, the act of reading them, etc... but the other part of me knows I should just worry about the knowledge, not the format. And e-books are cheaper, and searchable.

I think I know what's going on my Christmas list.
 

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1. Kindle-especially great if you spend a lot of time in doctor's appts. and end up waiting, you can still be learning or be entertained. I'm currently reading "Tribe of Mentors" by Tim Ferriss, which I highly recommend.
2. New Balance tennis shoes--mine were more than I've spent on any pair of shoes in my life, but so worth it.
3. Dental floss--a few dollars, a lifetime of good teeth.

I'm loving this thread, I definitely need a foam roller!
 

rollerskates

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Part of me LOVES physical books

I'm a hoarder. But for reading, I get them on Kindle -the free library app alone is worth the price. For visual books, like art technique books, music books, etc, I get in physical form.
 
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scott.legendre

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When i think best value, i think of every day things.

paying for water, i only turn a knob and have access to something that is critical to survival and is so important to so many functions. I don't know what I paid for my plumbing system, but it is absolutely worth it.
garbage. 17 a month for someone to haul my stinky sh*t away every week is extremely valuable.
 

racyred09

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I was thinking of a couple other things today...

41XS7QPWCGL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg

My knockoff-Roomba...with two small mess-makers and a fluffy cat, waking up to swept floors that I didn't have to do is a huge relief!

d7a59abc-0229-41d8-8ec9-f07a8d65e0c9_1.24ed068c7db7264311a37a822fa98f06.jpeg

(That's huge, I know)
If you look on any fan page you will see that this thing has practically a cult-following. Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker. Sometimes it cooks things faster (tender roasts in minutes!) and sometimes it takes about the same amount of time to pressure up as it would to cook on the stove (legumes) but the value is that you don't have to watch over it. You can set it and do whatever else you need to do without checking on it plus it doesn't heat your house up. It's taking over the slow cooker market, because people would rather start dinner at 5 pm than 6 am (and look at all those functions!).

And lastly, museum passes! Pay once, and have fun, educational days out with the kids all year!
 

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What is the best "value" you ever paid for?

Just curious to hear people's experiences.

For me, my foam roller was a great value. It cost around $20 bucks but helps relieve my back and neck of stress and pain. On bad days, rolling on this thing becomes the best $20 bucks I ever spent!

717E9lDfEaL._AC_SR201,266_.jpg


What is the best $X you ever spent?

There is no limit ... if you spent $80K on a Corvette and felt is was the best value ever, then that's OK!

Let's hear it!
Trojan Condoms | $3.99 from your local covenicne store.

"Because they feel better afterwards."

Catching something wouldn't be fun and from what I hear, kids are expensive and time consuming.

Best ROI ever.
 
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mrarcher

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The best thing I ever bought was when I was a teenager. I saved up £50 which isn't a lot I know but at the time I earned £90 a week and spend £50 getting the bus to work. I bought myself an age old PC second hand from the newspaper classifieds. This thing was mega slow, stained yellow from the previous owners nicotine and sounded like it wanted to fly out the window when you switched it on.
But man it was great. It took me to a whole new world and sparked my interest more than any book or movie ever had. I learned how to make it faster, how to build websites and began learning from people all over the world FOR FREE! It amazed me how when I was stuck on something and needed to make the computer do something all I had to to was ask and someone would tell me.
The only thing I would change is that I wish I realised it was something I could make money with back then, I thought it was more like a hobby and that nobody would be interested in it but even so with that £50 I bought my very own door to the labyrinth and I've never looked back.
 

mrarcher

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What is the best "value" you ever paid for?

Just curious to hear people's experiences.

For me, my foam roller was a great value. It cost around $20 bucks but helps relieve my back and neck of stress and pain. On bad days, rolling on this thing becomes the best $20 bucks I ever spent!

717E9lDfEaL._AC_SR201,266_.jpg


What is the best $X you ever spent?

There is no limit ... if you spent $80K on a Corvette and felt is was the best value ever, then that's OK!

Let's hear it!

I go to a private gym, technically a guys shed and we have a solid steel tube that weighs about 70kg, after yoke or heavy squats it feels magic getting someone to roll it across your back.
 

PureA

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Ooooooh nice topic MJ.

I can't wait to get my teeth into this.

Okay besides 99% of books, things I have purchased that have given way more back than the £$ amount are as follows:

- Kindle
- Peanut (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JAF8H1O/?tag=tff07-21)
- Foam roller
- Theracane (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000PRMCJU/?tag=tff07-21)
- Laptop stand (so monitor height is eye level which ensures I look straight when working and don't hunch over.
- Used Herman Miller Aeron chair (new about £1k, I hustled one for £180) - What a difference having a comfy chair makes!! I actually want to stay seated and put in the hours, at least that is how I justified the expense, lol.
- Macbook Pro (uh, oh - please don't hurt me)
- Second monitor (Dell U2515h - for those that care. Purchased after I saw Biophase mention its usefulness.)
- White noise machine (for sleeping at night - drowns out sudden noise so your brain thinks it's silent all night)
- Lumie alarm clock (wakes you up with an imitation sunrise with no noise, instead of being woken by *BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP*)
- Tony Robbins UPW event (I know opinions vary, but it was life changing for me, no doubt, thank you so much @Kung Fu Steve - my man!).
- Nutribullet (get a days worth of veggies down your neck in under 10 seconds! - will invest in a vitamix when this packs in)
- Spotify
- Gym membership w/ sauna
- Dymo 4XL printer (How could I forget - would marry this machine if I could !!)
- Vitamins (multi, omega 3, magnesium, d3, methylated b complex)
- 23andme DNA analysis (Let's you check about the raw data of your genes and thus optimise diet, lifestyle, supplements etc around your genes!!)

Obviously I have no affiliation with any of the links, just used an example on more obscure items.

I'm sure I'm forgetting loads but I will update when they come to me!
 
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JAJT

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If you look on any fan page you will see that this thing has practically a cult-following.

I see this all the time and I STILL don't get it.

Maybe because I'm so comfortable cooking traditionally and that's what's "comfortable" for me but I just don't get it.

I can rinse and cook perfect rice of any kind on the stovetop in about 20-25 minutes.
I grill most meats on the grill in minutes.
Speeding up roast times would be pretty nice but if I'm honest I never cook roasts outside of large family gatherings and in those instances I like spending the time to get the house smelling awesome in the oven.

I own a few slow cookers as well and they literally only get brought out for large family gatherings as devices to keep food warm in.

I just don't get any of these time savers. I like the idea of them but when I consider how I do things normally I just don't see the improvement.

I'm totally glad people love them though. I just feel out of the loop, haha.
 

PureA

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I keep going back and forth on this.

I really think I should pull the trigger. Part of me LOVES physical books. The look, the feel, the act of reading them, etc... but the other part of me knows I should just worry about the knowledge, not the format. And e-books are cheaper, and searchable.

I think I know what's going on my Christmas list.

Pull that trigger bro!! I was in the exact same state of mind before I did, it's just so simple, so easy, so incredible to be able to take thousands of books anywhere and everywhere with you.

Features that got me were the fact i can touch a word for an instant definition. Beyond that, you can highlight a passage with ease that you can export to a notes document. Gold stuff, it just works.
 

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BrooklynHustle

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I keep going back and forth on this.

I really think I should pull the trigger. Part of me LOVES physical books. The look, the feel, the act of reading them, etc... but the other part of me knows I should just worry about the knowledge, not the format. And e-books are cheaper, and searchable.

I think I know what's going on my Christmas list.
No harm in doing both... Sometimes I own all 3 copies of a book I love - physical, digital, and audiobook, each serves a diferent purpose, and it's still a bargain!
 

mrarcher

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I see this all the time and I STILL don't get it.

Maybe because I'm so comfortable cooking traditionally and that's what's "comfortable" for me but I just don't get it.

I can rinse and cook perfect rice of any kind on the stovetop in about 20-25 minutes.
I grill most meats on the grill in minutes.
Speeding up roast times would be pretty nice but if I'm honest I never cook roasts outside of large family gatherings and in those instances I like spending the time to get the house smelling awesome in the oven.

I own a few slow cookers as well and they literally only get brought out for large family gatherings as devices to keep food warm in.

I just don't get any of these time savers. I like the idea of them but when I consider how I do things normally I just don't see the improvement.

I'm totally glad people love them though. I just feel out of the loop, haha.
There's two types of people when it comes to kitchen appliances in my opinion. Those like me who love the old school way of cooking, and those who love the new.
For me you can't beat the feel of hand grinding your own mince. Chopping your own garlic. The feel of mixing with your hands and preparing the food "with love" excuse the cheesy expression. And of course the smell of the house when something has been cooking all day. I like all this more than eating the food itself.

I understand the other perspective though as I'm sure people get the same kick and feel as I get when they use the latest gadget to do the thing they are doing.
It's like people who like muscle cars and people who like supercars, They both share the love of the cars.
 

racyred09

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I see this all the time and I STILL don't get it.

Maybe because I'm so comfortable cooking traditionally and that's what's "comfortable" for me but I just don't get it.

I can rinse and cook perfect rice of any kind on the stovetop in about 20-25 minutes.
I grill most meats on the grill in minutes.
Speeding up roast times would be pretty nice but if I'm honest I never cook roasts outside of large family gatherings and in those instances I like spending the time to get the house smelling awesome in the oven.

I own a few slow cookers as well and they literally only get brought out for large family gatherings as devices to keep food warm in.

I just don't get any of these time savers. I like the idea of them but when I consider how I do things normally I just don't see the improvement.

I'm totally glad people love them though. I just feel out of the loop, haha.

I didn't get it at first, either. But think about what you're doing when you cook those other things- would you light the stove up for your rice, then go take a shower and forget about it? Would you turn on the grill and then go run some errands? And that's the beauty of it- once it's turned on, it's completely passive. That's why I say the value is not having to watch over it; you don't save time on the cooking process necessarily, but you DO save time with the things you are able to do while you're cooking and not having to remember that something is cooking.

There's two types of people when it comes to kitchen appliances in my opinion. Those like me who love the old school way of cooking, and those who love the new.
For me you can't beat the feel of hand grinding your own mince. Chopping your own garlic. The feel of mixing with your hands and preparing the food "with love" excuse the cheesy expression. And of course the smell of the house when something has been cooking all day. I like all this more than eating the food itself.

I understand the other perspective though as I'm sure people get the same kick and feel as I get when they use the latest gadget to do the thing they are doing.
It's like people who like muscle cars and people who like supercars, They both share the love of the cars.

I'm the type of person who bakes her own sourdough breads, makes sauerkraut, and so on, but this is just a reinvention of the classic stovetop pressure cooker. The intent isn't to replace the food prep process- I've made beef bourguignon in mine!- but to allow you to do other things than wait for a timer to beep once it's cooking.
 
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Longinus

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Probably this little - not so spectacular - box:

USB3_Firmware.jpg


It's an interface (USB and Android Car Kits | iPod, iPhone, AUX Adapters | Bluetooth and HD Radio for Car) which makes your phone connect with your audio system of your car (in case your car was made before the bluetooth-age).

Costed about €120, super easy to install and used daily for listening to podcasts and Spotify. No more CD changing while driving (just playlists). And I can still use the controls on my steer!
 

becks22

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Not so much a product as a service but in December 2014, I got a turbinate reduction on both sides of my nose. I couldn't smell or breath well or spend any amount of time outside, had a permanently stuffy nose, and got winded very easily since the whole 20% air flow through my nose didn't work that great. Took 9 months to heal fully because of the cartilage but it's been 3 years this month and I feel better than ever. Combining the surgery with weekly allergy shots, I can now go hiking in the Adirondacks or spend all day outside without wheezing. Only cost me my co-pay since I was under my mom's health insurance at the time but I would pay any price for the benefits the surgery bought me.
 
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jon.a

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DaveC

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Back in 2009, at the height of the recession, unemployed, and struggling with a business I had tried starting a few months earlier, I paid $210 for a ticket to Ireland for a 6 week trip through Europe. Hard to beat those experiences even though I should have been "getting a job" or working on the business:). I've nearly always found value in travel.
 

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Part of me LOVES physical books. The look, the feel, the act of reading them, etc...

This was me as well. Until I stepped on to an international flight with 15 books in my thin little tablet. I was sold after that, haha.
 

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