Best Purchase You Made (Durable Consumer Goods)

[neatdesign]

A good, durable set of luggage.

~ Jenney

[Ima saver]

I know my luggage was durable. My mother saved us s&h stamps and got me a set of samonite for my 15th birthday. Over 45 years later and I still have them. I did buy some newer luggage about 10 years ago.

[free4pr]

Ok. I admit it. I can't live without my 300-thread count sheets. They cost twice as much as the cheap sheets, but last for years and years and its like sleeping on a cloud!

[Cassandra]

My new iPod was a great purchase. I love music and I use my iPod alllll the time and it is incredibly durable. I'm really hard on my things (not intentionally) and it has withstood me.

My sewing machine was also a great purchase. I hate sewing by hand and this has saved me tons of money in repairing clothes.

Something that is important to me is a good pair of flower clippers, a watering can, and a nice vase (or two or three). I love having fresh flowers in my room, I think it's a great cheap way to liven up the room and your spirits.

Cassandra

[scfr]

We do need a new mattress cause our backs hurt every morning. What do you all reccommend? We have serta perfect sleeper.

Imasaver - We have a Spring-Air Back Supporter that we love; it's really firm but with a cushy top. Last night I was housesitting for a friend and I slept terribly because the mattress was awful; I felt like I was sleeping on just a box spring - ouch! It reminded me how nice it is to have a great mattress, get a good night's sleep, and wake up ready to take on the world.

[Ima saver]

Thanks scfr. I have never heard of that mattress. Is that a brand name?

[disneysteve]

Thanks scfr. I have never heard of that mattress. Is that a brand name?

Yes, Ima, Spring Air is a brand name. We also have a Spring Air mattress. I think we bought it because at the time Vanna White was their spokesperson and there was a lifesize cutout of her next to the bed when I tested it. LOL!

[scfr]

I think we bought it because at the time Vanna White was their spokesperson and there was a lifesize cutout of her next to the bed when I tested it. LOL!

Yes, it's a brand. We got ours because it was the best deal we could find on a good-quality mattress at the Meier & Frank annual warehouse mattress sale ... M&F is a department store in Oregon (they may have changed their name to Macy's, I'm not sure) ... We rented a pickup truck and drove down to Oregon for the sale, both because it's a good sale and Oregon has no sales tax. Back then, gas was MUCH cheaper so making the drive made sense.

[disneysteve]

When mattress shopping, keep one thing in mind, which I didn't realize until last time we did it. Prices are negotiable. It's kind of like buying a car. Don't pay the price on the tag. Not realizing this, we looked at one mattress and told the salesman that we liked it but it was more than we wanted to spend. He asked how much we were looking to spend, then lowered the price to within a small amount of that.

[tabbycat31]

my digital camera and a few memory cards to go with it. I got it in 2005, and I take a LOT of pictures, and I put them all online for anyone wiht the URL to see.

It has more than paid for itself (despite eating batteries like there's no tomorrow) just in the amount I've saved on film, developing, etc, and I love that I don't have to pay to get pics that come out blurry developed. It's much easier with a delete button.

[disneysteve]

my digital camera and a few memory cards

It has more than paid for itself (despite eating batteries like there's no tomorrow).

I agree. We've saved hundreds of dollars in film and processing costs, plus we get to share our photos with friends and family all over the country with a few clicks of the mouse. I post photos online for free and e-mail the link to whoever I want.

As for batteries, I use rechargeables and they're great. Saves a ton of money compared to disposables.

[cschin4]

I personally can't see where a digital camera "saves" money. Ink is very expensive for printers. And, photo printers use alot of ink. I love my film SLR camera and have no desire to go digital. I think people will be sorry years down the road when most of their pics are stored on some outdated disc or the homemade photos fade. Just my 2 cents.

[cschin4]

How many rolls of film do people really go through in a year? And, if I want to share pics, I just scan them and email.

[scfr]

My digital camera is a hand-me-down that I got for free. I may not have gone out and purchased one, but I am glad to have it as it makes Ebay and Craigslist postings easier.

My sis takes photos of her kids with her digital camera and then posts them on-line at Shutterfly. All of us family members can take a look at them and order copies of any that we would like to have. We view them on-line, and then order a couple of professionally printed quality photos. This saves the cost of having to mail the photos around (we are spread geographically all over the country so that is tough) and my sister does not have to guess which ones people would like copies of. I think for people with young kids digital cameras are a great way to save money while sharing photos of the little ones.

[disneysteve]

I personally can't see where a digital camera "saves" money. Ink is very expensive for printers. And, photo printers use alot of ink. I love my film SLR camera and have no desire to go digital. I think people will be sorry years down the road when most of their pics are stored on some outdated disc or the homemade photos fade. Just my 2 cents.

I don't print my photos at home. When I make prints, which I hardly ever do anymore, I go to Wal-Mart or another store where prints are 15 cents or less. So "developing" 24 prints, the equivalent of a roll, costs less than $4.00. Plus, I know that every print is a good one and I've already cropped them, corrected red-eye, adjusted brightness, etc.

With digital, I can check the photo immediately. If it didn't come out right, someone closed their eyes or moved or the lighting wasn't quite right, I can retake it right away.

By the way, your photos will fade too. Just this weekend, I was looking at some old photo albums from the 80's and many were quite faded.