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Sometimes the cheapest things end up being the best investments. Seriously, the dollar store has pretty much everything you could ever need, and there are bargains everywhere from Ebay to thrift shops. It all just depends on where you look.
Reddit user MrAnimeFanime asked:
What was a sketchy cheap buy, that ended up being one of your best purchases?
A solid investment.
"Seed packets from the dollar store."
"While in college my boyfriend and I were broke.'
"Really broke.'
"But I still wanted to do something to celebrate spring."
"We were getting a few cheap things at the dollar store when I noticed they were selling these seeds packets from a big old bin that you had to dig thru. 4 for $1."
"No tax."
"I immediately begged to buy one despite our strict budget."
'Boyfriend was incredulous I'd want to buy sketchy seeds but dutifully handed me a quarter."
"I ended up picking out tomatoes."
"Well we got home and I carefully placed about 3 seeds in washed out cans."
"I watered them and watched them sprout."
"I loved tending to my little garden."
"I ended up with 3 beautiful HUGE tomato plants."
"It was a bumper crop."
"More than we could eat."
"I sold the extra produce to my classmates."
"Made like $25."
"Good seeds!"- viceroywaffles
Thanks, Sanrio!
"I was traveling in Japan and needed nail clippers."
"All I could find is this cheap pink Hello Kitty grooming kit."
"These clippers are the best I ever owned."
"They have stayed sharp and functional for 20 years."
"I'm very protective of them."
"Everyone in the house knows, you don't touch Dad's pink Hello Kitty nail clippers."-miraculous_spackle
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We love a good flannel.
"Dad bought me a flannel jacket for $2, from the equivalent of a dollar store, in 1994."
"Wore it for everything you can think of."
"Wore it yesterday."
"Still going strong after 25 years."- Essembie
Nice of them to give him advice.
"Guy said there were a bunch of bricks in his back yard he wanted to get rid of."
"$5 for all of them if you'd come pick them up because they were 'larger than regular bricks and were very heavy'."
"I grabbed a friend and headed out because I needed some cheap brick for the edging of my garden."
"Guys house was across the river and in some really run down looking neighborhood, really glad I grabbed my friend at this point."
"We pull up and the guy is waiting outside, and he looks like he's 80 but I know he must have been a 35 year old guy who just smoked 10 packs a day."
"So the guy takes us to his back yard and shows up the pile of bricks, which turn out to be 50+ antique Louisville Fire Bricks."
"So I look at the guy and tell him, 'I'll take half of them...and as payment I'll give you $20 and some advice'."
"And of course the guy is looking at me like I'm an idiot, but he accepts my money and helps me and my friend load up about 30 bricks."
"After I close my truck and get in the car to drive off I tell him to google the antique fire bricks and adjust his craigslist listing."
"I went back to look at the listing a few days later, and he had changed the price from $5 for the whole pile, to $5 PER BRICK, which was the going rate at the time."
"Nowadays they go for $20/brick."
BEST BUY EVER!- Whylizlovesyou
Meow Factory!
"Bought my kitty for 20 bucks on Craigslist from a druggie."
"I had never had a cat before and this little meow factory has been my best friend ever since.-Rubixcube3034
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$5 bras are the best bras.
"I was traveling from a different city straight into work, where my uniform was a white shirt, with a conspicuously black bra."
"Wasn't stopping home, so I did stop on the first corner store I found and bought a five-dollar white bra that looked roughly my size as they had nowhere to try them on."
"Just to wear one night."
"10/10, comfiest bra I ever owned, wore it every day of my life for about a year."
"It gave in at some point - it was still a 5 dollar bra."
"But damn, I dream of the day when all my bras fit that well."- NewVerses
That's a super lucky Lyft ride.
"I was giving these college aged young women a Lyft ride."
"One asks how 'that Craigslist thing went' so my ears perked up."
"The other says something like 'he complained it went back too far, just don't put it back so far, duh'."
"Eventually, I deduce they are talking about a recliner - which I've been looking for one for some time now."
"I interject and ask about it."
"Lady has a Laz-E-Boy electric recliner she just wants 20 bucks for."
"I'm like, 'listen I know it's sketchy but if you've got Craigslist rando's in your house Lyft at least gave me a background check."-
"We pull up, I end the ride, and follow these ladies into their house."
"I knew I wanted it as soon as I laid eyes on it."
"So, this college chick is helping me stuff a recliner into my back seat and all I can think is this is how Buffalo Bill kidnapped that girl in Silence of the Lambs."
"Twenty dollars for a recliner so lazy it reclines for me."- OctoberThirteenth
RIP sunglasses.
"At the end of a long road trip with some mates, I bought a $20 pair of sunglasses in a gas station just outside Chicago."
"They fit me better than any pair of sunglasses ever did, or ever will, and they made me look awesome."
"For years I constantly received compliments about them and was asked where I got them."
"I lost them after 5 long years and have hated myself for it every since."
"They were so no-name they didn't even have a brand name on them at all, so I have no idea who made them."
"I have no way of finding that gas station, either."
"I've literally spent hundreds of dollars trying to find sunglasses that come close to that same perfect fit/style, but I can't."- visijared
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Definitely cursed.
"The Bra of Mystery."
"First strike: I bought it from a grocery store."
"Second strike: It was marked down to $2, and plastered with stickers reading, 'Final sale!', 'No returns!', 'We're not liable if this kills you!', 'I'm sure there are people who love you!' and the like."
"Third strike: Upon ringing it through, the cashier did a double-take at the screen, looked at me with great concern, and asked if I was sure I wanted to buy it."
"After failing to self-combust and send me straight to hell, it wound up being one of the nicest bras I ever had."
"Wore it for two years before the inevitable underwire tit-shanking."
"I still wonder what they thought was wrong with it."- mus_maximus
A nice surprise.
"I randomly found a wedding videographer online and booked him for a very affordable rate for my wedding assuming it wouldn't be very good quality."
"Two weeks after the wedding, he emails me a high quality, well-edited video."
"He had a drone I hadn't noticed because he was outside of the venue getting b-roll with it before I even started getting ready for the big day."
"I was floored and now I recommend him to everyone who ever plans to get married ever."
"He has definitely upped his prices since then, he did the videography for my wedding last summer, and rightfully so, because he does great work."- Ticonderoga10-11
What a steal.
"Traded a kid in middle school a sandwich size ziploc bag of lego pieces for a ps1 and thought I got best deal ever."
"But when I got home it didn't work at all."
"My dad opened it and found a couple broken pieces stuck inside and fixed it up and it worked perfectly after that."
"Made me learn how easily a deal could be too good, but at least that kid felt stupid after I told him how easy it got fixed."-malificide15
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Wish
"I buy things off Wish that are a serious gamble."
"For those who are unfamiliar, wish is an app where you can buy things for seriously cheap, and sometimes they're just that — cheap."
"I once bought a long line trench coat for $4."
"Either it was going to be sh*tty, or it was going to be a great $4 well spent."
"2 years later I still wear it during the fall and I still get compliments on it! "
"I love Wish sometimes!"- nasty-otter
Matchbox car
"I bought a 1970s matchbox car for my father's birthday from ebay."
"It was a very old car and description said it was used."
"The pictures of car were quite blurry."
"It was 15 dollars and 4.33 for shipping."
"I bought it."
"The box came and I opened it to find the car in mint condition."
"The box it was in hadn't even been opened or scratched even."
"Apparently the guy inherited a complete matchbox car collection with cars in their original boxes and was selling them off for cheap prices like 15 dollars."
"I checked online people were selling this car for $250."
"The lowest I found was $95."- km1180
Good deal.
"I had been searching for a sofa bed for less than $100 for months to put in my music/multi-purpose room when I finally found an old, kind of worn-in looking one for $50."
"I was psyched, it fit the aesthetic of the room perfectly, so I brought my buddy with who offered the kind lady $30 for the thing."
"She said, 'how about you give me $50 and take anything else you want in this garage!'"
"We ended up making out of there with the comfiest rocking-style chair, throw pillows, and a coffee table."
"We only stopped there because the bed of the truck was full."
"She also let us take pictures of the Toyota Camry she is selling, so I've been in contact with her about picking that up on the cheapy cheap, too."
"I've met some awesome people by trying to buy sh*t cheap on Craigslist."- MercilessMiser
Quality blanket.
"When my Dad was stationed in Mexico in 85-86, he bought a Mexican blanket for a couple of bucks."
"To this day we still use it as a beach blanket and the colors haven't faded at all."
"He's had that blanket longer than he's known my Mom."
"Considering the quality of that blanket I'm surprised it wasn't worth more."- KentuckyWallChicken
Friends in high places
"My bf and his roommate knew this guy that would get us a lot of food in exchange for a gift card that wasn’t even a third of the price."
"We would always get pizza, panda express, wings, or whatever we wanted at the time."
"$50+ worth of food for a $15 amazon gift card."
"Son’t know how the dude did it, but we definitely used his services a LOT."
"Good times."- maloraen
hungry spirited away GIF
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Just have a little faith
"I’m a Canadian hockey fan that likes an American team, so both cities in my province only carry the jerseys of primarily their respective home team, and small stock from other Canadian teams."
"I wanted a jersey from the goalie on my team and checked the NHL store and it was $250 for a customizable jersey so I didn’t buy it."
"About 3 months later I see an Instagram ad for a company selling knockoff jerseys, so being the dumba** I am, decided to check it out."
"I made a version of the jersey that I was looking for 3 months prior, and went to checkout."
"I saw they used actual real PayPal so I figured why the hell not, went and made a quick PayPal account, and put some money in and bought the jersey."
"A month goes by and nothing had shown up so I chalked it up as a $50 loss and went about my business."
"The next week, I come home from work to a package from China, I open it up and lo and behold it’s the jersey I bought."
"I think that they must have been jerseys made for professional leagues by adidas and didn’t meet some standard so they were sold for cheap to the company I bought the jersey from, because on the jerseys there are tie downs on it, which aren’t put on jerseys purchased from stores or NHL.com."
"But the jersey is correct on everything, even down to the shoulder logos, and the font for the numbers, and because they’re (pretty sure) jerseys made for actual game use, they don’t have the ugly, not-removable patch on the bottom of the jersey that shows the size on it."
"Only downside was the website did not have goalie size jerseys, and I am a goalie."- therealpylon
Don't always believe the reviews
"I bought an extremely cheap GS7 off Amazon, bad reviews."
"Best phone I ever had, all the reviews were false."- BlueCannonBall
Who needs new technology?
"My phone."
"Only 6.500 rubles (~100 dollars) I bought it about 1.5 year ago."
"But I still use it!"- MrLaviceMan
Add Hasan Minhaj GIF by MOODMAN
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A streaming alternative
"The website FlixTor.com every single movie and tv show for the price of Netflix."
"I thought I lost my money at first but it is really good."- Colin1023
A serendipitous purchase!
"I went to WHSmith this one time to hide/escape from being social, and I bought a whole mini desktop shelf as my excuse as to why I was in there, it’s amazing."
"It goes with my room, it fits perfectly, it’s just the right size and everything."- merrivale-tearooms
Go away, I'm busy!
"LA Noire on the 360."
"Quickly became my favorite game, although sadly I never finished it on the 360 cause disc 3 was busted."
"I did buy it on Switch and finish it on there, though."- Ericbazinga
Video Games Game GIF by For Better or for Worse
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The currency of the future
"$20 bitcoin."- DrNukeDukem
A noble steed
"I got an ex harness horse / pacer for free."
"He’s only seven years old and in full health."
"People gate the breed and say they’re ugly and have bad movement or whatever but I just wanted a companion for my other horse, and if it turned out to be ridable that would be a bonus."
"Eight months later and he is legitimately the best horse I’ve ever owned, he’s so funny and full of personality and is the most reliable and safe boy I could imagine."
"My husband, who can’t ride much, can get on him and fool around and come out with me and my horse and I know Max will always look after my husband."
"He’s a credit to his breed and the loveliest horse I’ve had in 25 years of working and living with horses."- shine-notburn
Man's best friend
"My family got our beautiful, pure bred chocolate lab as a puppy from a random couple they met at Lowes."
"We just bought the house, and we're talking about what kind of dog they wanted to adopt."
"Couple overheard and said 'well our AKC registered labs had a litter a while back, we only have the runt of the litter left' and my parents agreed to buy him."
"Met in a parking lot at like 8 at night during a small snowstorm and paid them cash."
"Our amazing dog is turning 10 in November, and is the greatest pup we could have asked for."
"When my brother was a toddler, the dog was so patient and would let the kid climb on him and pull his ears/face."- elodieme1
Chocolate Lab Puppy GIF
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Sometimes the cheapest items can be the most useful... or at least the most fun.
Do you have similar stories? Share them in the comment section below!
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Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
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"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
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"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
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"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen
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What Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPost
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Who Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIF
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Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official
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Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...