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
Giphy
Sometimes the cheapest items can be the most useful... or at least the most fun.
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The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy
"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Giphy
"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
