Your biggest money saver?

[pegkerr]

What one-time purchase has saved you the most money over the years? For me, it's my Krups El Primo espresso maker. Instead of wasting $3.50 for a cafe Mocha at a coffee shop, I can whip one up in the morning for a fraction of the cost. I have saved hundreds of dollars, perhaps thousands, with that one $50 purchase.

And you?

Cross posted to poor_skills.

Comments

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I made two purchases, each of which saved me incredible, staggering, amounts of money, neither of which I use these days.

My bicycle cost $200 in 1990, one of the early hybrids (part mountain bike, part road bike, part clunker.) It let me go anywhere in town. It let me shop anywhere in town, with a backpack and two big wire baskets. I finally sold it for $60 when I realized handlebars were never going to be good for my hand again.

My electric space heater cost $20. When I was renting cheap apartments with inadequate insulation, I could turn the heat down to a level I could afford and wear heavy clothing...but that meant not being able to *sleep*. It meant being too miserable to take my clothes off and relax if I wanted to take a hot bath, or my sweetie came over for the evening. The space heater let me close the bedroom door and be warm enough for a few hours. I don't use it now, because heat is included with my rent. But it's in the closet, just in case I need it later.