I often hear, “You should never cheap out on a good office chair, shoes, underpants, backpack etc…” but what are some items that you would feel OK to cheap out on?
This can by anything from items such as: expensive clothing brands to general groceries.
Smartphones. Most people don’t need to buy the latest and greatest iPhone every year.
I second this, especially with Android you can breath new life into a phone by installing a custom ROM
What if my phone isn’t supported by any ROMs? Is there an easier alternative to building it for your device on your own, following the given instructions, for example?
What phones would you consider worthwhile in terms of price, i.e. those you can cheap out on, but not suffer the consequences of it being slow even in the simplest tasks?
One Android phone I had, Nokia 5.1, had to be replaced in less than 5 years because it often froze and lagged when I had to make or receive a phone call, open a single tab in some light-weight browser, etc.
I’m not a big fan of the smartphone industry and especially the reviewers because they seem to have a very twisted idea of a budget device. Or maybe I’m a cheapskate.
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.
The “generic” name is melamine sponge. These work exactly the same and cost a fraction of the brand name.
There is something similar in germany for removing oil and stuff. Its basically just gasoline in a bottle. Lol.
I’m not sure I’d call this “cheaping out” but unless you can’t even afford that or you have a specific reason you need a more expensive one, you should buy mid-range ($200 - $400) phones. The early '10s are over and mid-range is more than adequate for the average phone user. Plus quite a few mid-ranges still have expandable storage and/or headphone jacks.
Poorly Google Pixels arent very cheap. You can soon get a Pixel 8 used for like 500€ but yeah that is not cheap at all.
All the other devices you should NOT cheap out on. They have no security updates, and you are the product.
Buying expensive Samsung stuff on the other hand makes no sense, because you are simply premium spied on.
GrapheneOS is really the only Android one should use. Everything else is a tracking platform or insecure, often both.
Alcohol that you are supplying at an event. You should always have a good case of beer or wine, or spirits, or the appropriate refreshment for your honored guests, but anything beyond 1st/2nd round should be the cheapest hooch on the planet and it should run out fast. Every social gathering seems to attract booze hounds that will suck you dry, no need to pay premium dollar for their habit.
Yay, toxic alcohol culture!
Try growing up in the late '70s early '80s, when adult behavior at social gatherings was almost a contest to see who could get the most obliterated-drunk, both men and women, and “one for the road” wasn’t just an expression.
I’m of the children of that generation, and when we were young we modeled our socializing after that, going out for the night involved getting hammered, didn’t matter who you were.
I’ve become quite relieved to see that in a last decade or so, the drinking culture of social gatherings is largely gone Even in people of my age range.
Of course, there’s always one or two out of 20 people that are 9 drinks deep within a couple hours and not realizing that nobody else is consuming.
The plan is in place not for toxic drinking culture, but to deal with those people. Once the precise amount budgeted for the first few quality drinks is gone, that’s when you bring out the low-bottom budget cans of expired beer, still on the plastic ring but with 2 missing and they are only basement cold.
Its sad that we invite people that we seemingly dont know that well, which is nice, but behind the excuse of drinking. Like, inviting people and planning with them unconsciously abusing what you offer, or themselves, or whatever, is strange
computer keyboards i will never understand paying more than 20 bucks for one
I agree in principle, but knowing what people pay for a kb that doesn’t even have a numpad I would raise the usefulness cutoff to around 100.
Buying previous generation products. I got something like a Braun series 5 instead of the newest series 9, as there isn’t that much difference.
Cell phone. A $200 android is extremely fast these days
Have any recommendations for cheap foldables?
You can either have cheap or foldable. Both won’t work.
Medicine: the branded stuff is normally exactly the same but many times the price.
When I go to the pharmacy I always ask for the cheapest generic drug product of Ibuprofen or whatever I need, it’s a couple of euroes cheaper.
-Any clothing/toys for children can be bought second hand, we have a very good site for that in Norway. For example, we bought 8kg of Legos, very reasonable price. Re-use is very popular in Norway.
-If you change food you eat often, it’s very important to do some reaserch on the nutrition and sugar.
-Any locally grown food should be supported by bying, if possible.
-Much electronics can also be bought second hand in Norway, since we have strong consumer protection laws. Breakdown on electronic can be repaired within 5 years, usually. But, only if the seller has the receipt.
-Jewelry and stuff isn’t nessesary, but buying cheap can be a nagging feeling and perhaps just buy something else for the person you love. Like an experience, trip to the massage/restaurant/etc. Spending time together is much more romantic anyways.
-Don’t cheap out on the bed/mattress, you spend about 1/3 of you life there.
I had to sleep on the floor on a shitty mattress this week and it was hell. The only thing making sleeping somewhat comfortable were 2 additional yoga mats stacked on top of it.
Not sure if this applies to the US but for most things you buy from a supermarket the generic supermarket brand is usually just as good or even better than the big brands. And it’s usually much cheaper.
Often it’s literally the same thing. In Europe there is a code in every product that’ll show you where it’s produced. You’ll often find that the cheap brand comes from the same factory as the expensive brand. They just get different packaging.
