Quite a few years back I spoke with a furniture upholsterer. She worked out of her home and was booked for more than a year. She had to be in her 70s. Anyway, she was pricey and couldn't get to me for a very long time, so I asked her who made the most durable furniture. I figured, who would know better than someone who tears apart used furniture and witnesses the damage? Without hesitation she said Flexsteel. So I bought some Flexsteel furniture and it's still as good as the day I bought it.
Your favorite "low life cycle cost" brands
- Thread starter BilltSuperTester
- Start date
Helios
Recycles dryer sheets
Guest,
first you empty it!!, then a 2wheeler and a pickup make short work of it, just like when you move.
I learned how to move stuff in college, couple of us made extra money moving stuff for cash.
I guess one can do the metalflake with flames if you wanted.
first you empty it!!, then a 2wheeler and a pickup make short work of it, just like when you move.
I learned how to move stuff in college, couple of us made extra money moving stuff for cash.
I guess one can do the metalflake with flames if you wanted.
Although this isn't a brand, I like www.sierratradingpost.com as a source for seriously discounted shoes and a variety of other stuff. I like my shoes to be good quality and they often have great deals. I haven't bought shoes anywhere else in years. Who wants to pay full price for Birkenstocks, Eccos or Joseph Siebels.
Martha, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
This is a great place for Birks, I bought my first pair 15 yrs ago when pregnant with first son. Had a "dress up job" and heels and hose in Tucson in summer were not cutting it. So, bought a pair of Birks for off hours and still have them (along with 5 other pairs). They can be re-soled and the foot bed replaced, good as new. Also love Clarks and Josef Seibels. For clothes, I try to buy good brands quality at yard sales, thrift stores, church rummage sales, etc. It's amazing what people get rid of!Judy
I have gotten several items of good quality, low relative cost from Sierra as well. They are online, and I also have them send paper catalogs. I think paper are easier to peruse.
Lands End Overstocks is another favorite place. This has the added advantage now of being able to return items to Sears instead of having to mail them back.
Lands End Overstocks is another favorite place. This has the added advantage now of being able to return items to Sears instead of having to mail them back.
brewer12345
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2003
- Messages
- 18,085
Heh! You are talking to someone who didn't sneeze at dropping $1500 for a custom made, all stainless 10 gallon brewing system. Dropping a beer fridge (or the chest freezer with the external thermostat on it) is most definately not an option. I'm happy to drive my crappy old econobox and buy offbrand anything, but you can pry my homebrew toys out of my cold, dead hands (and maybe not even then).
For me, my most prized toy to date is my Trek mountain bike which I bought 6 years ago for a couple thousand bucks. I could probably buy a cheaper mountain bike but I was young and stupid, and I wanted a cool bike. Well I do have fun with the bike and ride it every summer so it's probably worth it.
When I bought my snowboard, boots and bindings, I was a bit wiser and a couple of years older so I bought last year's model and did save money but that purchase still set me back pretty money. However since I go snowboarding every winter, I suppose it is worth it. The brand of the snowboarding equipment escapes me right now but it was one of the decent, mid-range brands.
I bought a good running shoes for $60 last year and I may have to replace it this year or next.
I also bought a good hiking boots 5 years ago for pretty pennies but it has lasted me for 5 years and still good so it was worth it. I go camping and hiking a lot.
What else? Ah yes, my ice skates. I got boy's hockey style ice skate which cost more than girls' figure skating style ice skate but since I hate toe pick with a passion, it was worth the difference. My skates are now three years old and still in good shape.
I used to spend money on clothing but not anymore. Now I buy work clothing at Sears when they are on sale and non-work clothing at Old Navy's.
Jane
When I bought my snowboard, boots and bindings, I was a bit wiser and a couple of years older so I bought last year's model and did save money but that purchase still set me back pretty money. However since I go snowboarding every winter, I suppose it is worth it. The brand of the snowboarding equipment escapes me right now but it was one of the decent, mid-range brands.
I bought a good running shoes for $60 last year and I may have to replace it this year or next.
I also bought a good hiking boots 5 years ago for pretty pennies but it has lasted me for 5 years and still good so it was worth it. I go camping and hiking a lot.
What else? Ah yes, my ice skates. I got boy's hockey style ice skate which cost more than girls' figure skating style ice skate but since I hate toe pick with a passion, it was worth the difference. My skates are now three years old and still in good shape.
I used to spend money on clothing but not anymore. Now I buy work clothing at Sears when they are on sale and non-work clothing at Old Navy's.
Jane
This reminded me of the Peugeot PX210 road bicycle that I bought about 30 years ago for $250 which was a top bicycle in its day. It is still my main bike and use it for commuting, shopping and long trips.
I got back into biking just after 9/11 as an alternative mode of transportation to cut back on my gas consumption. I have put over 15k, just in the last 3 years and a total of 35k since I bought it.
Did I get my money's worth?
MJ
BigMoneyJim
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I think -s-he (edit
ops) meant 15k and 35k miles, not dollars. Or maybe something went over my head...Hi Jane,
I was referring to miles. I probably spent no more than $800 for maintenance which included tubes, tires and brake parts. I do my own maintenance. The bike still has some of the original parts. The rest are pretty old as well.
I think $15k to $35k would have been a heck of lot of money to spend on maintaining a bicycle. With that kind of money, I could have spent $2k to $4k every 5 years for a new top of the line bicycle. I am too frugal for that
Hi BMJ,
I'm a he.
MJ
BilltSuperTester
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2005
- Messages
- 17
I also have and prize a Trek mountain bike. Given the number of years I have had it and the peanuts I have spent on maintenance it has been pretty cost effective. My Ocean Kayak kayak plus accessories have cost me less than $70 per year amortized over 12 years and have yielded many hours of inexpensive fun. Alas The Man keeps me turning the crank too much these days so the mountain bike sits in the garage while the kayak sees action when it can. My digital camera also sees a ton of use as does my, gulp, media room. The media room is my self-treat for tolerating The Man.
D
darlindolls
Guest
$1.67/pair of socks
$17/pair of shoes (dress/tennis/casual)
$8/pair of pants/jeans
$8/shirt
$2/boxers
I find it is not just the price point but the brand name. Something that I pay extra for upfront but think is a bargin is gold toe socks but not for $8 a pair. I get them bundled and wait for a sale and then buy them on a weekend when the store offers a coupon. I find they always fit, wear a long time and when I buy 6-9 new pairs I can toss them in with the old and in about a year I am no longer match the "new" socks together.
I also find that buying the same brand of underware saves money in the long run because we each have a brand that we like the fit of. Underware that fit - priceless.
Most of the rest of our clothes I get from thrift stores because retail does not come close (at least for my area).
Dh likes craftsman tools.
We also like Toyotas and Hondas and own 4 right now - not counting motorcycles which would add two more.
C
Cut-Throat
Guest
I'll also vote for Craftsman tools. I'm not a tool guy as such, but I do have craftsman and when I have broken one, I take it back to Sears and they give me a new one. I like that Lifetime Warranty.
I'll throw HP printers in for the New Tech Age - They are basically no brainers.
I'll throw HP printers in for the New Tech Age - They are basically no brainers.
Hyperborea
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
For printers I would suggest getting a used workgroup laser printer. These have drum lives on the order of 200K pages or more. You can often pick these up pretty cheaply and they will last a long time. I'm currently running a used Apple LaserWriter 16/600 (engine rated for 16 pages per minute and 600 DPI print resolution) that I got for $200 about 3 years ago. At that time I was using an old DEC laser printer from the early 90's (DECLaser 1142 - the first laser printer to be "affordable" enough for individual use). It was working fine and the only reason I had to get rid of it was because of the connection options on it. I handed it off to my sister and it's still running fine.
So, just get yourself a used workgroup class laser printer preferably one with the Canon "engine". Very few printer makers manufacture the basic guts of the machine. Most buy an engine from somebody (Canon, Xerox, etc.) and then slap a box and some electronics on it. These workgroup printers will have way more features than the current personal laser printers - Postscript, upgradeable memory, ethernet connections, more built in fonts, possible hard drive on board (storage of pre-built documents, images, or fonts), etc. They are also a lot more rugged. The cost to run these is far better than that of ink jet printers though you won't be getting colour output. The only other downside is that they will take up some more space.
Speaking of printers - has anyone tried refilling their ink-jet cartridges? I tried once. I followed all the directions to a T and it was pretty worthless - the quality was terrible. I still have a bunch of ink. Any suggestions on how I can get this to work?
C
Cut-Throat
Guest
Bob,
I would not even go there! - I have seen the mess a re-fillable ink pen made in the 60's. That's one reason I like the HP printers with the cartridges.
Hyperborea
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
If you can get yourself a used workgroup laser printer then you can run maybe 7K to 9K pages on a $60-100 toner cartridge. That is a lot cheaper than inkjets. You can't do colour but for most people the only real colour that they print is for the kids (entertainment or maybe maps/drawings for school) or for photos. Just about any inkjet that you are going to run at home will not print out photo quality pictures. For $0.25 you can get photo quality printing from Wally World or Costco and you don't have to worry about the inkjet ink drying up between usage.
Thanks Hyper. A few weeks ago I bought an HP ink-jet at Sam's for about $80. It's a scanner/copier/printer. I wanted to have that copy feature. I don't use it often, but when I need it, it's nice to be able to make a copy at the press of a button. If I were doing a lot of printing I'd go with a laser.
Websites for cheap ink
Bob, these sites got some positive responses on Morningstar's Tightwad Tips board.
I'm not sure which is cheapest-- the ink or its quality. I haven't had to order yet but if you run out before I do, let me know how it goes...
http://www.123inkjets.com/
http://www.lasermonks.com/
Bob, these sites got some positive responses on Morningstar's Tightwad Tips board.
I'm not sure which is cheapest-- the ink or its quality. I haven't had to order yet but if you run out before I do, let me know how it goes...
http://www.123inkjets.com/
http://www.lasermonks.com/
Bob,
I had poor results with the "universal" refill kit I bought at Sam's. No problem getting the ink into the cartridge, but the jets clogged up soon.
I've been using high quality refill ink built for my printer brand (Lexmark) through an online seller (inksell.com). This deluxe kit is better for two reasons:
- The ink is formulated for the specific printhead used in your printer cartridges. Different printers really do have different ink specs, and this reduces clogging.
- The good kit comes with a jig and a syringe that allows you to suck a little ink through all the jets to clean them out when you refill. The universal kit didn't come with one of these.
It takes about 10 minutes, including cleanup, to fill each cartridge after you've done it once. Easy, quick, and nearly as convenient as buying them. Much lower cost. Better for the environment. Think dryer sheets.
samclem
I had poor results with the "universal" refill kit I bought at Sam's. No problem getting the ink into the cartridge, but the jets clogged up soon.
I've been using high quality refill ink built for my printer brand (Lexmark) through an online seller (inksell.com). This deluxe kit is better for two reasons:
- The ink is formulated for the specific printhead used in your printer cartridges. Different printers really do have different ink specs, and this reduces clogging.
- The good kit comes with a jig and a syringe that allows you to suck a little ink through all the jets to clean them out when you refill. The universal kit didn't come with one of these.
It takes about 10 minutes, including cleanup, to fill each cartridge after you've done it once. Easy, quick, and nearly as convenient as buying them. Much lower cost. Better for the environment. Think dryer sheets.
samclem
