Money or time saving products that have stood the test of time?

[eeyoresmom]

I was just looking at my nails and remembering a thread here a few years ago discussing what products were our "must have" money savers. My answer then was my at home gel manicure kit and skinny jeans. I have to say, both of those answers still hold true today. I have saved sooooo much money and time doing my own gel manicures (which look great!) I still love my skinny jeans because they look good on me no matter what I wear with them and I buy them for $12 a pair. They are a "no brainer" as far as saving time and money. So, do you have a product or service that has stood the test of time and saved you lots of time and/or money?

 

[hsmamato2]

what gel manicure kit? I am looking.....
My item is my Ninja personal blender with the pitcher option too- I LOVE that thing.... smoothies all the time at home!

 

[eliza61]

Not sure if this qualifies but it's my Tide detergent. Every time I say I'm going to save money by purchasing a cheaper detergent, I regret it. end up either rewashing or washing more loads using more detergent.

 

[Narnia_girl]

We have subscribed to Consumer Reports magazine for over 25 years and I can only guess how much money it has saved us. They test and review everything imaginable: mattresses, food, TVs, blenders, toasters, lawn mowers, etc... They also provide guidance on how to save money: how to negotiate a car purchase, which home improvements will boost your house's value, and in the latest issue: should you buy a time share--with a feature on DVC .

My other favorite, stood-the-test-of-time company is LL Bean. Good quality backed up by a guarantee.

 

[jsmla]

Wood stove-we rarely turn on the heat. Wood is free for us.

Deep freezer-always filled with free summer veggies and meats bought on sale. For example, B/S chicken breasts were $1.59/lb last week. I bought ten pounds. I also do a lot of batch cooking and meal prep to keep on hand for easy dinners when needed.

Slow cooker-uses very little electricity, doesn't heat up the kitchen and cuts back on meals out.

 

[eeyoresmom]

what gel manicure kit? I am looking.....
My item is my Ninja personal blender with the pitcher option too- I LOVE that thing.... smoothies all the time at home!

Mine is SensationNail. You can buy it at Wal-Mart or CVS. I paid $60 for it then and have purchased some other nail colors and the gel itself, totalling another $60. That has lasted me well over 2 years worth of every other week manicures.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I started doing once a week cooking last month. On Sunday I spend 2-3 hours cooking. I usually cook something that will cover 2 dinners (this week was a giant lasagna) .I steam all the veggies and put them in airtight containers. Roast potatoes and precook rice. A few times a week I will have to grill meat but that's it. 5 minutes. Potato and veggies already done. This has made my quality of life so much better and I am saving time and money.

 

[barkley]

2 items-

carpet cleaner-about 3 uses and it's worked out less expensive than renting (and I don't have to schlep the thing back and forth). it's also kept our carpet in great shape b/c if there's a spill we can deal with it immediately.

whole house generator-while we've not entirely recouped the cost through savings we absolutely have through peace of mind. we lived through one week long storm related power outage that ruined everything in the fridge/freezer and put us in a hotel w/the kids (fun for vacations-NOT for day to day) before we bit the bullet and got one. we were one of only a couple of neighbors who not only were able to stay in our home during a recent 5 day outage, but we also didn't lose the contents of our fridge/freezer TWICE during it (power went out for 4 days, came on long enough for people to get back home and restock their perishables only to have the power go out again for another day).

 

[pjlla]

A few of my own plus I agree with a few previous posters....

my crockpots/slow cookers.... I have multiples and use them all frequently. LOVE them.
my Honda CR-V.... didn't love it at first, but now that it is 10 years old, paid for, and still going strong at 250K miles, I LOVE it!
my basement freezer.... I love being able to buy meat and produce on market down plus stock up on frozen fruit at Costco and KNOW that I have space for it.... plus I freeze lots of our homegrown produce!
my clothesline..... I use it year round to save on the electric bill. In fact, it is 32°F here today and I have two loads outside in the sunshine!
my rubber spatulas.... helps me scrape one more sandwich's worth of PB from the jar or the last muffin's worth of batter from the bowl!
my sewing machine.... I don't make much (other than Halloween costumes and curtains) but it saves money on hemming, repairs, and such.
Pinterest..... I get so many good crafting, sewing, repurposing ideas and RECIPES from there!..................P

 

[hsmamato2]

ohhhh you all are giving ideas that I don't even think of! Of course my 2-3 crockpots are well worth every penny,as is my basement freezer for storage of food.... Plus those super duper 5 day coolers we bought for camping that come in handy if we get an outage to preserve all our foods for longer.... oh yeah, and then there's that blessed camping coleman stove which means we always have a spot to cook food in outages,etc.
I wish I could say our woodstove, but my DH doesn't like to use it much,saves it for emergencies(then again, it did come in handy when we had a storm that kept us isolated without power for over a week a few years back,we cooked on it and kept the house warm)

Mine is SensationNail. You can buy it at Wal-Mart or CVS. I paid $60 for it then and have purchased some other nail colors and the gel itself, totalling another $60. That has lasted me well over 2 years worth of every other week manicures.

Thanks! I will look into that..... I love having nice nails, but I don't love paying for manicures or polish that chips off in ten minutes....

 

[Anna Wagner]

I was just looking at my nails and remembering a thread here a few years ago discussing what products were our "must have" money savers. My answer then was my at home gel manicure kit and skinny jeans. I have to say, both of those answers still hold true today. I have saved sooooo much money and time doing my own gel manicures (which look great!) I still love my skinny jeans because they look good on me no matter what I wear with them and I buy them for $12 a pair. They are a "no brainer" as far as saving time and money. So, do you have a product or service that has stood the test of time and saved you lots of time and/or money?

 

[Anna Wagner]

Where do you buy your $12 skinny jeans?

 

[Marionnette]

My FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I seal up leftovers as soon as dinner is over and toss them in the freezer. There's always a home-cooked meal to heat up when I don't feel like cooking. Or I send them back with my kids when they come home for a weekend. No more wasted food!

 

[Sagginit]

A few of my own plus I agree with a few previous posters....

my rubber spatulas.... helps me scrape one more sandwich's worth of PB from the jar or the last muffin's worth of batter from the bowl!
.......P

i got a few mini ones at target on an after Christmas clearance for 30 cents each (yup i occasionally hit 90% in my local store). i get so much more out of jars and containers that i bought two more the next year as soon as they were on sale. i also have three slightly larger ones from walmart and two large ones for cooking. even when i cook something like chili the large one helps me scrape everything off the bottom to keep food from sticking and burning. i am looking to order a beauty one from amazon to get inside little glass/thick plastic bottles of product (the kind you can't cut open, i once used a kitchen knife to hack my concealer open, but i got another month's worth out of it).

my list:

toaster oven- got it at khols on sale with a 30% off coupon. it does convection bake so i can use it for one mini pizza, chicken fingers, and even a small casserole dish (pyrex ones are perfect). i have even baked a small loaf of bread in it! living single this saved on the cost of heating up a whole oven for one quick meal.

glass pyrex set. doesn't get gross like tupperware and can even cook in the larger ones. saves tons of time too, i have actually just let the pyrex cool after cooking and then put leftovers away in the same dish.

honda of course. on my second one, the only car i have ever driven. as i was explaining to my husband not only do they hold their value, it is pretty easy to get it serviced anywhere, so i can shop around for repairs rather than being stuck going to a dealer. my mother is trading in a gently used cadillac she got a few years ago as even the dealer had issues doing certain repairs on some of the fancy features it came with. less features, less to break!

good quality cotton sheets. i got some poly blend ones when i first got my new bed and they were pilled in a few months. the cotton ones look fabulous so for my shower i got one more set so i could toss the poly. also love my llbean flannel sheets.

good drinking glasses. i forget the brand but i got mine at tjmaxx. my roomate bought a set at walmart and they were so thin we broke 16 glasses in about 2.5 years. the current set is much more sturdy so it is better for all the hand washing we do as they don't break when they tap into each other in the sink.

my printer was $60 at target on sale a few years ago. i use it mostly for coupons but this is cheaper and more effective than a newspaper subscription, sometimes target or company's have huge high value coupons online only. also will take nice card stock so i used it for things for my shower and wedding.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Where do you buy your $12 skinny jeans?

Forever 21. And yes, I will be 50 this fall I buy the real dark ones and they look great for about a year. I wash them every second or third wear. I usually buy quality brand clothing ( J Crew, Banana Republic, etc.) but I've had excellent luck with these.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Ohhhhhh. I agree with good quality sheets. Once you have them there's no going back. Also agree with the generator and the freezer. We rely on these two.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Not sure if this qualifies but it's my Tide detergent. Every time I say I'm going to save money by purchasing a cheaper detergent, I regret it. end up either rewashing or washing more loads using more detergent.

The only detergent I prefer over Tide is my homemade one, which now that I think of it is a HUGE money saver for my family. It's one of the few "make at home" products that is so easy, there's no reason not to do it most of the time.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Just thought of ANOTHER one. For those who live in cooler climates......we purchased a heated mattress cover, not a blanket. OMG, we set our heat in our bedroom (separate from the rest of the house ), at 58 and being menopausal, its' almost too much for me even at the lowest temp. We have saved so much in heating oil. When our DD moved into an apartment, I bought her one. She was so impressed, she bought her roommate one

 

[aprilchem]

My big money saver is my pressure cooker. It's saved me many, many times from just saying "let's go out to eat" when we're in a rush. I cooked Mongolian Beef in 12 minutes last night!

 

[pjlla]

i got a few mini ones at target on an after Christmas clearance for 30 cents each (yup i occasionally hit 90% in my local store). i get so much more out of jars and containers that i bought two more the next year as soon as they were on sale. i also have three slightly larger ones from walmart and two large ones for cooking. even when i cook something like chili the large one helps me scrape everything off the bottom to keep food from sticking and burning. i am looking to order a beauty one from amazon to get inside little glass/thick plastic bottles of product (the kind you can't cut open, i once used a kitchen knife to hack my concealer open, but i got another month's worth out of it).

my list:

toaster oven- got it at khols on sale with a 30% off coupon. it does convection bake so i can use it for one mini pizza, chicken fingers, and even a small casserole dish (pyrex ones are perfect). i have even baked a small loaf of bread in it! living single this saved on the cost of heating up a whole oven for one quick meal.

glass pyrex set. doesn't get gross like tupperware and can even cook in the larger ones. saves tons of time too, i have actually just let the pyrex cool after cooking and then put leftovers away in the same dish.

honda of course. on my second one, the only car i have ever driven. as i was explaining to my husband not only do they hold their value, it is pretty easy to get it serviced anywhere, so i can shop around for repairs rather than being stuck going to a dealer. my mother is trading in a gently used cadillac she got a few years ago as even the dealer had issues doing certain repairs on some of the fancy features it came with. less features, less to break!

good quality cotton sheets. i got some poly blend ones when i first got my new bed and they were pilled in a few months. the cotton ones look fabulous so for my shower i got one more set so i could toss the poly. also love my llbean flannel sheets.

good drinking glasses. i forget the brand but i got mine at tjmaxx. my roomate bought a set at walmart and they were so thin we broke 16 glasses in about 2.5 years. the current set is much more sturdy so it is better for all the hand washing we do as they don't break when they tap into each other in the sink.

my printer was $60 at target on sale a few years ago. i use it mostly for coupons but this is cheaper and more effective than a newspaper subscription, sometimes target or company's have huge high value coupons online only. also will take nice card stock so i used it for things for my shower and wedding.

You reminded me of SO MANY other things.....

I keep scissors in the bathroom to cut open the toothpaste.... because when it seems empty, I can usually get enough for another few days out of it.... same with face creams and the like!

I invested in Glasslock containers from Costco a few years ago. The NICE thing is that they can go into the dishwasher (unlike plastic/tupperware) and I can reheat in them. The drawback is the plastic lid gasket that gets pretty nasty if you aren't careful when washing it. I am trying to eliminate as much plastic in my household as possible, but it is HARD!

I DID have a toaster oven that I used like you do, but I got a new DOUBLE oven a few years ago that has a smaller oven on top/larger oven on the bottom and now I just use my smaller top oven 99% of the time. LOVE it! I'm ready to ditch the toaster oven.

DH's car and the kids' car are Saabs..... talk about EXPENSIVE to fix!! I'll stick with my Honda, thank you!

Good quality sheets.... YUP! I've been married nearly 25 years and for about the first 18 we had just TWO sets of sheets that we bought BEFORE we were married! One high thread count set from Sears (of all places) and an ugly but excellent quality set of designer sheets from TJ Maxx. I am STILL using the top sheets and pillow cases from both sets, but sadly the bottom sheets finally were so thread bare that they ripped through. And the "quality" sheets I bought to replace them are already ripped and repaired....

Can't claim the same on drinking glasses..... the more expensive ones from BB&B seem to break at the same pace as the ones from the Dollar Tree. I finally gave up trying to have nice glasses all the time and bought a BUNCH at the thrift store for 10 cents each! .................P