Food. Gasoline. Water. Food is less of American household spend. Gas, adjusted for inflation and better gas mileage is half the cost of 40 years ago. Water, precious at any price.
sure some other countries may have better bargains when it comes to food or gas or water, but you can count the ones where all three are better on fingers on one hand.
watch Moscow on the Hudson – coffee, coffee, coffee
tshort
1 month ago
2×4 studs. For $3 you get eight feet of perfectly milled pine. I’m not very good at woodworking, but rough lumber cutting and screwing/nailing it together to make some utilitarian rack, wall, frame, bench, etc. is immensely satisfying.
Brad Murray
1 month ago
Eggs. The cost has risen recently, but they’re still one of the lowest-cost sources of protein around.
Debbie Clay
11 months ago
Gift cards that sell less than face value. Retailers are betting the entire balance will not be used and forgotten or expired. I like Lowes and Home Depot and look for bargains from people who are selling them less than face value…some received as gifts and others need the cash more than the merchandise. The higher denomination, the more savings. Always buy from reputable sites though….ones that offer a full guarantee. I like eBay and Card Bear. Some of my favorite restaurants offer a free $10 gift card if you buy a gift card from them for $50 or more. These are popular around the holidays, and I use some for myself or gift them to others.
Martin McCue
11 months ago
Rotisserie chicken from my local supermarket. At $4.99 for an entire chicken, already seasoned and cooked, it lasts me a long time. Chicken is the perfect meat protein. What’s not to love, even if the price goes up a bit for today’s inflation?
Ginger Williams
1 year ago
The $15 annual tax that supports my public library. I still spend about $100 a month buying books, but the library is great for discovering new authors and exploring topics I wouldn’t spend money on. They also sponsor a great lecture series.
My $50 monthly Community Supported Agriculture membership. Every Tuesday, I collect a big bag with 5-6 pounds of vegetables harvested that morning, usually including at least one that I’ve never eaten. Fun and healthy.
Newsboy
1 year ago
Soft pretzels from the local pretzel shop. Like 5 bucks for 20 of ’em and they freeze and reheat well – great football game snack that everyone seems to enjoy.
Michael1
1 year ago
Though I haven’t had one in ages, a McDouble.
Benjamin Benavidez
2 years ago
There is a Par 3 golf course close to where I live. Each Saturday morning, my friend Dave and I spend $10 each to play a round. I find it a great way to unwind from a week of work and Dave and I spend a leisurely two hours playing golf and discussing everything and anything while enjoying a good walk.
Edwin Belen
2 years ago
My cell phone bill – I get so much utility from my cell phone. Second is probably Netflix.
Sonja Haggert
2 years ago
Postage stamps. Yes, I know the mail service is horrible these days but we pay about half what Europe pays. (not speaking to their quality of service, have no experience with that. Still, paying .45 to get a Birthday Card from New York to California is incredibly reasonable, even if it does take an inordinate amount of time these days.
Bob Wilmes
2 years ago
Air conditioning and refrigeration. I think most Americans have no idea how 90% of the rest of the world without our electric generation and power grids live without cooling our homes and office and preserving food for storage. In countries like parts of India the power grid is often powered by imported diesel fuel and is unreliable. The whole food supply changes radically without frozen food.
Rick Connor
2 years ago
A friend and mentor once remarked that the GPS Navigation system was the most successful government space program ever. It provides world wide navigation services seemingly for free. A few years ago my wife and I and some family were in Italy. We used Google Maps to navigate all around the hills, lanes, and mountain towns of Tuscany. It was amazingly accurate. GPS navigation has become a utility, like water and electric, and we count on it everyday.
Marc Bisbal Arias
2 years ago
Books. For $10 or $20 you’re getting hours of entertainment or education. A good book can be way more valuable than the dollars it costs!
Mike Zaccardi
2 years ago
Driving 10 miles or so to experience something fun – such as a free symphony at the university. I estimated it costs about 20 cents a mile to drive my 2008 Yaris. Can’t beat that! But even $15 for a couple beer at trivia with friends is worth it. Also, not everyday, but my indulgence is of course visiting the Brazilian Steakhouse which runs about $30 (after my coupon!) and going during the cheaper lunch time.
Rick Connor
2 years ago
I’m a wine aficionado. The global stock of quality wine is enormous. You can find very drinkable wines for $10 or less, and terrific wines for not much more. I was in Tuscany in 2019 and spoke with a small producer of Chianti Classico. He told me they were lucky to make $1 per bottle on wines shipped to America.
Juan Fourneau
2 years ago
My gym membership and my cup of home brewed coffee in the morning. About a $1 a day for both with my work discount for the gym membership. Stress reliever, relaxing, good for me and prime me for my day, they’re a bargain!
Sanjib Saha
2 years ago
Gas at Costco. No only the price is lower than most gas stations, the 4% cashback on the Costco Citi card is a nice bonus. For that matter, we buy most food items from Costco because they seem to be great bargain too.
The Google Fi mobile plan is also a bargain. We were with AT&T and had a hefty corporate-discount. But given our usage pattern, Fi is not only a bargain, it’s a big convenience too for our overseas travel. I also got a free Moto X phone when I first subscribed in 2018. It was good enough for my purpose, but the charger came loose. I got a new Moto G Power last month for $50 (big discount on 2020 models). Not bad at all!
For those who are uber frugal like me, it’s also worth taking a look at the mobile plans offered by the company Mint Mobile. Their network coverage is not as good as Verizon’s since they piggyback off of T-Mobile’s network, but their plans are very aggressively priced. They don’t support international usage, however.
Check out Ting mobile, too. They’re a Verizon reseller. We switched a few months ago and it cut 2/3 out of our cellphone bill!
For international travel, buying a local SIM card is the way to go. In Europe 10 euro gets you unlimited talk/text and several gigs of data.
David Powell
2 years ago
Electricity, by a mile. Literally. We said farewell to our last gas car in 2020. We refuel in the garage at 11.8 cents per kWh. On average, it costs us 3.1 cents to drive a mile or about $1 to drive 32 miles. Bonus: EVs are a hoot to drive, too.
Mike inLA
2 years ago
Quality craft beer. Yes, it’s probably double the price of bland beer like Bud or Coors. But those brands have virtually no taste or quality. Neighborhood craft brewers can provide quality beer – and perhaps entertainment – at modestly higher prices.
Dennis O'Brien
2 years ago
Dairy.
A gallon of milk is less than $3.50.
$1.40 for a dozen eggs.
Pete Storm
2 years ago
Gasoline. When I was 16 and learning to drive gas was ~$1.50. Then it was a significant percentage of my income. I filled up yesterday for $2.42 I don’t even track how much I spend on gas because it is not in my top 20 expenses.
Thomas
2 years ago
Water and electricity. I make an effort to conserve as much as I can, but H2O and electrons are seriously cheap (at least where I live) considering their utility. At 10 cents per kilowatt hour, a 10 watt LED lightbulb costs only one penny to run for a full 10 hours. That’s absurdly affordable by historical standards.
Author
Jonathan Clements
2 years ago
Bananas, I believe, are a great bargain (plus they come in their own packaging and don’t need to be washed). Seltzer, soda and tonic water are also dirt cheap. I’m always pleasantly surprised when I go to the hardware store and have to buy, say, wall anchors or a box of nails. And while this isn’t an everyday purchase, I consider Kindle notebook computers to be a steal, especially compared to the price of an iPad.
Food. Gasoline. Water. Food is less of American household spend. Gas, adjusted for inflation and better gas mileage is half the cost of 40 years ago. Water, precious at any price.
sure some other countries may have better bargains when it comes to food or gas or water, but you can count the ones where all three are better on fingers on one hand.
watch Moscow on the Hudson – coffee, coffee, coffee
2×4 studs. For $3 you get eight feet of perfectly milled pine. I’m not very good at woodworking, but rough lumber cutting and screwing/nailing it together to make some utilitarian rack, wall, frame, bench, etc. is immensely satisfying.
Eggs. The cost has risen recently, but they’re still one of the lowest-cost sources of protein around.
Gift cards that sell less than face value. Retailers are betting the entire balance will not be used and forgotten or expired. I like Lowes and Home Depot and look for bargains from people who are selling them less than face value…some received as gifts and others need the cash more than the merchandise. The higher denomination, the more savings. Always buy from reputable sites though….ones that offer a full guarantee. I like eBay and Card Bear. Some of my favorite restaurants offer a free $10 gift card if you buy a gift card from them for $50 or more. These are popular around the holidays, and I use some for myself or gift them to others.
Rotisserie chicken from my local supermarket. At $4.99 for an entire chicken, already seasoned and cooked, it lasts me a long time. Chicken is the perfect meat protein. What’s not to love, even if the price goes up a bit for today’s inflation?
The $15 annual tax that supports my public library. I still spend about $100 a month buying books, but the library is great for discovering new authors and exploring topics I wouldn’t spend money on. They also sponsor a great lecture series.
My $50 monthly Community Supported Agriculture membership. Every Tuesday, I collect a big bag with 5-6 pounds of vegetables harvested that morning, usually including at least one that I’ve never eaten. Fun and healthy.
Soft pretzels from the local pretzel shop. Like 5 bucks for 20 of ’em and they freeze and reheat well – great football game snack that everyone seems to enjoy.
Though I haven’t had one in ages, a McDouble.
There is a Par 3 golf course close to where I live. Each Saturday morning, my friend Dave and I spend $10 each to play a round. I find it a great way to unwind from a week of work and Dave and I spend a leisurely two hours playing golf and discussing everything and anything while enjoying a good walk.
My cell phone bill – I get so much utility from my cell phone. Second is probably Netflix.
Postage stamps. Yes, I know the mail service is horrible these days but we pay about half what Europe pays. (not speaking to their quality of service, have no experience with that. Still, paying .45 to get a Birthday Card from New York to California is incredibly reasonable, even if it does take an inordinate amount of time these days.
Air conditioning and refrigeration. I think most Americans have no idea how 90% of the rest of the world without our electric generation and power grids live without cooling our homes and office and preserving food for storage. In countries like parts of India the power grid is often powered by imported diesel fuel and is unreliable. The whole food supply changes radically without frozen food.
A friend and mentor once remarked that the GPS Navigation system was the most successful government space program ever. It provides world wide navigation services seemingly for free. A few years ago my wife and I and some family were in Italy. We used Google Maps to navigate all around the hills, lanes, and mountain towns of Tuscany. It was amazingly accurate. GPS navigation has become a utility, like water and electric, and we count on it everyday.
Books. For $10 or $20 you’re getting hours of entertainment or education. A good book can be way more valuable than the dollars it costs!
Driving 10 miles or so to experience something fun – such as a free symphony at the university. I estimated it costs about 20 cents a mile to drive my 2008 Yaris. Can’t beat that! But even $15 for a couple beer at trivia with friends is worth it. Also, not everyday, but my indulgence is of course visiting the Brazilian Steakhouse which runs about $30 (after my coupon!) and going during the cheaper lunch time.
I’m a wine aficionado. The global stock of quality wine is enormous. You can find very drinkable wines for $10 or less, and terrific wines for not much more. I was in Tuscany in 2019 and spoke with a small producer of Chianti Classico. He told me they were lucky to make $1 per bottle on wines shipped to America.
My gym membership and my cup of home brewed coffee in the morning. About a $1 a day for both with my work discount for the gym membership. Stress reliever, relaxing, good for me and prime me for my day, they’re a bargain!
Gas at Costco. No only the price is lower than most gas stations, the 4% cashback on the Costco Citi card is a nice bonus. For that matter, we buy most food items from Costco because they seem to be great bargain too.
The Google Fi mobile plan is also a bargain. We were with AT&T and had a hefty corporate-discount. But given our usage pattern, Fi is not only a bargain, it’s a big convenience too for our overseas travel. I also got a free Moto X phone when I first subscribed in 2018. It was good enough for my purpose, but the charger came loose. I got a new Moto G Power last month for $50 (big discount on 2020 models). Not bad at all!
For those who are uber frugal like me, it’s also worth taking a look at the mobile plans offered by the company Mint Mobile. Their network coverage is not as good as Verizon’s since they piggyback off of T-Mobile’s network, but their plans are very aggressively priced. They don’t support international usage, however.
Check out Ting mobile, too. They’re a Verizon reseller. We switched a few months ago and it cut 2/3 out of our cellphone bill!
For international travel, buying a local SIM card is the way to go. In Europe 10 euro gets you unlimited talk/text and several gigs of data.
Electricity, by a mile. Literally. We said farewell to our last gas car in 2020. We refuel in the garage at 11.8 cents per kWh. On average, it costs us 3.1 cents to drive a mile or about $1 to drive 32 miles. Bonus: EVs are a hoot to drive, too.
Quality craft beer. Yes, it’s probably double the price of bland beer like Bud or Coors. But those brands have virtually no taste or quality. Neighborhood craft brewers can provide quality beer – and perhaps entertainment – at modestly higher prices.
Dairy.
A gallon of milk is less than $3.50.
$1.40 for a dozen eggs.
Gasoline. When I was 16 and learning to drive gas was ~$1.50. Then it was a significant percentage of my income. I filled up yesterday for $2.42 I don’t even track how much I spend on gas because it is not in my top 20 expenses.
Water and electricity. I make an effort to conserve as much as I can, but H2O and electrons are seriously cheap (at least where I live) considering their utility. At 10 cents per kilowatt hour, a 10 watt LED lightbulb costs only one penny to run for a full 10 hours. That’s absurdly affordable by historical standards.
Bananas, I believe, are a great bargain (plus they come in their own packaging and don’t need to be washed). Seltzer, soda and tonic water are also dirt cheap. I’m always pleasantly surprised when I go to the hardware store and have to buy, say, wall anchors or a box of nails. And while this isn’t an everyday purchase, I consider Kindle notebook computers to be a steal, especially compared to the price of an iPad.
Bananas for sure are a bargain, but you should wash before peeling.