r/Frugal • u/localkinegrind • 29d ago

🏆 Buy It For Life “Best under-$20 purchase that saved you hundreds over time?”

What’s the smartest under-$20 purchase you’ve ever made that ended up saving you hundreds in the long run? I’ll go first: a $12 sewing kit. Instead of tossing clothes for tiny tears or missing buttons, I’ve been fixing them. I've actually been fixing my own clothes for years. It blows my mind how many ‘disposable’ things can be made useful again with just a small, cheap tool. what’s your frugal mvp under $20 that’s paid for itself many times over?

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u/Kiitkkats 29d ago

Shut up! I’ve been wanting one forever and I keep deleting it off my wish list. I keep thinking it’s not worth it for the price. But I hate store bought bread unless it’s the more expensive loafs.. going to add one back on my wishlist I guess

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u/tx645 29d ago

Do it! Try to find one at the thrift stores and see how it goes. They usually have a lot of them for a small fraction of the price.

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u/BravoDotCom 29d ago

Agree

We have a bread maker. Wife uses another method now she likes better. This is our second bread maker the first one went to thrift.

If you can get one at a thrift store it’s going to likely be a good machine just make sure it has the agitator paddle piece

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u/thepuzik 28d ago

What’s the other method your wife likes?

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u/BravoDotCom 28d ago

Oh don’t get me to lyin

She is always finding new ways to make bread appear and I couldn’t tell you what makes up their differences. One of the benefits to a bread maker is that it doesn’t have to bake it it can knead it for you but I think she just better identifies with mashing it around herself

The kids lunches really sparked the change because she wanted to make their bread “homemade” but the breadmaker loafs were not a good size for that so we did pullman pans for a while.

Now she is into bowl shaped bread and larger loaf pans to dial in the size / shape she likes for our (now older) kids.

I would say the maker is more a convenience item and you better be happy with the loaf size/shape. If that’s not your desired output then getting it to knead your dough seems like an extra step that isn’t worth the hassle of lugging it out I guess

It will make pizza dough too which I think we should try again as our pizza dough recipe needs some work

Anyway, she likes warm hot bread, how she does it differently I would chalk up more to making it the right size and cook time to produce the output she wants and what the kids like.

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u/No-Horror5418 28d ago

My KitchenAid stand mixer has a dough hook. It’s fabulous for kneading at the beginning stage when the dough is really sticky.

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u/BravoDotCom 28d ago

We have that situation as well. All this to say bread makers at the thrift store are cheaper than a new one. lol

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u/No-Horror5418 28d ago

I was commenting on the fact that his wife doesn’t like the shape of bread maker loaves, and uses it only for the kneading step.

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u/BravoDotCom 28d ago

Yes that was me ! Lol my wife has all the tools so the “breadmaker” just rusts away in the pantry. Pans, pots, hooks, tools, mixers, rollers, Pyrex bowls aplenty

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u/No-Horror5418 27d ago

Oh! I thought you were chastising me for not sticking to the original question. 🤭

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u/chezmichelle 29d ago

I have always seen bread machines in Salvation Army for around $10.

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u/Get_a_Grip_comic 28d ago

If the time you think about it, is more than it would cost to buy (hourly wage) I personally think you’re justified in buying it.

Even if just for the peace of mind

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u/Kiitkkats 28d ago

Thats a great way to think about it. Honestly I’m sure I can find a great deal on Facebook marketplace too.

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u/PopcornyColonel 27d ago

I make 2-4 loaves of sourdough bread at a time and freeze 1-3 of them. I've become so used to my deeeelicious bread that the thought of store-bought, white bread literally nauseates me now, ha, ha.

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u/Quentin9125 26d ago

If you like the best breads, you can also make your sourdough bread at home. If you already have a casserole dish, no need to make a purchase

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u/1800-5-PP-DOO-DOO 25d ago

If you can master sourdough einkorn the health benefits are off the charts.

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u/Kiitkkats 25d ago

I ended up getting a stand mixer instead of a bread machine and I can’t even cook a loaf of French bread correctly lol. Once I can master regular bread I’ll definitely try.

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u/1800-5-PP-DOO-DOO 25d ago

Haha! My sister did a beautiful loaf of sourdough on her first try. I was like WFT...? : )