But look at the chin on that dog!

Pets are best when you buy the cheap off brand versions. Purebred more often equals inbred and personally I don’t want that generic headache as a pet ages.

I own and train hunting dogs for upland and waterfowl hunting. I’ve also done breeding in my younger days. Bloodlines absolutely matter. A puppy from National Champion bloodlines has a far, far better chance of being very good at his job. This goes for ANY working breed that is actually expected to work at their job in real life. And they cost a LOT of money to buy, train, and maintain. But these aren’t foo-foo dogs bred strictly for looks either.

If all you need is a popcorn and movie and sleep on the bed pet, then it doesn’t probably matter very much. Find a nice rescue - they need a home and love too.

Cats too! I like to say I get all my animals used.

But real Advil has the candy coating on the outside, and I haven’t found a generic that does =(

Otherwise 100% identical yes.

Not exactly. Just a fun fact and disclaimer that I use generics if at all possible. But my pharmacology class taught that generics can have higher tolerance of error in % of active ingredient. Not usually a big deal unless the drug has a very narrow therapeutic range, meaning too little doesn’t work and too much will harm you. 99.9% of generics is fine. But if you ever wonder if one batch of your med doesn’t seem to work as well this it’s likely that batch was on the lower end of acceptable.

Often made by the same.

Depends on the meds. I take concerta for ADHD and as I understand it, the generic doesn’t use the same release mechanism.

Aspirin and paracetamol I don’t think are patented by any one company now. Supermarket brand is super cheap.

Also, a cheaper alternative is to eat less and eat healthier. I know we can’t all afford expensive healthy foods but just simply cutting out excess fats, sugar and empty carbs from your diet will add years to your life and also add better years to your life.

One of the benefits of living in the Nordics is tap water that can literally be of higher quality than bottled water (assuming you don’t have bad pipes.) The only time I’ll ever buy bottled water is if I get really thirsty when I’m on the go and don’t have a bottle of tap water with me

In parts of the Alps, the stuff coming out of the fountains in the town square is cleaner than the stuff that comes out of the tap lol 😂

• Removed Snap

But seriously stop buying Microsoft’s shit. Even indirectly, don’t buy Windows pre-installed computers unless you have a very specific reason for it.

What about people that actually want their stuff to work?

Just installed Ubuntu to a laptop I recently acquired. First time using Linux. The learning curve is real and immediate.

Pirate rogue keys

Linux is not free. I already work full time job, and unlike maintaining and endlessly diagnosing countless issues that I don’t experience on Windows, my actual job gives me a paycheck every week.

Getting good quality cables can make a difference.

Getting gold-plated cables will not ever. I fucking see you Monster. For $40 a cable that thing better also come with a free handy and an ice cream.

HDMI, yes. Not so much for USB cables.

USB cables are (commonly) subject to more stress; they’re often moved, plugged, unplugged, and can often have lifespans far longer than the devices they’re using to connect. There are other, non-spec-related factors that impact durability, such as nylon wrapping, more robust connectors, and so on. Durability isn’t as much a factor for HDMI, ethernet, or optical cables, but for USB, sometimes durability is worth extra money, if only to reduce e-waste.

In 99% of cases you’d be correct. There are other considerations you might want to consider when buying a cable other than just meeting spec. For example, if you have a pet, getting a cable with a durable nylon sleeve might be a good idea.

Another thing that might be worth in some unique situations would be getting a more flexible cable so it could squeeze in a tight space, or a 45⁰/90⁰ connector…

Note that it doesn’t always means that it will be expensive to get, and I do agree with you that the important thing is to stay away from the snake oil cables who promise better image/sound quality or whatever.

The same goes for OTC medicine. If it has the active ingredients, you don’t need a name brand.

In theory, but sadly the market is flooded with crappy usb C cables.

Just out of curiosity, do you avoid YouTube or just deal with the ads? I’ve been on a premium family plan for years and love it - we watch a lot of yt.

I use Premium, though I don’t subscribe to literally any other service. That said, I’m losing patience with the price increases. One more and I’m likely going to nope out. For me, for now, it’s worth it to avoid potential hassle and is about the only thing I have in my life atm that doesn’t cause some level of worry or concern.

The tools is good advice most of the time, but not if the tool would fail dangerously. Don’t skimp on car jacks, table saws, or other things that are likely to injure you if they fail.

Screwdrivers/drills/hammers/crowbars/etc. don’t need to be expensive if you are going to use them rarely as the professional grade is mostly about being used all day every day and being able to survive rough handling by tired workers.

I try not to use a lot of plastic wrap, but sometimes it’s the right tool for the job. I will always spring for the good stuff, generic is basically useless and you waste way more for inferior performance.

Yup, buy most things at harbor freight the first time, if you break theirs buy whatever name brand fits your color scheme.

Didn’t you just make an argument for buying the more expensive knives and that they are worth it?

Agree on going with safty razors, but once you are there, you don’t want to cheep out. The one option my local grocery store carries is a $20 that is complete junk. I invested $70 in a Henson safty razor and never looked back. They also have a $250 offering for people who want the benefits of a safty razor without the cost savings.

For blades, I actually splurge and buy the $0.20/piece offering from Feather instead of the $0.10/piece ones that Henson sells. Still cheeper than the $0.80 safty blades the grocery store sells, or the checks app $4.50/piece cartridge blades the store sells?!?

Moral of the story: go cheap, but don’t be afraid of spending a little money to do so.

Razors

Definitely! I used to chase the largest number of blades. Mach 3, then Fusion. And then noticed that it was getting a bit insane paying $30 for a pack of four replacement heads. About ten years ago, I noticed a resurgence in double edged safety razor popularity. Bought a $50 Edwin Jaggar handle (which they replaced with a sturdier version for free when I broke it!), and have been picking up my Dorco blades $10 for 100 since. The shave is just as good, if not better, and getting straight lines is actually much easier. I feel like if more people knew, Gillette would just go out of business.

Soap. My mom and sisters always complement my hair and skin, asking what products I use. I just use 2$ Yardley bar soap for skin and hair. I also like them because they smell nicer than other cheap brands that just have a generic detergent smell.

Skin is waaay too individual to make recommendations. Some people can use dove bar soap on their face and never have acne or other skin problems. Others are acne prone and have to do multiple things in order to keep it under control.

Victorianox

It’s called Victorinox, from “Victor-” from Victoria, the founders Mother, and “-inox” from “acier inoxydable”, i.e., non-oxidizing steel.

Razors

For my shaving needs, I’ve had a lot of luck with the Norelco One Blade. The upfront cost is similar and the cartridges last for a good three months. It’s not a sharp blade, so not only is it very safe to use but the TSA will let you take it in a carry on.

Yes always request the store brand when at the hospital

Hard disagree!

Are you saying that you’ve owned both cheap and expensive cars, and that your favorites have always been the cheap ones? That they’ve been more reliable, more comfortable, better-riding, and better-driving? Or, at least, no worse than the expensive ones?

Yes, more expensive cars are more expensive. They often have a higher cost of ownership. And, sometimes, brands really fuck up and cut corners they shouldn’t, and result an reputational harm that takes years to recover from, long after they’ve fixed the production issues (c.f. Audi in the early 00’s). But, IME, it’s usually worth it, if you can afford it.

100% agree here. They all need maintenance, but higher end ones have pricer parts and less common, affordable after market parts. Cars are for the most part a utility and a cost center. You want to minimize your cost and maximize your value gotten out of it.

I despise cars as a status symbol, because again it’s just going to turn into a rust bucket like the rest of them at the same or worse rates, but also it just sets people up for failure in the lives just tens of thousands down the drain, literal years of work, for something’s that’s nearly worthless by the time they pay it off.

When I was in college, I admired my boss and his BMW. He then told me that it was a hand-me-down, and he spends a few hours a month maintaining it because there’s always something that breaks and he can’t afford to bring it into the shop every time.

He joked on a few occasions of just giving me the car after a year, and after a while, it felt like a cry for help rather than a joke.

Lolol you just going to ignore that brands like Porsche are consistently in the top 3?

Expensive cars mostly fail because people who can’t afford them don’t do basic maintenance. The only real German brand when any reliability issues are Merc.

Hard disagree on body wash vs soap. Soap always leaves a weird filmy feeling on my skin no matter what brand I use. Plus having to lather up the bar is annoying and I don’t want to deal with wet washcloths in the shower. Give me a poof and a bottle of body wash any day.

Google Sheets is FOSS?

I agree with everything but using Google sheets. It’s neither free nor open source. You don’t pay with money but with your privacy. Libre office is just as good as a desktop application and is actually FOSS. If you absolutely need the cloud storage, get a provider you can trust, buy the space and sync your files online, after editing locally.

Google sheets isn’t FOSS, right? Is there something comparable in libre?

I actually disagree a bit on this one, it may be different for you but near me the cheap trash bags have a tendency to rip, the cheap TP is 1ply sandpaper, and the cheap Paper Towels always smell like mildew making my hands, beard, tables etc, smell like mildew. I don’t have to go top shelf, but can’t go cheapest.

Don’t get cheap toilet paper, buy a bidet. The initial investment seems like a lot but I’ve had one for 8 years and I go through a roll or 2 a month now. Worth the investment.

You also have to take a look at the quantity, I have a family member that loves the dollar store but a lot of the stuff they get has much much less than if you just got it at the regular store for a few cents more, especially aluminum foil I can’t stand that super thin stuff haha

I can’t tell the difference between wine at all. Whiskey and beer I can definitely tell the difference between cheap and good stuff, but once you hit the 80$+ range it all blends together.

IMHO, there are two price bands for wine: under-$10, and over. I have an unsophisticated palette, but I can tell a cheap wine from a not-cheap one. I can’t tell a not-cheap one from an expensive one, though. Some really expensive wines taste like crap to me, worse than the mid-range ones. That’s the only time I can pick out on expensive wine: it might taste bad, but it doesn’t taste cheap.

See The Judgment of Paris or Brochet’s study.

For both wine and liquor I find that presentation will impress people way more than price. Get a cool looking decanter and you’re basically set as far as the average wine drinker goes - as for liquor, I have a Crystal Head Vodka bottle that I rinse out and pour whatever I’m drinking into, which is a lot cheaper than buying another Crystal Head lmao.

I’ll disagree to a point on liquor.

I like single-malt Scottish whiskey. I like Islays the most, followed by Speysides, Cambelltowns, Highlands, and Lowlands (in that order). I’ve found that, generally speaking, the longer a whiskey has been aged, the better it’s going to be at mellowing out the harsher flavors in a given distillery’s offerings. Compared to blended whiskeys–which are usually cheaper–single malt, and single barrel are a better experience in my opinion. I’m usually paying $50-200 for something that I’ll really enjoy, with most being in the $100-150 range.

But $5000 for a 40yo bottle of Macallen? Absolutely not.