Least Stupidest Thing You’ve Ever Bought

[layzieyez]

I have a 2008 prius and am unable to replace/upgrade the stereo deck so this has been the best for me. My car has an AUX in but having a dedicated mp3 player or constantly plugging in and unplugging my phone has been a pain.

I had a different version that only did FM broadcast, but now this one has an AUX out which is a game changer. No more static and has a decent randomization mode and screen. Reads from USB drive or microSD card up to 64GB so I just filled it up with a bunch of albums and random tunes.

I haven't tried charging my phone from it, but it can do that, too.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D3S85FW?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

[Huell Howser]

a packable, durable, and stupidly easy-to-setup double sized hammock that I keep in my car. It was about $40 or less and I have setup a bunch of times recently at different parks to chill/read or while out hiking/camping. it is so great for park days

[Uh Oh]

1995 Toyota T100 4x4

Only needs normal maintenance and is tough as nails. Daggum thing has partially been in the Potomac river before and has still made it through all sorts of sticky situations. Pouring rain, almost 2ft snow, unmeasurable amounts of mud. The smiles per mile are unmatched.
The Deutsch autos that are also partially in frame are nothing but heartaches by comparison (91 MB 300SL and 2016 BMW 750i). Probably gonna ditch both of those and get another Toyota truck (or two).

[brycickle]

Lasik eye surgery. I should have done it years ago. I would have saved so much fucking money on contacts and supplies.

[somethingmustbreaknow]

^haha true - that's a good one.

[IUTSM]

1995 Toyota T100 4x4

Only needs normal maintenance and is tough as nails. Daggum thing has partially been in the Potomac river before and has still made it through all sorts of sticky situations. Pouring rain, almost 2ft snow, unmeasurable amounts of mud. The smiles per mile are unmatched.
The Deutsch autos that are also partially in frame are nothing but heartaches by comparison (91 MB 300SL and 2016 BMW 750i). Probably gonna ditch both of those and get another Toyota truck (or two).

the Toyota truck, pre-tacoma era, are all beasts. Gen 1 Tacoma are incredible too. I feel like while they both ride like trucks, the T100 is a bit rougher. Damn. I want a Toyota truck, but I've got my van =). This dude I worked for let 2 T100s and Gen 1 Tundra just rot away. Such a sore spot for me.

[Not A Damn Chance]

Lasik eye surgery. I should have done it years ago. I would have saved so much fucking money on contacts and supplies.

How was your experience and how much did it cost? What was the recovery time like?
I would like to do it but I have no insurance and I’m a pussy.

[rocklobster]

Lasik eye surgery. I should have done it years ago. I would have saved so much fucking money on contacts and supplies.

Hell yeah, only did mine in my 30s and it the best 2k I ever spent. More than paid for itself with all the surfing, kickboxing and skateboarding I did after that surgery.

No matter how glaring it gets while skating, I still can't imagine wearing a pair of sunglasses after going glasses-free.

A $2 foldable camping chair I slot into my skate backpack. I take the bus / train to skate and I'm a grown ass man, not sitting on the floor like an animal.

[GauchoAmigo]

Expand Quote

Lasik eye surgery. I should have done it years ago. I would have saved so much fucking money on contacts and supplies.

[close]

Hell yeah, only did mine in my 30s and it the best 2k I ever spent. More than paid for itself with all the surfing, kickboxing and skateboarding I did after that surgery.

No matter how glaring it gets while skating, I still can't imagine wearing a pair of sunglasses after going glasses-free.

Wait - getting lasik means you don't have to wear sunglasses either?

[SATIVA HYBRID]

during my short time working for an unnamed energy drink company that used to sponsor ron deilly, I puchased a set of the basic airpods and holy shit!! i was scared as fuck to lose them, but have done no such thing in almost 2 years of having them. the charge lasts forever and talking on the phone is like the easiest shit ever now. I recommend them to anybody and everybody, if you're ever feelin like 'ol moneybags and can't think of a gift for somebody you love, BOOM airpods you can't go wrong

[chloegrace]

I bought a Japanese Jason kabuki mask which is very popular for theatre and cosplay parties for Halloween and other events.

[brycickle]

Expand Quote

Lasik eye surgery. I should have done it years ago. I would have saved so much fucking money on contacts and supplies.

[close]

How was your experience and how much did it cost? What was the recovery time like?
I would like to do it but I have no insurance and I’m a pussy.

The experience was great. I brought it up to my eye doc, because my wife thought it would be a good idea for my birthday, and her work was offering a discount from one of those roving lasik trucks. The doctor talked me out of that though. Basically when you do it that way, you pay less for the actual procedure, but you are responsible for all of the post op visits, and if you wind up having an emergency and need to go get corrective surgery it's all on you. So mine wound up being $3600 I think, after receiving a $1000 dollar discount for paying up front and not financing, but I think most reputable spots would have financing available. Most insurance probably wouldn't cover it anyway, since it is considered cosmetic, which seems odd to me, as it would probably save them a shit load of money as opposed to paying for your contacts and glasses every year. We have an HSA though that is usually always pretty close to being maxed out, so we used that.

Procedure itself takes maybe 20 minutes, with about 2-3 hours of pre-op prep. They cover your eyes with plastic post op, send you home with some light benzos to help you sleep for a few hours and when you wake up? Bam! You can see clearly. Hardest part is just leaving your eyes alone so you don't fuck things up.

On my first post op check with my regular eye doctor he told me a horror story to impress on me how important it was to throw out ALL of my all contact supplies. When he was a resident he had a patient that came back a week after his surgery because anytime he saw any light it just killed him. Day before it was fine. He couldn't possibly think of what happened. My doctor asked him to go step by step the day and night before and tell him what had happened. Apparently this guy went out drinking the night before with some buddies, then came home a little drunk and "took out his contacts". So yeah, there's that...

Anyways, it's great. I've had the same eye doctor for like 15 years and he's been hounding me to do this for like the last 10, since my prescription hasn't changed for almost 20 years. Wish I would have bitten the bullet sooner.

[IUTSM]

during my short time working for an unnamed energy drink company that used to sponsor ron deilly, I puchased a set of the basic airpods and holy shit!! i was scared as fuck to lose them, but have done no such thing in almost 2 years of having them. the charge lasts forever and talking on the phone is like the easiest shit ever now. I recommend them to anybody and everybody, if you're ever feelin like 'ol moneybags and can't think of a gift for somebody you love, BOOM airpods you can't go wrong

my sister gave me a pair of red bull AirPods that she won through her work as a liquor sales person. I was driving X-country and she was sick of talking to me on speaker phone 

They are indeed the bomb dot com.

[coyote2425]

Probably paying the adoption fees on my dog
Also my truck

Thought I was going to be the first to say this.

$20 best friend. Has some frustrating behavioral issues, but don't we all...

Also, Nationwide Pet Insurance. $115/month, pays for itself almost immediately and covers 90% of damn near everything. You're welcome, dog owners.

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Lasik eye surgery. I should have done it years ago. I would have saved so much fucking money on contacts and supplies.

[close]

Hell yeah, only did mine in my 30s and it the best 2k I ever spent. More than paid for itself with all the surfing, kickboxing and skateboarding I did after that surgery.

No matter how glaring it gets while skating, I still can't imagine wearing a pair of sunglasses after going glasses-free.

[close]

Wait - getting lasik means you don't have to wear sunglasses either?

You still can wear them, but I just hate the feeling of wearing glasses during any physical activity. Some of my friends wear sunglasses during a hot skate session to take the glare off, but I wouldn't.

[SATIVA HYBRID]

Expand Quote

during my short time working for an unnamed energy drink company that used to sponsor ron deilly, I puchased a set of the basic airpods and holy shit!! i was scared as fuck to lose them, but have done no such thing in almost 2 years of having them. the charge lasts forever and talking on the phone is like the easiest shit ever now. I recommend them to anybody and everybody, if you're ever feelin like 'ol moneybags and can't think of a gift for somebody you love, BOOM airpods you can't go wrong

[close]

my sister gave me a pair of red bull AirPods that she won through her work as a liquor sales person. I was driving X-country and she was sick of talking to me on speaker phone 

They are indeed the bomb dot com.

damn do they have badass red bull logos all over them? jealous

[layzieyez]

I'm stoked on my $20 version of airpods. They're good enough and don't fall out thanks to the special mod.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V2GPS8C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These things grip like crazy so go slow when pulling your earbuds out or they'll be stuck in your ear.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BRBT4W7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Not A Damn Chance]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Lasik eye surgery. I should have done it years ago. I would have saved so much fucking money on contacts and supplies.

[close]

How was your experience and how much did it cost? What was the recovery time like?
I would like to do it but I have no insurance and I’m a pussy.

[close]

The experience was great. I brought it up to my eye doc, because my wife thought it would be a good idea for my birthday, and her work was offering a discount from one of those roving lasik trucks. The doctor talked me out of that though. Basically when you do it that way, you pay less for the actual procedure, but you are responsible for all of the post op visits, and if you wind up having an emergency and need to go get corrective surgery it's all on you. So mine wound up being $3600 I think, after receiving a $1000 dollar discount for paying up front and not financing, but I think most reputable spots would have financing available. Most insurance probably wouldn't cover it anyway, since it is considered cosmetic, which seems odd to me, as it would probably save them a shit load of money as opposed to paying for your contacts and glasses every year. We have an HSA though that is usually always pretty close to being maxed out, so we used that.

Procedure itself takes maybe 20 minutes, with about 2-3 hours of pre-op prep. They cover your eyes with plastic post op, send you home with some light benzos to help you sleep for a few hours and when you wake up? Bam! You can see clearly. Hardest part is just leaving your eyes alone so you don't fuck things up.

On my first post op check with my regular eye doctor he told me a horror story to impress on me how important it was to throw out ALL of my all contact supplies. When he was a resident he had a patient that came back a week after his surgery because anytime he saw any light it just killed him. Day before it was fine. He couldn't possibly think of what happened. My doctor asked him to go step by step the day and night before and tell him what had happened. Apparently this guy went out drinking the night before with some buddies, then came home a little drunk and "took out his contacts". So yeah, there's that...

Anyways, it's great. I've had the same eye doctor for like 15 years and he's been hounding me to do this for like the last 10, since my prescription hasn't changed for almost 20 years. Wish I would have bitten the bullet sooner.

Thanks for the in depth response and story. Damn I don’t got that kind of money. Got to stick with contacts for the time being.

[IUTSM]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

during my short time working for an unnamed energy drink company that used to sponsor ron deilly, I puchased a set of the basic airpods and holy shit!! i was scared as fuck to lose them, but have done no such thing in almost 2 years of having them. the charge lasts forever and talking on the phone is like the easiest shit ever now. I recommend them to anybody and everybody, if you're ever feelin like 'ol moneybags and can't think of a gift for somebody you love, BOOM airpods you can't go wrong

[close]

my sister gave me a pair of red bull AirPods that she won through her work as a liquor sales person. I was driving X-country and she was sick of talking to me on speaker phone 

They are indeed the bomb dot com.

[close]

damn do they have badass red bull logos all over them? jealous

naw. just one on the charging case. I was like "wtf is this stupid shit" at first, but they've been pretty excellent

[Coastal Fever]

Homebrewing equipment is up there.  Might’ve spent $150 on carboys, buckets, bottles and accessories altogether.  Now I can buy a simple beer kit for $25 and make the same amount of decent beer that would cost about $150 at the store.

[slaab900turbo]

Squat rack, weights and a bench. I will never step foot in a gym again.

[Deputy Wendell]

Squat rack, weights and a bench. I will never step foot in a gym again.

all solid choices...i actually did pretty much the same a year or so back, only with a dip rack--here's a link to it by the way, the fucker's as sturdy as it gets:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016R07U0E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

with regards to never going to the gym again, i kind of thought the same, but have come up against two main issues:

first, i need to do far more cardio than i am doing (i'm 50 by the way), and to purchase any kind of actually durable and reliable cardio equipment, requires spending a lot of money

second, i've found that i'm not as consistent with my regiment without the destination that a gym is.

i never stopped paying my monthly bill at the Powerhouse i belong to (one might call that the stupidest money i've spent, but it is family owned, and they are good people who have been struggling, so maybe not), even though i have not been there since the pandemic started changing everything. i've been struggling with myself to go back--i actually told myself i was going to start back up this week, but i am still nervous, and flaked so far. i can't imagine working out with a mask on...

edit: come to think of it, anybody in here have any advice about masks for working out? whether it's experience with masks a the gym or athletic masks that you've purchased that worked well?

[slaab900turbo]

Expand Quote

Squat rack, weights and a bench. I will never step foot in a gym again.

[close]

all solid choices...i actually did pretty much the same a year or so back, only with a dip rack--here's a link to it by the way, the fucker's as sturdy as it gets:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016R07U0E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

with regards to never going to the gym again, i kind of thought the same, but have come up against two main issues:

first, i need to do far more cardio than i am doing (i'm 50 by the way), and to purchase any kind of actually durable and reliable cardio equipment, requires spending a lot of money

second, i've found that i'm not as consistent with my regiment without the destination that a gym is.

i never stopped paying my monthly bill at the Powerhouse i belong to (one might call that the stupidest money i've spent, but it is family owned, and they are good people who have been struggling, so maybe not), even though i have not been there since the pandemic started changing everything. i've been struggling with myself to go back--i actually told myself i was going to start back up this week, but i am still nervous, and flaked so far. i can't imagine working out with a mask on...

edit: come to think of it, anybody in here have any advice about masks for working out? whether it's experience with masks a the gym or athletic masks that you've purchased that worked well?

I've got the "bargain" version of that dip rack. 

I'm the opposite. I'm pretty inconsistent if I have to make the trip to and from the gym. I like being able to walk into the garage at 4am before work or after my kid gets to sleep or whenever.

[IUTSM]

Expand Quote

Squat rack, weights and a bench. I will never step foot in a gym again.

[close]

all solid choices...i actually did pretty much the same a year or so back, only with a dip rack--here's a link to it by the way, the fucker's as sturdy as it gets:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016R07U0E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

with regards to never going to the gym again, i kind of thought the same, but have come up against two main issues:

first, i need to do far more cardio than i am doing (i'm 50 by the way), and to purchase any kind of actually durable and reliable cardio equipment, requires spending a lot of money

second, i've found that i'm not as consistent with my regiment without the destination that a gym is.

i never stopped paying my monthly bill at the Powerhouse i belong to (one might call that the stupidest money i've spent, but it is family owned, and they are good people who have been struggling, so maybe not), even though i have not been there since the pandemic started changing everything. i've been struggling with myself to go back--i actually told myself i was going to start back up this week, but i am still nervous, and flaked so far. i can't imagine working out with a mask on...

edit: come to think of it, anybody in here have any advice about masks for working out? whether it's experience with masks a the gym or athletic masks that you've purchased that worked well?

can't speak to the masks when working out, but for the past 5 months I have been experimenting with limiting inhalation and exhalation while running my daily mile. I breathe only through the nose. No gulping for air and no big exhales. Although I'm getting faster, this practice does limit my speed (9.5min mile with nose breathing, whereas today I did mouth breathing and knocked it down to 8min). I say this because such controlled and limited breathing mimics breathing in an N95. slow and steady

[realbasedgod112]

Homebrewing equipment is up there.  Might’ve spent $150 on carboys, buckets, bottles and accessories altogether.  Now I can buy a simple beer kit for $25 and make the same amount of decent beer that would cost about $150 at the store.

Not a seasoned homebrewer by any means, but it's super rewarding making your own stuff. 4.50 of apple juice can get me a 6 pack of cider that would cost 20 at a store. While it might taste kind of shitty, it's my own. And that's all that matters.

[Coastal Fever]

Hell yeah.  I just bottled a batch of apple juice “cider” myself haha.  If you want to give it some carbonation and bring back some apple flavour/sweetness after it’s fully fermented, just add another 10-15% of juice before bottling and give it 3-4 weeks.  I know it’s near impossible to be that patient but that’s why I always have a batch on the go.

Everyone always stresses how important sanitizing is, but I won’t lie, I just rinse everything with hot water and make sure there’s no obvious residue/bugs, haven’t had any issues yet knock on wood.

[layzieyez]

When my wife's aunt passed away, I was given her walker and I use that as my dip rack. I'm being 100% serious.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=125352001

[realbasedgod112]

Hell yeah.  I just bottled a batch of apple juice “cider” myself haha.  If you want to give it some carbonation and bring back some apple flavour/sweetness after it’s fully fermented, just add another 10-15% of juice before bottling and give it 3-4 weeks.  I know it’s near impossible to be that patient but that’s why I always have a batch on the go.

Everyone always stresses how important sanitizing is, but I won’t lie, I just rinse everything with hot water and make sure there’s no obvious residue/bugs, haven’t had any issues yet knock on wood.

honestly i just put a spoon of yeast in the bottle and cover it with a balloon or something, throw the bottle out later. it's easy and works, mo reason to change just yet.

[PuffinMuffin]

Got some EpiPens the other week. Peace of mind is nice. 

[rocklobster]

On the topic of workout equipment - a home chin up bar that mounts into your door frame.

Just knock a few out every time you walk through the door and you'll be beating you PB in no time. Added benefit of lengthening your spine and neck after a whole day of desk work.