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Shoes. If your feet aint happy, aint nobody happy.
aint nobody happy
Well, Nike & Adidas CEOs prob are
Other people have said better things, but I’ve found flour to be important in baking. Generic store brands can work mostly, but for more precise and nicer baking I’ve got to go with King Arthur flour
Hey King Arthur flour, sponsor me please, I need it to keep buying all this flour!
Their bakers hotline is extremely awesome
King Arthur flour
How does this specific thing keep popping up in every corner of the internet I ever go to?? Is it that good?
It really is better than most. This a company I actually think sort of cares. Their recipes for bread products are also spot on, at least the ones I’ve tried.
Their recipe for Cornish pasties has done me well, although my filling is always “things I have on hand”!
Any high quality brand will probably do you well. King Arthur is what I can get easily and have used it for decades. Also it’s employee owned, last I knew, which makes me feel a smidge better.
Also their online recipes are pretty nice, and they answer questions!
Great flour, consistent every time, no filler or weird blends like others might have, great recipes, employee owned, etc.
They also have gluten-free flours (both measure for measure and straight up) and good recipes for them. I’m not gluten free but I have a friend that is and the chocolate cake I made them with their flour and recipe was one of the best gluten free cakes there ever had (it’s better than some gluten cakes I’ve had tbh)
Not really exeptional except it is commercial grade. It’s not the random stuff you get from the local brand. The local brand is whatever. Sometimes it’s really good, other times it’s pretty poor.
The most common difference is in a test called “falling number”. Falling number is a fast easy way to figure out if an enzyme that degrades starch has been activated (alpha-amylase). Intact starch in flour creates a matrix in solution and thickens it. When alpha-amylase is activated it degrades the starch and makes it thinner.
For baking you want a thicker dough that holds together. It’s how you get light and fluffy breads. The thicker dough traps CO2 produced by yeast or an acid/base reaction better.
The falling number method is uncomplicated, but requires an apparatus which follows the international standards.
A good power supply. It can save your whole system.
Knifes. You maybe don’t need the ultra deluxe Japanese kitchen knives from the future. But a set of good, sharp knives will be a godsend if you plan to cook a lot.
Hiking gear. Especially the boots have to be of good quality. But breathable clothing (including socks) will also make a big difference when you go on a long trip.
Might be a no-brainer for some, but: meat. If you plan to make some steak, choosing a properly marbled piece of meat is as important as how you cook it. Will be exorbitantly more expensive than the discount meat, tho. But trust me, it will make a huge difference.
On the topic of knives, it’s more important to have a way to keep them sharp. No knife will stay sharp for long with consistent use.
And cheap knives will cause lots of frustration when you try to get and keep them sharp.
As a knife guy, choose the right knife. A lot of knives now are looking to sell on glitz and glamour whilst being fairly mediocre and criminally overpriced (see Dalstrong).
A lot of knives are overbuilt too. To give the impression of sturdyness, they are made far too thick, or have excessively large bolsters that just bog it down. You don’t use a machete for daily prep, you want something thin that won’t get wedged in the cut. Fun fact, in Japan a light knife is a sign of quality, it means it’s very thin, which is difficult to forge and requires a master.
The best knives for ordinary people I think are Victorianox fibrox and Tojiro DP series knives. The Victorianox has decent steel but is importantly very thin and sharp, with a comfortable handle. The Tojiro is more expensive but has better steel that will remain sharp much longer. Of course it is also thin and sharp.
Construction material when building a house. If you want to live there for many years go for overkill.
Yes! I see owners all the time asking “what’s the cheapest x” or saying “im going to source that myself” only to complain during/after installation that something doesn’t look good.
The price difference between a $3,000 and a $10,000 set of cabinets is negligible when wrapped into a 30 year mortgage, but consider just how important they are visually and how often you’ll be using them (every day)
Remember code is minimum. Mold and mildew resistant drywall can go on a bathroom ceiling. It just doesn’t very often because code is for the shower wall
Plumbing. People seriously underestimate the damage a bad leak can do to a structure.
Ball support.
Personally, I try not to cheap out on anything I want to last. You don’t have to buy the most expensive, but don’t buy the cheapest either. Something in the middle usually does good.
I’ve done well buying second hand too. I recently found a bread machine for 3$ at goodwill. Works perfectly. But I also figured if I decided not to use it anymore or it was crap, then I lost 3$
I’ve heard this line of thinking is how they get you. Example I heard was something like there’s a $10, $20, and $40 toaster at Walmart. The $10 and $20 one are functionally the same, but you don’t know that and don’t want to go with the cheapest one so you pick that.
Don’t know how true it is, but thought it’s interesting and started thinking about it when I’m buying stuff
Toilet paper.
Oh god I see your name everywhere and I nearly hack up my breakfast every time I read it. Stop. Please
If you just skip breakfast it won’t be a problem anymore.
This is the first comment in the thread that I 100% agree with. (I can’t believe how many of the other ones I don’t.)
I’ve never known any kind of electronic device to not follow the rule of “you get what you pay for.” If you want it to work practically forever, go with the expensive one.
and for anything computer-related, buy enterprise grade, not consumer stuff.
I worked as an it business analyst for a larger multinational for a hot minute. Lenovo laptops were beastly and rarely broke. When 10 000 employees are all using t series laptops for years, with few breaking down, it made me appreciate your comment quite a bit.
I’m not trying to plug lenovo. There’s very little difference between lenovo and dell at the enterprise level. Those are the ones I have experience with and so I’ll comment on those. Just buy actual business laptops. Especially if you’re not gaming
And if you are gaming I highly recommend avoiding anything labeled as being for gaming or gamers. A lot of that stuff is just cheap shit they want to sell for more and the fanciest thing about them is that they put RGB lights in it. Gaming chairs are a great example; you can often find the same exact chairs for hundreds of dollars cheaper by getting them as an office chair. They just might not come in super bright colors or have an e-sport team’s logo on them.
Gaming chairs are a great example; you can often find the same exact chairs for hundreds of dollars cheaper by getting them as an office chair
One could say the overpriced gaming chair with some fancy colours contradicts the “get what you pay for rule”.
There’s the adage, “spend your money where you spend your time.”
If you’re going to spend a lot of time in front of a TV, get a nice one. Cook a lot? Get the good knives and pans. Don’t read much? Don’t buy an e-reader or book subscription service. Not big into DIY? Get cheap drill/driver for the rare times you need it.
There’s plenty of exceptions but it’s a nice general rule.
Even if you are into DIY: Buy cheaper once, if something breaks buy something more expensive.
Or better yet, buy second-hand.
I see this a lot and take some issue with it the wording of it. I think a lot of people say this thinkkng of something like Ryobi or Harbor Freight as the “cheap” guys, when in reality the price scaling of tools puts those makes pretty squarely in the mid to high-end bracket.
In reality, there are some cheap tools that are downright unsafe for use that some people might see after reading that
I dunno, I’ve had good luck with Aldi and Lidl “Center Isle” power tool purchases. Thats Workzone and Parkside tools, a far cry from mid to high-end. If I use something enough that it merits a replacement, I buy the Makita version
Those are still from a reputable store. I think the really cheap ones are the Chinese ones that don’t even have a brand name. Slightly above that are the Chinese made ones with a nonsense word for the brand name.
Project Farm on YouTube often rates Ryobi, Husky, and Harbor Freight brands as being pretty good.
Been thinking about this for a while and I gotta say food. If it looks spoiled, I just throw it out. I’m not going to risk getting sick over cheap food that’s probably gone bad anymore.
Ice cream.
Toilet paper.
Get the good stuff or don’t get it at all.
Or upgrade to a bidet if you can afford one for as little as $30.
Yourself. Time and resources you invest in yourself usually grant the highest returns in the long run.
Examples:
- When job hunting, prefer opportunities that give you more valuable experience when possible.
- While planning your schedule, give highest priority to activities that contribute to your physical and mental health.
- At the grocery store, choose fresh ingredients over the cheaper and easier premade options.
- When budgeting finances, pay yourself first by setting aside what you can for your future. If not yet possible, see 5.
- Invest in your continued education, which can include traditional credentialing such as degrees or certifications, but also online and night classes, or even self-guided study.
- Choose relationships and experiences over things. While things can temporarily improve lifestyle, relationships and experiences permanently expand the life you have lived.
Condoms
