Things you've put off buying, finally bought, and are super-glad you finally bit... (1 Viewer)

[dkp993]

Big ticket item…. Pool and Hot Tub.   Use one or the other 3/4 times a week.  Game changer for my family. 
 

small ticket item- rice cooker.  Why didn’t I spend the $20 bucks on this 20yrs ago?

 

[gruecd]

Except now there are often more people in the pre-check line than the plebe one. Luckily, one of the wife's credit cards includes two memberships in CLEAR so its right to the front every time.

CLEAR is amazing.  I get it for free as a perk with my Amex Platinum card.  Unfortunately my home airport (MKE) doesn't have it yet.

 

[Osaurus]

New windows for sure

 

[bigbottom]

Collings Guitar

Whoa. 

 

[Brony]

Dog for the family has been great.   

meh on air fryer and bidet.  

 

[NutterButter]

Lasik.   Best $5K I've ever spent.

A new used car; so nice to have some of the modern features that all you bigshots have been enjoying for years.

 

[gruecd]

New windows for sure

This is on my list.  Just need to pluck a few (many) thousand dollars off the ol' money tree out back...

 

[wlwiles]

You reheat pizza in one of these and it's as good or better than when it arrived at your door.   

Even if the thing sucks in every other way, I'm sold on an air fryer for this reason right here.  I eat leftover pizza cold because there's no good way to reheat it without the crust turning to rubber or drying it out completely.  

 

[MAC_32]

A new used car; so nice to have some of the modern features that all you bigshots have been enjoying for years.

Gonna need a mechanic's assistance playing McGuyver to clear e-check in a few months. Check engine light has been on for years, but it's due to rust around the gas cap. Why that triggers the check engine light, good question, to which I don't know nor really care. Just sucks knowing if an actual problem surfaces I won't know. Intended to replace this thing in October, but doesn't look like the car market will normalize until at least next year. I don't drive much (work 3 miles from home) nor do I dislike my car, but I'm sure I'd appreciate the upgrade. 

 

[MAC_32]

Big ticket item…. Pool and Hot Tub.   Use one or the other 3/4 times a week.  Game changer for my family. 

Living in NE Ohio helps, but I have zero interest in ever owning a pool. A hot tub has hovered in the back of my mind before, but not something I want to devote the time to maintaining right now.

 

[MAC_32]

• Maid Service
  

What's this cost? Never thought about it before just now, but we need to do this. My wife works limited hours in summer so we don't need it now, but we need it during the school year. A little hyperbolic, but we're either at kids stuff or cleaning the house every weekend because the only opportunity to do the latter during the week starts about 8 or 9 pm and that ain't happening.

 

[The General]

What's this cost? Never thought about it before just now, but we need to do this. My wife works limited hours in summer so we don't need it now, but we need it during the school year. A little hyperbolic, but we're either at kids stuff or cleaning the house every weekend because the only opportunity to do the latter during the week starts about 8 or 9 pm and that ain't happening.

We pay 80 a visit. A crew of 2-3 come and work for about an hour. They hit all the big ticket items - vacuum, wipe down kitchen, sink, toilets, tubs, kitchen floors. 

Highly recommended if you both work. Buys you a clean house and no issues with who does what if you were to do it yourselves. Just have to not be a slob in between visits and house will always be relatively clean. 

 

[scorchy]

• Maid Service
  

Honestly the best money we've spent.  Cleaning the house was one of the few things my wife and I ever argued about.  I'm the neat freak and much more efficient at getting stuff done, so always felt like cleaning-related chores were 90 percent on me.  Hiring cleaners to come every other week has given me my Saturday mornings back and eliminated a ton of frustration.

 

[PIK95]

Whenever I travel for work, I add the SiriusXM radio option to my rental car.  I hate having to search for local sports talk radio stations or whatever.  But half the time, the Hertz folks don't properly activate the radio, and having to get their "support staff" to activate it while you're on the road is a pain in the booty.  But man, I do love listening to NFL Radio when I'm on the road.

On top of that, I've grown tired to the "drive time" shows on my local sports talk radio staions.  It's become less and less about "sports" and more about "pop culture", with some "sports" sprinkled in.  I drive to work three days a week, so that's three mornings of Dan Patrick and three afternoons of the local drive time show.  I've actually been switching that show off and listening to classical on the way home.   

At one point, I had SiriusXM in one of my vehicles and loved it.  So I finally just bit the bullet, did some research... and found out I can get it on my phone and use it in any car with an auxiliary input or Bluetooth.  So that means no more having to hassle with Hertz or Avis (who don't even offer SiriusXM) and quality programming on my commute (which is short, but still).  And all for $11 a month.  A drop in the bucket.

So is there anything you put off buying but finally went ahead and got to your satisfaction?

And as always, schtick welcomed and encouraged.

I am in like year seven of getting the introductory rate.  Every year I threaten to cancel, every year they give me the crazy low rate.  You should threaten to quit on your next renewal.

I also get the internet and sports package. 

 

[Parrothead]

Honestly the best money we've spent.  Cleaning the house was one of the few things my wife and I ever argued about.  I'm the neat freak and much more efficient at getting stuff done, so always felt like cleaning-related chores were 90 percent on me.  Hiring cleaners to come every other week has given me my Saturday mornings back and eliminated a ton of frustration.

We've just started 2x a month cleaning service.. at first, my wife insisted on cleaning the house BEFORE the cleaning person got there

That said, I am at the point in my life where my time is more valuable than the money spent for cleaning.. 

 

[dkp993]

Living in NE Ohio helps, but I have zero interest in ever owning a pool. A hot tub has hovered in the back of my mind before, but not something I want to devote the time to maintaining right now.

Sure, makes sense.  In So-Cal it’s a perfect fit for it. 

 

[MAC_32]

Honestly the best money we've spent.  Cleaning the house was one of the few things my wife and I ever argued about.  I'm the neat freak and much more efficient at getting stuff done, so always felt like cleaning-related chores were 90 percent on me.  Hiring cleaners to come every other week has given me my Saturday mornings back and eliminated a ton of frustration.

Different dynamic here. I'm effective when tasked with daily maintenance, but the weekly tasks have to be done to my wife's standards. It just takes a couple busy days for her to fall far enough behind to impede my ability to maintain then the whole operation falls apart and we lose our whole Saturday morning catching up like you used to. We've gotta stop denying this reality and throw a few bucks at this problem to solve it. 

 

[acarey50]

Why do I need an air fryer?  Serious question.  :creditcardready:

You can cook stuff without any preheating.  Just put it in and go.    Makes the outside crispy and this inside juicy, like frying food but no breading or grease that make it unhealthy.     Cooking salmon, chicken and fries is awesomely easy and taste so much better.

A little late to the responses, but in addition to this, the pizza reheating etc. it is just so convenient. I got a 10 Qt Ninja one from Costco that has two compartments and you can either program individually, match programming if cooking the same thing, or set it for "Smart Finish" where you program each side and it will automatically start each side so that they finish cooking at the same time.

Last night while i was grilling steaks the air fryer was cooking fries and brussel sprouts with bacon. All basically set it and forget it other than occassionally tossing the fries/sprouts to ensure nice even cooking. And clean up is very easy.

 

[pollardsvision]

small ticket item- rice cooker.  Why didn’t I spend the $20 bucks on this 20yrs ago?

I despise any sort of kitchen gadget sort of thing that takes up space. 

But I will not be without a rice cooker. I'm a rice snob that can't cook rice worth a dang without a rice cooker. They are so awesome.

 

[Ron Swanson]

Even if the thing sucks in every other way, I'm sold on an air fryer for this reason right here.  I eat leftover pizza cold because there's no good way to reheat it without the crust turning to rubber or drying it out completely.  

A flat top or hot griddle at 400 will reheat pizza so the crisp is crisp and the toppings perfectly reheat.  It's actually a great way to fix pizza with an average floppy crust and make it great.

 

[gianmarco]

New windows for sure

I heard it was buggy. I'm fine with the old version 

 

[AAABatteries]

I despise any sort of kitchen gadget sort of thing that takes up space. 

But I will not be without a rice cooker. I'm a rice snob that can't cook rice worth a dang without a rice cooker. They are so awesome.

Probably a stupid question but you can do any type of rice, right?  I’m not a fan of white rice but love yellow rice when cooked properly.

 

[Hoh]

Can someone recommend a particular brand/model of Air Fryer or AF/toaster oven combo please?   Wife’s 50th is coming up and I..er…she might need one of these.

 

[offdee]

Can someone recommend a particular brand/model of Air Fryer or AF/toaster oven combo please?   Wife’s 50th is coming up and I..er…she might need one of these.

I have the below and like it a lot.  $120 on Amazon

- Power Air Fryer XL 5.3 Quart

 

[acarey50]

Can someone recommend a particular brand/model of Air Fryer or AF/toaster oven combo please?   Wife’s 50th is coming up and I..er…she might need one of these.

It may be more than most people need, but as I am regularly feeding more than just my own 3 kids, we got this 10 Qt. 2-Zone one from Costco

 

[wikkidpissah]

Can someone recommend a particular brand/model of Air Fryer or AF/toaster oven combo please?   Wife’s 50th is coming up and I..er…she might need one of these.

i'd go w the AF/TO as a wifely gift (tho its more xmasy than big bday). most kitchen engineers already have precisely the # of appliances they want on their counters, so this'd just replace the toaster/convection oven with an enhancement. the Cuisinart TOA-60 has that clean stainless look that folks seem to want, too.

 

[The General]

Installed ductless AC/Heat this spring. Almost looking forward to the next Pacific Northwest Heat Dome this summer.

 

[The General]

New windows for sure

This is a good one. Not a fun purchase but if your windows are old (mine were from the 50's I think) this made a world of difference and was a huge. huge upgrade for the house.

 

[Ridgeback]

A nice Breville espresso machine and a German hand grinder. Fun and saves a ton of money. 

I just bought a Breville Pro for my gf's birthday. Still working on getting it dialed in.

 

[scorchy]

You people just convinced me to order an air fryer off of Amazon.  I'm holding you accountable if I never use it.

 

[otb_lifer]

I just bought a Breville Pro for my gf's birthday. Still working on getting it dialed in.

just checked the specs on this and was very impressed to see 15 bar capacity - pretty damn professional.

not crazy about the low psi pre-infusion, but that 15 bar is quantum enough.  

what's the average extraction time per pull?

 

[dkp993]

Can someone recommend a particular brand/model of Air Fryer or AF/toaster oven combo please?   Wife’s 50th is coming up and I..er…she might need one of these.

I did a lot of research on this a year or two ago, the best combo that I found was the Cuisinart. I’ve had it for a year plus and love it.  
 

https://www.target.com/p/cuisinart-airfryer-toaster-oven-stainless-steel-toa-60tg/-/A-53760593?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012767079&CPNG=PLA_Appliances_Priority%2BShopping_Local|Appliances_Ecomm_Home&adgroup=Appliances_Priority+TCINs&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=1021845&targetid=pla-365931470364&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1247068&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfbY50W18tehymPKFxTvgwttU&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfbY50W18tehymPKFxTvgwttU&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjY6joem59wIVCsDICh0ykgduEAQYAiABEgKPmvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[offdee]

You people just convinced me to order an air fryer off of Amazon.  I'm holding you accountable if I never use it.

I'm convinced that the people who never use the air fryer have never even tried it once.  I know a bunch of people that have an air fryer and legit have never even tried using it...just accustomed to the oven and kind of "forget" they have an air fryer.   Those that use it once or twice quickly see the benefits.

 

[Dezbelief]

I heard it was buggy. I'm fine with the old version 

Try using a screen.

 

[Cjw_55106]

I'm convinced that the people who never use the air fryer have never even tried it once.  I know a bunch of people that have an air fryer and legit have never even tried using it...just accustomed to the oven and kind of "forget" they have an air fryer.   Those that use it once or twice quickly see the benefits.

Am I the only one that thinks the air fryer smells? The second it fires up, I can smell it. Not from old food or anything, just the cooking element. 

 

[acarey50]

I'm convinced that the people who never use the air fryer have never even tried it once.  I know a bunch of people that have an air fryer and legit have never even tried using it...just accustomed to the oven and kind of "forget" they have an air fryer.   Those that use it once or twice quickly see the benefits.

This - even my kids (17 and 15) use it, and the 10 year old is starting to figure out how to do it on his own. Want Chicken Nuggets - air fry for something like 15 minutes and infinitely better than oven or microwave.

Big hit though has been things like mozzarella sticks and even taquitos. And of course tater tots.

 

[acarey50]

Am I the only one that thinks the air fryer smells? The second it fires up, I can smell it. Not from old food or anything, just the cooking element. 

Mine has no smell that I've noticed.

 

[offdee]

Am I the only one that thinks the air fryer smells? The second it fires up, I can smell it. Not from old food or anything, just the cooking element. 

Nope, not mine.  Might be your specific appliance/brand?

 

[Cjw_55106]

Nope, not mine.  Might be your specific appliance/brand?

Yep, I’ll have to check what I got when I get home.

 

[ChiefD]

I'm convinced that the people who never use the air fryer have never even tried it once.  I know a bunch of people that have an air fryer and legit have never even tried using it...just accustomed to the oven and kind of "forget" they have an air fryer.   Those that use it once or twice quickly see the benefits.

My mother in law bought us one for Christmas about 5 years ago.  I refuse to use it.

I deep fry the old fashioned way: Fire up the big-### propane fryer in my driveway with Peanut Oil while drinking a cold one. Like God intended. 

 

[Mister CIA]

I think I want an air fryer too.  I have an oversized microwave that I use once or twice a month.  

 

[Mister CIA]

Blackout curtains.  Can't believe I waited so long.

 

[pollardsvision]

Probably a stupid question but you can do any type of rice, right?  I’m not a fan of white rice but love yellow rice when cooked properly.

I don't have much experience with yellow rice but I'm sure it would.

I use mostly basmati with some jasmine mixed in from time to time.

Most have a white rice or brown rice setting, and I assume the yellow rice would work fine on the white rice setting.

My main go to is basmati using the pilaf method (toasting the raw rice grains in oil). Throw it in the rice cooker and add a little bit of chicken bouillon (I like the Knorr Caldo de Pollo stuff) and a tiny bit of tomato paste. Let the rice cooker do its thing while I have a few cold beers. 

 

[Osaurus]

I'm convinced that the people who never use the air fryer have never even tried it once.  I know a bunch of people that have an air fryer and legit have never even tried using it...just accustomed to the oven and kind of "forget" they have an air fryer.   Those that use it once or twice quickly see the benefits.

Everyone I know raves about them, but I absolutely loathe small appliances cluttering up countertops so I’ve resisted. Maybe I’ll get a new oven with an air fry feature some day. 

 

[dkp993]

I'm convinced that the people who never use the air fryer have never even tried it once.  I know a bunch of people that have an air fryer and legit have never even tried using it...just accustomed to the oven and kind of "forget" they have an air fryer.   Those that use it once or twice quickly see the benefits.

Sounds like the same people who didn’t know better call Saul was a prequel to BB.  

 

[PIK95]

The beat purchase I have made in the last thirty years was central air for my home.  It's not even close.  A snow blower is probably number two, but second tier.

 

[Mister CIA]

No dice on a rice cooker for me.  Cooking rice with a non-stick pot and a lid is drop-dead easy and it always comes out perfect.  I roll with basmati and jasmine almost exclusively, so maybe this technique does not work with other varieties.

• Rinse 150 g (about a half-cup) of rice under cold water for a minute.
  
• Add to pot with 2 cups of water and 3/4 tsp of salt.
  
• Bring to boil, heat down to 6, let go for 10 minutes
  
• Lid on, heat down to 5, let go until the water has evaporated. 
  
• Heat off, let set for 20 minutes
  
• Perfect
  

 

[Mister CIA]

Not that I really put it off, but once I experienced ad-free YouTube there was no going back.  

 

[beer 30]

I'm convinced that the people who never use the air fryer have never even tried it once.  I know a bunch of people that have an air fryer and legit have never even tried using it...just accustomed to the oven and kind of "forget" they have an air fryer.   Those that use it once or twice quickly see the benefits.

Bought this Nuwave Brio 8QT for the wife for Christmas because she thought she wanted one. Thus far I've been the only one to use and then just to make chicken strips. I doubt she ever uses it.

Am I the only one that thinks the air fryer smells? The second it fires up, I can smell it. Not from old food or anything, just the cooking element. 

Mine does too, was hoping after a break in period it would eventually go away. Has a kind of plastic smell to it.

 

[wikkidpissah]

there's a perfect & perfectly easy way to cook rice,. if you like it fluffy - cook it like pasta. 8-10 minutes of a rolling boil, strain it (mesh instead of collander, of course). simmer's for sticky suckers