What was your best/worst purchase of 2021?

[Dee_the_third]

My two metrics are:
1) Did you use it as much as you thought you would?
2) Did it meet, or exceed, expected money/quality of life/unquantifiable joy improvements?

For me, best was paying a contractor $1500 to turn our attic into storage space. Clear up so much necessary junk out of our living area.
Worst was a tablet. I had this nebulous idea of it improving my work efficiency, but turns out I can't read technical papers without a pen in hand to actually scrawl on the page.

You're allowed to say boring stuff like index funds, but we reserve the right to call you a boring old fart. :p

[JAYSLOL]

Best purchase in terms of enjoyment was a new Yamaha digital piano, have a kid in piano lessons and I’ve been playing around on it too even though I don’t know what I’m doing.  We had a crappy digital keyboard and it just wasn’t any fun to learn on. 

Worst purchase was a used hybrid bike that I didn’t notice had a small crack in the aluminum frame until it was too late (I bought it in the winter and didn’t notice until a couple months later when I brought it out and cleaned it up), so I haven’t been riding it at all, going to take the fenders and seat off and put them on my old bike for now and unload it for next to nothing as a parts bike

Bonus Worst non-purchase was I had the opportunity to buy a former co-workers truck and didn’t go for it, he gave me a shout out of the blue and mentioned he was interested in selling his low-mileage Ford Ranger, I said I probably wasn’t interested but that my boss might be looking for an extra work vehicle this year, they connected and he bought the truck, realized later that the Ranger was a 2010 but only had 45k on it and the guy was asking $4500, which is about half of what that truck is worth around here with that low mileage.  Anyway, good buy for my boss, but I should have snagged the deal lol

[cupcakery]

I had a few purchases that I was happy and unhappy with.

For the worst, I'll say a screen magnifier for my iphone.  It doesn't work as well as I thought it would.  I don't think I'll use it again, so it was a waste of money.  We also had to replace a car that was totaled.  Used car prices are very high, so I was very unhappy with how much I had to pay for a used car.  The insurance company gave us more for our totaled car than we'd paid for it, but I still feel like I overpaid to replace it.  Although, a car is a necessity for us, so I guess I can't hate it that much.

I think my favorite purchase was two Lodge enameled cast iron skillets that I found at Marshall's for almost half-off retail.  I love everything about them.  My favorite thing to make in them is pan pizza.  We are obsessed.

[iris lily]

Best purchase in terms of enjoyment was a new Yamaha digital piano, have a kid in piano lessons and I’ve been playing around on it too even though I don’t know what I’m doing.  We had a crappy digital keyboard and it just wasn’t any fun to learn on. 

Worst purchase was a used hybrid bike that I didn’t notice had a small crack in the aluminum frame until it was too late (I bought it in the winter and didn’t notice until a couple months later when I brought it out and cleaned it up), so I haven’t been riding it at all, going to take the fenders and seat off and put them on my old bike for now and unload it for next to nothing as a parts bike

Bonus Worst non-purchase was I had the opportunity to buy a former co-workers truck and didn’t go for it, he gave me a shout out of the blue and mentioned he was interested in selling his low-mileage Ford Ranger, I said I probably wasn’t interested but that my boss might be looking for an extra work vehicle this year, they connected and he bought the truck, realized later that the Ranger was a 2010 but only had 45k on it and the guy was asking $4500, which is about half of what that truck is worth around here with that low mileage.  Anyway, good buy for my boss, but I should have snagged the deal lol

Let me join you in slapping yourself up side o’ the head for not buying that 2010 Ranger. They are GOLD. DH has exactly that 2010 Ranger and people still walk up to him in a parking lot to ask if he wants to sell, even after they started up the Ranger production line again ( with a greatly changed product)

[economista]

The best purchase was a new house! We had a toddler, a baby, and 2 parents in a small townhouse with no yard. I was working from home full time and husband is a stay at home dad. We had no room and the kids were becoming wild. Our townhouse neighbors also partied every single night in the alley behind our house, waking our girls up constantly even with their noise machines on.

We upgraded from a 1490 sq ft townhouse to a 2400 sq ft house with a huge lot, just a few blocks away. We have all the space we need and I have a dedicated office away from the craziness. We can also just let the girls play outside, instead of having to trek them to a park. On the financial side, we sold the townhouse for $555k and bought the new house for $620k. The equity in the townhouse + $20k of additional down payment got us to 20% down on the new house. Since we don't have an HOA fee anymore, our mortgage is $10 less than the mortgage + HOA fee on the townhouse was. Definitely the best purchase we could have made, by far!

Worst purchase was a ring light for my laptop. It did absolutely nothing to help light up my face for zoom meetings and just blinded me in the process.

[JungYo]

Easily my best purchase was an ebike - specifically, a Rad Rover Step-Through. It was brand new in the box and I paid less than $900 for it. I have become obsessed with it, and ride virtually every single day. After-work rides are now at least 10miles, and weekend rides are much longer. I keep the pedal assist as low as possible, only use throttle to cross streets, in order to get a great workout. As I told my wife: I'm getting more exercise now than any time since I left basic training at Ft. Knox in 1983.

O, and beer. Beer is/was one my best purchases of every year. :)

As for bad purchases, nothing much comes to mind. Probably some small things that cost $50 or less, but I didn't make other major purchases during 2021 aside from a used truck (which I love, but hardly drive now!).

[cool7hand]

I think the following is within the spirit of this post's parameters.

Our worst purchase of 2021 was the services of UPS shipping a damaged fishing rod back for lifetime warranty service. We didn't insure the rod because it was broken as a result of normal use. As long as the manufacturer received the rod, they'd replace it. Some genius at UPS conveyed the rod despite their own sticker not to convey it, apparently the package and its contents exploded, and UPS inexplicably discarded both the fishing rod and package! UPS blamed us because we packed the rod, which made no sense. After a long fight made more difficult by the fact that there's no way to speak via phone to anyone with authority at UPS, UPS only agreed to refund 1/4 of the rod's value. We avoiding having to sue UPS by providing detailed documentation to the manufacturer of the BS at UPS, and the manufacturer took mercy on us and replaced the rod for the cost of shipping--which UPS's refund covered!

[JAYSLOL]

I think the following is within the spirit of this post's parameters.

Our worst purchase of 2021 was the services of UPS shipping a damaged fishing rod back for lifetime warranty service. We didn't insure the rod because it was broken as a result of normal use. As long as the manufacturer received the rod, they'd replace it. Some genius at UPS conveyed the rod despite their own sticker not to convey it, apparently the package and its contents exploded, and UPS inexplicably discarded both the fishing rod and package! UPS blamed us because we packed the rod, which made no sense. After a long fight made more difficult by the fact that there's no way to speak via phone to anyone with authority at UPS, UPS only agreed to refund 1/4 of the rod's value. We avoiding having to sue UPS by providing detailed documentation to the manufacturer of the BS at UPS, and the manufacturer took mercy on us and replaced the rod for the cost of shipping--which UPS's refund covered!

Oh man, I seriously felt my blood pressure going up reading this.  Glad it worked out in the end.  This is why I get all my fishing gear from garage sales lol

[middo]

Best purchase was reverse cycle air conditioning, hot water and solar panels, all linked so we get the best power usage.  House is always comfortable and we always have hot water.

Worst?  Accommodation we didn't use and didn't get much of a refund for?  Border closures in Australia stopped our mid year holiday and catch up with our kids.

[clarkfan1979]

My two metrics are:
1) Did you use it as much as you thought you would?
2) Did it meet, or exceed, expected money/quality of life/unquantifiable joy improvements?

For me, best was paying a contractor $1500 to turn our attic into storage space. Clear up so much necessary junk out of our living area.
Worst was a tablet. I had this nebulous idea of it improving my work efficiency, but turns out I can't read technical papers without a pen in hand to actually scrawl on the page.

You're allowed to say boring stuff like index funds, but we reserve the right to call you a boring old fart. :p

Best: $1200 worth of exterior paint and I painted one of my rentals. A fresh coat of paint has to be the highest ROI in real estate

Worst: We get toys for our 4-year old as gifts throughout the year. Average play time is 1-day.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Best purchase was the Alaska cruise that we bought for 2020, got credits for when it was cancelled, and re-bought with upgrades for 2021.  It was the first cruise when NCL started back up, and it was a new ship, so we didn't have too much time to worry about everything that could go wrong.  We did end up missing one of the ports due to a non-Covid evac midway through the trip, but it was a much needed taste of the life we'd been missing.

I don't think we had any worst purchases in 2021, I feel like we really didn't buy much stuff.  We'd been on a tear buying 3 new cars 2015, 2019, and 2020 as well as putting in new windows and a new floor in the house, so 2021 was a year off.

[jnw]

I don't buy too many things.  Umm I'd say my best purchase was the 8GB Mac Mini M1.  Affordable, blazing fast & silent. 

Worst purchase: The wrong color tile grout.  Going to have to seal it with a colored sealer to get it right.

[APowers]

So many great things.

Purchased a trailer hitch to allow my truck to pull a Uhaul trailer and help one of my best friends move from TX to CO near me.

(More time than money, but) finally remodeling my bedrooms and living room, including refinishing the floors. My house is SO much more usable, and it allows me to be MUCH more hospitable than I've ever been before (one of my personal development goals).

(Again, more time than money) rebuilding the roof of my covered porch so the space is usable and dry even in rain or snow.

[Gerard]

Best: Instant Pot. We use it far more often than I thought we would.

Worst: cast iron grill/griddle. Awkward to use, hard to move around and clean, and by the time it's hot enough to make pretty grill stripes, it's starting to set off the smoke detector.

Upside, though, is that we bought so little stuff in 2021 that we're still way ahead on the year!

[Dee_the_third]

Best: Instant Pot. We use it far more often than I thought we would.

Aw yeah. Love the IP. Pressure cooking is a game changer for stews & beans!

[Hula Hoop]

Best: new phone for me.  Upgrade from the Motorola G7 that everyone has here on MMM.  I got a Samsung Galaxy A52.  It's super fast and takes much better photos. 

Worst: tons of crappy headphones. 

[NorCal]

I converted a natural gas water heater to an electric heat pump variety.  I did it as a mostly DIY project, with help from a friend that's studying to become a plumber.  I'm mostly proud of the new DIY skills I learned, as I've never done plumbing before.  I also had the satisfaction of figuring out solutions to a problem with the water recirculation system that had multiple professional plumbers stumped.

As an added benefit, I get to enjoy being smug about how good it is for the environment, and my utility bills are roughly flat from last year even though gas rates have doubled.


While I know I spent money on some dumb stuff in 2021, nothing jumps out as especially horrible.  I mostly regret caving to the kids in their incessant "I want it, I want it" complaints. 

[MasterStache]

Best: Convinced my spouse early in the year to dump off her Prius V in favor of a Volt. I got rid of my Leaf in favor of a "construction" van at the same time. That one was a bit tougher but it has made hauling stuff so much easier.

Worst:  We spent a lot of money last year but it was for a new roof and new siding. I did buy a nice new TV that we probably didn't really need. I just refaced our fireplace with some beautiful stone, new mantel and an insert. I was afraid our old TV was going to look cheap mounted to it.