Newlywed's post made me think of a spinoff. What items that if you purchase them and use them as they were intended, pay for themselves? The one thing I am thinking of right now is the energy-efficient compact flourescent bulbs. I still haven't bought too many, but I intend to!

__________________
Check out the Mommysavers Fan Page on Facebook
Frugal Tweets! Follow Mommysavers on Twitter
Preorder the NEW Mommysavers.com Book: Instant Bargains

We use those lightbulbs too. DH bought me a old little Mercedes Benz 190 diesel last year before the gas prices got so high. It was his belief that gas would get more expensive and diesel would be cheaper. My little car gets 40-50 mpg, right now the gas prices here are $3.08 a gallon - diesel is $2.79. I haven't done the math but I am guessing that the car is slowly paying for itself.

We have slowly replaced the windows in our house and it has payed off greatly this last year. I can keep the air at a higher temp, saving money and the heat at a lower temp.

One of the greatest things we did was put a dvd in the car last year for our 12 hour trips to see family. I constantly tell my Dh that this payed for itself and my sanity!

Foodsaver!

A car. We bought an old car, a Chevrolet Cavalier, at an auction for $500. My husband drove it to and from work (10 miles a day) for 6 years. When we could afford a better car, we sold it for $500. It was a great, car that only needed a muffler, tires and battery. I hated to see it go.

I second this! Foodsaver + Chest Freezer so I can stock up!

__________________
:love:

Don't laugh...but my scrapbooking supplies pay for themselves a lot of times. By using my supplies to make and sell cards, I pay for the supplies AND bring in a little extra cash at the same time. (Of course, that extra cash usually goes to buy more and new supplies!) I also NEVER buy a card from a store now! One card is as much as a 50 sheet pack of scrapbooking paper...and I get 100 cards out of that!

__________________

artificial Christmas tree $100 and I have used it for 3 years now (instead of paying at least $40 to get a decent live tree so $20 in saving so far and next year it will be $60.

yarn its a hobby but I use it for gifts.

The home up grades. New kitchen and wiring. We have spend 10K on uprades and our houses vaule increase 50K

So there are lots of things that I feel justify there purchase

__________________
Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006 &

Organizer of the Coupon Clippers of Tacoma

I agree w/ the Foodsaver. I use it more for the canisters to store fresh fruits and veggies in the fridge. I can't even begin to guess how much that has saved on produce that would normally have been a green pile of mush in the veggie drawer! I also freeze a lot w/ it, too, but really get our money's worth from the canisters.

Can I please ask...what is a Foodsaver...never heard of it?