I had to decide between a $450 gas dryer and a $380 electric one for my apartment in Denver, and I went with gas because the hookup was already there. It dried clothes in 30 minutes flat at first, but now the igniter keeps failing and I've already spent $200 on repairs over 4 years. Anyone else find that the cheaper upfront option actually ended up costing you less in the long run?
Back in 2018 I was at this indoor range in Phoenix and some random dude next to me watched me empty a mag and just straight up said 'dude you're squeezing way too hard, relax your hands'. I was mostly missing the target and getting frustrated. He showed me the thumbs-forward grip and told me to let the recoil do its thing. Felt totally wrong at first but after like 20 rounds my groups tightened up a ton. Still think about that guy sometimes. Anyone else get unsolicited advice that actually worked out?
I ruined about 4 good white shirts over the years from spaghetti sauce splatters. Tried every spray and stain stick at the store, nothing worked. Then my grandma told me to make a paste with baking soda and water, let it sit on the stain for 15 minutes before washing. First try got out a 3 day old stain from a shirt I had given up on. Has anyone else found a stupid simple fix like that after wasting money on the fancy stuff?
I was cleaning out their attic last weekend and found a spiral notebook with a timeline for 'Operation Big Shake' - they faked a whole earthquake drill to teach me emergency prep... has anyone else found out their parents staged something that seemed totally real at the time?
I was about to cut a large tile for a bathroom remodel and my helper just casually measured from the door frame instead of the wall like I always did. Turned out I had been adding an extra half inch to every cut thinking I needed room for expansion that was already built into the gap method. Has anyone else had a basic work habit that was totally backwards for way too long?
I used to hit the curb every single time I tried to parallel park. Like not even close, I'd be up on the sidewalk. My wife would just get out and walk home instead of watching me struggle. But I started practicing at the abandoned mall lot on Route 22 after work every Thursday. Did it for like 4 months straight. Yesterday I parked downtown between a BMW and a truck and got it perfect on the first try. No honking, no getting out to check. Felt like I leveled up or something. Anyone else have a skill they just had to grind at forever before it clicked?
Last year I decided to finally tackle my garage mess. Bought those heavy duty plastic bins from Home Depot for like $60 total, sorted everything by category, and labeled each bin with a sharpie. Sounds great right? Well I forgot to write what was actually inside, just stuff like "camping gear" and "tools." Now every time I need something I have to open 4 or 5 bins before I find it. Has anyone else made a labeling system that sounded good but totally failed in practice?
I always thought those filter changes were a scam to sell more filters... my electric bill hit $210 in August and I was blaming the old unit. Then my landlord came by to fix a leaky faucet and saw the filter. He pulled it out and it was basically solid gray. He held it up and said "you're choking your system to death." So I changed it. Bill dropped to $150 the next month. Still bugs me that nobody ever told me they needed to be swapped every 3 months. Has anyone else had a landlord teach them something obvious about their place?
Back in 2018 my uncle Bob told me to stick with my retail job instead of taking a pay cut to learn web development. He said the tech bubble would burst and I'd be stranded. Well I stayed, and now 5 years later I'm still making the same $38k while my buddy who took the plunge is pulling $70k. But then again his company just laid off 200 people last quarter... so was he actually right about the instability? Anyone else get bad advice from family that haunts them?
My older brother told me back in 2019 to just put my new AC unit on a credit card instead of waiting to save up cash for it. He said I could pay it off before the promo period ended, but I lost track of time and got hit with deferred interest. Now I'm still paying off that stupid decision at 26% APR. Has anyone else been burned by family giving you financial advice that seemed solid at the time?
Bought a used La Marzocco Linea Mini off Craigslist last summer, thought I was getting a steal from some rich guy in the suburbs. After three months of burnt shots and sour pulls, I sunk another $200 in parts and a tech to fix a clogged boiler. Tell me, did I just buy someone else's headache or am I missing some secret trick to dialing these things in?
Last summer when the smoke got bad, I dropped $200 on a fancy air purifier from a big box store. I thought it would help my asthma but it barely made a dent in the smell. After three days of coughing nonstop, a buddy told me to just tape a furnace filter to a box fan for $40. It cleared the room way faster than the expensive unit ever did. Now I'm stuck with this pricey paperweight. Has anyone else had a store bought purifier let them down like that?
Back in 2017, I thought drying my cast iron with a dish towel was fine, not realizing I was trapping tiny bits of moisture that caused rust spots over time. A cook at a diner in Cleveland showed me how she heats it on the stove for 2 minutes after washing to evaporate every drop, and I felt like an idiot for all those ruined pans. Anyone else have a basic kitchen habit they didn't learn until way later?
My grandmother lectured me for 20 minutes when she saw me scrub my Lodge with Dawn, but I've never had rust or sticking and the seasoning is still solid. Has anyone else actually tested the no-soap rule or are we all just repeating what grandpa said?