"Trust Me, It's Worth It": 30 People Share Their Unexpectedly Smart Investments

New windows on our house. Replaced the old single pane metal framed windows. It was like a waterfall of cold air coming off of them and the noise from the street was obnoxious. Heating bill was cut in half.

I have a bike. Not even an expensive one, just a regular bike that I use to go to work every day. It's an half hour ride. I no longer use public transportation or a car so I save money on gas or metro tickets. Cycling an hour a day is enough to keep in ok shape so I don't need to go to the gym.

Best money I have ever spent.

When I moved back to my home town over a year ago I bought a 27' sailboat to live on because rent here is outrageous. Boat cost $4,500 to buy, and moorage at a decent marina is about $170/month. Rent for a studio apartment or 1br here is $900-$1300; every month I save between $600 and $1100, so the boat paid for itself in 4-9 months.

Chickens. I collect 10 eggs a day.

My boots. I was going through a pair of $120 boots every 6 months or so. I finally broke down and bought a pair of $400 boots from a local store.

Not only do they clean and oil them monthly (for free), they also re-stitch and re-sole them as needed. When they eventually do wear out to the point of no repair I will be buying the same exact boots from them again.

Edit to add: They are Red Wing Loggermax soft toe.

I live in Minnesota and am a single woman. One winter I missed two shifts at work because my car wouldn't start and I didn't have anyone who could jump it and road side assistance couldn't be there for hours. After that I went out and spent a little over $100 on a portable car starter. It is a small black box that connects to the battery and jumps the car without needing someone else's car. This has saved me so much time and money. Also being a single girl who at the time worked at night, I didn't have to worry that some stranger stopping to help might have ulterior motives. I feel much safer and always keep it in my purse. Added bonus, I can charge my phone with it too. I've been singing its praises ever since!

Quality cold weather gear. Not only does it work better and look better, I've had a couple jackets for over 5 years now that see heavy use. Meanwhile I have a couple friends that basically buy and throwaway cheap gear every season. Works like s**t, looks like s**t, ends up in a landfill, costs more in the long run. Lose, lose, lose, lose.

3 years ago, I bought a used 1991 Toyota 4-cylinder truck. Paid it off early. Its now 29 years old, and refuses to die. Good gas mileage, low insurance. I change the oil myself...

Surprised no one has said dash cam yet? Mine saved me a $500 deductible clearly showing it was the other drivers fault. It cost me $80 paid for itself 10x over.

A lunchbox.

Buying (even cheap) food for lunches every day is still really expensive compared to buying a lunchbox and making your own lunches from food from the grocery store.

Maybe not what you're looking for but cloth diapers. My wife and I cloth diapered with our first child, and are using them again for our second. The initial investment was hefty, we spent just shy of 500 dollars for about 30 diapers. However, we don't buy disposable at all. I have conservatively said we would spend 100 dollars a month on disposable. We cloth diapered till my daughter was 2.5 years old so 30 months. That's roughly 3,000 dollars so saving about 2,500. With our second child there is no up front cost since we still have the diapers and he turns 9 months old in 2 weeks, so another 900 dollars saved. Now this isn't perfect, I understand the added cost of water and detergent but imo that's negligible based on laundry for a 4 person household anyways when you figure bulk detergent and HE washers. My wife would also say the environmental impact of not throwing diapers into landfills.

If you live in an apartment complex, a drying rack for your clothes. I put mine next to the open window. I have saved literally dozens of dollars.

A really good water bottle and to go mug. Stainless steel and insulated, not the most expensive purchase but expensive for cups. It's so worth it.

A good set of tools. My dad's a handy guy, and has saved thousands on home repairs.

When my wife and I first started dating she wanted to learn to cut hair and wanted a pair of scissors that cost $25, which was a lot for us then. She offered that if I bought her the scissors she'd cut my hair for free as long as we were together. She lied. After 25 years she declared that she'd repaid me for the scissors and was going to stop cutting my hair. Still not a bad deal.

F*****g rechargeable batteries. Xbox players save millions.

Hydraulic floss has helped me keep my teeth so much cleaner saving so much on dental...

Laser eye surgery. No more needing to buy new glasses every couple of years, no more forking out for contact lenses. Also avoided the incidentals like glasses repair kits, eyeglass cleaners, all the consumables that go with contacts.

Saving money long run isn't even the good part. The good part is not needing glasses.

Laser Printers are expensive up front, but they will save you lots of money by no longer needing cartilages. Also is less wasteful because of it.

Edit : Cartridges, not cartilages. You don't even have to cut off that nose of yours. It's a damn steal.

For women, I would say a menstrual cup. You can even find cheaper options than the DivaCup, but man, the amount of money that I'm saving on not buy pads and tampons is amazing. If you're a woman who is struggling financially, a one time payment for the menstrual cup is an amazing investment.