What's the cheapest thing you had bought that by the end of its usefulness made you say "wow, this was worth a lot more than what I've paid for!"
Mine... My Xbox 360 slim only costed 129 euro back in 2012 and to this day still work like brand new, you would think that the disc drive would stop working but no. Never had the need of open it or clean it's insides. Still great, I just don't use it anymore since I feel it's outdated and loading speeds are better nowadays.
A shoehorn. It makes putting shoes on so much easier, and for just a couple of dollars. I'm perfectly capable of putting my shoes on without it, but I enjoy not having to.
I started using one because the back would always wear out (heel counter, I think it's called) so the shoe horn has reduced that to nothing. Now the shoes wear out first, so I'm sure I've saved the cost of a couple pairs of shoes by now.
I have one of those long shoehorns that let me put my shoes on without even leaning down. It makes me feel downright aristocratic. (And it's metal too, no plastic for me!)
I have one of those, shoes are on in seconds. My wife refuses to use it (various reasons) so she will struggle for a minute to get her feet in, walk down the apartment hallway still struggling, get to lobby and sit and fix the back of shoes. Maybe one day she will come around.
The gf made fun of me at first for using it, but now she does too, especially as she likes to take off her shoes without untying them. 😒
She brought home a metal one a while ago after our long plastice one broke, but this one already bent somehow. I keep bending it back, but it must be made of the cheapest metal possible because it keeps bending again. Still works, just looks stupid. I'll have to ask for a quality one for Christmas. It does make me feel rather gentlemanly when I put on my work boots!
Ecco sells metal shoehorns that are a) cheapish b) nigh indestructible and c) long. It's honestly surprising how massive those things are. Could club a burglar to death with one and not dent it.