What’s your top BIFL purchase, that might not in itself has been all to frugal, but long term, will be?
After having 5-6 different office chairs over the last 10 years, none of which I liked. I went and bought a Herman Miller Aeron chair. It’s ridiculously expensive, but I’m so pleased with it and hope to keep it for well over 15-20 years. If that actually succeed, I will have spent less money one chairs than if I hadn’t bought it.
What similar items (cheap or expensive) do you feel the same about?
Purchased a Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45 convertible shoulder bag/backpack in 2015. BIFL as BIFL gets. This bag has flown 100k+ miles, bi-monthly transcontinental flights and multiple trips to Europe. Massive YKK zippers, bulletproof waterproof shell, sensible compartments, multiple sturdy handles, fits underneath airline seats, and in cramped overhead bins, looks like the day I got it. If you occasionally get off the beaten path, place a high value on mobility, find roller bags silly and wasteful for anything but pure urban airport-to-hotel travel, and adhere to the one-bag school of travel, make this your one bag. At $330, it’s spendy, but my cost per mile/hour/level of satisfaction approaches zero.
They also make a 30L Aeronaut bag that fits smaller bodies and goes in European budget airline overheads with no trouble.
Disclaimer: maybe Tom Bihn has been acquired by another company? so cannot speak to current-day manufacture standards. I can’t verify from the website if this is true. You should check it out for yourself, though. It’s pretty cool. Going purely by the “about us” section I can’t believe a single thing has changed.