I don't mean just anything. I mean big ticket items that you had to think about. Maybe something more than $100. That should keep it low enough that everyone can contribute.
I'd say the most rewarding item would be my car. The current one, the Hyundai. It might not be stylish [I like it, but it looked better before it got rusty] or all that fast...but when I stomp the gas, it snarls and takes right off. It eats Civics for breakfast. It also gets reasonable gas mileage, and didn't cost very much. I've had it for five years, and plan to keep it at least another two, assuming it doesn't become a money pit. Or rust away to where it's unsafe to keep. I drove it, I researched it, I drove it some more, I asked other people who had Elantras, and then I drove it one more time. Then I went to the local credit union, got a loan, and brought it home. It's truly "mine" in every sense of the word. My first car was a clunky Plymouth that cost a lot to insure, sucked a lot of gas, and broke down all the time. My parents picked it out, and I didn't really like it. I paid for it as well, but since my first choices were forbidden [sports cars and compacts] it wasn't really "my" car. After the first year, I didn't like it at all, and after it sucked up my savings the following year with hundreds of dollars of repairs every month...I got pissed, and went shopping on my own. Didn't have Dad's permission to get a new car...my reply was "I'm 20 years old and have a job, since when do I need your permission to buy something?" I let my Grandpa have my old Plymouth, since it was going to the junkyard...he asked if he could have it, and traded me a shotgun, a really neat .22 lever action rifle, and some other stuff for it. He was thrilled. He worked on it and drove it till he died. Now Grandma still drives it, and once in awhile I drive her in it when I visit [I see better at night]. I don't miss that POS one little bit!
Ok, that was long.
Number 2 is my computer...it's powerful, it wasn't all that expensive considering I've had it in some incarnation for seven years now - I keep upgrading and working on it - a darned good investment.
Number 3 is that soviet rifle I mention from time to time. It was the first gun I ever went out, did the homework on, and bought. It's in excellent condition, and I have all the soviet tools and parts that would have come with it. I also got a translated book of how it comes apart, how to shoot it, and how to kill things with it on Amazon. I know how to shoot, and I already had it apart before the book arrived. But that how to kill things chapter was interesting. Why, you ask? Because it tells you how to shoot down fighter planes as they dive at you.
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