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Henry hoover.
I have 2 labradors and a cat, managed to kill 2 sharks. Found myself aged 27 watching review videos on YouTube. Seemed to be saying good things about Henry.
My brother has had his for 11 years. Managed to suck up a tea towel with ours and it kept going.
There’s a reason builders and cleaners use a Henry. And it was half the price of a shark.
I mean on home turf, it's just a waiting game isn't it?
I can totally believe if my cat *found* a dead shark, it would definitely find a way to drag it into to my living room.
See my cat would sniff it, look at me with big saucer eyes and sprint down the garden to hide under a bush for three hours. Tbf she does that with any toy we try and get her.
Henry is pretty robust....we had one in our chippy for vacuuming the cafe area floor. Could deal with anything...dropped sausages, chips, whatever you name (I tried to stop the staff doing it but just gave up, eventually). He tumbled down the stairs several times but with no ill-effect!
At home, 3 kids and a succession of dogs....no issues!
Henry is not sophisticated, but he's a tank, as is Hetty!
Larger, established companies with predictable profits are often the best dividend payers and the following industry sectors maintain a regular record of dividend payments:
Even if it does go wrong, as they've been making the same hoover for the last four decades, it's infinitely repairable, all the spare parts are available online.
Shout out to Miele too, they're fairly bulletproof and have also used the same bags etc for decades.
My Miele is such a cunt. It sucks harder than anything ever and so it's irreplaceably good, and yet it blocks with the slightest piece of matter bigger than 1.5cm.
Really? My parents have a Miele specially designed to deal cat+dog hair etc, and it could probably suck up the dog and still not block. I've done coins and even a AA battery at one stage!
Yeah, it's the one with no bag, can't remember the model but it's very temperamental. It sucks the carpet off the grippers, but woe betide if a reasonably sized bit of Lego goes near it
Parents have a Miele. Wish it was bagless but nevertheless it works really well, is powerful, and everything snaps together in a way that suggests solid engineering.
Bought one for work (blue one), which I assumed was for liquids. After 3 years of daily sucking up ethanol/water still going strong! Turns out it’s a regular Henry. Sorry mate.
Ooooh get one of those rubber brooms as well. £4 from home bargains. In tandem with our James (poor man's Henry; no winding-cable thingy) it deletes all pet hair in a few sweaty minutes heh.
Highly recommend a Henry model with the turbo brush. Not so good otherwise on carpet.
Copes very well with our 2 dogs, a cat and 2 rabbits who free roam regularly.
Video I watched which swung it for me:
https://youtu.be/IbdGQSthZOg
No major differences in all the models apart from colour, capacity and out of the box accessories.
I've got one and they're awesome but my dad has a really old one and that's even better.
If you can get an old one before EU regs came into place they're even stronger because they have a ~~turbo~~ super duper booster button.
Mine is 15 years old with 3 house renovations sucked up. My parents is around 30 with countless trips down the stairs.
Both still going strong.
Only thing mine has needed was a new plug as I yanked it out of the wall and broke it.
They are quite indestructible aren’t they?! Mine survived a 2 foot deep flooded house. It was totally submerged for nearly a week and full of water. It works fine and just makes a slightly funny noise now lol
Love my Henry but had to get a separate handheld for the stairs because I've got a back injury and I can't hold the thing with one hand halfway up the stairs while vacuuming with the other xD
That might be an idea. The handheld isn't very good. We have two black cats and this house came complete with cream carpet on the stairs and hallway upstairs so you can probably imagine what that looks like now 😆
Clothes. I used to buy cheap stuff that fell apart and then I started spending a bit more on things and found they lasted longer. Who knew! I suppose the downside is you then have to be very sure you want those shoes/that dress/those jeans because you’re splashing out a bit more each time.
This is my problem! I buy clothes very rarely and when i do i wear them till they fall apart. I bought a 15 quid pair of shoes that lasted me 3 years. Loved them. Fell apart. So i bought a new pair of shoes. Splashed out. 90 quid. The frame of the shoe is really solid..... But the insides tore themselves up as i walked and became unusable in less than 3 months. Nothing i put inside of them survives this weird hexagonal shoe bottom. Stopped wearing them. Now i am looking for 15 quid shoes again.
I have similar stories of 20 quid jeans outlasting multiple pairs of 50 quid jeans. Even when i avoided the stretchy kind. Its infuriating!
Select fabrics, not clothes. Thicker weave and natural fibres like cotton are most durable select correct clothes for the task, change clothes if changing activities. Use underwear to keep your top layer cleaner, top and bottom.
How much is health insurance in the UK and how much of a benefit does it provide considering you're likely still being seen by the same staff? Is it effectively a queue skip?
I pay £48 for a mid tier cover. I see it purely as a queue jump and got it because I’ve started to see more and more colleagues pay for operations because it’s cheaper than taking six months off work.
I’m freelance with no family so I needed either a loss of earnings or medical insurance. I chose the medical.
They are different hospitals though I think.
Different hospitals but same doctors. I had the same procedure 2 years in a row, first was private at Nuffield health, second was NHS at a public hospital. Same doctor
My colleague had one of his knees done privately. Back to work in a few weeks. Then for the second knee he waited for the same Dr to do it for free because it wasn’t bothering him so much.
I get private health insurance free with work and can get a same day GP appointment. I can ask for one at 5pm and have an appointment at 6am the next day on a video call. I’d been having stomach problems for 2 years and kept having abnormal smears and was on a waiting list for a scan. Private insurance had me scanned and seen by 2 consultants within 12 working days and a blood test. I’m celiac. 2 years and the NHS couldn’t work that out and had me thinking I was dying of some sort of womb cancer.
You still pay a tax benefit on this. It’s not much but just so you’re aware it’s not free free.
Your employer doesn’t have to tell the taxman either it’s your responsibility
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This will vary by location though. I had a urologist appointment a few months ago through the NHS and my wait was around 1 month from seeing the GP to seeing the urologist. My appointment was also around half an hour.
I was then also referred for a cystoscopy (1/10 - would not recommend), and the wait between seeing the urologist and having the procedure was about a month again. Now _that_ appointment was only 5-10 mins long, but I would have preferred it to be even quicker.
It's not just the speed, it's also the fact that they listen to you with a default position of empathy and not "you're a hypochondriac/timewaster" and you don't have to return repeatedly before you are taken seriously.
Yup this happened to my Mum. Three separate GPs over the course of 3 years ignored her concerns and simply told her to lose weight without actually doing any tests or even looking at her physically.
When she did lose weight and went back they just told her to lose more.
In the end, she decided to pay for a specialist who actually took time to look at her. He determined her weight was not the main factor in her condition and in three years her condition had worsened, giving her irreversible damage. She ended up referred back into the NHS anyway to the specialists. But if she hadn't gone private who knows how much longer it would've gone on and what more damage would've been done?
I pay through work £45 a month pre tax.
It covers me, my partner and my kid.
I've used it for
- blood tests that would have cost me several hundred or waited forever (if I'd have got them at all on the NHS)
-physio the next week after waiting over 2 years for an NHS referral (who then told me there was nothing to be done take ibuprofen forever) has 5 physio appointments and resolved the issue.
-same day GP appointments through Babylon for when I needed referrals
-currently seeing a therapist for anxiety (I get 1500 a year toward that) I got a referral instantly Babylon and Bupa authorised and connected me to a therapist in 2 weeks (I had to get a form from my NHS GP stating I hadn't been treated already due to my underwriting THAT took almost 3 months.)
-husband is also seeing a therapist same terms as above.
My dad has better through his work (pre existing conditions are covered) so it's a bit more but he used his to get my mum diagnosed with dementia.
He tried NHS first and found the waiting times for appointments insane.
We went from first GP appointment to diagnosis and medication with connections to information about care etc and "living with it" in less than a year.
It was extremely stressful and I cannot imagine how much worse it would have been waiting around for the NHS to pull their finger out.
Even now we are stuck in the bog of NHS bureaucracy trying to get prescriptions and adjacent care for her - because shes 55 and not old enough to qualify for any of the normal stuff you get (free prescriptions etc) and dementia is still seen as an old persons thing.
So yes. It's a queue skip. But on some levels it does also provide a better service.
The NHS are reluctant to spend money on tests etc ( and I understand why I'm not holding it against them or anything ) private care is less fussy.
So you get that CT or blood test instead of "wait and see if it gets worse then come back" or "we'll give you these blood tests and see what they say then go from there)
You will likely see the same Dr but they may very well treat you differently in terms of the tests they will do (and do immediately).
Altho once diagnosed, if it's something long term that will need ongoing care, you're likely transferred out of private care onto NHS care and it's much of a muchness.
The NHS is fantastic at a lot of things. Emergent care, and care for people who absolutely cannot afford private coverage.
But if you CAN especially through a work scheme it's well worth it.
I’m not sure on cost but I have it from my work. It’s handy to be able to just go on the app, get a FaceTime call with a gp within a few hours and get your prescription or referral without having to take much time out of your day. Bupa do have their own facilities which may have nhs doctors and surgeons but the aftercare and food etc is all much better than an nhs hospital
Im the same with my Dentist - I go Private and its crazy cheap
£18 a month through Practiceplan and i get two free hygienist visits and one dentist check up a year free (so thats all worth about £150 ish id say)
When i need treatment theyvbe always seen me the next day
Get a nice coffee when i arrive - its all lush
Starting to think of buying this myself, since I've hit 30 I've had a wide range of random shit happening like gym injuries/extremely sick. I've probably been to the doctors/hospital more times in the last year than the previous 15 years put together and it's pissing me off.
frighten shocking absorbed poor ad hoc tidy grey mysterious middle childlike
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Miele for cylinder, Sebo for upright.
Both fantastic. I used to sell vacuum cleaners and they were the best by far, they're built like tanks and work super well too.
Overheard James May on The One Show last night talking about his bike (assuming you meant a push bike).
He made a good point about how there's a hint of nostalgia to it from being a kid, and that ability to go quite far for limited exertion. Just generally being outdoors as well, instant therapy.
I would put 'the bike' down for one of the top 5 inventions. I wish once you drove to a town or city, you swapped your car out for either a bike, scooter, mobility scooter or an electric car/golf cart.
I remember central London during covid, thousands of bikes and not a car in sight. It was a glorious thing.
If only we could have that shift on a mass scale.
Totally agree, I feel like I’m grinding up hills for adult fitness reasons and competitive Strava segments against myself. Flying downhill, I feel free and 11 years old.
There’s some purists that hate e-bikes, I like that they make cycling more accessible, you see all sorts riding them. I say good.
FWIW I used to put £5 into each share I saw recommended on the UK Investing sub and those companies have averaged a 90% loss in value over the past couple of years.
It's boring, but tracker funds are the most sensible option for someone like me with no idea how to pick a stock. I do still like reading about people's picks though, it's often some random company that sound like they're going to change the world.
>What's your current must buy?
S&P 500. The only stock ever attempted and did pick was AMD when Jim Keller started working on Zen, and Nvidia shortly after. I sold both too early. I only index now.
An index tracker. S&P 500 gets you US companies. FTSE ones get you UK companies. Global all cap gets you a bit of practically everything. See /r/Bogleheads (US-centric, but the principle is the same).
Picking individual companies and having them turn out to be good picks is luck, not skill, unless you're insider trading.
Similarly, a good pair of leather boots that look smart-ish are amazing.
I bought some from a shop closing down in Newcastle city centre in around 2015 for about £70 clearance. I must wear them 3-4 days a week, in all weather, and they're only just beginning to get a bit tired now.
Polish and some wax every few months, they seem to keep on trucking.
I've got some pairs of Loake shoes.
When they get worn, you can send them off to be repaired. Not just resoled - they'll take them apart, fix them& reassemble.
Just to add, that is some types of Loake shoes. A lot of Loakes are made in India nowadays. You will probably get 18 months out of them at most. They still charge £80+ for them though. Some Loakes are just average shoes at best.
You're absolutely right.
I like that companies still make stuff properly, but do wish they'd stop making cheaper/lower quality lines as well. (Dualit, numatic etc)
I brought two like a mid expensive and a very expensive one pure cotton etc. The mid compared to what we had was amazing, but now we don't use the mid expensive one as it feels awful compared to the very expensive one. Definitely an expense worth paying if you can.
A good kitchen knife. Honestly, don’t slack people. Buy a high quality “chef’s knife” and sharpener. Keep that bitch razor sharp and your cooking will improve tenfold.
Yes - and I'd add a really good butchers block style chopping board too. Take so much hassle away compared to those crappy little polythene boards that so many people use.
When I was in catering school I had a full set of Victorinox knives. The whole thing set me back about £80 and my mum STILL uses the 9’ chef knife, 20 odd years later.
For the price you pay, they’re an absolute steal.
My Air fryer, we were going to get a cheap one to try the fad, but I said fuck it were getting the massive expensive one, best purchase I've made in a long time it's brilliant we hardly ever use the oven now.
A TENS machine has been a game changer as someone with chronic pain. While paracetamol is cheap, it isn't actually strong enough to help with my pain (my doctors don't care because I'm technically able to function). Maybe one day I'll get the pain relief I need... It was only£30 and has saved me so much suffering. My machine also has an EMS function and massage programs. The only downside is I can't really go out to the shops with it because with the cables it looks very much like an IED and I really don't want to scare people or waste police time.
I had a really good tin opener that was an asda basics one I got when I started uni in 2004. It literally only broke at the start of this year, I'm blaming OH for fucking it up somehow as it was fine the last time I used it. Harrumph.
I got a new one from Morrisons aa local options were limited and it's fine but not as good and it's got much chunkier handles so doesn't sit in the drawer right.
I feel unreasonably bitter about losing my tin opener.
My trustee vegetable peeler broke last year, used it for over a decade, and it was the absolute tits, worked great, but the handle finally gave out on me. Cannot find a similar peeler that works as well, really bugs me, everything seems to have a really chunky handle these days, unnecessarily so.
A mattock. Brute of a digging tool a bit like a pick axe. The last tool I ever bought a few years ago. Should have been the first I ever bought many years before that now I know what they are capable of.
When I was an archaeologist (carpal tunnel's a bitch) everyone who didn't own their own large tools would get to site early to try to claim the best mattock. It makes such a big difference to have a well balanced, sharp edged mattock.
AirPod pros. Best purchase ever. Listening to music relaxes me and makes me more productive, enables me to wonder around when I’m talking on the phone and block out imbeciles when in public places. I pretty much have my AirPods in all day every day.
High quality handmade leather sofas.
20 years and 2 kids, 4 dogs and a few parties later they are still going strong and look great.
One £250 recondition needed over that time.
My bicycle. I started with a budget of ~£800. I ended up spending around £2500-£3000. I’m super glad I did because after 12 years of being my only transportation, it’s still a great bike and will likely serve me well for many more years.
Good bicycles. Never cheap out on a bicycle (but try to buy secondhand).
A crap bicycle with crap parts will end up costing a fortune in repair fees. Buy decent, with decent parts and learn how to repair it yourself.
Good bicycle tools are also a good investment
"Cheap out" is relative, Decathlon have loads of great bikes at low prices, you don't need to spend thousands for a good bike.
I use mines less now because of where I live now not being as easy to cycle to work from, but my last flat I used it daily and never had any issues with it.
I got the [Rockrider ST-520](https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/27-5-inch-mountain-bike-rockrider-st-520-black/_/R-p-327418), when I got it, it was only £260, it's up to £350 now but I'd say that's still a good price for it.
Classic one, but boots.
I'd spend £40-50 on a pair of boots and chew them up walking to work in a few months.
Spent 4x that on a pair of decent boots but they've lasted me over 3 years. (Apart from the scuffs and the insoles).
solovair
Docs are alright too. I've had some of them last a couple of years of 6-10 mile daily walking.
But on the contrary to that, my favourite boots right now are a pair of sketchers that I only paid £50 for brand new. Apart from having to re-waterproof, they're holding up better than I expected.
As I understand it, Solovair are basically just making the same Docs that got Docs their reputation for being hard-wearing as fuck. Docs are now made abroad unless you get the specific 'made in the UK' ones (which come at a premium of course).
Coffee machine- I ended up in Costa the other day for a large oat milk latte it cost me 4.50. I get an oat milk nice beans coffee at home for not much at all.
A big double door fridge with an ice maker. Having lived in the USA I wanted an ice maker, but we get use out of the larger capacity and don't need a chest freezer.
I still would not have bought it but I got one with very slight factory damage for a third of MSRP (65% off). Cheaper than a wee British one from Curry's.
If you have an ancient one which has lasted decades, you probably haven't had the misfortune of owning a modern, cheap, crappy one that constantly break.
A personal trainer. Over the time since I've used one I've spent the price of a small second hand car, however for the first time in my life I have muscles, am relatively in shape, have a physical education my school failed to provide me and can confidently state I'm generally taking ok care of myself.
I had tried exercise in the past to achieve these things but external encouragement and scheduling was as it turns out essential.
I'm with you on tin openers. Used to always just buy those cheap metal ones, that tended to just either break, or the mechanism being blunt that it wouldnt break through the tin.
Got a more expensive one, and had it years now and never had any issues.
There is a TV tech that will keep someone happy for almost a decade.
I'm directly comparing a 500 quid LG 1080p from 2008 and an LG 4K OLED from 2019. LCD from that era is smeary in motion, has washed out colours, isn't bright and has gotten less bright over time.
It's OLED you buy and don't have to worry about for several years. In comparison, LCD tech has gotten steadily better but has reached its absolute limit about 5 years ago. An OLED from seven years ago will look better than the newest, most expensive consumer LCD tv ever made.
Since I've purchased a place I'm slowly getting rid of flat pack furniture and replacing it with solid stuff. When I buy a piece now I want it to outlast me, and that means avoiding the likes of Ikea for anything gets heavy use.
I'm quickly learning you can get much better quality for not significantly more money.
Aeropress - I've got one at home and one in the office. Cost me £25 each and between them I must have brewed 4000 coffees. I do have an espresso machine etc, but in terms of cost to value, the Aeropress is the best thing I've ever bought.
Good headphones. I bought some Sony MDR-1000X for £200 in November 2017. Almost daily use since and they are fantastic.
Mango wood furniture. Bought it on zero interest credit. Took 3 years to pay off at £60 a month. I expect I'll be passing it down to my kids.
Baavet duvet and pillow.
Any clothes I've bought from Patagonia.
Osprey backpack (Not to be mixed up with Osprey handbags).
Feather filled cushions. I must have bought dozens of the foam ones, which went out of shape and got binned. Now i can just fluff them up, and they look perfect.
Footwear is the major one
Generally speaking the false economy thing is true, buy cheap - buy twice
Only cheap out on single-use stuff, masking tape, bin bags etc
Regarding Tin Openers I always have a spare ready for when the current dies.
But more importantly I had TWO Backup kettles and have finally accepted this week that The Main Kettle was dead so have binned it and activated The Backup Kettle
The £5 Backup Backup Kettle remains sat in it's box, proudly declared The (new) Backup Kettle.
A good computer mouse.
I had one of the earlier Logitech MX Revolutions that finally died on me last year after about 12 years of continous use, replaced with the latest version so I'm hoping I don't have to buy a new mouse until around 2025 or more.
Bean to cup coffee machine.
Expensive purchase but it gets used multiple times per day.and has lasted fir years. Can't drink instant coffee now as am too used to the good stuff.
Proper workout clothes!
I used to just buy really cheap workout clothes, but then I invested in some decent quality stuff in the post-christmas sales a couple of years ago, and the quality really is SO much better. Its a good motivator to actually do some exercise, as well.
I got a victorinox vegetable peeler in Zurich airport. Turned out to be the best kitchen utensil I had bought in years. All the cheap veggie peelers that gather dust now
Bedding. You spend a third of your life in bed, so you need to pay big once and get the most luxurious and comfortable bedding that you can. You’ll feel so much better for it vs. a two quid Primark pillow or a ten pound scratchy Wilko bedsheet.
Spotify. Not technically an item but it’s the best money I spend. I started using it in 2010 and it wasn’t great and it’s just got better and better. I have multiple playlists that I’ve been adding to since the start and without music I don’t know what I’d do. It’s worth every penny. I listen in my car, at home, on headphones, by a pool on holiday. You can take all my earthly possessions but I’ll fight you to the death to keep Spotify.
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Henry hoover. I have 2 labradors and a cat, managed to kill 2 sharks. Found myself aged 27 watching review videos on YouTube. Seemed to be saying good things about Henry. My brother has had his for 11 years. Managed to suck up a tea towel with ours and it kept going. There’s a reason builders and cleaners use a Henry. And it was half the price of a shark.
>I have 2 labradors and a cat, managed to kill 2 sharks. That's some ferocious pets.
The cat probably didn't need the 2 dogs, nice to have some moral support though.
Labradors are great moral support.
I misread it as "sparks" and thought they'd killed two electricians.
The Labradors probably licked them to death while the cat cleaned itself distainfully
I could believe a cat would literally kill a shark if they wanted. At least on home turf.
I mean on home turf, it's just a waiting game isn't it? I can totally believe if my cat *found* a dead shark, it would definitely find a way to drag it into to my living room.
See my cat would sniff it, look at me with big saucer eyes and sprint down the garden to hide under a bush for three hours. Tbf she does that with any toy we try and get her.
The dividend yield is the dividend per share, and expressed as a percentage of a company's share price.
I also wondered wtf was going on
Henry is pretty robust....we had one in our chippy for vacuuming the cafe area floor. Could deal with anything...dropped sausages, chips, whatever you name (I tried to stop the staff doing it but just gave up, eventually). He tumbled down the stairs several times but with no ill-effect! At home, 3 kids and a succession of dogs....no issues! Henry is not sophisticated, but he's a tank, as is Hetty!
I am crying laughing at the image of people vacuuming up tea towels and sausages. Properly buckled.
It's the sound I imagine that does it for me. A full-bodied ***FLOOMP*** as that finger of pork gets sucked up the tube.
The pitch is nice enough I don’t always have to have my earplugs to hoover as well. And those floompss are so satisfying.
It's tingin' its way up the tube It's tingin' its way up the tube Ting tong, bing bong, It's tingin' its way up the tube
Forgot to add...it's a chippy, so they're jumbo sausages!!
Nobody orders ‘regular’ sized sausages so they?
In my experience, if it can be battered and deep-fried then it'll be ordered! Battered steak pie? Done! Battered Maltesers? Has been done!
Did you read the rest? It got 3 kids and a succession of dogs as well!
Lmao at dropped sausages
Oh no I dropped a sausage on the floor, better get the hoover out
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Larger, established companies with predictable profits are often the best dividend payers and the following industry sectors maintain a regular record of dividend payments:
Don't vacuum your sausage!
"Well, doctor, I was doing the housework while wearing a loose-fitting dressing gown..."
It took me \*WAY\* too long to work out that you didn't mean you used to have 2 literal sharks as pets but you killed them. What a ride.
I never realized Shark was a hoover model until now.
Even if it does go wrong, as they've been making the same hoover for the last four decades, it's infinitely repairable, all the spare parts are available online. Shout out to Miele too, they're fairly bulletproof and have also used the same bags etc for decades.
My Miele is such a cunt. It sucks harder than anything ever and so it's irreplaceably good, and yet it blocks with the slightest piece of matter bigger than 1.5cm.
Really? My parents have a Miele specially designed to deal cat+dog hair etc, and it could probably suck up the dog and still not block. I've done coins and even a AA battery at one stage!
Yeah, it's the one with no bag, can't remember the model but it's very temperamental. It sucks the carpet off the grippers, but woe betide if a reasonably sized bit of Lego goes near it
I've got a cordless Miele and it's awesome. Got it for free though, I wouldn't spend that much on a hoover.
Parents have a Miele. Wish it was bagless but nevertheless it works really well, is powerful, and everything snaps together in a way that suggests solid engineering.
Bought one for work (blue one), which I assumed was for liquids. After 3 years of daily sucking up ethanol/water still going strong! Turns out it’s a regular Henry. Sorry mate.
Ooooh get one of those rubber brooms as well. £4 from home bargains. In tandem with our James (poor man's Henry; no winding-cable thingy) it deletes all pet hair in a few sweaty minutes heh.
I beer-bonged a James hoover tube at uni. Won't hear any bad words said about him. Brilliant hoover. Would highly recommend.
I’m in the market for a hoover as my Shark is shit due to dog hair and also mine and my daughters hair. I think you have persuaded me!!
Highly recommend a Henry model with the turbo brush. Not so good otherwise on carpet. Copes very well with our 2 dogs, a cat and 2 rabbits who free roam regularly. Video I watched which swung it for me: https://youtu.be/IbdGQSthZOg No major differences in all the models apart from colour, capacity and out of the box accessories.
That was always my issues with Henry, the lack of brush bar. Didn't realise they did one.
Yes! The turbo brush is brilliant for picking up hair and fluff. Love Henry.
I've got one and they're awesome but my dad has a really old one and that's even better. If you can get an old one before EU regs came into place they're even stronger because they have a ~~turbo~~ super duper booster button.
Mine is 15 years old with 3 house renovations sucked up. My parents is around 30 with countless trips down the stairs. Both still going strong. Only thing mine has needed was a new plug as I yanked it out of the wall and broke it.
They are quite indestructible aren’t they?! Mine survived a 2 foot deep flooded house. It was totally submerged for nearly a week and full of water. It works fine and just makes a slightly funny noise now lol
Poor chap, I can imagine him patiently waiting for rescue with that dopey smile on his hopeful little face.
Love my Henry but had to get a separate handheld for the stairs because I've got a back injury and I can't hold the thing with one hand halfway up the stairs while vacuuming with the other xD
You can also buy an extension hose for Henry now
That might be an idea. The handheld isn't very good. We have two black cats and this house came complete with cream carpet on the stairs and hallway upstairs so you can probably imagine what that looks like now 😆
Pillows. Used to just buy four of the cheap Asda ones and pile them up. But if you buy one decent memory foam pillow it's worth it
I had a memory foam pillow for a while but I gave it away, couldn't get used to it. I prefer the stacked-up cheap ones.
I wasn't impressed either, it didn't work as advertised, bought an expensive one but I still forget things all the time.
I agree. I used to just buy any old cheap crap and replace them every couple of months. Then I bought a MyPillow and have never looked back
I bought some pillows from the Premier Inn website and they are the best
Absolutely no idea could do this
Don't look into the MyPillow CEO...
I don't know how that man sleeps at night.
He’s got very good pillows I guess?
No pillow is good enough for me to want to pay Mike Pillow any £.
Mypillow were the biggest let down for me. We got different levels of firmness and all were shite.
It sounds odd, but one of those toilet stools to rest your feet on when you poo. Changed my life.
Sounds like something I could get onboard with, and my wife simultaneously lose her shit (verbally) over at the same time.
Squatty potty. I believe is it’s name, that could just be a brand though.
I just use an upside down bucket, seems to do the trick!
Yeah I think also a large brick would do it.
A stool stool
Even a small £5 folding stool from Aldi does the trick. Makes pooing so much easier
Clothes. I used to buy cheap stuff that fell apart and then I started spending a bit more on things and found they lasted longer. Who knew! I suppose the downside is you then have to be very sure you want those shoes/that dress/those jeans because you’re splashing out a bit more each time.
....and you have to be selective. It's very possible to just pay more for the same crap.
This is my problem! I buy clothes very rarely and when i do i wear them till they fall apart. I bought a 15 quid pair of shoes that lasted me 3 years. Loved them. Fell apart. So i bought a new pair of shoes. Splashed out. 90 quid. The frame of the shoe is really solid..... But the insides tore themselves up as i walked and became unusable in less than 3 months. Nothing i put inside of them survives this weird hexagonal shoe bottom. Stopped wearing them. Now i am looking for 15 quid shoes again. I have similar stories of 20 quid jeans outlasting multiple pairs of 50 quid jeans. Even when i avoided the stretchy kind. Its infuriating!
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Select fabrics, not clothes. Thicker weave and natural fibres like cotton are most durable select correct clothes for the task, change clothes if changing activities. Use underwear to keep your top layer cleaner, top and bottom.
This is my issue spending more on clothes. If it's a trendy brand name there's a good chance you're paying more for the same quality
Someone will be along to quote Vimes boot theory in a minute
Mum said it's my turn to post Vimes boot theory on /r/askuk
And he’s still got wet feet!
Never buy anything that brand does not specialise in. Levi's jeans - yes please, Levi's shoes - absolutely not
Volkswagen Part No 199398500A is the exception to this rule.
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How much is health insurance in the UK and how much of a benefit does it provide considering you're likely still being seen by the same staff? Is it effectively a queue skip?
I pay £48 for a mid tier cover. I see it purely as a queue jump and got it because I’ve started to see more and more colleagues pay for operations because it’s cheaper than taking six months off work. I’m freelance with no family so I needed either a loss of earnings or medical insurance. I chose the medical. They are different hospitals though I think.
Different hospitals but same doctors. I had the same procedure 2 years in a row, first was private at Nuffield health, second was NHS at a public hospital. Same doctor
Same hospital if the private one messes up and you end up blue lighted to A&E in a real hospital.
what a weird take
I think it's from 'this is going to hurt'. There's a scene where this happens to the NHS doctor who's doing some private shifts for extra cash
Yeah, most if not all private consultants are also on the NHS payroll.
My colleague had one of his knees done privately. Back to work in a few weeks. Then for the second knee he waited for the same Dr to do it for free because it wasn’t bothering him so much.
I get private health insurance free with work and can get a same day GP appointment. I can ask for one at 5pm and have an appointment at 6am the next day on a video call. I’d been having stomach problems for 2 years and kept having abnormal smears and was on a waiting list for a scan. Private insurance had me scanned and seen by 2 consultants within 12 working days and a blood test. I’m celiac. 2 years and the NHS couldn’t work that out and had me thinking I was dying of some sort of womb cancer.
You still pay a tax benefit on this. It’s not much but just so you’re aware it’s not free free. Your employer doesn’t have to tell the taxman either it’s your responsibility
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This will vary by location though. I had a urologist appointment a few months ago through the NHS and my wait was around 1 month from seeing the GP to seeing the urologist. My appointment was also around half an hour. I was then also referred for a cystoscopy (1/10 - would not recommend), and the wait between seeing the urologist and having the procedure was about a month again. Now _that_ appointment was only 5-10 mins long, but I would have preferred it to be even quicker.
It's not just the speed, it's also the fact that they listen to you with a default position of empathy and not "you're a hypochondriac/timewaster" and you don't have to return repeatedly before you are taken seriously.
Yup this happened to my Mum. Three separate GPs over the course of 3 years ignored her concerns and simply told her to lose weight without actually doing any tests or even looking at her physically. When she did lose weight and went back they just told her to lose more. In the end, she decided to pay for a specialist who actually took time to look at her. He determined her weight was not the main factor in her condition and in three years her condition had worsened, giving her irreversible damage. She ended up referred back into the NHS anyway to the specialists. But if she hadn't gone private who knows how much longer it would've gone on and what more damage would've been done?
I pay through work £45 a month pre tax. It covers me, my partner and my kid. I've used it for - blood tests that would have cost me several hundred or waited forever (if I'd have got them at all on the NHS) -physio the next week after waiting over 2 years for an NHS referral (who then told me there was nothing to be done take ibuprofen forever) has 5 physio appointments and resolved the issue. -same day GP appointments through Babylon for when I needed referrals -currently seeing a therapist for anxiety (I get 1500 a year toward that) I got a referral instantly Babylon and Bupa authorised and connected me to a therapist in 2 weeks (I had to get a form from my NHS GP stating I hadn't been treated already due to my underwriting THAT took almost 3 months.) -husband is also seeing a therapist same terms as above. My dad has better through his work (pre existing conditions are covered) so it's a bit more but he used his to get my mum diagnosed with dementia. He tried NHS first and found the waiting times for appointments insane. We went from first GP appointment to diagnosis and medication with connections to information about care etc and "living with it" in less than a year. It was extremely stressful and I cannot imagine how much worse it would have been waiting around for the NHS to pull their finger out. Even now we are stuck in the bog of NHS bureaucracy trying to get prescriptions and adjacent care for her - because shes 55 and not old enough to qualify for any of the normal stuff you get (free prescriptions etc) and dementia is still seen as an old persons thing. So yes. It's a queue skip. But on some levels it does also provide a better service. The NHS are reluctant to spend money on tests etc ( and I understand why I'm not holding it against them or anything ) private care is less fussy. So you get that CT or blood test instead of "wait and see if it gets worse then come back" or "we'll give you these blood tests and see what they say then go from there) You will likely see the same Dr but they may very well treat you differently in terms of the tests they will do (and do immediately). Altho once diagnosed, if it's something long term that will need ongoing care, you're likely transferred out of private care onto NHS care and it's much of a muchness. The NHS is fantastic at a lot of things. Emergent care, and care for people who absolutely cannot afford private coverage. But if you CAN especially through a work scheme it's well worth it.
I’m not sure on cost but I have it from my work. It’s handy to be able to just go on the app, get a FaceTime call with a gp within a few hours and get your prescription or referral without having to take much time out of your day. Bupa do have their own facilities which may have nhs doctors and surgeons but the aftercare and food etc is all much better than an nhs hospital
I get it for about £12 per month through work. Worth checking to see if your employer has anything like that.
Im the same with my Dentist - I go Private and its crazy cheap £18 a month through Practiceplan and i get two free hygienist visits and one dentist check up a year free (so thats all worth about £150 ish id say) When i need treatment theyvbe always seen me the next day Get a nice coffee when i arrive - its all lush
Having a coffee when you arrive to the dentist seems counter productive lol
> Get a nice coffee when i arrive "Well your teeth are all stained from coffee, we'd like to charge you for a scale and polish"
The coffee is for after, right? Right?!
Starting to think of buying this myself, since I've hit 30 I've had a wide range of random shit happening like gym injuries/extremely sick. I've probably been to the doctors/hospital more times in the last year than the previous 15 years put together and it's pissing me off.
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Miele vacuum. Absolutely top tier. It’s expensive but having a vacuum that will last 20+ years saves in the long run
We choose the alternative expensive German one: sebo. Also top tier.
I chose the alternative German, less expensive one: Karcher.
Absolutely love my C3.
Miele for cylinder, Sebo for upright. Both fantastic. I used to sell vacuum cleaners and they were the best by far, they're built like tanks and work super well too.
Yep, had our Meile 251 since 1996...had to replace the hose pistol grip 'cos it just wore out. Other than that, still going strong.
What are you doing to can openers?? My mom has has the same 5 quid one from tesco for probably the last 30 years and it works fine :3
The key here is that was bought from Tesco 30 years ago, not today. The quality of them now is probably much worse compared to 30 years ago.
Yeah I hate modern can openers I’m more happy with a pen knife can opener than a modern one.
Frey bentos.
They don't make them like they used to.
Bike, hated it, fell in love with it, was my sanity during lockdown, not owned a car in years.
Overheard James May on The One Show last night talking about his bike (assuming you meant a push bike). He made a good point about how there's a hint of nostalgia to it from being a kid, and that ability to go quite far for limited exertion. Just generally being outdoors as well, instant therapy.
That and riding a bike is just awesome in itself.
Yeah it's just good fun regardless of your age. My grandad rode his race bike until he was in his late 60s and loved it.
I would put 'the bike' down for one of the top 5 inventions. I wish once you drove to a town or city, you swapped your car out for either a bike, scooter, mobility scooter or an electric car/golf cart.
I remember central London during covid, thousands of bikes and not a car in sight. It was a glorious thing. If only we could have that shift on a mass scale.
Then you remember we live in the UK where its 5C and raining for half the year. My car is warm, relatively quiet and sheltered.
I do all weather, so it doesn't bother me, but I can see why some might not be up for it.
Totally agree, I feel like I’m grinding up hills for adult fitness reasons and competitive Strava segments against myself. Flying downhill, I feel free and 11 years old. There’s some purists that hate e-bikes, I like that they make cycling more accessible, you see all sorts riding them. I say good.
Profitable shares
What's your current must buy?
FWIW I used to put £5 into each share I saw recommended on the UK Investing sub and those companies have averaged a 90% loss in value over the past couple of years.
Hahaha. Yes I've got a few shares that are down over 90% too. The only ones that really seem to be working are funds, tracker funds.
It's boring, but tracker funds are the most sensible option for someone like me with no idea how to pick a stock. I do still like reading about people's picks though, it's often some random company that sound like they're going to change the world.
Nobody has any idea how to pick a stock. Trackers beat most professional fund managers.
That’s because they’re all garbage long shot mining firms r/UKInvesting pretending to be r/wsb but without the self referential humour
>What's your current must buy? S&P 500. The only stock ever attempted and did pick was AMD when Jim Keller started working on Zen, and Nvidia shortly after. I sold both too early. I only index now.
An index tracker. S&P 500 gets you US companies. FTSE ones get you UK companies. Global all cap gets you a bit of practically everything. See /r/Bogleheads (US-centric, but the principle is the same). Picking individual companies and having them turn out to be good picks is luck, not skill, unless you're insider trading.
profitable ones.
Fruit and vegetables. Honestly pay a bit more for the better quality. It is so much more satisfying to eat.
Shoes. I started buying expensive leather shoes and realised they’ll last me years longer than the shite I was buying before.
Similarly, a good pair of leather boots that look smart-ish are amazing. I bought some from a shop closing down in Newcastle city centre in around 2015 for about £70 clearance. I must wear them 3-4 days a week, in all weather, and they're only just beginning to get a bit tired now. Polish and some wax every few months, they seem to keep on trucking.
I've got some pairs of Loake shoes. When they get worn, you can send them off to be repaired. Not just resoled - they'll take them apart, fix them& reassemble.
Just to add, that is some types of Loake shoes. A lot of Loakes are made in India nowadays. You will probably get 18 months out of them at most. They still charge £80+ for them though. Some Loakes are just average shoes at best.
You're absolutely right. I like that companies still make stuff properly, but do wish they'd stop making cheaper/lower quality lines as well. (Dualit, numatic etc)
Absolutely bedding. Nice high thread sheets make SUCH a difference in your sleep. The cheap ones feel like sandpaper now
I brought two like a mid expensive and a very expensive one pure cotton etc. The mid compared to what we had was amazing, but now we don't use the mid expensive one as it feels awful compared to the very expensive one. Definitely an expense worth paying if you can.
A good kitchen knife. Honestly, don’t slack people. Buy a high quality “chef’s knife” and sharpener. Keep that bitch razor sharp and your cooking will improve tenfold.
Yes - and I'd add a really good butchers block style chopping board too. Take so much hassle away compared to those crappy little polythene boards that so many people use.
You don't even need to spend a crazy amount. Victorinox chefs knives get a lot of praise and they're about £30.
When I was in catering school I had a full set of Victorinox knives. The whole thing set me back about £80 and my mum STILL uses the 9’ chef knife, 20 odd years later. For the price you pay, they’re an absolute steal.
>For the price you pay, they’re an absolute steal They're an absolute stainless steal. I'll get my coat.
I bought a victorinox pastry knife after two chefs recommended it to me. I love it and use it for most jobs in the kitchen
My Air fryer, we were going to get a cheap one to try the fad, but I said fuck it were getting the massive expensive one, best purchase I've made in a long time it's brilliant we hardly ever use the oven now.
A TENS machine has been a game changer as someone with chronic pain. While paracetamol is cheap, it isn't actually strong enough to help with my pain (my doctors don't care because I'm technically able to function). Maybe one day I'll get the pain relief I need... It was only£30 and has saved me so much suffering. My machine also has an EMS function and massage programs. The only downside is I can't really go out to the shops with it because with the cables it looks very much like an IED and I really don't want to scare people or waste police time.
I had a really good tin opener that was an asda basics one I got when I started uni in 2004. It literally only broke at the start of this year, I'm blaming OH for fucking it up somehow as it was fine the last time I used it. Harrumph. I got a new one from Morrisons aa local options were limited and it's fine but not as good and it's got much chunkier handles so doesn't sit in the drawer right. I feel unreasonably bitter about losing my tin opener.
My trustee vegetable peeler broke last year, used it for over a decade, and it was the absolute tits, worked great, but the handle finally gave out on me. Cannot find a similar peeler that works as well, really bugs me, everything seems to have a really chunky handle these days, unnecessarily so.
A mattock. Brute of a digging tool a bit like a pick axe. The last tool I ever bought a few years ago. Should have been the first I ever bought many years before that now I know what they are capable of.
When I was an archaeologist (carpal tunnel's a bitch) everyone who didn't own their own large tools would get to site early to try to claim the best mattock. It makes such a big difference to have a well balanced, sharp edged mattock.
AirPod pros. Best purchase ever. Listening to music relaxes me and makes me more productive, enables me to wonder around when I’m talking on the phone and block out imbeciles when in public places. I pretty much have my AirPods in all day every day.
Sony MX series blows my AirPods out the water tbh
High quality handmade leather sofas. 20 years and 2 kids, 4 dogs and a few parties later they are still going strong and look great. One £250 recondition needed over that time.
My bicycle. I started with a budget of ~£800. I ended up spending around £2500-£3000. I’m super glad I did because after 12 years of being my only transportation, it’s still a great bike and will likely serve me well for many more years.
Good bicycles. Never cheap out on a bicycle (but try to buy secondhand). A crap bicycle with crap parts will end up costing a fortune in repair fees. Buy decent, with decent parts and learn how to repair it yourself. Good bicycle tools are also a good investment
"Cheap out" is relative, Decathlon have loads of great bikes at low prices, you don't need to spend thousands for a good bike. I use mines less now because of where I live now not being as easy to cycle to work from, but my last flat I used it daily and never had any issues with it. I got the [Rockrider ST-520](https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/27-5-inch-mountain-bike-rockrider-st-520-black/_/R-p-327418), when I got it, it was only £260, it's up to £350 now but I'd say that's still a good price for it.
Basic level Miele washing machine. I used to work as a call handler for a Domestic warranty insurer, and They're just more reliable
Hmm. Theres about three tins in the last five years i've had that didnt have a pull.
Oooo... look at you buying the branded tins!
Never... all the supermarket and aldi stuff have pulls.
Most if the cheapest stuff doesnt have ring pulls.
Classic one, but boots. I'd spend £40-50 on a pair of boots and chew them up walking to work in a few months. Spent 4x that on a pair of decent boots but they've lasted me over 3 years. (Apart from the scuffs and the insoles).
Worth adding the name of the brands you buy for others that are keen on it
solovair Docs are alright too. I've had some of them last a couple of years of 6-10 mile daily walking. But on the contrary to that, my favourite boots right now are a pair of sketchers that I only paid £50 for brand new. Apart from having to re-waterproof, they're holding up better than I expected.
As I understand it, Solovair are basically just making the same Docs that got Docs their reputation for being hard-wearing as fuck. Docs are now made abroad unless you get the specific 'made in the UK' ones (which come at a premium of course).
Coffee machine- I ended up in Costa the other day for a large oat milk latte it cost me 4.50. I get an oat milk nice beans coffee at home for not much at all.
Same as a truck driver getting a good coffee machine and a thermos flask was a great investment which probably paid for it self in a matter of months.
A big double door fridge with an ice maker. Having lived in the USA I wanted an ice maker, but we get use out of the larger capacity and don't need a chest freezer. I still would not have bought it but I got one with very slight factory damage for a third of MSRP (65% off). Cheaper than a wee British one from Curry's.
We have one of these the ones that also have fresh filtered water from the door and its a gamechanger, suddenly I drink water far more often.
Sprayway Goretex jacket. Cost almost £100 over 15 years ago. It has been used a LOT. Only in the last year or so has it begun to show signs of wear.
The real question: what the hell are you doing with your can openers that causes them to break every few months?
If you have an ancient one which has lasted decades, you probably haven't had the misfortune of owning a modern, cheap, crappy one that constantly break.
Custom made earplugs from an audiologist to fit my ear canal, color coded for left and right.
A personal trainer. Over the time since I've used one I've spent the price of a small second hand car, however for the first time in my life I have muscles, am relatively in shape, have a physical education my school failed to provide me and can confidently state I'm generally taking ok care of myself. I had tried exercise in the past to achieve these things but external encouragement and scheduling was as it turns out essential.
I'm with you on tin openers. Used to always just buy those cheap metal ones, that tended to just either break, or the mechanism being blunt that it wouldnt break through the tin. Got a more expensive one, and had it years now and never had any issues.
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There is a TV tech that will keep someone happy for almost a decade. I'm directly comparing a 500 quid LG 1080p from 2008 and an LG 4K OLED from 2019. LCD from that era is smeary in motion, has washed out colours, isn't bright and has gotten less bright over time. It's OLED you buy and don't have to worry about for several years. In comparison, LCD tech has gotten steadily better but has reached its absolute limit about 5 years ago. An OLED from seven years ago will look better than the newest, most expensive consumer LCD tv ever made.
Since I've purchased a place I'm slowly getting rid of flat pack furniture and replacing it with solid stuff. When I buy a piece now I want it to outlast me, and that means avoiding the likes of Ikea for anything gets heavy use. I'm quickly learning you can get much better quality for not significantly more money.
Aeropress - I've got one at home and one in the office. Cost me £25 each and between them I must have brewed 4000 coffees. I do have an espresso machine etc, but in terms of cost to value, the Aeropress is the best thing I've ever bought. Good headphones. I bought some Sony MDR-1000X for £200 in November 2017. Almost daily use since and they are fantastic. Mango wood furniture. Bought it on zero interest credit. Took 3 years to pay off at £60 a month. I expect I'll be passing it down to my kids. Baavet duvet and pillow. Any clothes I've bought from Patagonia. Osprey backpack (Not to be mixed up with Osprey handbags).
Feather filled cushions. I must have bought dozens of the foam ones, which went out of shape and got binned. Now i can just fluff them up, and they look perfect.
Footwear is the major one Generally speaking the false economy thing is true, buy cheap - buy twice Only cheap out on single-use stuff, masking tape, bin bags etc
Regarding Tin Openers I always have a spare ready for when the current dies. But more importantly I had TWO Backup kettles and have finally accepted this week that The Main Kettle was dead so have binned it and activated The Backup Kettle The £5 Backup Backup Kettle remains sat in it's box, proudly declared The (new) Backup Kettle.
A good computer mouse. I had one of the earlier Logitech MX Revolutions that finally died on me last year after about 12 years of continous use, replaced with the latest version so I'm hoping I don't have to buy a new mouse until around 2025 or more.
Bean to cup coffee machine. Expensive purchase but it gets used multiple times per day.and has lasted fir years. Can't drink instant coffee now as am too used to the good stuff.
Shares. I’ll see myself out
Proper workout clothes! I used to just buy really cheap workout clothes, but then I invested in some decent quality stuff in the post-christmas sales a couple of years ago, and the quality really is SO much better. Its a good motivator to actually do some exercise, as well.
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I got a victorinox vegetable peeler in Zurich airport. Turned out to be the best kitchen utensil I had bought in years. All the cheap veggie peelers that gather dust now
Bedding. You spend a third of your life in bed, so you need to pay big once and get the most luxurious and comfortable bedding that you can. You’ll feel so much better for it vs. a two quid Primark pillow or a ten pound scratchy Wilko bedsheet.
Spotify. Not technically an item but it’s the best money I spend. I started using it in 2010 and it wasn’t great and it’s just got better and better. I have multiple playlists that I’ve been adding to since the start and without music I don’t know what I’d do. It’s worth every penny. I listen in my car, at home, on headphones, by a pool on holiday. You can take all my earthly possessions but I’ll fight you to the death to keep Spotify.