So i went to a focus group purely to provide feedback, now i have a 75 dollar giftcard which i have to select and withdraw but im not sure what to put the money towards? my older brother also got one. Yes i live with parents so most of my living needs are already covered.

What would be the smart thing to do here? what would you suggest and why so?

  • MuttMutt@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    In the humble words of Bender B Rodriguez, you could buy one 75.00 hookerbot or seventy-five 1.00 hookerbots.

  • aramis87@fedia.io
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    4 hours ago

    Whatever you spend it on, may I make a suggestion, if you have a little extra money yourself? Spend the gift card money, yes: buy something you’ll enjoy, share that joy with the people who got it for you, let them see how happy they’ve made you.

    Then take the card that the giftcard came in, put in $75 cash, and put it in a special place. Do that every time someone gives you money or a giftcard. As I’ve gotten older, a lot of the people in my life have died, gotten ill, or moved away. Sometimes, when I’m feeling sad or depressed, I’ll go to my little drawer of cards and pull one out at random. I’ll re-read the message, and think about the person and the love that we shared at that time, and I’ll take the money and do something special for myself, to cheer myself up a bit.

    Then sometime in the next few days, I’ll get the same amount of cash from the bank, put it in the envelope, and replace it in my stash: the caring we felt for each other at that time was true (regardless of how things eventually turned out), so the cards give me a little emotional boost and the cash lets me do something for myself that I’d normally not spend money on. It helps me feel better, even if only for a little time.

    [I’ll also be honest and say that sometimes I’ve run out of money, and something will twinge and I’ll remember I have this little stash of cash, and having that has helped me get through some slightly tough times. But I always put the money back in the cards when I can afford it.]

    • Drusas@fedia.io
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      3 hours ago

      To be fair, good silicone stuff basically lasts forever. BIFL butt plug time?

  • rudyharrelson@lemmy.radio
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    5 hours ago

    If you (or your parents) like to cook, you could get some choice steaks (or other high-end ingredients) and make a nice meal that the whole family can enjoy.

    Could also get a nice game controller if you’re into video games. Most first-party controllers seem to cost about $70-$80 these days.

    I dunno what the “smart” thing to do with $75 would be; $75 isn’t a whole lot of money in the grand scheme of things so investing it wouldn’t exactly pay dividends any time soon. Maybe buy 1GB of DDR5 RAM and in a year it might be worth $75,000 if the market continues its current trend.

    • zipping1039@piefed.social
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      4 hours ago

      You’re advising a young man to buy a combat grade knife? For what? If it would be utility there are so many other good options such as decent multi-tools in that price range. So that leaves defense. But a knife for defense needs serious training or otherwise any situation is quickly dangerously escalated by drawing a knife like that. There are more productive ways of spending 75.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        Cripes, this argument again. Give it a rest already, people.

        I don’t know about you but I’ve never used mine for combat and I’m unlikely to be in a position to try. Despite the inherent ridiculousness I do occasionally EDC mine, but mostly I use it as a folding camp knife.

        There are oodles of other perfectly cromulent knives to recommend, of course (just ask me how I know!) but I zeroed in on this one for the sheer perversity of its selling price being near enough to precisely OP’s available figure.

        If you’re going to be that way about it, might I recommend a Leatherman Skeletool which is also currently about $75.

  • slazer2au@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Have ok dinner somewhere? $75 won’t get you to a good place. But it may get you into an ok one.

  • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
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    5 hours ago

    Depends on your priorities and needs, but 75 dollars should cover most of the bill if visiting a nice-ish restaurant

    • kboos1@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      This makes me sad. About 15 years ago we could go out as a family of 4 to a nice-ish restaurant for just entrees for just under $50 before tip.

      • pack@sh.itjust.works
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        5 hours ago

        Inflation is 88 percent since y2k. Excited for a 50k a year job out of college in the year 2000? That’s 90k now. 7.25 minimum wage from 2000? Should be at least 13 now. It isn’t, should be.

        People are alway “oh, money doesn’t go as far as it used to”, but they don’t get how dramatic it is.