Back for 2025: What's the best £1(ish) you've ever spent?

MSE_Olivia

We're revamping the 2020 blog, so we'd love to hear about more of your £1 (ish) bargains. Send 'em this way.

In the 2023 thread, some of the top examples you told us were:

• Top Secret Comedy Club entry, where Jack Whitehall and Paul Chowdary were performing 
• A pregnancy test to confirm the good news
• A first press of The Beatles Please Please me single (for 50p), which was sold for £200+

Nelliegrace

I won a Christmas cake in the raffle on our first date over 46 years ago. 
A raffle ticket for a charity won us a champagne dinner for two.
We have won the church fair raffle for the Christmas hamper twice. 
Premium Bonds £25, £50, and £100 prizes, the best month so far was £325. 

YorksLass

A book bought several years ago from a charity shop sale - The Thrifty Cookbook (476 ways to eat well with leftovers) by Kate Colquhoun.  Still being used today and has saved me no end of cash over the years.  

A £1 trolley token, again being sold by a charity shop.  I keep it on my key ring and never have to scrabble around for a pound coin for a SM trolley.

twopenny

Recently a kitchen knife.
DIY shop, 3 rivets in handle I expected to be false.

I've tried all sorts for years that don't do well but this is beautifully balanced, perfect middle size and thin.

Must go back for another back up while they still have them 

MSE_James

I bought a £3 raffle ticket last Christmas that won me a £115 umbrella 

CrazyBee787

I spent a pound on a pack of three metal looking sponges, I started using something like it from sainsburys and really like using them however now you can only get the 1X Branded for £1.30, I know not as exciting as some pounds...actually I do have a more exciting pound story I just remembered...

When I was a wee lass there was an auction, you had to put an amount down and you may or may not win it at the end of the night I saw a lovely silver necklace a lady had put £30, then crossed it out right at the end, I then proceeded to put a pound down (I didn't have much). They didn't want to give it to me, and I said I can back out if you want, they said no it is yours fair and square. So I had the necklace. I later sold it for £30 ironically!

London_1

I met my late husband in 1962, 43 days later we married. We were both very hard up and my wedding ring cost £4.00 of which I paid a pound towards. It’s stayed on my finger ever since. 

Even when we became better off and my late husband said I’ll get you a better one I said no as to me it was the best pound I ever spent
we had 40 smashing years of very happy marriage until he sadly died in 2003. My four pound ring is my most precious possession as it reminds me so much of our lives together
Two lovely daughters and seven smashing grandchildren although the last one came the year after I lost him

Our two daughters know it’s to stay with me even when I shuffle off we had good times .

Happy and sad times and rich or poor we stuck together as not only husband and wife but best friends. He was a very happy go lucky chap who worked hard and gave us a good life and the children adored him 
A good husband , father and friend to everyone. He would give his last tanner away if you needed it and I never ever heard anyone say a bad word about him

JackieO xx

RAS

I'm not going to talk about the 20p shop which sells decent kitchen gear amongst the tat.

Last autumn, a budget supermarket had Kala Chana, Black Eyed Peas and Gungo (pigeon) peas at 19p per tin. I stocked up and stocked the local food bank. Then the Gungo peas hit 9p per tin.

Add Lidl's small seed packets which were 5 packets for £1 and were reduced to 4 per £1 this spring. Check out Mel Bartholmew and Square Foot Gardening. Ignore the structures; he was an engineer.

Beetroot, carrots, Swiss Chard Lucellus, and leeks perhaps. A square metre, or two?
Lettuce, spring onion or radish and herbs, maybe basil or dill? Beans and peas are £2 for 4 packets.

Marigolds, Nasturtiums (Indian Cress), Sweet William and Sweet Peas or Snap dragon ?

Mrs_Z

I think it would have to be a £1 foam kneeling pad from Wilko. I’ve had it for a good couple of years know (didn’t expect it to last long) and I use it a lot on my allotment when weeding. I’ve had no more back ache since as I get on to me knees rather than bending down. What a bargain it has turned out to be!

thriftwizard

I paid either £1 or £1.50 (can't quite remember, it was about 15 years ago) for a bin-bag full what I could see was good-quality, if damp, fabric down at our local tip. To my delight, when I got it home I discovered I was the proud possessor of two huge pairs of bespoke Laura Ashley lined curtains in Pelham Stripe, which happens to suit our little Edwardian home very well! The original cost will have been well over £1000, for each pair, and apart from being damp, they were in good condition. There were 2 pelmets, too. Once washed & dried, I cut them down, stitched them back up on my ancient treadled sewing machine, & they are still gracing our living room windows, & conservatory & hallway doors, with some of the offcuts covering a number of (similarly reclaimed) cushions round & about the place & any leftovers sold on my "vintage haberdashery" market stall. Old-fashioned maybe, but if it ain't broke... and I'd rather have old-fashioned top quality than cheap modern tat any day.

Pollybakesnicecakes

in 1980 I had just started nurse training and was skint after buying all my books etc. I was walking 3 miles home from visiting my mum to save bus fare . I had 1.25 in my purse so I spent the 1.00 on some frozen loose fish and had 25 pence in my pocket left. The local council had just opened a lottery kiosk a few months before and the ticket was 25 pence, so I bought one . rubbed it to reveal 3 matching prizes and went back to the kiosk as couldn't believe my eyes. the girl screamed and fell off the chair, I had only gone and won a grand!!!!! I had to run all the way home to grab my daughter from school and borrow the money for a taxi off my in-laws so I could go to the town hall to exchange my ticket