dollar bill

What Can You Buy for $1 These Days?

Paul Michael — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:36:22 +0000

Back in 1930, the humble dollar could get you a decent table lamp, a quality bathrobe, or roughly six gallons of regular gas. But these days, it’s hard to find anything that costs $1 or less. (See also: 50 Healthy Foods for Under $1 a Pound)

Now, in a previous post I listed 101 things you can do with a $1 bill, but that was a long time ago, and a lot has changed. I decided to compile a new list and look at the problem with fresh eyes (I tried to avoid the usual fare in here, like $1 menu items from fast food joints, an iTunes song, or canned goods from the supermarket).

So, here’s what I found that can be bought today for $1. Now, how creative can you get? Leave your ideas in the comments.

1. A Phone Call

You can place a four-minute call from your cell phone to the Cayman Islands with AT&T.

2. Quality Items

You can buy 100 different “quality” items from the One Cent Store. All you have to pay is shipping (which on 100 items will run you about $800).

3. A CEO

Own the CEO of a large corporation! Yes, Steve Jobs takes only $1 per year salary from Apple. The CEOs of Google reportedly do the same.

4. Relaxation

Travel to the Philippines, and you can get a 30-minute foot massage.

5. A Place to Put Your Car

In downtown Denver, you get one hour of street parking.

6. E-Books

There are many out there for free, including the awesome book “Unleashing The IdeaVirus,” but if you want to blow a whole $1, try some of these e-book titles.

7. Penny Stocks

Buy penny stocks. Depending on which company you choose, you could get quite a chunk of them for $1, as many shares trade for just a fraction of a cent. Of course, they probably won’t go anywhere, but hey, everyone starts somewhere.

8. Little Stuff From Amazon

Get crazy with Amazon fillers. There are a bunch of items on Amazon that cost less than $1, and if you’re ordering something anyway, why not tag one of these on there? Often, they can bag you free Super Saver Shipping, so you spend a buck or less to save a lot more in postage.

9. Cell Phone Protection

Make 100 cell phone screen protectors.

10. 10 Memories

Stores like Walmart charge around 10 cents for a 4 x 6 photo print.

11. Crafty Plans

Some knitting and crochet patterns cost just 99 cents at Ravelry.com, and they are delivered as PDFs.

12. Almost Free Handmade Goods

Etsy artists often give away items for free. It's considered “paying it forward,” and shipping on some of these is $1 or less.

13. Books

Half.com, eBay, and Amazon all offer used books for less than $1. If you are a member of Amazon Prime, you'll get your book with free shipping.

14. Mobile Phone Apps

While many are free, there are also a lot that you can pay for. Some are as low as 99 cents, and they’re great.

15. Lemonade

Buy a few glasses of lemonade from a child’s lemonade stand. You get freshly made lemonade, and children learn a little about the value of hard work.

16. Hope

Dropping your $1 bill into the bucket of a charity collection tin may not seem like much, but it all adds up.

17. Pool

Well, not a swimming pool, but a game of pool in a bar will usually cost you four quarters. If you’re really bad, that $1 could stretch for an hour of entertainment.

18. A House

Not a monopoly house either, but a real one. The current housing crash, coupled with some local economic factors, has produced some ridiculous deals. Of course, you may have to pay to move the house off some land that the government owns, or a small fortune in taxes and fees, but the actual deed could be yours for a buck. Read more about a home in Detroit that was on sale for just $1.

19. A Second Date

Research shows bad breath is a real turn off for either sex, so invest in a pack of gum or a roll of mints. Both can usually be found for less than $1.

20. Gold

But not much. With the prize of gold being $1516.99 an ounce, your $1 will get you 0.00066006601 ounces.

21. Gas

And finally, we’ll end with an easy one. At the time of publication, you can buy around 1/4 of a gallon of gas (the national average right now is $3.91 for regular). Depending on the fuel efficiency of your car, that’s enough for a round trip of 6–8 miles. More if you drive a hybrid.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

101 things to do with a $1 bill.

Paul Michael — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 22:32:20 +0000

What can a dollar buy you these days? Certainly not a gallon of gas, which it could have done 6 years ago. Anyway, this idea actually came out of a lunchtime chat with some friends. I’m a sucker for writing lists and I wondered how many different uses I could find for your humble $1 bill. Some are fun, some are silly, some may actually be useful. The list took me a whole week to compile. Enjoy.

Save it (sorry, but this is Wisebread).
Become a very small partner in a very small business.
Mail it to someone, anyone, in the phone book (you’ll have to find a stamp).
Buy a few bites of someone’s pizza slice.
Make an expensive paper airplane.
Cash it in for 100 pennies and drop them everywhere (it’s good luck for people).
Alternately, use those 100 pennies for 100 wishes in a fountain.
Light a cigar with it (shame on you, for smoking too).
Use it to win a crappy stuffed toy from a grabbing machine.
Give it to the homeless guy in the city center.
Double it every day. You’ll be a millionaire in just 20 days.
Borrow 7 cents and buy something from the dollar menu.
Make a bet to trade the lives of a stockbroker and conman.
Swap it for a shiny English 50 pence piece.
Get fake attention from a stripper for roughly 5 seconds.
Buy a scratch card and turn your $1 into a piece of garbage.
Buy a Powerball ticket, dream for a day (if you win, you owe me).
Get a bargain from Goodwill and help a charity at the same time.
Frame it (especially if it’s the first dollar you ever earned).
Request a song from the busker in your local town center.
Buy and read a classic novel from a used bookstore. Then sell it for $1.
Develop 10 digital photos and create a mini album of memories.
Put it down as extra principal on your mortgage, pay off your house 0.00000000000000000001 years earlier (best guess).
Cut it into small pieces and create extravagant confetti.
Use it as a clue in the ancient hunt for hidden government treasure.
Photocopy your butt multiple times and decorate your cubicle at work.
Download a legal song from iTunes.
Stock up on a week’s supply of Ramen noodles.
Get one third of a loaf of decent 7-grain bread.
Buy a full day’s food for a poor family in India.
Get the silence of a child if you buy a big sucker pop.
Buy one share of an ailing corporation.
Buy one-thirtieth of one share in Microsoft.
Put it on the end of a fishing line and catch yourself a Wisebread reader.
Bribe an office worker for a tip about what to do with $1 (thanks K).
Write a message of hope on it that will pass through the hands of many people
Or, doodle a moustache on Mr. Washington you little rebel.
Exchange it for the new $1 coin and hunt for a vending machine that accepts it.
Eat it (probably healthier than eating anything off the dollar menu).
Try and fold it in half more than seven times (supposedly impossible).
Buy 10 copies of Vanilla Ice’s fabulous 1991 movie “Cool As Ice.”
Make a fortune by betting on a winning horse with odds of 50,000 – 1.
Purchase a $1 million bill from a magic store and cash it at WalMart
Buy a newspaper and read yesterday’s news.
Sign it and sell it on eBay for big $$$ (this only works if you’re famous).
Fold it into a rude and amusing shape and give your friends a laugh.
Bet someone $1 you can dance worse than M.C.Hammer. Lose bet.
Tear it in half and give one piece to your true love.
Get half of your shirt dry-cleaned.
Buy a sheet of paper and a pencil. Write an award-winning short story.
Bury it. Dig it up 200 years from now and hey presto, it’s an antique.
Get a haircut. Which hair is up to you.
Roll it into a tube shape and use it as a feeble straw.
Buy a year’s supply of food for your pet worm.
Spend one hour at the penny arcade.
Get your palm read at the carnival (for $1 your fortune may be bleak).
Buy a key ring, open up a gift shop at the airport and sell it for $10.
Visit the $1 section in Target, close your eyes and pick up a lovely surprise.
Buy a bunch of jaw breakers and shove them all in your mouth.
Exchange it on Craigslist for something cool, like a jigsaw with 5 missing pieces.
Knit yourself a one-fingered glove.
Slice it into tiny strips, join the ends together and create a jump rope.
Buy a tub of imitation playdough and regress to childhood.
Make lemonade out of lemons; two for a buck at most supermarkets.
Write, direct, produce and star in your own seriously low-budget movie.
Team up with 100,000 other folks with $1 and have an enormous party.
Or, team up with a billion other folks with $1 and feed the hungry.
Buy a $1 gift card to your favorite store.
Fill your tires with air and vacuum the car’s interior.
Buy two large rubber bands and make your own designer thong.
Buy a pay-per-view episode of a show you could have seen for free last week.
Rent a car for 10 minutes.
Put it through a cross-cut shredder for a cheap jigsaw puzzle.
Shrink it to the size of a stamp using Wonkavision (Wonka fans, unite)
Blow your nose on it (cheaper than a handkerchief, ~~but not washable~~ < thanks Colin)
Travel back to 1885 and pop it in a savings account.
Paint it red and pretend it’s a dollar left to you by a Martian.
Give it to the guy in Robocop who always said “I’ll buy that for a dollar.”
Fold it into a V-shape, lengthways, and use it to pour spices into small jars.
Buy some Tic-Tacs for the chain-smoking coffeeholic at work.
Fold it accordion-style and make a hand fan.
Write “the crow flies at midnight” on it and pass it to a complete stranger, winking.
Roll it into a ball and let your pet mice recreate the 2006 World Cup final.
Keep it in the bathroom as a last resort for those ‘no toilet paper!’ emergencies.
Stick it to your arm and create a cheap and non-painful tattoo.
Glue it to the underside of a glass table and watch the hilarious results.
Ask a complete moron to swap it for a $100 bill (if this works, let me know).
Tape it to your forehead. When people ask why, say your name is Bill.
Bet George Lucas he can’t create a worse character than Jar Jar Binks. Win bet.
Throw it into the path of an F6 tornado; watch it slice through a tree.
Flush it down the toilet or buy shares in newly bankrupted Amp’d mobile.
Give it to the CEO of a major oil company, along with the shirt off your back.
Drop it at your accountant’s office to test his/her honesty.
Get something cool in your local Discovery Channel Store’s closing down sale.
Buy ¼ of a bag of popcorn at the movie theater.
Purchase enough paint to completely redecorate one wall of the dog kennel.
Give it to your grandma to say thank you for all the times she gave you a $1.
Save it until the day after Valentine’s Day and buy a big bag of candy.
Get front-row tickets to the New Kids On The Block comeback tour.
Take it to a scientist to prove that money does not actually talk.
Write a list of 101 things to do with a $1 bill on the back of it.

Blurry but cool pic by Dances Fantastic. Thanks.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: