Sometimes I will use something and realize I’ve owned it forever. It’s a nice change in our throwaway reality. I think my personal record is a bicycle multi-tool I got for one of my first bikes, ~25 years ago. Still have it, still use it. When it comes to electronic devices I have a Panasonic mini Hi-Fi from ~2005. Never felt like changing it.
What’s your record?
I don’t use it every day, but today I used the pizza cutter that I bought for myself when I was maybe in my early 20s and I thought about how long I’ve had it. I had been pretty fed up with the cheap ones that my parents had around and decided to spend some money on a good one. I was pretty poor so it’s not like made of marble or anything, but it’s still sturdy and cuts pizza well after 20 years, so it was probably worth whatever I spent on it.
That here is one of the more sensible approach to buying expensive stuff, I guess.
Try the cheap shit until you know what to look for or it breaks. Then, if the opportunity arises (new household, new tools) get the best you can afford and what suits your requirements.
Buy the cheapest thing that’ll get the job done, then if/when that breaks, buy the best you can.