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We all love a good bargain, but sometimes, the desire to save a few bucks can lead to some astonishingly disastrous results. In this amusing collection, we explore the world of dollar store DIY gone terribly wrong, from poorly constructed crafts to downright dangerous decor mishaps.
If you think you’ve seen it all, well, you’re in for a surprising treat! So sit back, relax, and prepare to chuckle as we delve into the hilariously catastrophic side of budget DIY!
What you’ll need: Shoes
Estimated cost: $120*
There’s a lot to be said for biking to work and leaving the car at home. Saving the environment and tackling pollution has been a hot topic of conversation for quite some time now, but this person certainly isn’t reducing their footprint.
Usually, bikes from stores like Walmart have wheels and not a sneaker on each spoke. The logic behind this invention is almost unfathomable, especially as six pairs of sneakers will probably cost almost as much as a new bike. As for actually riding this thing to work? We’ll have to pass on this one – it looks utterly sole destroying.
What you’ll need: An old can, tape, and string
Estimated cost: $5*
Getting plumbing problems fixed can be a costly business that no one wants to deal with, but it’s also a necessary evil. Living in a home without a working tap can be a drag, but what about a home without a working shower head? That’s another level.
Clearly, these homeowners thought it better to just punch a few holes in a can and stick it on the pipe or hose with tape. Compared to the $149 it costs to get a new shower head fitted it’s definitely a cheap fix – but it’s not going to last forever.
What you’ll need: Pants, a stick, and string
Estimated cost: $10*
Swings have been a firm favorite with kids since the dawn of time, providing tots with plenty of good, clean fun. There’s nothing better than a trip to the park, but one savvy parent thought they would recreate the entertainment at home.
One cut up pair of pants, a stick, and some string later and you’ve got your very own giant wedgie. It’s better to shell out $30 and buy your own swing, or just take your kids to the park and save your ego from a good bruising. We know which one we would pick!
What you’ll need: Floral fabric, scissors, and a sense of humor
Estimated cost: $100*
Bespoke car seat covers will always cost a little more than ones you can buy from sites like Amazon. A set from the popular online marketplace can be as cheap as $20, but if you’re looking for something a little more frilly, you could do what this person did and make them yourself. Although proceed with caution.
This twee set looks more like grandma’s living room than top-of-the-line car fashion, but the price can’t be underestimated. When you take into account the cost of materials and the sheer time it took to make, this mess would have likely cost over $100. In our opinion, that’s way too much.
What you’ll need: Microphone stand and imagination
Estimated cost: $30*
Showers are so commonplace that most of us that are lucky to have one don’t really appreciate the trials that other people have to go through. In this case, one savvy homeowner thought they would save themselves a few hundred bucks by making their own power shower.
By using a $30 microphone stand and a shower head fixed to the top, one inventive mastermind was able to revamp their bathroom at a fraction of the cost. Of course, it looks terrible – but it works!
What you’ll need: Shopping cart wheel
Estimated cost: $300*
Every now and then, we see things on the internet that just don’t make any sense at all. Case and point: this strange combination of a car-meets-shopping-cart device. A new wheel can cost anywhere upward of $100, while a shopping cart can be just as expensive.
Not only has this person managed to write off an entire wheel, but they’ve also chopped up a perfectly decent cart too, creating double the financial damage. Plus, at some point a new wheel is going to have to go on there, costing at least another $100.
What you’ll need: Yarn and knitting needles
Estimated cost: $15*
Knitting is a great hobby to have. It can while away the hours, distract you from the state of the world, and provide you with something warm and fashionable to wear. Of course, you have to be good at it to get any actual use out of what you make.
This poor crafter decided to take a stab at a simple hat, only to discover that there’s a slight problem. Hats only work if they don’t have giant gaping holes in them. You learn something new every day. Yarn and knitting needles aren’t all that cheap to buy, so this was a knitting nightmare that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
What you’ll need: A plastic swimming pool and garbage can
Estimated cost: N/A
Imagine being so desperate for a dip in warm water that you think rigging your own hot tub is a good idea. In this case, one bright spark thought lighting up a garbage can and attaching it to a plastic swimming pool would be a good idea.
Hot tubs are expensive, so it’s not exactly difficult to imagine why someone can’t just go out and pick up the latest one. However, it is unfathomable to try and understand why someone thinks this is an acceptable solution. When it comes down to it, the potential cost of this boiling pot is immeasurable.
What you’ll need: Toilet seat
Estimated cost: $15*
Wall-mounted basketball hoops aren’t all that expensive to buy, with cheaper models coming in at around $10-$20. In this case, someone thought they would save themselves a trip to the store and just take a trip to the bathroom instead.
Half an hour and a lot of unscrewing later and there’s a new hoop on the wall. Not only would it have been just as effective to buy a new hoop, but there’s now a toilet out there without a seat, so there’s an extra expense. When it comes to this one, no one is scoring any points.
What you’ll need: Viscous liquid, a jar, and a homemade snowman
Estimated cost: $10-$20*
The proposed snow globe that this DIY project was designed to copy looks like a fun, winter decoration, seemingly made of viscous liquid, a jar, and a homemade snowman with a red scarf. The end result of one person’s attempt to copy the snow globe looks like Ghostbusters’ Stay Puft Marshmallow Man trapped in glue to keep it from escaping.
Snow globes are actually pretty cheap, if you don’t buy them online. You’ll pay $10-$15 for one that you find at Target or Marshalls. On Amazon, they’re surprisingly expensive, costing $35-$45. Though, to be fair, there is way more variety on there.
What you’ll need: AC unit and a car
Estimated cost: $300*
Rewind a few decades and having AC in your car was the epitome of luxury. Not every car came with it, but these days it’s nearly always standard. The heat in some states can be so unbearable that it’s near impossible to drive without it.
There are many solutions, like splurging $600-$1000 on getting AC installed, but why do that when you can do things the hard way? Not only did this person likely spend a couple of hundred bucks on the AC unit, but they also had to butcher their car and cause expensive damage to it to fit it. Was it worth it?
What you’ll need: Duct tape
Estimated cost: $5*
Plumbing problems can be a costly nightmare for anyone, so it’s understandable that things may take a little while to get fixed. However, when it comes to something as important as a toilet, it’s better to bite the bullet or face the consequences.
Getting a new toilet fitted can cost around $400, but what do you do in the meantime? The answer lies in tape, friends. Simply secure the cistern to the wall with a mountain of electrical tape and you’ve got a flushable fixture that works just like new – until it totally brings down the plasterboard.
What you’ll need: Pool, extension cable, and stereo
Estimated Cost: N/A
Every now and then a picture pops up on the internet which has an impact that can be felt around the world. We’re not talking about melting ice caps, but three guys sat in a pool using an extension cable to power a stereo.
A floating pool speaker can be purchased from Amazon for the very reasonable price of $30 – but the potential cost of this quick fix is unimaginable. When the water seeps into the plug the entire pool is going to be blown sky-high, men, electrics, and sliders included. How can you put a price on idiocy?
What you’ll need: An Iron
Estimated cost: $40*
We’ve seen our fair share of weird and wonderful kitchen gadgets, but this one really takes the cake – or should we say hot dog. No frying pan? No problem. Have you ever been so desperate to grill meat that you’ve decided to use your clothes iron to cook it?
The answer is probably no, but in this house, it was a resounding yes. The price of a new pan is around $20-$40 on sites like Amazon while the price of a new clothes iron is about $40. If this savvy user could get the smell of pork out of the iron maybe it wouldn’t have cost them a dime in the long run.
