Comment by eigenvalue

I got an awesome rice cooker (Zojirushi NeuroFuzzy) for around $200, and started buying "sushi rice" in 5 or 10 pound bags from various Japanese food companies on Amazon.

Being able to make extremely good rice just like the rice from a good restaurant is incredible, and even fancy rice is cheap enough when purchased in bulk that you end up saving a decent amount of money over time. It takes just a few minutes to wash the rice in the sink and then under an hour to cook it, and you can leave it in there for a while and it will keep it nice and warm.

It's really great with chicken or beef and vegetables cooked in a Japanese BBQ sauce (I like Bachan's, which you can buy in bulk jugs on Amazon for around $40).