Best economical blender?

I don't have a blender, and occasionally I come across something that would be easier to make if I had one.

Also, I'm starting to think about Christmas, and I know that my father has been looking for cracked wheat to no avail for at least a year - and I've just done a search myself and found that it's mostly out of stock everywhere - I believe that one could use a blender to crack small amounts of wheat oneself, and that if I had a blender, I could promise him regular cracked wheat deliveries as a present.

What blender would you recommend? Are there things I should watch out for when buying one? Thankyou!

I have two blenders. one is a Nutri-bullet (?) that was a gift that I never use,

The other one is just a cheap one.

I also have a stick blender which is the one I like the best.

I think it is more like a mixer than a blender.

Oster used to be the name that blenders were best known by.

The concern I have about a stick/immersion blender is I'm not sure if I could use it for cracking wheat!

You are right, though I was not recommending it for cracking wheat.

Just got carried away about blenders.

The cracked wheat part I am not sure of.  However, if I didn’t already have a blender, I would first price them out and then go to a junk store.  Of course, before I bought one, I would plug it 8n to be certain it worked.

Do you use a kitchen machine for other things as well? Many of the larger machines also have blender attachments which means you only need one motor rather than one for every piece of equipment. I'm not a huge blender user so I don't have a dedicated one but rather one that fits on my kenwood. I actually have 2 kenwoods one is from the 1970's and still runs perfectly so this type of machine will just keep going.

I have a food processor that is probably from the 80s. It's in kind of rough shape and I've been thinking it should be replaced with something for awhile, although it does still work and replacing it is not a priority. I don't use it very much, I'm essentially waiting for its motor to give up, and might well have another decade before it does.

I also have a big stand mixer which I inherited and which I use maybe two or three times a year, if I remember I have it. I wouldn't have one if it hadn't been left to me.

If it were just for me I would likely be most interested in an immersion blender since that would give me something with a new and different function over what the other tools do.

But I've tried cracking wheat with my food processor and it is pretty inconsistent.

I bought a Vitamix blender with a dry canister included many years ago. It's no one's idea of economical (although I have seen quite good prices on used or reconditioned ones sometimes) but on a per use cost basis, it's one of my "cheapest" kitchen appliances. I use it almost every day. The dry canister works well for grains and coffee beans and dried chiles etc and the wet is a beast for evenly blending everything else.

While I do use a stick blender frequently as well, and its an essential tool for me but it doesn't replace a full sized blender, especially for dry goods. I don't own a food processor, but do own a stand mixer. I am selective about the kitchen tools I own (for space, budget, usefulness for my way of cooking reasons) and use the blender and stick blender the most frequently so I think my investment was the right one for me.

It a Vitamix is just a non starter, I would go with a powerful stick blender and maybe look at a manual grinder of some kind for hard/dry goods.

Just to follow up on this thread, I gave up on the idea of using a blender for cracked wheat, and recently I bought an immersion blender. I've only used it once so far, but I'm looking forward to the new possibilities it presents.
Thank you again for everyone's thoughts on the question!

This is past the time to give you an advice, but I thought of putting this out there for posterity. And also, my purpose for buying a blender originally, was different.

This is definitely not an economical option - although economical, if it means cheap to buy, might not be so economical in the long run.

Few years ago, 10 maybe, I wanted to be able to sell powdered garlic at the farmers market. We grew the garlic, and the regulations in this state allowed for that. Still do.

I purchased a Vitamix blender, with the option of dry goods container. It made the dried garlic into powder just like I wanted it to.

And, since then, I’ve used it for wheat and most of the time for corn grinding. I grow corn for polenta and such, and wheat sometimes for flour, and it’s so nice to have freshly ground flour from grains that I grew that could be several years old. Grains keep really well in the whole grain stage, once we crack or grind them, all those volatile healthy oils are diminishing in nutritional value really fast.

I expect this blender to last me my whole lifetime.

PS: we do have an immersion blender, absolutely great for the things it’s meant for. We do soups, whipped cream and stuff like that with it☺️.

In the long run, the most economical blender is the one you will never have to replace.
About 15 years ago I bought myself an osterizer with a glass jug. It only has three speeds, but boy, are them awesome speeds! The version I bought (in Mexico) was a mother's day special pack it also came with a slightly smaller stainless steel jug for smoothies (or so they said) it also came with a small two-cup plastic jug--baby food or salsas--this is totally awesome and I use it tons. It's easy to replace the seal, and I've never had to replace the blades, but if you are regularly crushing ice or grinding nuts, you can easily get replacement blades. I've never cracked wheat, but I do make oat flour in it. I really love my blender and it's as good as it was 20 years ago.
It's like this. Osterizer except without that squat plastic jug with the black thing in the middle--that must be a new addition.
I know not everyone can shell out for a top of the line blender--but it's definitely worth buying something you know you won't need to replace--if you regularly go to thrift shops or flea markets, or estate sales,  keep your eyes peeled for an older Oster blender. My mother also has one, and hers is in the 40-50-year-old category and still working fine.

I love the Nutribullet. My mom got me one. She makes smoothies, but I use it for all spice grinding, nut or seed grinding. Or coffee grinding if need be.

Before the Bullet, over the years I went through so many small blender/processors for spice/herb grinding.  Burnt out a bunch.  The Bullet is the only one that lasted  for that use.