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Edit: 5. A multifunctional pressure cooker like an instant pot or ninja 6. Air fryer
With the last two and a pan you can cook some good food for 1-2 people very easily and they are relatively cheap appliances you can use even in a college dorm or apartment.
A yubi key for my online accounts. ($45)
A layer 3 POE switch, no more dual wires for power and data ($800)
Stainless steel pan, can cook anything and scrub it hard without worrying about non stick coatings ($75)
Proxmox (free) best hypervisor I've used that's free
Framework computer. Modular and upgradable laptop ($900)
Guild Wars 2 game for PC. 10.000 hours in (yes, I’m addicted!), and still rocking. Thousands of players, new expansion next month, and the base game plus the 3 first expansions only cost 33€, no subscription fee.
Aftershokz Aeropex bone-conduction headphones. Wear them all day, every day.
My Italian five-ply stainless steel frying pan was a game changer for me. Mountains may crumble, but that pan will be with me forever and making cooking in a pan an absolute joy.
A Kawasaki ninja 650. It might not sound like much. But, its given me something to look forward too. Before I was really lost. I thought life just isn't worth living. But now? I still feel like that. But, its given me such a sense of freedom, and, whilst I haven't actually met any other bikers yet. It just feels a lot nicer. Like, when I'm out and I see another, its just a simple not. But, I feel apart of something now.
I've been riding around 2 weeks now. But I still get giddy when I ride. I love it. More than anything I've had before. And I haven't felt like this since I was with my first gf.
This became quite long. Sorry.
I bought a height adjustable office desk specifically for home office, great purchase.
A good headlight. I lend it to a friend for the last 2 weeks, and now I realize how much I use it.
Also my penny skateboard. This thing is light, small, and doesn't fear the rain. Being forced to walk because I don't have a skateboard is so frustrating to me!
For me it was a generator. Moved in to a new neighborhood and discovered that the power goes out frequently here. Mostly because all the power lines are above ground and old trees keep falling on them. It was during covid and my kids were remote schooling through zoom. Went and bought a 3500 watt generator to keep the internet and refrigerator and freezers running. Its been the most handy thing I got since we moved in.
Breville Espresso Machine: never would have bought one but we ended up with a bunch of gift cards. If you like coffee this makes such a difference.
Lynda.com/LinkedIn learning account: Keeping with your $0 library theme. Most libraries have had a partnership with online learning services. Used to by Lynda.com but is now LinkedIn Laarning. Search your library + linked in learning for login. I use it to learn so many skills!
Wusthof Knives: I like cooking. These aren’t the fanciest knife by far but they are solid. Combine them with sharpening stones and a honing steel and it is such a treat to cut the things you cook.
New socks: I don’t buy them as often as I want, or should have you ask my wife but, if I won the lotto my rich guy asshole Move would be new socks each week.
5th Wheel: I don’t have it anymore but when we moved out of one state we sold everything and bought a used rv (only after ensuring the espresso machine fit) and fixed it up. We traveled for 10 months around the US with two kids and two dogs, just to do it. We worked as we went. It was crazy and chaotic and wonderful and I cherish all the moments. I love the small nested world it becomes. We finally settled down and sold it but I still think about doing it again.
Thanks for sharing yours!
For me it has to be
my Sebo E3 canister vacuum. This thing changed my life living with a cat, dog, and two kids with full carpet. It just works and works well. Comes with a 10 year warranty as well.
My Lg C2 oled tv. Like someone else said, once you go oled you don’t go back. It’s a joy to watch every day.
Larger but worth was my 20 yr old Land Cruiser. Got it for cheap, did some preventative maintenance and have not had to do anything major since. Took multiple 3,000 mile trips including off-roading and she keeps on going.
my sleep 8 heading/cooling bed last year. was tired of sleeping crappy, had tried just about everything from supplements to saunas, exhausted all other ideas ... out of desperation decided to throw down for it.
seriously life changing. no matter what temp the room is at the bed is always perfect. takes a while for the auto pilot to learn your likes but when it does ... oh man.
much love for my smart mattress ❤️
A $100 brother laser printer (2280dw but it has been discontinued). It's like a printer from an alternative universe where printers aren't evil.
Had it for about 6 years now. Printed thousands of pages and only needed to replace the ink cartridge a few times. Had no issues with 3-rd party cartridges. Surprisingly never required any maintenance.
Other laser printer brands that can probably perform similarly, but I can only vouch for this one.
For me it has to be my tools. I'll go back to sleeping on the floor, counting pennies for gas fir my commute, get rid of everything else before my tools. Specifically my thin snap-on 3/8th ratchet and socket set and my cheap it tool kit. With those two sets alone you can fix a lot of things.
Though one of my best deals ever was a pretty good stove for $30, it mightve been damn near new. I bought from some young guy who looked like it was his first house, probably military by appearance and location, and they wanted their own appliances not the landlord grade stuff that was there. 8 years later, or whatever, and it's still great.
Dentist, not one of those thirty chair operations either. One dentist with one or two hygienists. Twice a year
I bought a mobile AC unit that renders my apartment survivable during summers. Prior to it, I'd have all the windows open and it would still reach 35-40 degrees C when the sun was at it's highest point, now I'll keep it at around 21 degrees and love life.
Hands down it has to be my prescription sunglasses. I need to wear glasses all the time and after years of messing around with clip ons that didn't feel quite right I decides to treat myself and bought a pair of Ray Bans and prescription lenses to go with them. I think it was around $350. 3 years later the frames were broken so I went and bought the same one and had my old lenses put in. I will be investing in a new set soon because the UV coating is all chipped and whatnot. But as a quality of life upgrade for a glasses wearer I struggle to think of anything that has been better.
I bought a TI-86 graphing calculator for $10 new in 2004. That was two years before it was discontinued, so that was an awesome price. I absolutely love that calculator. It's so easy to program for, it has custom shortcut keys, fantastic battery life, and has a super convenient multi-unit converter. The Casio FX-9750 GIII has a similar conversion feature, but it requires like, two extra button presses per conversion. I still use this calculator all the time.
Programmable gaming mouse. I have so many key combos and macros on my mouse, I could do most of my job one handed now if I had to. It's been so helpful for things like holding the baby when I'm working and my wife is unavailable.
Steelcase Leap V2. I can put in a 70 hour work week with no back pain now.
A fountain pen. Doesn't even have to be an expensive one. Some of my best memories can be tied to cheap pens. Signing for my house with my Kaweco Sport. Or signing my marriage license with my Jinhao x250. I feel like I just appreciate what I'm writing more with a fountain pen.
My PS2. Well, it was a gift. But still, I've had it since launch and it's only gotten better with time. Free MCBoot, hard drive, Noctua fan mod, Brooks PS3 controller adapter.. It's basically the only console I play anymore.
XBox Game Pass. Saved me literally hundreds of dollars on games I'd buy otherwise, and avoids bad purchases like Redfall.
I will second the Bogleheads book, which you is online for free by the author. Really simplified investing into a 2 or 3 fund hands off portfolio. I've had great success with it and I never have to worry about financial news.
Ontario Rat pocketknife replaced my Benchmade I sadly lost. 90% as good for way less money. It hurts losing an expensive EDC item.
Add on bidet. I didn't know why baby wipes are so popular when this is cheaper and won't mess up plumbing.
Aeropress and pour over cone with Trade coffee subscription. With my medication I didn't drink much liquor anymore. Coffee tasting has all the fun of trying single origins without interfering with my meds and is probably cheaper and healthier.
Musical instruments. My guitars were fairly cheap and require little maintenance costs. I got my electric piano for free. Hundreds of hours of creativity and expression I can use for the rest of my life that is essentially free at this point. I'm not even very good at music, but it's a fun creative outlet.
Good pens. Don't have to be expensive. Pilot V5 and Uni Jetstream are my cheap go to, but they write so much nicer than super cheap ones. Once you appreciate those, check out JetPens and enjoy yourself.
A good pocket/utility knife and sharpening set. You don't need to spend hundreds, but my favorite is my Spyderco Para 3 Lightweight. It has a 3 inch blade, weighs 68 grams, and it's made of BD1N steel which keeps an edge very well.
The first thing that comes to my mind is an e-reader: always having my books with me encouraged me to read more. Following its purchase I read more books than I ever did since my teenage-hood (I'm close to 30).
Whirley Pop: if you enjoy popcorn/like to have a movie theater experience at home, get one! I love to use the "Real Theater" packets but you can make your own as well.
Air Fryer: we have the Ninja brand and I love it. It doubles as a dehydrator as well, so quick and a million times easier than heating.
Litter Champ/Litter Genie: We have the litter Champ brand. Great for disposing of soiled cat litter without having to use grocery bags every time. They are biodegradable with zero smells.
Nintendo Switch with BOTW and TOTK. Hundreds of hours of entertainment!
My PC.
Rescue dog $60-$200. Older is even better. Best investment in your mental health.
Vivobarefoot shoes! Bought the geo racer, my feet feels so light and good! Stretches the hamstrings as well.
Very specifically, my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones.
I was lucky enough to go to a retail store with plenty of display models and I tried headphones that cost €2000 and up. They were so cheap for what they were (€139), I'm probably going to buy an extra pair in case they stop making them. Too good to be true. Use them everyday, and still surprised at the new things I'm hearing in songs played a thousand times.
Safety goggles (don’t remember how much) oh boy I would blind by now if It weren’t for those
Also want to say that home gym equipment a fantastic investment if you have the space.
It might take a few years to pay for itself, but a good bar and squat rack will last forever. And the commute out of the equation means you're probably more likely to use it.
