For me it has to be:
- Helix mattress ($1,217). Sleep is great.
- Home gym power cage & weights (~$1,000). Look good, feel good, get strong.
- Netgear Nighthawk AXE7800 ($339). No more random, annoying internet disconnects/slowness.
- Books ($0 @ library)
- “Ultralearning” - Scott Young (how to learn efficiently)
- “Enlightenment Now” - Steven Pinker (the world overall is improving)
- “The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing” - Taylor Larimore (how to invest)
- PS5 ($500). So many great games like witcher 3, god of war, spiderman.
I’m searching for some more deep value purchases. Give me what you’ve got.
Not to sound like one of those people, but a bidet. It hasn’t eliminated my use of toilet paper, but certainly has reduced it, while leaving a squeaky clean feeling. I miss using it while away from home nowadays.
Other things are eye masks (I have sleep quality issues) and ereaders (never moving with ten boxes of books again).
I can’t recommend a bidet enough. I’ve stopped using toilet paper all together and just use soap and a towel to dry off.
It’s especially amazing if you get the hot water hooked up to it.
I tried having a bidet a couple times, but I ended up having issues with certain delicate skin becoming cracked and bleeding. Not sure what the cause was, but no bidet for me.
So what you’re saying is that you moisturize with your feces?
Squeaky clean could be embarrassing though.
ee err
- my asshole
Electric toothbrush.
Invest in your teeth. Trust me.
Waterpik is also the bomb
YOU’RE NOT GIVING AWAY OUR WATERPIK!
My rice cooker. Doesn’t really matter which one. If you like rice, this will make your life better
It’s funny how every time someone asks this question there’s at least one guy in the comments praising their rice cooker, lol
I also choose that guys rice cooker
No joke. Every time someone comes in praising their $200+ Zojirushi rice cooker telling me how if I really liked rice I would see the light.
No fool. My in-laws are rice farmers. The $15 rice cookers are fine (ok. They’re probably $30 at this point).
Also, reheating rice is not going to poison you.
Fr. I have one of the cheapest, simplest rice cookers and it’s never failed me. Perfect rice every time, simple load, turn on and forget. My brother has gone through at least 3 of those stupid fancy “smart” ones. I don’t know why they need to overcomplicate something as simple as “cooking rice.”
I think my trusty Pinecil soldering iron has got to be one of my best value purchases ever.
$25 for a tool that can compete with or surpass many other soldering irons that cost many times as much.
And the convenience of USB-C means you can use a portable battery without sacrificing any wattage. The heating element is also extremely efficient and can easily handle large pads that many others would struggle to heat effectively.
It’s also got some fancy features like an accelerometer (used for display orientation and sleep timer) and a fully open-source OS.
Truly a steal for $25
sync for reddit was
€1.5 for 10 years of joy
In the same vein, I caught Relay Pro for $0.99, 11 years of daily use out of that one. 🥺
Electric kettle. Saves so much time and energy boiling water with electricity in a couple minutes vs 10min of burning natural gas. Hoping to get a new one during prime days this week since my wife put it on the gas range this weekend due to motor muscle memory taking over during multitasking. Luckily she didn’t burn the place down.
I feel like only us in the UK have one of these by default
Wait, wait I know this conversation. Somebody is going to bring up 240v vs 120v and then somebody else will say that’s not actually very relevant and will link to the Technology Connections YouTube video.
E-Reader, I’ve put hours and hours into that thing and it’s still going strong. Maybe I’ll upgrade it at some point, but it’s showing no signs of ageing yet. I love reading, but I don’t have space for a huge library of books (believe me I wish I did).
But do you really have the books? Or are you hooked up to some cloud service of some asshole company?
deleted by creator
I just wish there was a color E reader. Not a full blown tablet, just E ink but color. I’d like to read graphic novels on it.
Those already exist! Pretty hefty price (compared to your usual ereader) but very much useable. Onyx Boox has a few models iirc
Air fryer
Although it’s slower than deep frying, you don’t need to babysit the food and can use the time to do something else. It also much easier to cleanup
On top of that, proper deep frying requires enough oil mass to maintain the desired heat. Nearly all residential units don’t have enough volume capacity to work as intended. Air-fryers though move heated air constantly replacing the need for oil mass.
House in 2017
TSA Pre-check.
Yes, it’s fucking obnoxious that it exists at all, given the “security theater” of it all, but man… being able to breeze past the super long lines at the airport is such a better experience.
100% agree. Especially with a family. It’s so nice to not have to worry about missing a flight because of the absolutely gargantuan line at DEN.
I have a “NEXUS” pass. Joint prescreen/vetting between USA/Canada. Cost less than $100 and beyond the initial online application I had to take a trip to border/customs for an in person interview (essentially identity confirmation).
I travel between BC and Washington regularly enough and the wait in line for a NEXUS crossing is measured in minutes, not hours. It also gives you the security pass/upgrade for any Canadian or US airport.
The NEXUS is cheaper than PreCheck, and it gives you NEXUS, PreCheck, and GlobalEntry privileges. I have no idea why the deal is so good, but if you’re in driving distance of Canada, it’s totally worth it.
Global Entry is generally better, save for I believe driving privileges at the Canadian border, and since most people get any of the three for free you may as well get GE.
What’s the path to getting Global Entry for free? As part of a credit card benefit or something?
Sorry, yeah that. I think one or two comes with it with no annual fee too, but if you travel enough to make use of GE, it’s prob worthwhile to get an annual fee one as well
Instant pot/air fryer combo - I like that I can make one-pot meals in it as I really don’t like cooking, and anything I make in there cooks fast. Pasta, rice, meats, there’s so many recipes.
Bissell Green Machine - it can wash furniture/carpet. Great for spills, if you have pets. Wash the upholstery in your vehicle. Small and compact. I use it a lot.
Large Honeywell air purifier - my husband smokes a fair amount of pot. I really don’t enjoy my space smelling like it all the time. This thing sucks up the smoke and I don’t have to deal with it. I buy the replacement air filters on Amazon.
Steam Deck - I love this thing. I love gaming but I’m tired of sitting at my desktop. It’s like a small handheld computer too, so you can do other things on it besides run Steam. Right now I’m using it to stream CraveTV to my TV since my Raspberry Pi streaming box isn’t working.
10h a week of my life back. It cost me about 500€ a month, but it improved my mental health immensely.
Moved closer to work?
Close, I moved to a smaller and cheaper apartment and reduced some other costs, then I found a job where I work 30h a week.
Each month when I get my wage now I think “I bought this time and I best make use of it” and so it changed my mindset to one where I enjoy my free time a bit more, maybe cause I‘m aware of the price I pay for it.
An ereader that supports the epub format. Getting all my books from Anna’s Archive saves me hundreds of dollars each year. If I absolutely loved the book, I buy the ebook to support the author after all.
Cast iron skillets ($10-$35 each). My kids joke that they don’t know whether I’d save them or the skillets in a fire.
Smartwool socks. I do not understand - all other wool is hot & itchy but these socks, I can be sweaty all over but my feet stay dry. I just bought my second round, looked at purchase history, my old ones were twelve years old before they started getting holes.
Linen clothing for hot weather, it provides shade and I am cooler wearing it, than not. (Moisture wicking fabric doesn’t work where I live.)
Metal roof (20 thousand dollars) on both the houses I have ‘bought’ (mortgage) over my life. Not quite 2x the cost of shingles but never have to think about it again. The first one was 30 years ago and still absolutely solid no maintenance yet.
You should tell your kids that OF COURSE you’ll save them over your skillets if there’s a fire… but only because the skillets will probably survive the blaze
Silly kids! The cast iron would survive the fire! Ha-ha-haa! Now if there was a sinkhole in the kitchen during breakfast…
- An office chair not a gaming chair.
- A reciprocating saw and having multiple blades is a lifesaver. You will always need a fresh blade in an emergency when the store is closed.
- Cast iron pan
- Bidet has been life changing
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.