There’s 3 things that really stand out for me that I would say made a massive difference to my life:
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Cordless screw driver. Bought the day after building a flat pack bed with a crappy screw.driver that just shredded my hand. Thought it was frivolous at the time, but I’ve used it so much since. It’s light, small enough to fit in my pocket and good for 90% of DIY tasks.
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Tassimo coffee machine. Bought it 9 years ago, use it every day. Nice quick easy coffee. What’s not to like.
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My first DSLR camera. It was a Nikon D50 back in 2005/6 and it sparked my interest in photography to this day. It gave me a hobby I can take lots of places and do it alone or with others. I never loved the D50 camera itself, but I did get some really nice shots with it
- vasectomy
- divorce
- campervan
Tells a story.
He bought a campervan, so his wife divorced him, and after getting plastered at a bar, he woke up in the hospital with a small scar on his balls.
Oh my god, those monsters. Somebody get this man a new vas deference!
Although I can’t say these are the best purchases in my life, I have also purchased all three, and can attest they were money very well spent. Very. Very. Well. Spent.
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Quality electric toothbrush. I can’t get my teeth feeling clean without one anymore.
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A rice cooker. Doesn’t need to be fancy, but it lowers the barrier to cooking substantially given how many dishes use rice.
3, A phone with a camera that’s at least mid-range, as it’s the camera you’ll have on you most. I used to always use phones from cheap brands like Umidigi and although some of them did perform quite well others left me with gaps of my life where none of the photos I took have any detail.
My rice cooker sees more usage as a crock pot as almost every meal here comes with rice & if cooking, I’d rather make something harder to find, but when I do need rice, it’s the way to go.
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My Garmin Fenix watch, it was during the first month of wearing it that I realized my life and fitness can be like a video game and I get badges and points for doing things. It drives me to move and even after 4 years, it still is making me motivated.
A nice wallet, I looked for a long time and ended up with a Trayvax wallet. I just love the damn thing, it’ll last me forever and it’s unique and functional. Each time I pull it out of my pocket, I appreciate it’s look and feel and form.
My osprey back pack. I’ve carried it to and from work, on boats, kayaks, walking, for camping and to my friends houses. It is just so functional and comfortable in a way that a less expensive one isn’t. It’s made to be comfortable AND hold things.
Which Osprey did you get? I’ve loved their backpacks for a long time.
It’s a commuter backpack, momentum 30. Has a front pocket to fit a bike helmet, I never use it for that but a big stretch pocket on the front is so useful.
Overall, it just always seems to fit everything I’m carrying with me to most places.
I’ve got a few other smaller travel bags too that I used to store computer accessories and toiletries when I travel.
- A flight ticket out of the US (it’s been 7 or 8 years since… not sure if I will ever return until there is an important funeral)
- Wired IEMs with a Harmon target
- Tea kettle with variable temperatures to make green tea properly without burning it
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My vasectomy. Hands down the best ease-of-mind investment ever
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My computer. Easy choice, I use it daily, sometimesmore than 8 hours
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Good, high quality spices
My vasectomy.
Paying for that? That’s weird.
I wanted to do it myself but my doctor advised against it.
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I bought a 97 Ford Taurus off a friend for $800 back in 2008. Her dad thought it was on its last legs at 155k miles so he wanted to sell it. I drove it for four years. It was running fine until someone blasted it out in front of my girlfriend’s house and drove off. At the time it had 206k miles. 50k miles for $800 was certainly one of my best purchases.
All my cars have been sub-$5k rust buckets or on their last legs.
$600 - 1993 Honda civic
$1300 - 1994 Volkswagen Golf
$3000 - 2003 Mazda 3
$1000 - 2007 ford escape
$2000 - 2012 Kia Rio
$3000 - 1994 Chevrolet s10
$4000 - 2009 Volkswagen rabbit
$4000 - 2009 Toyota Yaris
Almost all of them sold for what I bought it for. Im mechanically inept so probably could have kept them longer if I was good at that.
Good purchases, some adventures, but cheap cars that work out and are in that sweet spot of not dead but still cheap are great.
Cordless screw driver. Bought the day after building a flat pack bed with a crappy screw.driver that just shredded my hand. Thought it was frivolous at the time, but I’ve used it so much since. It’s light, small enough to fit in my pocket and good for 90% of DIY tasks.
Got a gun from sako the other day it’s cute, it’s small, fits right in my pocket (yeeeeeah right in my pocket)
Real answers tho:
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Air pump for car tires. I have notoriously bad luck with flats, leaks, etc. This thing has saved me more than a few times.
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KVM switch. I work from home, this lets me have my work computer and my personal computer connected to the same equipment, and I can toggle between them with either a physical switch or a keyboard hotkey
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Bit of a curve ball, but therapy. Life’s tough, gotta have some outlets and advice sometimes.
Had to admit defeat with the electric screw driver a few times and bust out my relatively new impact driver. Now that’s an impressive bit of kit with a lot of power, especially when screwing in to masonry. But for most stuff the smaller screwdriver is better suited.
The kom.bu.cha! mush.room! peo.ple! sit.ting a.round all day!
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Bidet which i installed during covid when stupid fucking people were fighting for TP. Been using it since then. Worth every cent.
I did the same recently and can’t recommend them more. They’re wonderful. I can’t imagine a world without one and I’m shocked that they didn’t become the staple in every household decades ago. Big TP really did a number on my country.
Lol majority of people are fucking stupid.
Agreed, but specifically an aftermarket electric seat bidet to save in a load of plumbing.
What are you talking about ? A handheld one will cost ya $30 and all you need to do is screw it to the flush using a T joint.
The thing that weirds me out about the common bidet answer is how certain societies thought otherwise was a good idea in the first place. I don’t know anyone here that would call it revolutionary since 90% of the places you go have a hose for your butt sitting right next to you.
- Whole house fan, and it’s not even close. We’ve saved tons of money by not running the AC as much as a result. Plus it just feels nicer to have fresh cool air come in from outside. I’ve even used it in the winter after the whole family got over being sick. Crack a couple of windows, turn the fan on, and the entirety of the house has fresh air in minutes. That got cold pretty quick, but worth having some stale air purged.
- Drill press I’m an amateur woodworker who is apparently incapable of drilling straight holes.
- Blackstone griddle A gift from a loved one who passed before they got to see me use it, but a nice reminder regardless. Works great for meal prepping something like breakfast burritos!
Look at you & your fresh air privilege over here not having the pollution of the city :P
Lol, no question I’m privileged in that regard. We do have half the state burn during the hottest parts of the summer, so can’t use it then. And an overzealous neighbor who likes to burn yard waste on the nicest days of the spring/summer, if that makes you feel better. :)
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Rescue dog - I saved hers and she saved mine.
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College Education - paying to finish my 4 year degree, life changing
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40mhz AMD PC processor /w motherboard. replacement for a christmas gift but it solidified my love of computers and computing. Which lead to my college degree and career.
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Cast iron pan for me.
Kindle - all the books, all the time.
Sony WH1000-XM3 (I guess newer models are still good) - excellent noise cancelling, perfect for flights
Steam Deck - play almost any games, anywhere, and with a full desktop mode too.
In the past I’d have put the Acer Aspire One, I loved the netbook form factor, now I use either the Vivobook or Steam Deck like that.
The Aeropress is also great for quick, simple coffee.
My daughter got the steam deck and she does use it mobile however it has eclipsed the switch as our go to living room family/party/multiplayer console. Family library sharing works very seamlessly in steam.
I am regularly impressed how well PC titles run on it regardless of if they windows running under proton or Linux optimized.
There are also an impressive number of titles that have native or at minimum controller support to the point the onscreen prompts all show the correct buttons. We have a number of Xbox controllers now for up to 4 player multiplayer.
We regularly hook it up to hotel TVs when traveling as well.
I guess newer models are still good
Nope. The WF1000-XM4 have battery drain issues, and there is at least one explosion recorded…
Edit: To everyone saying they have XM4 or XM5 and see no issues, congratulations you are one of the lucky few. Just google “XM4 battery drain” and you will learn the Sony had to issue so many refunds they introduced new processes…
PS Boycott Sony until they address the issues. It’s not okay for major producer to release a product with such a major flow and then look the other way.
Had the XM-4, battery life was shit and I will now never ever buy another set of headphones without physical buttons. They were truly dreadful when you put them round your neck
Changed for Bose QC45 and will never buy Sony again
haha, I had the Sony XM4’s as well and my favorite day ever of owning them was when I finally got so frustrated I threw them off the mower I was riding on and mowed over them. It felt SOOOOO GOOD. By far the biggest waste of money I have ever spent. Never again Sony anything even remotely related to that. Also never again anything without physical buttons.
Haaaa yeah the kindle. Both loved and hated in my case. Love the form factor, allowing me to indulge in new books. Hate it because I don’t get new physical books anymore. Not that I have any room left for books; that’s the reason I bought the kindle in the first place…
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A plot of land in a place I like. Nothing fancy or huge, just a place to be by myself and enjoy a nice bonfire away from people.
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Headphones. The old clunky ones that cover your whole ears. I love them! They feel like a hug and I use them all the time while listening to spooky stories. Bought them in a sale about four years ago.
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A hello kitty backpack. Bought it as a birthday gift for a friend’s daughter, we had a fallout and I kept it. One day I needed a clean backpack and this was on hand so I grabbed it in a whim and have been using it ever since. I have a pair of Columbia, silver ridge and tetons laying around but this fluffy cute backpack makes me so happy and has the perfect size.
You seem like a cool person.
I don’t get that compliment a lot lol, so thank you.
Well, of course not; you’re on your land away from people! 😂 But seriously, I mean it! Take care…
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-house
-carbon fiber road bike
-Honda HRV
HP48GX scientific calculator, damn old, still works great still use it a lot
Steam Deck, handheld gaming computer, barely use PS5 anymore, this one is so quick and convenient to just pause and resume games and take gaming everywhere and the SteamOS Linux is awesome. I use the desktop mode with full KDE Plasma desktop as my portable computer a lot when on the go. Also with the dock station I can use it as a gaming console when going on holidays.
And the flat I live in. Good thing as I bought it quite a few years ago since the home prices are just criminal and highly unjust now. This stuff does not belong on markets to be sold for profits or some criminal short-time renting crap like AirBnB
The best calculator ever made
As a fellow PS5 owner, and someone who would like to game on the go, the Steam deck interests me, especially as Sony refuses to release a proper handheld, but I’m finding it hard to pull the trigger on it, as the majority of my game catalogue is on PS5, and what games I have on PC are mostly not on steam platform. I have some games that are on steam that could be played on the go, but what is the Internet connectivity requirement like?
You can play non-steam PC games on it. It’s just a little less straightforward. You don’t need to be connected to he Internet to play most games. Some might require you to be connected when you launch it (I think RDR2 did that), but then you can just keep it running and put the steam deck to sleep.
