Ask Lemmy

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.

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.

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!

Purple mattress. Don't remember what I paid but it was discounted because it was open box. Best sleep I've ever had and no waking up to back pain. I even bought a Purple pillow and rarely have neck pain.

Raspberry Pi. I got one before prices shot up. If I didn't have one already I'd go with one of the cheapest alternatives. I haven't done anything super crazy like a doorbell cam or magic mirror but it's been a ton of fun.

Similarity to the Pi my favorite laptop purchase has gotta be my Acer Aspire One netbook. It's noticeably slower than any other device I have but I'll still use it because I just love the form factor. Super light and easy to use anywhere and unlike a tablet it's got a built-in keyboard, several ports, and runs Docker (seems like it's possible on Android but very laborious).

A Fumoto oil drain so I can do oil changes myself, my local shops quote me $90, $100 to do oil changes. No more of that ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

• sennheiser hD598 - ~$150, had them for 7 years, rock solid, sound great
• elgato HD60 w chinese HDMI splitter - ~$150 lets me record anything from an HDMI, blur out channel logos, etc
• j mascis sig jazzmaster ~$500 used - best guitar i ever played

• 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.

• Coffee grinder. Much better coffee at home
• Nintendo Switch. Hundreds of hours of entertainment.
• SwitchBot. $30 or so to remotely push a button for you. I use it to turn on my espresso machine remotely to let it heat up before I go use it.

XBox Game Pass. Saved me literally hundreds of dollars on games I'd buy otherwise, and avoids bad purchases like Redfall.

An Anker powerbank 20000mAh. Couldn't for the life of myself go to a time before having it.

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.

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.

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!

Leatherman Skeletool CX. It's been my EDC for over 10 years and has gotten me out of a handful of scrapes when I needed a tool for something and none were around. It's broken twice (the pliers don't hold up great to twisting forces), but Leatherman has a great warranty and I've had no problems getting it repaired/replaced by them. Such a nice company.

My PC.

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 ❤️

Can you expand on the whole gym stuff?

Dentist, not one of those thirty chair operations either. One dentist with one or two hygienists. Twice a year

• A cast iron pan and paraphernalia. Not cheap, but it's great to cook with.
• Books. Never regretted buying those.
• Purchase art from artists.

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.

i also struggled with the idea of paying for this but tbh after using it for over a year now, i don't have a problem.

we live in a place with micro climates where there temps can swing widely at night from day to day & the auto pilot does small fine tuning based on a number of things. this for me at least is worth $10 a month.

compare & contrast with the oura ring which requires a $5/mo sub to get any useful insight out of it - without the subscription you only get how long you slept witha proprietary sleep score that has no insight behind it. after spending a few hundred dollars for the ring this really started to piss me off.

at least with the 8 sleep bed the device is actually performing / working for me vs just giving me data.

the 8 bed also gives you much of the same data oura does so the subscription just hits differently for me.

finally if you're thinking about this - definitely consider the cover vs the full mattress. same tech and they way they've designed it makes it fit beautifully on your existing setup at ~ $1k less than the mattress combo 😊

Squatty Potty

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.

The herman miller aeron is the best chair ever. other chairs I've tried all feel so much worse, and ventilate terribly. I recommend removing the back support to make them even more comfortable.

Also, Patagonia backpacks are really nice. I used one for 9 years of daily heavy use for school, but they also work well for laptops and travel if you get the right one.

Steel series GGs. Best headphones I have ever had for gaming and streaming.

A good set of kitchen knives. I am not a culinary expert, but why fuck around with crap knives.

AAA card has saved me so much money in tows and keys. I have an older car as a commuter and while it was a steal there were a few odds and ends that needed to be worked out while making it a commuter.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Nintendo Switch with BOTW and TOTK. Hundreds of hours of entertainment!

Rescue dog $60-$200. Older is even better. Best investment in your mental health.

To go along with the mattress theme, and since I’ve had two back surgeries (in my 30s after a car wreck), my sleep number mattress was a big expense but I was miserable and could never get a good night’s sleep before it. It’s been a game changer.
The other is a little more niche, but I’m a runner/endurance sports and my Balega socks have been incredible. They are $14 a pair (yes, $7 a sock), but they are easily worth every single penny. I’ve done 30 hour hiking/running events and my feet were the only thing still dry on my body thanks to those guys.

Likely my school/training which did cost a bit but enabled me to create a career.

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.

cafelat robot lever espresso machine

• $320 USD
• makes espresso as good as a +$1k machine
• doesn't need descaling
• looks cool
• takes up hardly any bench space
• simple, well engineered, will outlive me