For me, it was a pair of merrell shoes on sale. They have lasted 3+ years, have great grip in the snow and ice, and so comfortable, my feet don’t hurt after wearing all day.
Never cheap out on anything that comes between you and the ground; shoes, tires, a bed.
What have been some of your good purchases under $100?
Cheap Amazon bidet. $40 and it revolutionized my #2 experience.
These are magic, you can get good non-electric ones for $25 each and outfit your whole house. Three years from installing my first one I’m planning for power outlets near the toilets and saving for one that will yell at me in Japanese while it cleans.
deleted by creator
What purifier did you pick up? We got one that was well recommended, and our Air Quality Monitor has basically said it’s doing nothing. It’s been pretty frustrating.
This is going to sound silly but I’ve heard some people aren’t aware you need to open it and take the plastic off the internal diluted before first use. Did you do that?
deleted by creator
A sleep mask. I sleep much better now that all the light is blocked out. Also, if I want to, I can sleep in in the mornings when it’s bright outside and the light won’t disturb me.
I bought one with Bluetooth headphones built in. I have tinnitus and going to sleep was torture. I’d lay in the quiet room and be unable to sleep thanks to the loud ringing in my right ear. During the day, my hearing aid helps, but I take it out at night. With the Bluetooth sleep mask, I can put on white noise, drown out the ringing, and fall asleep.
As a bonus, I made a specific white noise mix for sleep and I seem to have trained my brain to have a Pavlov-type response. When that white noise goes on, my brain says “time to go to sleep” and I’m able to quickly fall asleep instead of having my brain run a mile a minute in the dark. (At least, on most nights. The Pavlov response isn’t strong enough to overcome me being stressed about something if I go to bed.)
The sleep mask with Bluetooth cost me about $30 and it was worth every penny!
Electric tooth brush. Learn to use it properly. Combine with flossing, save a lot on dental issues.
Arm sleeves (Korea brand from ebay) for driving. Keep my arms from turning into toast these days, you could also wet them to enhance cooling
I bought an insulated tumbler and now I drink too much water. I put ice in in the morning and it stays cold all day and I keep it by my bed for those 2am thirsty wake ups and it just hits the spot. Whenever I travel without it I just feel parched all day lol.
For any other girls, for God’s sake get a proper fitted bra. Spend the money. It’s a world of difference
A cheap beginner ukulele. Less than $100 gets you a new decent/good quality uke. (And $100 goes very far for a used one.) There is a whole world of music, musical styles, clubs, jams, online communities, and free resources. And uke players are generally kind, funny, and generous. “No big egos with tiny instruments.”
Noise cancelling headphones (or foam earplugs). Realized a good 60% of my anxiety had been caused by there being too many noises.
A bag of chickpea flour. Somebody on Lemmy was singing the praises of chickpea flour plus water as a replacement for egg in breading stuff. So instead of flour, egg, breadcrumbs I can do flour, chickpea flour + water, breadcrumbs. And then the rest of the chickpea flour goes back in the cabinet and I don’t have to try to use eggs before they go bad.
Had a baby this year and I have a twofer:
- I got a used prefold + covers lot for $100. Cloth diapers seem more comfortable for the baby and they are way easier on the wallet.
- Woven wraps can be found used for $20-$80. A woven wrap is a baby wrap you can use from birth till they stop wanting to be held (35+ lbs). They are cheaper and more versatile than many structured carriers.
Go team cloth! We cloth’d both of my kids. Not always fun, but it’s better for the environment and a ton cheaper!
Used cloth for my first, but I’m old now, so my second gets disposables.
A good set of ear plugs. My toddler can be pretty screamy and I find it a lot easier to be a rational parent when I have ear plugs in that don’t muffle all sounds, but just take the edge off the loud ones.
I bought a ~1pt sippy cup that you can’t spill, like the kind designed for children. It’s made such a difference for drinking alcohol and for parties, where I tend to slosh or spill my drink!
Plus now my cats can’t dip their paws in when I pour water and ruin the drink
A massage gun. Works so much better at getting knots out than just your hands!
Which one did you get?
Lifepro Sonic
Here are a few things I haven’t seen mentioned but have a significant quality of life improvement for me:
- High quality LED flashlight that can also double as a power bank (e.g. Sofirn BLF SP36, BLF LT1, or Q8 Pro)
- Curved shower bar – no more fighting or getting stuck on the shower curtain/liner
- Padded mat for in front of the sink, placement depends on where you spent the most time (handwashing dishes, food prep/cooking, etc)
- Over the sink dish rack – Frees up a ton of counter space if you hand wash
- “Cloud” foam slippers
Battery powered air compressor and jump starter. Both have saved me from being stranded form a dead battery or low tire.
