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?
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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?
A massage gun. Works so much better at getting knots out than just your hands!
Which one did you get?
Lifepro Sonic
My old Kindle Keyboard (3rd gen kindle), still about $30 on ebay, I believe, is my absolute favorite way to read long-form information, and I can hold it however is comfortable instead of awkwardly avoiding the screen with my thumb. I read a lot more books because of it.
Battery powered air compressor and jump starter. Both have saved me from being stranded form a dead battery or low tire.
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.”
A cast iron pan, despite the little more maintenance required, cooking is so much easier and food just taste so much better.
I have a nice cast iron, but am always scared to use it because I don’t want to clean it the wrong way. Do you have any cast iron maintenance tips?
I mean don’t worry too much, unless it physically cracks or something you really can’t ruin it.
Don’t wash it while is hot, and if you do wash with soap and water make sure to dry it very well and apply a thin coat of oil to avoid any rust build up. A metal spatula is also great to scrap the pan if it’s not too messy and then you can just keep it using.
A noise generator (LectroFan). I live in a noisy area (Friday/Saturday nights) and the machine completely blocks out all sound. It is more comfortable for me than wearing earplugs or headphones.
Similarly noise-cancelling headphones made a HUGE difference to my life but they’re a bit more than $100. Still recommended for anyone thinking about it.
I gave my mom a set of noise canceling aiwa’s i got for free through work. Looks like they only list for $80 but 2 or so years on and she uses them every morning when shes exercising and absolutly loves them. Sometimes cheap chineseium stuff isnt as disposable as it looks
My Sony WH1000-XM3s started turning themselves off after a few years. Their noise cancelling is probably better than others but I can’t say they’ve been reliable.
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.
Lap desk for playing PC games on couch
Explain more? What is that?
Basically a flat piece of wood or plastic that can hold your keyboard and mouse, with some kind of cushion attached underneath so that it comfortably sits on your legs. I got this one last year to help with working from home in a comfy chair and it’s been pretty great (Amazon link)…
Noise cancelling headphones (or foam earplugs). Realized a good 60% of my anxiety had been caused by there being too many noises.
Long fiber optic hdmi cord to hook up PC to TV and a wireless keyboard to navigate the desktop from the couch.
For any other girls, for God’s sake get a proper fitted bra. Spend the money. It’s a world of difference
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.
for something that I don’t think a lot of people consider…I got a wrist rest for my mouse and keyboard as a present that I had asked for. it’s significantly reduced my wrist and hand pain while typing or using my mouse, which is nice, because I already have pain issues.
additionally! my other mention would be my weighted blanket. I got one as a gift (but it wasn’t heavy enough, make sure if you get one it’s the right weight) and basically tried it and slept better than I ever had. it only sucks during summer because it makes me warmer. but, other than that, I highly recommend one if someone is thinking about it.
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
