Ask Lemmy

A ghust buster umbrella. Huuge one. Carbon fiber. I have it for about 10 years

$20 rice cooker back in 2020. It’s no longer made unfortunately. It makes rice perfectly every time. The best part is that I don’t have to worry about lining up the timing of other things I’m cooking. The rice cooker keeps the rice warm for 2 hours if necessary, so there’s plenty of wiggle room if I completely underestimate how long something else will take to prepare and cook.

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.

I bought a Sebo X1.1 vacuum cleaner when i moved into my own place in the late 90s.

I have had all sorts of dyson models and bagless & cordless is very convenient, especially for stairs. But nothing beats the brute force suction of that Sebo. Its still going strong today

Safety goggles (don’t remember how much) oh boy I would blind by now if It weren’t for those

Honestly, my current car. It's a tiny old rusty beat up car from 1990 that I got for around 650€ 3 years ago. It uses around 5L/100km and in total I've only spent around 200€ in parts for it and it just keeps going. It's old enough so that I only have to do inspection every 2 years (instead of every year on newer cars), don't have to pay road tax, and insurance is around 11€/month. It gets me where I need to go and is dirt cheap to own. Definitely a money saver for me.

A Leatherman Squirt PS4 (keychain multitool). I think I only paid about £20 for it back around 2010 (give or take a couple of years). Endlessly useful & still fully functional.

My Galaxy Tab S7 FE

Very, very worth the 500$ it cost for a screen this big and bright with performance I have nothing to complain about.

Dyson stick vacuum - vacuuming went from a chore to a simple, almost enjoyable task.

Snowcaster Snowblade - For 2-3 inches of snow max but when using it you will question reality as your back feels nothing.

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.

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).

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

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!

ProTeam ProForce 1500XP vacuum. It's an actual commercial grade vacuum. True HEPA filters. Very user serviceable, replaceable parts available. Costs about $500-600 but totally worth it.