Under $100:
A second hand piano for $80. Learning an instrument is a deeply satisfying experience if you stick to it (as well as frustrating and confusing). Literally no end to how much you can learn. It has given me hours of “in the zone” moments, so well needed in a stressful world. I also see (hear?) music in a different light and can understand it better.
Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
131–140 of 618 posts
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#132( Living in American public housing, we used our pandemic stimulus money to buy two RabbitAir MinusA2 HEPA air purifiers. At $600 each plus $95/yr (for filter change) they're utterly fantastic and the pre-HEPA stages are easily cleanable with a cheap air compressor and wet paper towels. The multi-stage filter system is quite quiet on level 3 (of 5) but will really blow at 5 and be nearly silent at 2. You can tell how…
How have they improved quality of life? Asthma?
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#133Under 1000: - robot vacuum. Now my house gets vacuumed (that should tell you how much I hate doing it.) - the bidet seat is not tremendously life changing but it's very helpful. Under 100: - a quality probe thermometer. I use it for everything baked and most ways of cooking meat. Nothing is over~ or undercooked anymore. I do have another one with 2 probes for bbq/smoking -- you can use the two in the point and flat o…
> - a quality probe thermometer. Can you recommend one you like? This is a hard thing to research without hitting fake reviews and blogspam. Not like there's an established brand a normal consumer would know about. I guess that applies to a lot of things now.
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Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#134Under $1k - electric scooter for $600 from hiboy.
Costs nothing to recharge, no insurance, no license.
It was a one time payment with recurring fun on every use.
Under $100 - tracydog vibrator. More spice.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
The old (maybe incorrect) advice I was always told was that continuing to heat the coffee fouled the taste, hence the recommendation to use an insulated mug/thermos as opposed to a Mr. Coffee style warmed carafe. What makes this gadget different/better?
It would foul the taste because in an open carafe it distills the brew via evaporation. If you don't let the water escape the taste stays fairly stable.
I meant concentrate, my mind is broken due to a cold and for some reason I'm not seeing an edit pathway on the mobile app I'm trying. Apologies.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#136This is a very good thread, I’ve already saved a few items on Amazon, a rice cooker being one!
Under £100
- Electric toothbrush - this isn’t new, I’ve used one for 15 years or so but I couldn’t even imagine not using one
- A decent water bottle
- Creatine supplements
I’m sure there’s more but can’t think right now.
Under £1000 - Garmin Fenix watch, I’m sure this would apply to any watch that tracks calories, steps, sleep etc but having one with all this info on my wrist is something I could never go without.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#137Under $100: 1) A bidet! Got one in the pandemic when toilet paper was scarce and I wanted to be more efficient, but now I'll never go back. The Tushy ones are good. 2) A safety razor & accessories. I get a cheaper, closer, less irritating shave, and I get to customize every part of it. This can certainly be a rabbithole you spend a lot of money on, but you can get a solid customized starter kit for under $100 that wi…
Yesss bidet post upvote!
Seriously, whenever I stay somewhere without a bidet I feel like a caveman. It's just such a quality of life improvement, it's crazy.
Under $1000: My 3D printer. I just super love 3D printers.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ll Third a bidet. Once you experience the exhilarating bliss of cleaning your nether regions with fresh, clean water, you’ll never willingly go back to smearing excrement around your fiddly bits with the dry paper.
Sorry if this is getting into TMI territory but how does the bidet avoid dissolving the unwanted material and spraying it all over everywhere? And how does one dry this without toilet paper?
By controlling the water pressure.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#139TSA pre-check. Best $85 spent to date.
For people unwilling to invest in Global Entry, Mobile Passport Control [0] is a free program almost as fast as GE at the airports that support it. At the moment it's still sort of a lesser-known "travel hack" but it's becoming increasingly popular.
In my opinion though GE + TSA Pre is still worth it — the only thing better than the shorter preflight security screening is the even shorter GE kiosk line re-entering the US.
[0] https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobile-passport-contr...
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#140Under $100 Wireless cooking thermometer https://store-us.meater.com/products/meater-plus Since I'm blind this allows me to cook with out worrying I'll eat under cooked food. Under $1000 Meta Ray-ban glasses. https://www.ray-ban.com/usa/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses I find using them as headphones to be a better option then transparency mode when using my phone. The Meta AI is also pretty good at recognizing flavors of b…
Even for people with good eyesight, an instant read thermometer is a game changer. Completely takes the guesswork out of cooking meat perfectly, also excellent for cakes, potatoes, and more. There are very decent ones for less that $20.