Under $100. A waterpik. My teeth feel so clean after using it.
Under $1000. A squat rack, bumper plates and a bench. Mine isn’t fancy but at anytime I can workout without having to leave my house.
Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
161–170 of 618 posts
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#162Free thing that changed my life: Run the kitchen sink until it gets to its max temperature right before you turn on the dishwasher.
Stop prewashing dishes in the sink. Put them straight into the dishwasher and you’re good.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#163Under $1,000, but just barely over $100: Semi-recumbent stationary bike that fits under my standing desk. I've never been coordinated enough to get the hang of walking on the treadmill and typing, but pedaling slowly all day I can do! I've lost 45 lbs so far this year, and adding up the calorie estimate for each day (I've been tracking) and dividing by the 3500 calories people say are in a pound, about 20 of them hav…
What model do you use?
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#164Under 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.
Thermoworks is absolutely the established name brand. Their thermapens defined the market segment, but their other offerings (DOT) are also very high quality.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#165Under $100: - A dumbphone. Even if I’m not using it anymore, it has shown me what life I could be living without distractions. My anxiety and stress levels went down from about the second day using it, I became much more aware of my emotional state and the environment around me, it was a noticeable shift. I no longer buy the arguments that we can control our smartphone addictions with will. The technology is too opti…
Mind sharing the one you bought?
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#166Under $100 - an ear bulb syringe I get blocked ears due to wax and it's really negatively impactful to conversation etc. Plus they would block when flying/swimming which ruined a few holidays. I used to go to my local (UK) GP which was very inconvenient due to appointment timings etc. Then somebody recommended buying a bulb syringe for self-treatment. Mine cost about £4 and has been totally game changing. I can sort…
A related trick is to put a few drops of (olive, or other cooking) oil in your ear canal. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Repeat on the other side, and do this for 3 days in a row. This softens up the hard wax in there. Then flush out with a syringe if you want. Obviously don't do either if you have a perforated ear drum.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#167under 1000k:
dyson vacuum cleaner with laser light (!)- the thing is amazing.. i actually see the progress now and vacuum cleaning is fun all of a sudden! almost relaxing.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#168Tozo openreal headphones. $40 I use them 8 hours a day. They let you hear everything around you while also being decent headphones. In the office where I take phone calls they are much more ergonomic than my Bose QC45s which I used to wear the same amount. Under $1000, my bambu labs printer. I've fixed things, made things you couldn't buy, it's a staple in my house now.
I've sworn by Plantronics headphones for years for work but started getting ear infections and my open air/bone conducting headphones are a huge improvement... I've got a pair of Aftershockz but these look great as well. Audio quality suffers a little when it comes to music, but being able to hear conversations around me at the office is worth it.
Try these, they aren't bone conducting. My only complaint is the low volume beep when you try to turn them all the way down.
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#169Under $100 - an ear bulb syringe I get blocked ears due to wax and it's really negatively impactful to conversation etc. Plus they would block when flying/swimming which ruined a few holidays. I used to go to my local (UK) GP which was very inconvenient due to appointment timings etc. Then somebody recommended buying a bulb syringe for self-treatment. Mine cost about £4 and has been totally game changing. I can sort…
Over here we have these peroxide things you can get at the pharmacy. You pour three drops in your ear, it foams up and all the wax goes away. Do you not have those?
Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)
#170Under $100: - A dumbphone. Even if I’m not using it anymore, it has shown me what life I could be living without distractions. My anxiety and stress levels went down from about the second day using it, I became much more aware of my emotional state and the environment around me, it was a noticeable shift. I no longer buy the arguments that we can control our smartphone addictions with will. The technology is too opti…
I’m thinking about getting a cellular apple watch and not carrying around a phone most of the time. Can still get critical messages without being able to check the news when I’m bored or anxious.