There’s 3 things that really stand out for me that I would say made a massive difference to my life:

  1. Cordless screw driver. Bought the day after building a flat pack bed with a crappy screw.driver that just shredded my hand. Thought it was frivolous at the time, but I’ve used it so much since. It’s light, small enough to fit in my pocket and good for 90% of DIY tasks.

  2. Tassimo coffee machine. Bought it 9 years ago, use it every day. Nice quick easy coffee. What’s not to like.

  3. My first DSLR camera. It was a Nikon D50 back in 2005/6 and it sparked my interest in photography to this day. It gave me a hobby I can take lots of places and do it alone or with others. I never loved the D50 camera itself, but I did get some really nice shots with it

  • Candelestine@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    Just got one–a good, wide-brim, adjustable bucket hat. Shade during the sun, solid protection from the rain, comfortable, and not too difficult to make look decent, if not stylish.

    Don’t get me wrong, education, housing, health care etc have all been pretty important too, but hat wins.

  • Resistentialism@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    1: My motorbike - hands down my best purchase. That has single handedly done more for my mental health than the last 9 years of various anti depressants.

    2: My PC - the same as others. It’s just nice to be able to have the option to do just about everything.

    3: A car - I didn’t really buy this. My mum gave it to me as a first car. It’s not the flashiest. It’s just the most basic type. But I love it. I spent 23 years just putting off getting my licence until I just decided to get it just to get it out of the way. And I have missed put on so much by it. The sense of freedom, not having to rely on getting lifts, or getting public transport. (Not opposes to public transport. It’s just that where I live, it’s a pain for commuting)

    • Shyfer@ttrpg.network
      0·
      4 months ago

      Out of curiosity, how does the motorbike help your mental health? Is it having transportation in general, or the feeling of riding a motorbike specifically?

      • Resistentialism@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        0·
        4 months ago

        I’m gonna be honest. I find it really hard to describe the feeling. I’ll try, though, but I’ll try. Sorry if it doesn’t make sense.

        It’s not just a mode of transportation to me, at least. There’s an insane sense of freedom to it. The adrenaline from having sports car acceleration speeds just straight between your legs. It’s like when people say to play music as a coping mechanism. Only this mechanism isn’t just sitting around. It actively forces your mind off those things. Like, yeah, you’ll think about it. You may still have those megatove thoughts. But they just sorta melt away and get blasted away, almost. The raw sounds of the engine, only adding to it. Ot drains it all out, (If you like the sound, I personally have a stock exhaust, as thays more than enough, I really enjoy the sound of just amy exhaust, well, except the shitty tinny ones thay oiss everyone off. Or the unnecessarily loud ones)

        And the fact that you are sat on top of a solid block of steel, with thousands of explosions happening right there. Woth a fuel tank just above it. Kicking out insane power, even a 67hp 650cc. With pretty much nothing protecting you. One slight mistake, and it all goes tits up. But you’re in control of it. And it’s gonna keep you upright if you handle it. It’s relaxing. I also think it helps because you can feel what the bike is doing. Even with slight inputs.

        Keanu Reeves said, “If you ride a bicycle, you can kind of understand.”

        Sorry if thays too long and doesn’t make sense. And sorry if it’s kinda cringe. But, I truly do love the bike.

        (Also, from what I’ve seen, the biker community is insanely inclusive and nice. Even just riding past another rider. Just that simple gesture of “Hey man,” it makes you feel like you’re somewhere you belong)

        • azertyfun@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          0·
          4 months ago

          Very good writeup.

          It actively forces your mind off those things.

          That’s the biiiiig thing for me. It’s incredible meditation. The road demands the rider’s full attention for short-time planning, spatial visualization, sensory inputs, and muscle control. It’s literally a matter of life and death. At the same time other parts of the brain aren’t required, so the mind wanders, but in a much subdued way where stormy thoughts turn into a calm flow.

          Stay left, look in, lean, apex, watch out for the pothole, left again, shift down ahead of the intersection, ok they are yielding, back on the throttle, shift up, don’t lean over the manhole covers, wow view’s pretty, hey pedestrians looking to cross let’s come to a smooth stop…

        • Shyfer@ttrpg.network
          0·
          4 months ago

          I think you described it very well! Thanks for that. It makes me want one. Sometimes you just want ant to zen out and it sounds like it’s perfect for helping with that.

          • Resistentialism@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            0·
            4 months ago

            Oh, good, I’m glad it helped.

            I will always suggest that if it’s not gonna cause other issues, get a bike.

            I won’t lie, I’m one of the types that does little dances on ot when the right songs come on. And singing. But somehow, I can still concentrate on it, it is really relaxing.

            You don’t even have to jump straight to the big ones. Even a 125, whilst it won’t give the full experience, will be more than enough to see if you can get on with them.

    • Saigonauticon@voltage.vnEnglish
      0·
      4 months ago

      Haha driving a motorbike is very different in your country :D

      Here I average 15km/hr or less, due to heavy traffic. It’s fairly stressful, and it sucks in the monsoon. I’ve got scars on both legs where I’ve been burned by unprotected exhaust pipes. You can smell the meat cooking when it happens. All working class people here have these scars. When I need to relax, I take the bus – it’s a luxury!

      Still, it beats not having a motorbike by a lot, so I can still relate :)

      • Resistentialism@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        0·
        4 months ago

        Oh damn, yeah thats a lot different here. Especially the monsoons. This may sound dumb, but how does the bikes hold up in that weather condition? And another dumb one, how do you get burnt by the exhausts?

        Thay sounds peaceful though, with the bus. Especially compared to the bike.

        Bikes are just wonderful, stay safe, man.

  • johnyma22@lemmy.ml
    0·
    4 months ago
    1. Bidet toilet seat
    2. Good mattress & office chair.
    3. Home Automation devices (mower/vacuum/lights etc).
  • Saigonauticon@voltage.vnEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago
    1. A corporation. Not like “I’m rich and I bought a whole existing business”. Having a lawyer create an empty corporation and then buying it, so I can start a business. It was under two thousand bucks, not even the most expensive item on this list. Made back many times the cost.
    2. The Huawei D15 is a good laptop at an excellent price. It’s paid itself off many times over.
    3. The Honda Air Blade 125cc 2021 model. Reliable transport at an excellent price, that has paid itself off several times over.

    I also bought a used DSLR (Nikon D3200 for ~135$) to better document stuff I do, as a form of marketing. I pick up used, antique lenses for cheap as I encounter them. It’s been profitable and generally great, but doesn’t make top 3.

  • CarrierLost@lemmy.one
    0·
    4 months ago

    1. My horse, Lola. She’s an amazing 9yo grey quarter horse mare. “Retired” barrel racer, she’s the perfect trail/ranch horse. She’s got the best quirky and silly demeanor, she loves to hang out, and she’s playful, but never gets crazy under saddle.

    2. My guitar. 2012 PRS 513. I absolutely love that guitar, and it got me back into playing after almost 20 years off. It’s my “do everything” guitar, and the difference in sounds between pickup combinations makes it incredibly versatile.

    3. A good mattress. I spend a solid 1/3 of my life sleeping (or trying to) and a great mattress helps so much.

  • COASTER1921@lemmy.ml
    0·
    4 months ago

    1. Quality electric toothbrush. I can’t get my teeth feeling clean without one anymore.

    2. A rice cooker. Doesn’t need to be fancy, but it lowers the barrier to cooking substantially given how many dishes use rice.

    3, A phone with a camera that’s at least mid-range, as it’s the camera you’ll have on you most. I used to always use phones from cheap brands like Umidigi and although some of them did perform quite well others left me with gaps of my life where none of the photos I took have any detail.

  • Giddy@aussie.zoneEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    1. Electric Mountain bike - i am over 50 and had not rode regularly since my teens. I borrowed a MTB from a friend last year and struggled to make any progress until I picked up a secondhand e-MTB. Since then I have been averaging around 150km/week and my stamina has notably improved.

    2. PC - been a PC guy since 1989 and could not picture life without one. I’m an inveterate tinkerer and have built and rebuilt dozens over the years. I currently have a gaming desktop dual-booting Ubuntu and Win11 and a laptop running Ubuntu plus a couple of servers.

    3. iPad - for years I was an Android guy but a couple years back I traded a spare laptop to my niece for her iPad (she wanted to learn coding) and was blown away by the user experience. Since then I have gone all in with iPhone, apple watch, and an old Macbook Air.

  • Truffle@lemmy.ml
    0·
    4 months ago

    1. A plot of land in a place I like. Nothing fancy or huge, just a place to be by myself and enjoy a nice bonfire away from people.

    2. Headphones. The old clunky ones that cover your whole ears. I love them! They feel like a hug and I use them all the time while listening to spooky stories. Bough them in a sale about four years ago.

    3. A hello kitty backpack. Bought it as a birthday gift for a friend’s daughter, we had a fallout and I kept it. One day I needed a clean backpack and this was on hand so I grabbed it in a whim and have been using it ever since. I have a pair of Columbia, silver ridge and tetons laying around but this fluffy cute backpack makes me so happy and has the perfect size.

  • YⓄ乙 @aussie.zoneEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    Bidet which i installed during covid when stupid fucking people were fighting for TP. Been using it since then. Worth every cent.

    • Gristle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      4 months ago

      I did the same recently and can’t recommend them more. They’re wonderful. I can’t imagine a world without one and I’m shocked that they didn’t become the staple in every household decades ago. Big TP really did a number on my country.

    • johnyma22@lemmy.ml
      0·
      4 months ago

      Agreed, but specifically an aftermarket electric seat bidet to save in a load of plumbing.

      • YⓄ乙 @aussie.zoneEnglish
        0·
        4 months ago

        What are you talking about ? A handheld one will cost ya $30 and all you need to do is screw it to the flush using a T joint.

  • Crashumbc@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    1. Rescue dog - I saved hers and she saved mine.

    2. College Education - paying to finish my 4 year degree, life changing

    3. 40mhz AMD PC processor /w motherboard. replacement for a christmas gift but it solidified my love of computers and computing. Which lead to my college degree and career.

  • unknowing8343@discuss.tchncs.de
    0·
    4 months ago
    1. Vacuum robot. Possibly the best thing ever to exist.
    2. QLED TV with HDR10+, also some nice speakers on the sides to make the experience incredible.
    3. E-reader