Ask Lemmy

Bidet - don't need any fancy standalone appliance, just a $50 nozzle that goes under the toilet seat and plugs into the water hose. Haven't paid a penny for toilet paper in 6 years.

A cheap Jeweler's loupe from Amazon. It's like a high magnification magnifying glass with a LED light built into it. I initially bought it to inspect my kitchen knives when I sharpen them, but it's been useful for inspecting soldering work and other random little things.

Others have mentioned a powerbank and one of those multiport USB chargers. I'd second those as well, tho I guess they both can climb in price depending on if you need a lot of power capacity.

Knee pillow. I'm a side sleeper and my hips began to hurt. It was about $10. It's amazing to think how much a little knee separation can relieve your hips and lower back.

A racket ball. I carry it around and bounce it to myself and play catch when I'm bored or walking somewhere. Way more fun than a fidget spinner and I'm building hand-eye coordination.

Used $25 breadmaker from a local thrift store. Now I bake fresh wheat bread that requires practically no time and effort at all, costs a fraction of what the loaves at the store cost, and tastes great too.

A multi port charger with a replaceable cord. Went from multiple little power bricks to charge each device or play the swap everything game. Plus I can leave the short cord plugged in at home on the headboard and use another cord while traveling.

A nice fluffy robe with a hood. Get out of the shower when it's chilly and stay nice and warm.

Buying two identical pairs of shoes at the same time. Got this trick from a roofer. You can wear one pair on one day and the other the next. If a shoe gets wet you just swap to the other pair. Eventually when they start to get worn you will often have one shoe be in worse condition first but still have a pair with a spare in case the other goes bad. Plus swapping the shoes out allows them to fully dry from sweat and keeps foot odor down.

A desk mat. Think mouse pad but large enough for the keyboard too. Never run out of room while gaming and it stays put unlike the tiny little pads.

A garlic press. I avoided them for years because of a mixture of guidance saying it's just as easy to chop it or it tastes worse from a press. I don't have the tastebuds to notice it being any worse and it's certainly a lot easier than chopping since you don't even have to peel it.

Usb c headphones. Plugs right into usb c devices. Its almost as good as the audio jack of old.

Powerbanks... no more fear of phone dying

Also, power outages don't seem that scary anymore... at least you can like read an ebook while you burn/freeze to death lmao

A yoga mat and a pull-up bar for a door frame.
Just seeing it hanging there all the time was enough to motivate me to start a daily calisthenics routine. Now instead of having to drive to a gym, get changed, shower afterwards, etc. which would take 2 hours out of my day, I just do a quick 1 minute set of a progressive calisthenics routine 20 times a day.

Fitness Adventure Pro for the Switch. Is it an amazing game? No. But it is a fitness game, which means I can get a workout without any equipment to set up and break down, and without having to leave my house. I've only been using it a few weeks and I can already feel a difference.

My ex-wife a drink...

Depends on how we define "cheap," really. My 3d printer is a cheap 3d printer, and has probably been the most lifechanging recent purchase. Still like $200.

If we mean something most people would be able to afford within a month, it's between my laptop, or my server. Both were $50, and both had a massive impact on my life.

Going to rugged phones for me and kids. You get used to the heft but they handle accidental falls like champs. Also can have neat features like 3 day battery, headphone jack, SD card, and fm radio! Ulefone Armor series.

I got a Groove Life belt because they had a lifetime warranty and heard they were good quality. Every belt I had before would fall apart after a few months, even expensive genuine leather ones. The GL belt was $60, and it is the best belt I have ever had. I have had it for years now, it is pretty much indestructible, it is slightly elastic, the buckle mechanism is easy as fuck to do and undo, and it doesn't roll or bind up in the belt loops. And they come in so many colors and buckle styles. Plus with the lifetime warranty, I could literally send it back and get a different style if I really wanted to (the warranty paper literally gives that as an example).

USB rechargeable headlamp for probably about 10 bucks. I use it all the time for crafting stuff to see better without having to turn on the big lights.

USB light board for about $7. For decorating my journal or sometimes I send friends snail mail with doodles. I snip pictures from the internet and print them out on my shitty printer and trace and color them to wherever I want them.

A small $10 rechargeable flash light I added to my every day carry. I use it all the time. Way brighter than a phone light.

$400 little dog. +$1000/yr upkeep.

Not exactly cheapest but I have been an absolute fan of Gallium charging bricks. They can do much higher wattage in a smaller size and with a long USB C cable and 4 ports actually replaces a laptop charger, phone charger, and more.

And specifically Anker makes a 65w charger that also doubles as a battery bank for about $80 that means I can charge everything from just that one and then take it with me and use it as a battery and plug I to the wall to recharge itself and my devices again.