If there ever was a year where retail therapy came in handy, 2020 would be it.
With most civilians quarantining or in isolation through most of the year that was, online shopping surely must have skyrocketed.
Although my life situation did not require a wardrobe update, that did not stop me from looking online and mayyybe buying a new pair of jeans and/or a dress shirt. Maybe.
But I have to say, the best purchase I made this year was my KitchenAid stand-mixer. Because you know, baking turned out to be a huge deal for eating my feelings.
Which leads us Redditor professordull123, who asked strangers on the internet:
"What was your best purchase this year?"
The Item From Ikea
"I impulse bought a massive cutting block from Ikea that lives on our counter for 14 dollars. We love it, even if Ikea performed some sort of jedi mind trick to get us to buy it (we came in for a desk)."
Purchase Of Convenience
"A good backpack."
"I didn't think it'd be so handy, but I use it every day, and it's knowing that I can just grab it and go instead of worrying about getting stuff gathered up, or realizing I left something home that I needed."
Expanding The Wardrobe
"Bought some pants a week or two ago, I've had only two pair for quite a while and it will feel nice to have some more."
For Viewing
"A telescope."
"It's so incredible to see Jupiter moons and Saturn. And see that there is much more in the sky than meets the eye."
"For those who intend to purchase a telescope, I really recommend to spend some time doing research. There are different kinds of telescopes and their use depend on the purpose you have. A good telescope for viewing planets may not be the best for observing deep sky objects. A telescope may be great to use at home, but might be too big to travel with. Another might be easy to set up but not the best for astrophotography. It's really important to do some research to find out which kind better suits you."
Free Sips
"I bought a $2 travel mug that gets me free coffee from a gas station on every Tuesday. I can't wait for my 200th 'free coffee' because after that I'll have essentially paid less than 1 penny for each refill. This is the goal in life."
Beautiful Vision
"Lasik. Seriously I have not had a second where I have regretted it. It truly is life changing. People who just see naturally you have no idea how good you have it."
"A new bed. I sleep so much better now."
For A Clean Bottom
"Technically not this year, but in December 2019 without knowing what was around the corner, I bought a bidet. Little did I know what a great purchase it would actually turn out to be."
"Even without the pandemic it's probably the best purchase I've ever made."
For The Budding Mechanic
"I bought a running 84' Camaro for the sake of learning how to work on cars and having a project vehicle. I've been wanting to do this since I was a kid."
"So far I've rebuilt drum brakes, changed u joints, changed all wheel bearings/seals, bought a new carburetors, upgraded to an electric radiator fan, restored all the gauges back to factory original, and a bunch of other stuff. I will say I've learned a substantial amount so far!"
"When I get some money saved up, I'm gonna tear into the engine and rebuild it."