That being said, it's not always the most expensive items that come to the rescue in our lives.
Indeed, sometimes the most useful or helpful purchases we've made might actually be found in the bargain bin.
A recent Redditor was eager to hear about the best purchases people made for $20 or less, leading them to ask:
"What’s a purchase under $20 that made your life way easier?"
"Clear/transparent umbrella."
"Since it's see-through, I can hold it as close to my face as I need at any angle and still be able to see where I'm going, no matter how stormy and windy it is."
"Plus it's just less depressing than being under a dark umbrella that hides the sky from view (I like having some natural light and being able to watch the rain)."- laurpr2
"Strong magnets with hooks on them."
"They attach to the back of a metal door or the fridge and give you secure places to hang things you need to keep track of."
"Like keys, for instance."
"Or a small flashlight."- markmakesfun
"A meat thermometer. I am so much more confident cooking now."- No_Detective_715
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"Long shoe horn."
"It may seem trivial for many, but I have a bad back, and it was a necessary tool and an absolute life changer."- ooOJuicyOoo
"6ft charging cable."- butterf1y
"Earplugs."
"I have been sleeping with earplugs for over 20 years now."
"When I lived with my parents, on the weekends my father would get up wee hours in the morning and start whistling and wake me up way before I would have naturally."
"The eventual noise in the middle of the night, or even the newspaper tossed by the paper boy, would wake me up."
"I wish I used earplugs at those times."- CosmoCafe777
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"Headphones for whenever I want to just be in my own little bubble."- Lux_pearls
"I bought a box full of little plastic clamps that I've attached to my desk for cable management and now none of my charging cables, headphone wires and etc get in the way on my desk."- RxMurloc
"A grabber."
"I have osteoarthritis."
"A grabber is a tool that you use to pick things up with so that you don't have to reach down/across out of what is comfortable."
"Another great use for ours is when we knock something behind the washing machine and dryer."
"Out comes the grabber."- sjp1980
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"Condoms."- DMTmakesmehorny
"Can save you up to 300k in the long run."- deansmythe
"Multiple pairs of the same socks at once, then throwing out all my other socks and no longer needing to match them after laundry."
"Been doing it for 20 years."
"Nobody noticed you always wearing the exact same socks."
"My dozen pairs of socks all go into one bag, and I blindly pull two out and they always match."
"If there's a hole in a sock, I immediately throw it out and never worry about needing to match it."
"Every 5-6 years, enough socks are worn out that I buy an entirely new set."
"The old socks then end up as backup for rain or travel, and they just get throw out when unneeded."- ZirePhiinix
"A 25 feet hdmi cable."
"I couldn't make the mirroring work so just bought a long cable."- sengir0
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"Back scratcher. It’s the extending one, but it HAS to have the little metal bear claw."
"You know it when you see it."
"Trust me on this one."- AttemptingMurder
"Sleep mask."- MarvelousOxman
"Electric Kettle."- GreatDimension5074
"I learned this was a thing while traveling Australia, and it’s been one of the greatest purchases for me when I returned to the states."
"Use it every day."- Ok-Hat-8759
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We're all bound to make an expensive purchase that makes our lives easier, one way or the other.
Sometimes, however, our lives can change through a discovery in the bargain bin.
But Instagrammer and neuroscientist Logan Ivey is one of the individuals behind "Matter Neuroscience," which is an app that encourages awareness, mindfulness, and genuine increased happiness, all through the help of science-backed tasks.
Ivey and his team became concerned about increased phone usage, as it negatively impacts an individual's happiness, so Ivey decided to do something about it on a physical level.
He started off by attaching a five-pound dumbbell to the back of his phone to discourage him from holding it. While it helped somewhat, it was impractical, because it was too awkward to hold, the dumbbell blocked most of his camera lens, and the temptation to simply pop his phone out of the case, immediately freeing it from the dumbbell's weight, was too strong.
Instead, Ivey developed and 3D-printed a new cell phone case design in a shape that called back to the large, cordless brick phones from the '80s. The cell phone case is made from stainless steel, weighs six pounds, and has four screws that have to be unscrewed in order to free the phone from the case, discouraging him from taking it out any time he wants.
The cell phone is still totally operable, with cutouts made in the case design to still use his camera and to charge his phone.
More importantly, it's made him more mindful about his cell phone usage, as six pounds is just light enough to easily pick up but just awkward enough to discourage someone from using their phone for a long period of time. Not to mention the impractical nature of carrying it into the restroom, tucking it in a pocket, or holding it up to record a video for a lengthy period of time.
You can watch the video here:
Some Instagrammers, of course, made jokes about how committed they were to using their cell phones.
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But most Instagrammers saw this project as a commentary for how serious our cell phone addiction has become.
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Having cell phones is very practical for quick communication, keeping track of emails, and being able to check information on the go, but it comes at a serious price of over-commitment to communication, weaker boundaries, and dopamine addiction.
Maybe structures like this will become popular—because with lessened convenience, the dopamine spikes are sure to wear down.
Just don't drop it on your face.
But it seems in recent years, particularly since the pandemic when we had to wear masks, stay inside, and generally operated from a place of constant worry and concern, showing that kindness feels too burdensome—if not completely unnecessary—to many.
This realization for TikToker @karaandlife came in the form of an interaction with a Walmart greeter.
Sitting in her car after doing her shopping, the TikToker asked her community:
"Can we normalize smiling at the Walmart greeters?"
"Because mine just thanked me for smiling at him this morning, and I'm like, 'What? Doesn't everybody do that?'"
You can watch the video here:
Though TikToker @karaandlife only called for people to smile at the employees that they see when they walk into the store, her observation started quite a debate on the platform.
There were absolutely some TikTokers who agreed with her and felt that a renewed push for kindness was needed.
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A few pointed out specifically that they'd noticed a shift since the pandemic, which seems incredibly plausible.
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But there were others who did not see the point in smiling at the employees for a variety of reasons.
For some, the shopping experience is already overwhelming, and adding one more thing, like worrying about the people around them and interacting with them, felt like an additional, unnecessary stress.
For others, they felt there was little return on the investment of showing kindness, either because the greeters did not show the same kindness back or because of the large corporation they were working for as a whole.
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Showing kindness, especially something as simple as smiling at other people, seems to be one of those things that seems simple and straightforward on the surface, but actually contains a multitude of layers and motivations for some people.
Whether it's because of the pandemic, fewer third spaces than ever before, or even online dating, and dating and friendship culture, there are many people who simply think that it's too high of an investment with no guarantee of reciprocation.
The most popular examples of these videos typically feature a man either in his early twenties, still trying to figure his look out, or a man who is overweight, then cutting to a man who has definitely found his look, typically by hitting the gym and getting super defined abs.
Among these videos was one taken by TikToker Tala Shatara, who typically posts conversation starter videos and Taylor Swift content. But her "husband glow-up" video went viral, and it's easy to see why.
In the first half of the video, her husband is featured with disheveled hair and a game controller in hand, gesturing around and having fun.
Then the video switches to him standing in a gym, smiling widely. His glasses are off, his hair has been trimmed, his beard has filled out and been styled, and his physical form is considerably more defined than in the first half of the video.
You can watch the video here:
Some TikTokers were floored by the transformation, a few not even believing this was the same man.
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Others joked around, wondering how their husbands could pull the same transformation.
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Though a person should love their partner through better and through worse, and stick together through thick and thin, there's no denying the pride that a person tends to feel when their partner does something incredible, like taking total charge of their health.
TikToker Tala Shatara reassured everyone in the comments that her husband is still the same goofy, fun-loving, and yes, gamer guy that she married and initially caught on video, but he's healthy, proud, and independent now in a way that she wouldn't trade for anything, which we have to argue is priceless.
