What did you buy thinking it might be a waste of money, but it actually improved your quality of life?
March 3, 2026
What did you buy thinking it might be a waste of money, but it actually improved your quality of life?
36 comments
Packages of pre-mixed overnight oats. I know that it’s cheaper and probably lower-packaging-waste to buy the ingredients (oats, chia seeds, maybe protein powder, dried fruits or whatever) and mix them myself, but I also know that I’d never keep doing it night after night. I just pour some amount of milk into a shaker bottle, add a packet of dry ingredients, shake, and refrigerate overnight.
I’ve got a weird stomach in the morning so there’s a LOT that I can’t/won’t eat for breakfast, which is a problem. But I can make these oats extra-thin so they drink like a milkshake or a smoothie and I haven’t had any kind of issue with the taste or texture in years.
I first bought them after a YouTuber did a collab with the company. They definitely suckered me in with a that-YouTuber-themed shaker bottle. But it’s been years now and I still eat these for breakfast every work morning and it’s wonderful to have one less thing to worry about.
Not an ad, I promise, but a KitchenAid mixer. I’ve never been one for gadgets, but it’s the bees knees and now I actually bake. Family is definitely happy, haha
Buying a bissell floor mop. Love mine.
Water pitchers with filters. My mom asked me what I want for birthday this year & I am inclined to tell her what I did last year…a replacement filter.
An adjustable bed.
A weighted blanket. It’s amazing for migraines / nausea.
A mouth guard that helps prevent snoring and helps with sleep apnea.
Treadmill 😂
The returnable bags with the cart “handles”. I felt like a last falling for a gimmick, and yet they are by far my favorite type of bag. They hold a lot, don’t rip from overfilling, and have made shop & scan at all my favorite stores way easier, plus I have the perfect space for them in my vehicle and they don’t roll around like my other bags or plastic bags, making unpacking the car easier too.
Grocery delivery. I live with chronic pain in a city without a car, and it genuinely makes my life easier.
NAD+ supplements. I’d read a couple articles and figured it was worth trying to improve my skin, but didn’t expect much. Then a couple days after starting, I just felt like I had more energy. Little things didn’t seem so difficult. And, yes, my skin looks great. I’ve been recommending them to my friends and family but I get the impression they don’t really believe this stuff works. But it does!
Butt spatula. IYKYK
humidifier. i sleep a lot better now.
A Blu Sleep pillow. I honestly thought it would be such a waste to spend hundreds on a single pillow.
Boy was I wrong. For a few nights before the purchase, i was struggling with a stiff, aching neck. I couldn’t bear the pain. Next day I went and got this pillow and I haven’t had any neck pain since. Niente. Nothing. The pain literally went away overnight.
Expensive pillow. It was $120 but I used to have terrible neck pain and now, never!
a garlic press. I have bought a lot of kitchen gadgets that I used once and never again, but the garlic press has been wonderful. no more annoying chopping needed.
(yes I know, it doesn’t take THAT long to chop a clove of garlic, but that’s also why I love the garlic press – it actually works quicker)
Pre chopped veggies.
I will forever sing the praises of my air fryer.
A Dyson Supersonic. Yes, you can get a functional hair dryer for a tenth of the price, but it is so comfortable to hold, my ears don’t get blown out by the noise, and my hair doesn’t get caught in the fans.
Also, a Dyson cordless vacuum. Mine’s lasted for 7 years now. I swear I am not a Dyson shill, I think their other products like the Airwrap or heaters/coolers are way too expensive for what they are.
Logitech gamer keyboard. I’ll admit I didn’t buy my first one, it was given to me by a teammate who departed the company.
I loved it so much I got one for home too.
All my robots
Lawn mower robot
Self cleaning vacuum/mop robot
A foldable wagon. I live alone, in a condo, and it has been such a lifesaver for hauling groceries and everything else up from my car in the garage. It’s great when people come to visit too to help them bring everything up!
Squatty Potty
Not even kidding
Heated mattress cover. I’m in heaven. Dreading the time when I have to sleep in a hotel or some other bed without preheating it before I crawl in.
A pilates studio membership.
Salad scissors! And doesn’t even have to be for salads, I use them so often for whatever needs chopped
I woke up sometimes with hip pain to where I couldn’t walk/move until I bought a body pillow that I could sleep with my leg over it. It was hard dealing with that in my younger twenties and literally now I have 0 pain/issues.
Kindle
Towel warmer after working in -40
Roborock vac and mop- life changing. I would never clean my floors this often otherwise and now spend some of the cleaning time actually wiping my baseboards !
Monthly home deep cleaning service
Bidet.
Extra long tongs. Originally bought to cook/grill with but now mainly use it to grab items at the back of my top shelves. Life changing.
A rice cooker. I genuinely cant tell you how much less daunting “throwing something together for dinner” is when I can just dump a cup of rice in that little gadget and focus on something to go with it.
Maybe seems obvious to everyone else, but I was worried it would become another dust collector.
a walking pad !!! i was trying to cheap out on it because it hurts my soul to spend any money that isn’t on food (idk), but it’s so amazing. i can exercise peacefully in the comfort of my own home and with the tv on 🙂
A bathroom light fixture with a speaker that syncs via Bluetooth to my phone and has different colored light settings. When I want to be motivated with music in my room or bathroom, it’s WAY better than just having music come out of my phone. When I want to hang out in my bathtub with a glass of wine and have nice, slow music on and low lighting but not NO lighting. It’s 100% coming with me when I move.
36 comments
Packages of pre-mixed overnight oats. I know that it’s cheaper and probably lower-packaging-waste to buy the ingredients (oats, chia seeds, maybe protein powder, dried fruits or whatever) and mix them myself, but I also know that I’d never keep doing it night after night. I just pour some amount of milk into a shaker bottle, add a packet of dry ingredients, shake, and refrigerate overnight.
I’ve got a weird stomach in the morning so there’s a LOT that I can’t/won’t eat for breakfast, which is a problem. But I can make these oats extra-thin so they drink like a milkshake or a smoothie and I haven’t had any kind of issue with the taste or texture in years.
I first bought them after a YouTuber did a collab with the company. They definitely suckered me in with a that-YouTuber-themed shaker bottle. But it’s been years now and I still eat these for breakfast every work morning and it’s wonderful to have one less thing to worry about.
Not an ad, I promise, but a KitchenAid mixer. I’ve never been one for gadgets, but it’s the bees knees and now I actually bake. Family is definitely happy, haha
Buying a bissell floor mop. Love mine.
Water pitchers with filters. My mom asked me what I want for birthday this year & I am inclined to tell her what I did last year…a replacement filter.
An adjustable bed.
A weighted blanket. It’s amazing for migraines / nausea.
A mouth guard that helps prevent snoring and helps with sleep apnea.
Treadmill 😂
The returnable bags with the cart “handles”. I felt like a last falling for a gimmick, and yet they are by far my favorite type of bag. They hold a lot, don’t rip from overfilling, and have made shop & scan at all my favorite stores way easier, plus I have the perfect space for them in my vehicle and they don’t roll around like my other bags or plastic bags, making unpacking the car easier too.
Grocery delivery. I live with chronic pain in a city without a car, and it genuinely makes my life easier.
NAD+ supplements. I’d read a couple articles and figured it was worth trying to improve my skin, but didn’t expect much. Then a couple days after starting, I just felt like I had more energy. Little things didn’t seem so difficult. And, yes, my skin looks great. I’ve been recommending them to my friends and family but I get the impression they don’t really believe this stuff works. But it does!
Butt spatula. IYKYK
humidifier. i sleep a lot better now.
A Blu Sleep pillow. I honestly thought it would be such a waste to spend hundreds on a single pillow.
Boy was I wrong. For a few nights before the purchase, i was struggling with a stiff, aching neck. I couldn’t bear the pain. Next day I went and got this pillow and I haven’t had any neck pain since. Niente. Nothing. The pain literally went away overnight.
Expensive pillow. It was $120 but I used to have terrible neck pain and now, never!
a garlic press. I have bought a lot of kitchen gadgets that I used once and never again, but the garlic press has been wonderful. no more annoying chopping needed.
(yes I know, it doesn’t take THAT long to chop a clove of garlic, but that’s also why I love the garlic press – it actually works quicker)
Pre chopped veggies.
I will forever sing the praises of my air fryer.
A Dyson Supersonic. Yes, you can get a functional hair dryer for a tenth of the price, but it is so comfortable to hold, my ears don’t get blown out by the noise, and my hair doesn’t get caught in the fans.
Also, a Dyson cordless vacuum. Mine’s lasted for 7 years now. I swear I am not a Dyson shill, I think their other products like the Airwrap or heaters/coolers are way too expensive for what they are.
Logitech gamer keyboard. I’ll admit I didn’t buy my first one, it was given to me by a teammate who departed the company.
I loved it so much I got one for home too.
All my robots
Lawn mower robot
Self cleaning vacuum/mop robot
A foldable wagon. I live alone, in a condo, and it has been such a lifesaver for hauling groceries and everything else up from my car in the garage. It’s great when people come to visit too to help them bring everything up!
Squatty Potty
Not even kidding
Heated mattress cover. I’m in heaven. Dreading the time when I have to sleep in a hotel or some other bed without preheating it before I crawl in.
A pilates studio membership.
Salad scissors! And doesn’t even have to be for salads, I use them so often for whatever needs chopped
I woke up sometimes with hip pain to where I couldn’t walk/move until I bought a body pillow that I could sleep with my leg over it. It was hard dealing with that in my younger twenties and literally now I have 0 pain/issues.
Kindle
Towel warmer after working in -40
Roborock vac and mop- life changing. I would never clean my floors this often otherwise and now spend some of the cleaning time actually wiping my baseboards !
Monthly home deep cleaning service
Bidet.
Extra long tongs. Originally bought to cook/grill with but now mainly use it to grab items at the back of my top shelves. Life changing.
A rice cooker. I genuinely cant tell you how much less daunting “throwing something together for dinner” is when I can just dump a cup of rice in that little gadget and focus on something to go with it.
Maybe seems obvious to everyone else, but I was worried it would become another dust collector.
a walking pad !!! i was trying to cheap out on it because it hurts my soul to spend any money that isn’t on food (idk), but it’s so amazing. i can exercise peacefully in the comfort of my own home and with the tv on 🙂
A bathroom light fixture with a speaker that syncs via Bluetooth to my phone and has different colored light settings. When I want to be motivated with music in my room or bathroom, it’s WAY better than just having music come out of my phone. When I want to hang out in my bathtub with a glass of wine and have nice, slow music on and low lighting but not NO lighting. It’s 100% coming with me when I move.