What material things bring your everlasting enjoyment/gratitude?

[BOP Mustache]

Along the lines of MMM, I’m listening to a podcast which portrays life in the 1920-1950 ‘golden era’ and interesting that other than food and shelter, 60+% of America lived in poverty.

Material goods and anything above that basic form of living wasn’t even considered by many.

Got me thinking of what material things I valued most and were worth spending on. I’ll go first:

- Merino thermal tops and socks
- My nice Marmot rain jacket (purchased 14 years ago)
- Our $900 used bed for my wife and I
- Cast iron fry pan
- Good set of kitchen knives
- Thermo drink bottle
- Our used 2017 Toyota RAV4 such a great family vehicle

[San Diego Girl]

Having fresh spring water delivered to my home every two weeks.  Such a luxury and I never take it for granted.

[FIRE@50]

I already have an oven, a microwave, and a toaster oven but that air fryer is MONEY.

[GilesMM]

Residence, sporty vehicles, musical instruments, bike, skis, PC, phone, tablet, Tv, stereo, mattress, sheets, towels, tools, toys, clothes, etc.  All bring joy in some way.

[kei te pai]

My land and garden.

[FireLane]

My smartphone - phone calls, video calls, camera, GPS navigation, translation, music and access to all world knowledge, all in one device that fits in my pocket

Wireless Bluetooth headphones

Comfortable hiking boots

My book collection - too large for the size of my house, but I'd never give it up

My collection of wall art, fridge magnets and Christmas tree ornaments reminding me of the places I've traveled

My electric kettle and stainless-steel French press, which have made thousands of cups of coffee

Cast-iron griddle for making quesadillas, pancakes and other recipes

Warm wool winter coat that I've had for over ten years

[AuspiciousEight]

Some things, in no particular order.

-Stainless steel water bottle. I've had the same stainless steel water bottle for 5 years...10 years now? I have no idea. Triple tree brand.

-Merrell Moab 3 hiking shoes.

-New Balance 880 running shoes

-New Balance 608 everyday shoes

-Purple mattress

-Pixel 9a smartphone. The main way I access these forums, call people, gps, and take pictures.

-Toyota vehicles.

-Bluetooth headphones

-Insta pot

-Camping gear

-Leatherman charge tti

-Tools (Plumbing, electrical, mechanical, yard)

-Kindle Paperwhite

-Bikes

-Reverse osmosis water purification system

-Amazfit active 2

-And of course my socks. Nothing special. Just regular cotton socks. I love socks.

[lifeisshort123]

My Corksicle water bottle
My really nice bedsheets
A really clean/well-maintained hotel room when traveling
My laptop

[Metalcat]

No question, my second home.

It's a huge luxury, but hear me out. Lol

We bought both places for a combined 228K at a time when the average home cost in our area was 700K. Each location offers something that the other absolutely cannot, and trying to find one house that comes even close to what having the two offers would cost well over a million.

We live half time at each location, one is in the middle of a major urban center and the other is extremely remote in one of the most beautiful locations on earth. One is a very modest 1 bedroom condo and the other is a detached home.

The culture of the two locations is also radically different, so living between the two areas means we're literally shifting back and forth between drastically different lives, which is really interesting and very engaging.

So basically, about every 6 months we pack up our entire life and make a drastic, radical lifestyle change. It's not for everyone, but we love it.

Plus as I said, it means getting to live half the year in one of the most breathtaking locations on earth. Which has a MASSIVE impact on our overall life enjoyment. 

[use2betrix]

For the most part, things of the highest quality or those that serve their usage most perfectly. Like a mustachian, I do truly love finding an item that is cheap and seems of perfect quality/usage.
Some of these below I may not use as much now, but will more in FIRE when I have more time. Regardless, I’m happy to have purchased them now while my income is higher:
- Red Wing Heritage Boots (made in USA) - basically buy for life boots with regular usage. I have two styles and several colors.
- A random hoodie from GAP my mom bought me about 18 years ago. The material, quality, and way it has worn rivals hoodies 2x-3x as much. Also some sentimental value since my parents rarely would buy things outside Birthday/Christmas, and she bought it for me on no special occasion.
- All my tools - welding machine, table, accessories, woodworking/mechanical tools. All high quality, all save an immense amount of time on projects when I’m usually pressed for time
- All my Ironheart UK clothing. Very expensive but the fit and quality is phenomenal. Buy for life jeans and button ups.
- Custom geometry titanium race bike. Has all the highest end components. Have ridden nearly 3000 miles in 2025. Making very good use and love the sheer quality of everything. This also includes my trainer since most my riding is indoors before the family wakes up. Has also opened to door for weekend getaways for races with the family.
- Home gym - Rogue power rack and Powerblock adjustable db’s that go up to 90 lbs. The Rogue equipment is commercial grade and the sheer quality is phenomenal - from welding, coating, assembly, tolerances, material thickness, etc. Wasn’t cheap, but considering I had a gym membership for 15ish years beforehand (for both my wife and I) it will eventually pay for itself. The convenience factor, particularly after
- Two custom benches/shoe racks I built. My first two projects with the welding table I bought (was already a skilled welder). They are the exact design/build/material/etc. that I wanted, which I chose because I built them lol. Similar designs would each be $1000-$1200 easily. They each cost me about $125-$150 in materials. I am hoping that my FIRE plans eventually include a part time business building similar wood/metal furniture. I’m very proud of how they turned out.


We have lived full time in a 5th wheel, apartments, rental houses, and now own a home we plan to stay in for a few years before our next career downshift towards FIRE. Since it’s very much a ‘temp’ home, much of our furniture and decorations are pretty practical/cheaper and not things I really like. I am very excited to eventually move to our “forever home” where things like decorations, furniture, etc., all bring me immense joy. I hope to build around 80-90% of the furniture myself.

[GuitarStv]

I . . . have an ass that won't quit.  Sure, sometimes this has got me in trouble, but on the whole this material thing has always enriched my life and provided some level of daily fulfillment/pleasure.

[Freedomin5]

- our lakeside cottage
- smartphone
- our very comfy sofa
- air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter
- pressure cooker
- transitions glasses
- indoor plumbing (having spent time in squatty potties in the rural countryside in developing countries, this is a big one!)
- hot water on demand
- good books

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-We have a patio set that we purchased when we bought our house. We weren't very excited about having to maintain a pool, but sitting by the pool on sunny days (and, we have a lot of them) with the umbrella & patio set is excellent. My favorite thing about our house, by far. DH & I often skip date night out in favor of a glass of wine around the pool.
-Phone, which allows us to communicate with both families
-Good running shoes
-A fitness watch, which inspires me to get in extra steps every day
-My milk frother
-My Kindle. I read *a lot*

[Laura33]

Wait:  who TF says the 1920s-50s were some "golden era"?  In what way?  You had a major stock market binge, followed by a crash in which many people lost everything, including being kicked out of their homes, followed by ten years of a Depression with massive unemployment and soup lines and the Dust Bowl and all the terrible things that go along with it, followed by a world war that killed millions (including my grandfather, who enlisted because he was so damn desperate to get off the farm and there were no other opportunities), followed by a few years of massive societal shift as the men came home and took their jobs back.  That has always struck me as one of the most difficult periods to live through.

My favorite material thing is my house.  It is full of memories, and after 20+ years, we have made it as close as possible to the way we want it.  It is beautiful in my eyes and makes me feel relaxed and comfy, and it's in a lovely area too that is convenient to everything. 

On a smaller level, my Coma Inducer quilt.  OMG.  It is SO SOFT and warm and fuzzy that I don't even want a sheet between it and my skin, and it's oversized and semi-heavy and slumpy and just exudes relaxation on all sorts of levels.  It was too warm for the summer (my DH sleeps hot and so hates it), so I bought a blanket from them that's the same soft/fuzzy, and DH can use whatever quilt he wants.

[aloevera1]

Hands down my bathtub. I freaking love it! Best bathtub in the world (because it's mine).

[Sandi_k]

- Our house, and its attached deck.
- My laptop/phone/Kindle.
- Warm slippers with a hard sole.
- Our BBQ/smoker.
- Engagement and wedding rings.
- Sonus Faber Cremona speakers. They make any music sound amazing.

[ROF Expat]

Almost every physical thing I use is far better than the equivalent from 1920 to 1950, but...

-I just got my daughter vaccinated.  Not having to die of polio or tetanus or measles has my everlasting gratitude. 
-Air conditioning.  Although it existed in the 1920 to 1950 timeframe, especially in public spaces, it became affordable and common in homes later.  We don't use ours very much, but it is a life changer when we need it. 
-My laptop and tablet connected to the internet.  Yes, it brings disadvantages, but the ability to access information or download digital publications wherever I am around the world (and to travel with a tablet loaded with thousands of books in my carryon any of rather than pounds of books and magazines) has been life changing for me. 

BTW, I am 100% with @Laura33 in questioning the 1920s - 1950s as some sort of "golden era."  Systematized racism?  Great Depression? Life expectancy in the 50s?  Those don't sound so golden to me.  I suppose the era might seem a bit golden if you could be one of the very few Jay Gatsbys rather than the very many Tom Joads, but both Jay and Tom had to fear their kids getting polio. 

-I do love my house, which was built in the 1930s.  I used to think that this was evidence that older houses were built "better" but now I realize that it is classic survivorship bias.  90 years after construction, only the better built houses from the time period are likely to be  around to compare. 

I am hard pressed to think of anything material from that time period that compares favorably with a modern equivalent except maybe art.  I can enjoy Hemingway and Picasso as much as their modern counterparts.

[Laura33]

I am hard pressed to think of anything material from that time period that compares favorably with a modern equivalent except maybe art.  I can enjoy Hemingway and Picasso as much as their modern counterparts.

Fashion.  Zoot suits, flapper gowns, fedoras -- those things really haven't been topped since, IMO.

I also do think that even the houses that were built well enough to survive from 100+ years ago were built better than today's equivalent, because we had better materials (old-growth lumber, plaster, real stone) and labor was unbelievably cheap.  When we remodeled my kitchen and took down a wall, the backing wall was about 14" boards, hand-hewn, installed on a diagonal with a perfectly even/consistent 1/4" gap between them.  On a wall that, even as they were building it, they knew no one would ever see again.  No wonder the house was in such good shaper after c.130 years, you know?  I think today we have, on average, much higher-quality housing available to more people, whereas 100+ years ago, it was more polarized -- the bad was worse (and many more people lived in the "bad"), but the good was better.  Today, even the extremely high-end houses don't tend to use seasoned, hand-hewn, old-growth lumber throughout; you might put that on a beam or mantel, but not where it wouldn't be front-and-center visible.* 

Not that I'd trade that quality of material and workmanship for the terrible pay, bad working conditions, no employee safety, short lifespan, no upward mobility, and all of the other things that came along with cheap labor.  But I am the unitentional beneficiary of those prior conditions.

*Total sidebar, but what the house isn't as good at is adapting to modern systems.  My house is in an area known for its hot, muggy summers, so it has high ceilings and 8' tall windows on all of the walls and a big porch overhang on the west side.  It also was designed to breathe, so all that humidity didn't get trapped in the walls, with things like cedar shake siding and roofing.  All of which was exactly right for c.1880.   But now we have HVAC, and we need enclosed systems, but we can't just stick on an asphalt roof and wrap it in impermeable stuff, or the humidity gets trapped and things rot, and the giant windows are hella expensive to replace and not exactly great for the cold winters, and basically it is absolutely terribly designed for the modern age.  But I still adore it.

[ROF Expat]

I am hard pressed to think of anything material from that time period that compares favorably with a modern equivalent except maybe art.  I can enjoy Hemingway and Picasso as much as their modern counterparts.

Fashion.  Zoot suits, flapper gowns, fedoras -- those things really haven't been topped since, IMO.

I also do think that even the houses that were built well enough to survive from 100+ years ago were built better than today's equivalent, because we had better materials (old-growth lumber, plaster, real stone) and labor was unbelievably cheap.  When we remodeled my kitchen and took down a wall, the backing wall was about 14" boards, hand-hewn, installed on a diagonal with a perfectly even/consistent 1/4" gap between them.  On a wall that, even as they were building it, they knew no one would ever see again.  No wonder the house was in such good shaper after c.130 years, you know?  I think today we have, on average, much higher-quality housing available to more people, whereas 100+ years ago, it was more polarized -- the bad was worse (and many more people lived in the "bad"), but the good was better.  Today, even the extremely high-end houses don't tend to use seasoned, hand-hewn, old-growth lumber throughout; you might put that on a beam or mantel, but not where it wouldn't be front-and-center visible.* 

Not that I'd trade that quality of material and workmanship for the terrible pay, bad working conditions, no employee safety, short lifespan, no upward mobility, and all of the other things that came along with cheap labor.  But I am the unitentional beneficiary of those prior conditions.

*Total sidebar, but what the house isn't as good at is adapting to modern systems.  My house is in an area known for its hot, muggy summers, so it has high ceilings and 8' tall windows on all of the walls and a big porch overhang on the west side.  It also was designed to breathe, so all that humidity didn't get trapped in the walls, with things like cedar shake siding and roofing.  All of which was exactly right for c.1880.   But now we have HVAC, and we need enclosed systems, but we can't just stick on an asphalt roof and wrap it in impermeable stuff, or the humidity gets trapped and things rot, and the giant windows are hella expensive to replace and not exactly great for the cold winters, and basically it is absolutely terribly designed for the modern age.  But I still adore it.

Zoot Suits were (and are) cool, but I can't picture myself wearing one. 

I have the same experience as you regarding quality of old materials and labor when workmen come to my house.  My house was built in the 30s out of brick and granite recycled from a Civil War era brewery.  I am pretty sure it was originally built to be a weekend cottage.  Like your house, it was well designed, with great airflow when you open the windows and doors.  It does not always work and play well with the modern age (difficult to add insulation, no space for ac ducting, no garage, and 1930s size bathrooms, closets, and kitchen). 

We fell in love with it at first sight and plan to live in it forever when we move back to the US. 

[Laura33]

Zoot Suits were (and are) cool, but I can't picture myself wearing one. 

Well, not suggesting I'd have looked good in any of it.  But damn it looks cool on the right people!

[GuitarStv]

Zoot Suits were (and are) cool, but I can't picture myself wearing one. 

Well, not suggesting I'd have looked good in any of it.  But damn it looks cool on the right people!

100% of men look better in a proper brimmed hat.  I don't understand how they ever went out of style . . . to be occasionally replaced by possibly the ugliest headwear of all time, the baseball cap.

[RWD]

Soft-close toilet seats

[yodella]

I stumbled on this little doodad in a Wirecutter list a few years ago. It has a tiny, credit card-sized solar panel. You stick it in a window and it throws rainbows around the room as long as the sun is shining. There is also a version that can just sit on a window sill. It brings me joy every day, and I've given MANY away as gifts. Highly recommend.

(FYI this is not an affiliate link and I earn nothing if you buy one)

https://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-1588-Solar-Powered-Rainbow-Maker/dp/B000068UG6?pd_rd_w=EAfqa&content-id=amzn1.sym.c059d191-c5ca-4dcf-9149-1b498928668e&pf_rd_p=c059d191-c5ca-4dcf-9149-1b498928668e&pf_rd_r=Z6AZWZ1MWMKKWG9B00E5&pd_rd_wg=T6V44&pd_rd_r=c81ccd4c-55c5-436b-afcb-4f52c6c66bc8&pd_rd_i=B000068UG6&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_30_t&th=1

[Embok]

My 100 year old house, even though we are not done restoring it, and it has been a giant money and time pit.  But it is well built, sunny and charming, if a bit small.  And well located in a walkable area a mile from the ocean in a small California town. 

My iPad.  The computer is a work tool, as is the phone, but the iPad is amazing between all the books it holds on the Kindle app and all the information you can get on YouTube.  It’s for fun.

My electric kettle.  We drink tea all day long.

The pieces of furniture that I have collected, or inherited, and in many cases had reupholstered — I think it is pretty and to scale, and every piece is comfortable.

My black merino wool shells.  I wear one almost every day.  They can be fancy with a scarf and earrings, or simple over shorts or jeans.  I basically don’t wear blouses any more.  Don’t have to iron or dry clean!  And they don’t seem to fade.

My giant freezer, an upright, in the garage. Makes food prep so easy!

My car and ebike.  Different levels of mobility are such a luxury.

My dishwasher.  It took us 5 years without a working dishwasher in this house to get to the point we could put one in.  It is truly a wonderful device.

Plumbing (indoors).  The best.

My small set of exquisite Japanese kitchen knives.

My sets of earrings, because I love a bit of bling!

[Gone Fishing]

My homestead-shelter and good homegrown food.

My woodstove-frugal heat that works when the power is out.  As warm as you want, just throw another log on.  Free productive exercise.

The power grid-The power of 120 laboring humans plumbed into my house with a few wires about the size of my fingers.

A/C and refrigeration- life would be very different without them.

My old school pressure cooker-  Turns bones and tough meat into delicious stock and pull apart tender melt in your mouth deliciousness in less than an hour.  Vegetables are done in under 10 min.

I’ll second dependable used Toyotas.  There are friends who get it and those who don’t.  The ones that don’t think it is normal to fork out thousands for repairs on a regular basis for their American or European cars.

[Laura33]

My electric kettle.  We drink tea all day long.

. . . .

My small set of exquisite Japanese kitchen knives.

I do love these sorts of posts because they make me think about all of these really cool toys that I now own but never even knew existed growing up, which brings on both the gratitude and the reminder of how over-the-top is the luxury in my life. 

I mean, I have an electric kettle that will heat my water to five different, precise temperatures, so I can properly brew different types of tea.  How unnecessary-and-yet-freaking-awesome is that?  And don't even get my started on the ability to get tea shipped from my favorite shops all over the US/world, all with a few clicks of a mouse.

And then there was the Christmas DH bought me some Japanese knives, and OMG, head and shoulders above anything else I have ever owned.  Like, I didn't even know there were different kinds of knife designs and fabrication techniques across the different cultures, you know?  Knives were big or little, sharp or dull, serrated or not.  And now here I am with these fancy-schmanzy knives that far outshine my actual cooking abilities.  What a world, eh? 

[jeninco]

Soft-close toilet seats

Soft-close sliding doors! We added pocket doors (with glass panels) to my office, and even though they don't yet have handles I can grab them by the mulling and pull them towards the center and they'll soft-close themselves. We're adding that to the sliding pantry doors that have yet to be installed, too -- it's so cool to push/pull the doors in the direction you want them to go and then have them operate themselves!

I third the tea pot. We use ours for coffee every morning (in an aero press, which is also pretty cool), and it's so much faster and more controlled than using a burner!

[Dave1442397]

I stumbled on this little doodad in a Wirecutter list a few years ago. It has a tiny, credit card-sized solar panel. You stick it in a window and it throws rainbows around the room as long as the sun is shining. There is also a version that can just sit on a window sill. It brings me joy every day, and I've given MANY away as gifts. Highly recommend.

(FYI this is not an affiliate link and I earn nothing if you buy one)

https://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-1588-Solar-Powered-Rainbow-Maker/dp/B000068UG6?pd_rd_w=EAfqa&content-id=amzn1.sym.c059d191-c5ca-4dcf-9149-1b498928668e&pf_rd_p=c059d191-c5ca-4dcf-9149-1b498928668e&pf_rd_r=Z6AZWZ1MWMKKWG9B00E5&pd_rd_wg=T6V44&pd_rd_r=c81ccd4c-55c5-436b-afcb-4f52c6c66bc8&pd_rd_i=B000068UG6&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_30_t&th=1

I just ordered one for my wife. Our kitchen faces south and gets a lot of sun, so we should see plenty of rainbows. It'll be interesting to see if the cat is amused.

[yodella]

I stumbled on this little doodad in a Wirecutter list a few years ago. It has a tiny, credit card-sized solar panel. You stick it in a window and it throws rainbows around the room as long as the sun is shining. There is also a version that can just sit on a window sill. It brings me joy every day, and I've given MANY away as gifts. Highly recommend.

(FYI this is not an affiliate link and I earn nothing if you buy one)

https://www.amazon.com/Kikkerland-1588-Solar-Powered-Rainbow-Maker/dp/B000068UG6?pd_rd_w=EAfqa&content-id=amzn1.sym.c059d191-c5ca-4dcf-9149-1b498928668e&pf_rd_p=c059d191-c5ca-4dcf-9149-1b498928668e&pf_rd_r=Z6AZWZ1MWMKKWG9B00E5&pd_rd_wg=T6V44&pd_rd_r=c81ccd4c-55c5-436b-afcb-4f52c6c66bc8&pd_rd_i=B000068UG6&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_30_t&th=1

I just ordered one for my wife. Our kitchen faces south and gets a lot of sun, so we should see plenty of rainbows. It'll be interesting to see if the cat is amused.

Yay! You are a nice husband (and cat dad).

[TheFrenchCat]

Definitely my dishwasher.  We only have had one for the past three years out of 15+ years of adulthood, and it's amazing.

My piano keyboard and my embroidery supplies.

My stand mixer/instant pot/food processor-They all make so many different things so easily!

My engagement ring-it's perfect for me.  DH got it from a pawn shop which I absolutely love that he did, and he knew I would.  Plus it's a sapphire, which is my favorite gemstone and color.

[JupiterGreen]

#1 Our house, everyday I wake up happy we bought this house (purchased this year). Houses are money pits, but it is glorious. Our home is so cute and peaceful. It is sunny and full of trees and flowers, it sound like songbirds by day and tree frogs by night, yet we are near enough to civilization, in a beach town, and within an hour of two major cities.

#2 Electric Kettle because: tea

#3 Ankarsrum stand mixer, I'm an avid baker and use this at least once a week, you can do bagel dough in this sucker

#4 Vitamix (hides from the anti vitamix pitchfork mob), I use this a lot and it is a beast. Kind of a must for vegan/vegetarians.

#5 Air Fryer, we got this as a gift and use it all the time. We rarely use the stove now, it's a good tool.

I have others things like my running shoes, a gold pendant necklace I adore, and some very niche and unique tools for my trade.

[Laura33]

Also:  my garage.  I grew up without one, but I got spoiled once I married and we moved to areas with more modern houses with attached garages.  By the time we moved here, I missed my damn garage.  I grumbled for years, then Snowmageddon came, and that was the last straw.  So we built a garage.

The problem was that I couldn't figure out how to build an attached garage -- old house, American Foursquare, everything I drew looked like a giant boil hanging off the side of the house.  I finally had the idea to attach it to the house with a trellis/pergola, so it would at least look decent -- and DH had the idea to top the pergola with big panes of plastic.  So I can now bring in the groceries in the rain/snow and still stay dry.  It still makes me smile every time the weather is bad.

[Dynasty]

A 4" latex foam mattress topper.

 

[bownyboy]

We bought a 3 year old top of the range Hyundai Tuscon 5 years ago. It had one owner and 20k miles. It was £17k compared to list of around £45k. I didn't realise how much easier it is to drive a car with lots of passenger safety and automation. It is a dream to drive.

Before we drove a manual six speed Mazda MX-5 from 2004 with no mod cons AT ALL. That was hard work for long journeys.

We still have the Hyundai and love it!