The "Money well spent" thread. NO INVESTMENTS ALLOWED.

[djadziadax]

IVF gave me my beautiful daughter.  Best use of money ever.

I think that one takes the cake! Blessings!!!

[WSUCoug1994]

IVF gave me my beautiful daughter.  Best use of money ever.

mic drop - thread killer - can't really top that

[Metalcat]

I'm just curious how an electric version is superior to a much cheaper manual sharpener? I sharpen every time I cook, and I agree it makes a huge difference, but I'm curious what makes the huge uptick in cost for electric so worthwhile?

We did have a hand/manual sharpener with two stages, and that is why I hesitated for about 3 or 4 years to get the electric one. The electric one we got can sharpen serrated knives as well and we have two of those so wanted to have them sharp also.

The difference between manual and electric is vast - mostly because of the high quality grinding/polishing wheels. It is two or three stage sharpening process but most people do not read the instructions and do not sharpen properly and leave little burrs on the edges.

The way I know the sharpening was better - we had out Sontoku sharpened first - and I was able to cut a soft tomato with NO-to VERY LIGHT pressure applied on the knife - I basically lightly touched the knife to the tomato, and just glided it down - it was somewhat scary how easily it cut it. Then I understood why it is so painless to cut yourself at first - you would hardly even notice it was so effortless. Thus, chopping, cutting becomes almost effortless.

If you are able to get to this level of sharpness with your current setup, then you don't need an electric one. But we dont have the energy/time to sharpen every time we use the knives, and I have basically guaranteed ourselves sharp knives for decades to come.

I agree with the Victorinox - we have the serrated knife and it is good.

Now we need to upgrade our paring knives to something more substantial and the steel is not good.

I have looked into the Global line, but cannot get myself to pay the $100 for the basic Chef's knife, it will probably take me another 3 years to move on that.

Yep, my knife is always that sharp, I use the manual wet stone sharpener that the Japanese knife store recommended to my mom when she bought me the knife a very long time ago. That's why I was so curious. It takes me about 15 seconds to use and keeps my blade extremely sharp because I use it every time. I've never looked into sharpeners because I never needed to, but people rave about electric sharpeners, so I was curious.

Global knives are pretty cheap for the quality, I find them to be an extraordinary value. However, that's because I really value my knife being light weight. I have wrist injuries from my chef years (and a genetic predisposition to injuries), so a light knife is important to me.

[Mgmny]

I'm just curious how an electric version is superior to a much cheaper manual sharpener? I sharpen every time I cook, and I agree it makes a huge difference, but I'm curious what makes the huge uptick in cost for electric so worthwhile?

We did have a hand/manual sharpener with two stages, and that is why I hesitated for about 3 or 4 years to get the electric one. The electric one we got can sharpen serrated knives as well and we have two of those so wanted to have them sharp also.

The difference between manual and electric is vast - mostly because of the high quality grinding/polishing wheels. It is two or three stage sharpening process but most people do not read the instructions and do not sharpen properly and leave little burrs on the edges.

The way I know the sharpening was better - we had out Sontoku sharpened first - and I was able to cut a soft tomato with NO-to VERY LIGHT pressure applied on the knife - I basically lightly touched the knife to the tomato, and just glided it down - it was somewhat scary how easily it cut it. Then I understood why it is so painless to cut yourself at first - you would hardly even notice it was so effortless. Thus, chopping, cutting becomes almost effortless.

If you are able to get to this level of sharpness with your current setup, then you don't need an electric one. But we dont have the energy/time to sharpen every time we use the knives, and I have basically guaranteed ourselves sharp knives for decades to come.

I agree with the Victorinox - we have the serrated knife and it is good.

Now we need to upgrade our paring knives to something more substantial and the steel is not good.

I have looked into the Global line, but cannot get myself to pay the $100 for the basic Chef's knife, it will probably take me another 3 years to move on that.

Yep, my knife is always that sharp, I use the manual wet stone sharpener that the Japanese knife store recommended to my mom when she bought me the knife a very long time ago. That's why I was so curious. It takes me about 15 seconds to use and keeps my blade extremely sharp because I use it every time. I've never looked into sharpeners because I never needed to, but people rave about electric sharpeners, so I was curious.

Global knives are pretty cheap for the quality, I find them to be an extraordinary value. However, that's because I really value my knife being light weight. I have wrist injuries from my chef years (and a genetic predisposition to injuries), so a light knife is important to me.

I was given a chef's choice electric sharpener a few years ago by my in-laws who had received it as a gift 15-20 years ago, and never used it. Today's equivalent model appears to be nearly $200 online (!!!!), and i have read online that the diamond abrasives can wear off after awhile. Does anyone know what the life expectancy is? @djadziadax you say "decades" but is that true?? I'm nervous about using the sharpener too much (i maybe use it 3-4x a year) for fear of wearing it out after a year or two and then i have to spend another $200 to replace it... Any thoughts? If it truly could be used 5-10 thousand times, then i wouldn't hesitate to run my knifes through before using each time, but i guess i'm just scared of premature wear....

[Metalcat]

I'm just curious how an electric version is superior to a much cheaper manual sharpener? I sharpen every time I cook, and I agree it makes a huge difference, but I'm curious what makes the huge uptick in cost for electric so worthwhile?

We did have a hand/manual sharpener with two stages, and that is why I hesitated for about 3 or 4 years to get the electric one. The electric one we got can sharpen serrated knives as well and we have two of those so wanted to have them sharp also.

The difference between manual and electric is vast - mostly because of the high quality grinding/polishing wheels. It is two or three stage sharpening process but most people do not read the instructions and do not sharpen properly and leave little burrs on the edges.

The way I know the sharpening was better - we had out Sontoku sharpened first - and I was able to cut a soft tomato with NO-to VERY LIGHT pressure applied on the knife - I basically lightly touched the knife to the tomato, and just glided it down - it was somewhat scary how easily it cut it. Then I understood why it is so painless to cut yourself at first - you would hardly even notice it was so effortless. Thus, chopping, cutting becomes almost effortless.

If you are able to get to this level of sharpness with your current setup, then you don't need an electric one. But we dont have the energy/time to sharpen every time we use the knives, and I have basically guaranteed ourselves sharp knives for decades to come.

I agree with the Victorinox - we have the serrated knife and it is good.

Now we need to upgrade our paring knives to something more substantial and the steel is not good.

I have looked into the Global line, but cannot get myself to pay the $100 for the basic Chef's knife, it will probably take me another 3 years to move on that.

Yep, my knife is always that sharp, I use the manual wet stone sharpener that the Japanese knife store recommended to my mom when she bought me the knife a very long time ago. That's why I was so curious. It takes me about 15 seconds to use and keeps my blade extremely sharp because I use it every time. I've never looked into sharpeners because I never needed to, but people rave about electric sharpeners, so I was curious.

Global knives are pretty cheap for the quality, I find them to be an extraordinary value. However, that's because I really value my knife being light weight. I have wrist injuries from my chef years (and a genetic predisposition to injuries), so a light knife is important to me.

I was given a chef's choice electric sharpener a few years ago by my in-laws who had received it as a gift 15-20 years ago, and never used it. Today's equivalent model appears to be nearly $200 online (!!!!), and i have read online that the diamond abrasives can wear off after awhile. Does anyone know what the life expectancy is? @djadziadax you say "decades" but is that true?? I'm nervous about using the sharpener too much (i maybe use it 3-4x a year) for fear of wearing it out after a year or two and then i have to spend another $200 to replace it... Any thoughts? If it truly could be used 5-10 thousand times, then i wouldn't hesitate to run my knifes through before using each time, but i guess i'm just scared of premature wear....

I would just use it. If it's a shitty product that wears out with normal use, then don't buy a new one because it's a shitty product.

I've used my wet stone sharpener literally every time I've used my knife for nearly 20 years and it's still working.

A quick google tells me that my sharpener is actually a Global product, so that makes sense that my mom bought it with my knife.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/300584441171597299/image?q=ceramic+water+stone+sharpener&client=ms-android-bell-ca-revc&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ALeKk00fR7gGkA_UmJJWaSevsEA793rZPw:1611329756617&biw=360&bih=621&dpr=3&prds=cid:300584441171597299,cs:1,sgro:iv,mvi:0

[djadziadax]

A quick google tells me that my sharpener is actually a Global product, so that makes sense that my mom bought it with my knife.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/300584441171597299/image?q=ceramic+water+stone+sharpener&client=ms-android-bell-ca-revc&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ALeKk00fR7gGkA_UmJJWaSevsEA793rZPw:1611329756617&biw=360&bih=621&dpr=3&prds=cid:300584441171597299,cs:1,sgro:iv,mvi:0

Wow, I wish I knew about this one! It is 40% of the price of the electric, and great reviews!

I will look into Global again - which knife/knives do you have - and what paring knife would you recommend?

[Metalcat]

A quick google tells me that my sharpener is actually a Global product, so that makes sense that my mom bought it with my knife.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/300584441171597299/image?q=ceramic+water+stone+sharpener&client=ms-android-bell-ca-revc&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ALeKk00fR7gGkA_UmJJWaSevsEA793rZPw:1611329756617&biw=360&bih=621&dpr=3&prds=cid:300584441171597299,cs:1,sgro:iv,mvi:0

Wow, I wish I knew about this one! It is 40% of the price of the electric, and great reviews!

I will look into Global again - which knife/knives do you have - and what paring knife would you recommend?

Yeah, it's worked spectacularly well for me for a very long time and literally takes a matter of seconds and is very easy to use.

I rarely use a paring knife and when I do, I use a basic kitchen supply store one, the type that come with bright primary colour, plastic handles.

[Morning Glory]

I spent money on a professional hair cut today. $66 including tip. The lady gave me instructions on how to better take care of my hair at home, and didn't try to upsell me on products. She even told me how to find diy recipes for some things. My scalp feels so good and my hair is a better shape. I don't think I've been to a salon since my wedding, 12 years ago.
I will definitely recommend that salon to anyone who asks.

[Prairie Gal]

I spent money on a professional hair cut today. $66 including tip. The lady gave me instructions on how to better take care of my hair at home, and didn't try to upsell me on products. She even told me how to find diy recipes for some things. My scalp feels so good and my hair is a better shape. I don't think I've been to a salon since my wedding, 12 years ago.
I will definitely recommend that salon to anyone who asks.

That sounds like a great "spend". I only had three haircuts in 2020, and none so far this year. The salons were shut down for a good portion of the year. I have short hair, so I have been DIYing it, but I really need a good cut.


My "money well spent"  is paying $200 U.S. for a year subscription to an online photography community. It includes weekly live webinars, tutorials, challenges, a private message board, etc. It has been so good for me! It has really re-ignited a spark of motivation for my photography. It was definitely a good investment.

[ysette9]

I spent money on a fancy new bike trailer. The brand is Wike and they are legit made in Canada. The cool thing about it, in addition to being high quality and intelligently designed, is that it is designed to accommodate older kids than all the other trailers.


My sweet ride :)

[Dicey]

Ooh, pretty! Can all three munchkins fit in there together?

[GeeVee]

Here in the Netherlands, everything is pretty much closed due to Covid. I sent my hairdresser a few hundred euro in January with a message ‘Christmas bonus’, so that he knew that it was gift with no strings attached. He sent me thank you message telling me that I made his day.

I bought a deep pink dress from a very small UK company which makes the most lovely dresses for going to weddings, races, etc.. I am going to wear it everywhere like my other Bombshell dresses. I don’t need this dress, but  it is a lovely little company with dedicated staff and I want their business to survive.

[alienbogey]

Hard to choose but here goes:

•  Powermatic 66 tablesaw.  It was very painful for us to purchase circa 2000, but it was the best tablesaw we could buy at the time.  Still made in Tennessee then, union workers, with the cast tabletops seasoned for a year before milled dead flat, robust, perfectly parallel fence, Baldor motor, etc, etc.  It's still in our basement shop and gives quiet satisfaction every time we turn it on.

•  KitchenAid stand mixer.  A splurge by DW.  She loves it and it makes me happy to see how much she enjoys using it.  I like it, too.

•  BMW R nineT motorcycle.  A big splurge by me, but it's like being an 11 year old given an annual pass to unlimited amusement park rides.  If it weren't 33 degrees out right now I'd be on it today.

[HBFIRE]

Installed two Toto bidets  a few months ago.  I think it might be the best purchase I've made in many years.  Heated, self cleaning, with a dryer -- I feel like a freaking king.  Huge savings on toilet paper was worth it alone.  Now I see why these are so popular in Europe and Asia.

[Adventine]

Installed two Toto bidets  a few months ago.  I think it might be the best purchase I've made in many years.  Heated, self cleaning, with a dryer -- I feel like a freaking king.  Huge savings on toilet paper was worth it alone.  Now I see why these are so popular in Europe and Asia.

Another bidet convert! I am so happy for you.

[ysette9]

Ooh, pretty! Can all three munchkins fit in there together?

Nope, I haven’t seen any that large. I expect it is limited by the width of the trailer rather than the height or length

[ysette9]

Installed two Toto bidets  a few months ago.  I think it might be the best purchase I've made in many years.  Heated, self cleaning, with a dryer -- I feel like a freaking king.  Huge savings on toilet paper was worth it alone.  Now I see why these are so popular in Europe and Asia.

I desperately want these. They had them in all the restrooms at my old work and I finally understood why they are the best thing ever. Regular toilet paper now feels barbaric.

[BussoV6]

Decent office chair. I have WFH for about 17 years and started with a pretty shitty office chair. DW got tired of my complaints and persuaded me to get a good chair about 10 years ago. What a change! The chair is a Herman Miller aeron.

[poetdereves]

Last year I paid for a full year of jiu jitsu up front as a black friday deal from an instructor near me. I had always wanted to try it and knew I could benefit by growing my strength, endurance, and learning how to stick to something hard that sucks. It was more than I had ever spent on any type of sport or activity in my life, but I went all year and made progress in an awesome skill, made great friends, learned how to stay committed to something that sucks over and over, and built my self-confidence. I just signed up and paid for another year in full and have zero regrets.

Because of how I felt in jiu jitsu and all of the progress I have been making I also signed up with a personal coach who helps me organize my day, set some long term goals, plans my meals, and builds all my workouts in and out of the gym. I had tried for the entire decade of my 20s to get in great shape, but I always came a bit short doing it on my own. Just like jiu jitsu, this coach cost 3x more than I had ever even considered spending on a trainer. In the past few months I have lost 23 pounds, increased my maximum lifts in every Olympic lift farther than I could have imagined, learned how to eat to fuel my body, and have broke all my personal running records from my teen years. I even completed two 50 mile races this year and got in the top 5 in a 50k trail race.

All things considered I spent over $5,000 this year on just these two activities, but the confidence I have now and the years I have added onto my life are worth many many times that amount. I am 32 and am lighter, stronger, and more capable in every way than I was at 18.

[achvfi]

All things considered I spent over $5,000 this year on just these two activities, but the confidence I have now and the years I have added onto my life are worth many many times that amount. I am 32 and am lighter, stronger, and more capable in every way than I was at 18.

That is just crazy isn't it.
I am on my new health journey for last 4 months, educating myself about how the body works, eating clean food, lower stress, getting good sleep and balanced physical activity. I am getting younger by the week.

Just like Financial independence, this is my new obsession. I now have previously unimaginable goals like maintaining  body 10 younger than my real age.

[OtherJen]

A $15/month Zoom license. It’s been useful for hosting both meetings with my community volunteer groups and for virtual happy hours with friends.

Still worth it. In the last two weeks alone, I've hosted work meetings, family virtual get-togethers, and sanity support meetings with friends. There's no way I could have organized my political volunteer meetings last fall without it.

The yoga studio membership (unlimited live virtual classes) and new kitten have also been money very well spent.

[Dreamer40]

These are aren't recent purchases, but some of the best money I've spent was on:

Adjustable powerblocks and a 6x10 workout mat for my garage floor. Those, combined with free workouts from fitnessblender.com have drastically improved my body and health over the past few years. Sometimes I also buy their cheap programs where they populate a calendar for you with the free workouts.

Trip to Antarctica and Santorini. I still enjoy the memories years later.

Leesa hybrid mattress and a bedframe from Article.com. Plus nice sheets. Great sleep and my bedroom makes me happy.

I finally bought a house that I really love instead of all the other places where I've lived that were fine, but sacrificed things that actually do make me happy. I enjoy the house and I enjoy the feeling of being finally settled, i.e., not wanting to upgrade to something better someday.

[BradminOxt19]

Best money I ever spent was a nice house with a nice view.  Enjoyed the crap out of it, and then sold it for way more than I was expecting, over $100k tax free profit.

Next best money ever spent was the next house I moved to. :)

[BradminOxt19]

My Dyson V8 Animal vacuum cleaner. It cost over $250, making it 5X more than any other vacuum I've ever owned. I live in the country and have pets, so I had become used to everything being covered with dust and fur. No more! It's so light and easy to use and has a ton of attachments. I never thought I'd see the day I would become the woman who vacuums every day. But then again I never thought I'd see the day my house was clean every day too. Major game changer!

Every time someone makes a post extolling the virtues of this thing, I get closer to buying one. @Us2bCool , you are leading me down a dangerous path! :)

I've bought Dyson vacuum cleaner before and it died after 6 months of light use.  I'm not sure what the hype is around Dyson vacs.  I returned mine to CostCo and bought a much cheaper vacuum that is still going strong 1 year later.

[LennStar]

Dyson has it's fame simply for the sound and that you can look at it working.
I actually think it has been totally China-ised? Like belongs to Chinese company and sells only China produced?

Installed two Toto bidets  a few months ago.  I think it might be the best purchase I've made in many years.  Heated, self cleaning, with a dryer -- I feel like a freaking king.  Huge savings on toilet paper was worth it alone.  Now I see why these are so popular in Europe and Asia.

I don't think Europe is correct (I know no private household who has one). And Asia I guess many are still not on that financial level even.

Also I would strongly suspect that the water and electricity is a lot more expensive than the paper ;) Which doesn't change that it is one of the most cost effect QoL thing you can do.

[Metalcat]

I finally bought a house that I really love instead of all the other places where I've lived that were fine, but sacrificed things that actually do make me happy. I enjoy the house and I enjoy the feeling of being finally settled, i.e., not wanting to upgrade to something better someday.

Argh. This one torments me.

Our last home was very nice, more than nice enough for us, and a really good investment, but it was never what I wanted, and I was always dreaming about moving on.

We moved about a year and a half ago into our "dream" home and it's been amazing to have no urge to ever leave. I love it so much. DH and I both still marvel at how great it is living here.

Conveniently for us, our dream home is tiny and cheap, so that really worked out for us financially.

[HBFIRE]

I don't think Europe is correct (I know no private household who has one). And Asia I guess many are still not on that financial level even.

Also I would strongly suspect that the water and electricity is a lot more expensive than the paper ;) Which doesn't change that it is one of the most cost effect QoL thing you can do.

Interesting, in my travels to Europe and Asia I came across them quite often.  Maybe not as popular as I thought, but certainly much more prevalent than USA.  I was surprised how many public and hotel restrooms had them, which simply doesn't exist in the US.  Edit: Apparently they are widely popular in Italy, France, Portugal, Japan, Argentina, and Venezuela, and Southeast Asia (not so popular in Northern Europe).  Per wikipedia: Bidets are common bathroom fixtures in many southern European countries, especially Italy, where they are found in 97% of households (the installation of a bidet in a bathroom has been mandatory since 1975), Spain, and Portugal (installation is mandatory also since 1975). Additionally, they are rather widespread, although not standard, in France, and within Europe are often found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, and Greece.

Regarding water costs, actually its extremely minimal.  A washlet only uses 1/8th of a gallon per use, less than you use washing your hands -- the average toilet uses about four gallons per flush, so you're increasing your toilet water use by 3%.  Of course it will take a couple years to recoup the initial cost, but I'm okay with that!

[zolotiyeruki]

I don't think Europe is correct (I know no private household who has one). And Asia I guess many are still not on that financial level even.

Also I would strongly suspect that the water and electricity is a lot more expensive than the paper ;) Which doesn't change that it is one of the most cost effect QoL thing you can do.

Regarding water costs, actually its extremely minimal.  A washlet only uses 1/8th of a gallon per use, less than you use washing your hands -- the average toilet uses about four gallons per flush, so you're increasing your toilet water use by 3%.  Of course it will take a couple years to recoup the initial cost, but I'm okay with that!

Point of order: The standard for US toilets has been 1.6 gallons per flush since 1994.  Your point about the bidet increasing water use very marginally is still valid, though.

[Alternatepriorities]

I don't think Europe is correct (I know no private household who has one). And Asia I guess many are still not on that financial level even.

Also I would strongly suspect that the water and electricity is a lot more expensive than the paper ;) Which doesn't change that it is one of the most cost effect QoL thing you can do.

Regarding water costs, actually its extremely minimal.  A washlet only uses 1/8th of a gallon per use, less than you use washing your hands -- the average toilet uses about four gallons per flush, so you're increasing your toilet water use by 3%.  Of course it will take a couple years to recoup the initial cost, but I'm okay with that!

Point of order: The standard for US toilets has been 1.6 gallons per flush since 1994.  Your point about the bidet increasing water use very marginally is still valid, though.

I love that there are other people on this forum who have misc. numbers like this stuck in their heads too.

[Mgmny]

Dyson has it's fame simply for the sound and that you can look at it working.
I actually think it has been totally China-ised? Like belongs to Chinese company and sells only China produced?

Installed two Toto bidets  a few months ago.  I think it might be the best purchase I've made in many years.  Heated, self cleaning, with a dryer -- I feel like a freaking king.  Huge savings on toilet paper was worth it alone.  Now I see why these are so popular in Europe and Asia.

I don't think Europe is correct (I know no private household who has one). And Asia I guess many are still not on that financial level even.

Also I would strongly suspect that the water and electricity is a lot more expensive than the paper ;) Which doesn't change that it is one of the most cost effect QoL thing you can do.

I found bidets common in my travels to Italy and France. Not ubiquitous, no, but not uncommon in hotels/museums/restaurants. In the USA, they are in exactly 0 hotels/museums/restaurants in the entire country.

In Italy they were not the fancy water jet kind, but the standalone kind, which i still cannot figure out. In France we saw the fancy toilet seats and there were a few wall-mounted sprayer hoses.

Just my experience though. We have 2 tushy bidets (no hot water or electricity near my toilets for fancier versions), and i am a true believer in the bidet. I promise you that they save you money. Google tells me that i should be spending $10 on toilet paper a month per person. There is 0% chance i am spending $10 a month on water for my bidet. Where i live, i get about 3 gallons of water per penny. So even if i use a gallon of water a day in my bidet, at the end of the month i am spending $0.30. I promise you i'm not using 1 gallon a day on my bidet. Maybe 10% of a gallon. Maybe. So, my bidet's water use is less than a quarter a month. That leaves me with $9.75 leftover from my toilet paper usage. My bidets don't consume electricity, but $9.75 of electricity leaves me with 81 kWh of electricity in my state. My warm water humidifier draws 400watts. In other words, I can boil water constantly for 1 hour, and it costs me 0.4 kWh. So assuming that my warm water humidifier heats water at the same use that a bidet would (which is a stretch, because i don't want 212F water spraying my asshole), my bidet would need to be boiling water for 202 hours to make up the $9.75. That's a lot of time on the throne!!

So no. Bidets do not cost even a FRACTION of the cost of toilet paper.

[MoseyingAlong]

I found bidets common in my travels to Italy and France. Not ubiquitous, no, but not uncommon in hotels/museums/restaurants. In the USA, they are in exactly 0 hotels/museums/restaurants in the entire country.

Not so fast.
Some Sapp Brothers Truck Stops have bidets. I think the one in Council Bluffs. Don't remember them in Omaha.

[LennStar]

Google tells me that i should be spending $10 on toilet paper a month per person.

WHUUTT???

WTF have you asked google? Toilet paper prices for Neumeyer III (Antartica)?

I am quite sure I have paid less than 10 dollar for the whole last year!


And yes, you find bedets in hotels a lot more. Actually I have to correct myself: I know one private household with one, but that guy build a huge house (for Germany) and lived most of his childhood in New Zealand, so that may influence that.

[Mgmny]

I found bidets common in my travels to Italy and France. Not ubiquitous, no, but not uncommon in hotels/museums/restaurants. In the USA, they are in exactly 0 hotels/museums/restaurants in the entire country.

Not so fast.
Some Sapp Brothers Truck Stops have bidets. I think the one in Council Bluffs. Don't remember them in Omaha.

At a truck stop?!?!?! That is wild to me. That would be the last place I would imagine them!

I guess I'm hanging around the wrong truck stops.

[Mgmny]

Google tells me that i should be spending $10 on toilet paper a month per person.

WHUUTT???

WTF have you asked google? Toilet paper prices for Neumeyer III (Antartica)?

I am quite sure I have paid less than 10 dollar for the whole last year!


And yes, you find bedets in hotels a lot more. Actually I have to correct myself: I know one private household with one, but that guy build a huge house (for Germany) and lived most of his childhood in New Zealand, so that may influence that.

Americans like their TP I guess? Not sure what to tell you. Here's a link (though it includes paper towels and napkins too): https://www.statista.com/statistics/305513/us-expenditure-on-cleansing-and-toilet-tissue-paper-towels-and-napkins/

[Adventine]

Don't you guys see... Americans need so much toilet paper because they don't have bidets...

I've had to deal with non-bidet equipped toilets so I know. I KNOW.

[ohio4life]

Bidet: I couldn't agree more on this one. I have had a few retrofit style bidet attachments. They have been great, but cleaning them is a bit of a challenge. I still utilize one that is integrated into a replacement seat and is great. I'm slowly DIYing my master bath. It's a work in progress as I went beyond stud and redid the layout and plumbing locations. My one splurge item in the bathrooms is going to be a Toto Washlet (electric required for heating and other features). It'll be years before I can say if that was worth it or not.

Bikes: I have a 15 year old 600 dollar Specialized Allez road bike that I have probably put another 600 into it over the years and it is still great. I can't imagine replacing it, but I do want an electric bike too.

[Alternatepriorities]

At the risk of derailing the thread.

The least enjoyable part of taking a shower is putting on my clothes (especially underwear) before I'm 100% completely dry.

I've only used a bidet when there was no TP and hated it (see above). Does this not bother everyone who is praising them here? I've seen fancy bidets that also offer an air dry option, but based on how well most hand dryers work I wouldn't expect great results.

[HBFIRE]

I've only used a bidet when there was no TP and hated it (see above). Does this not bother everyone who is praising them here? I've seen fancy bidets that also offer an air dry option, but based on how well most hand dryers work I wouldn't expect great results.

Dryer works extremely well, and usually yes you do use a small piece of paper to dry.   Bidets are amazing, will never go back.

[LennStar]

Don't you guys see... Americans need so much toilet paper because they don't have bidets...

I've had to deal with non-bidet equipped toilets so I know. I KNOW.

Nah, it's because of the meal portions sizes. What goes in needs to come out!

[Adventine]

At the risk of derailing the thread.

The least enjoyable part of taking a shower is putting on my clothes (especially underwear) before I'm 100% completely dry.

I've only used a bidet when there was no TP and hated it (see above). Does this not bother everyone who is praising them here? I've seen fancy bidets that also offer an air dry option, but based on how well most hand dryers work I wouldn't expect great results.

I've just been struck by a revelation about all the bidet naysayers here.

It's not bidet OR toilet paper. It's bidet AND toilet paper. I would absolutely hate being obliged to use only a bidet.

Here are my steps:

1. Bodily function on the toilet
2. Allow a minute or two to drip
3. Bidet. Nice and gentle.
4. Allow another minute or two to drip. Shimmy a bit, if you have to, to shake off all the drops.
5. Use a bit of toilet paper to pat dry.
6. Ta-da! Nice happy clean bottom.

[Alternatepriorities]

At the risk of derailing the thread.

The least enjoyable part of taking a shower is putting on my clothes (especially underwear) before I'm 100% completely dry.

I've only used a bidet when there was no TP and hated it (see above). Does this not bother everyone who is praising them here? I've seen fancy bidets that also offer an air dry option, but based on how well most hand dryers work I wouldn't expect great results.

I've just been struck by a revelation about all the bidet naysayers here.

It's not bidet OR toilet paper. It's bidet AND toilet paper. I would absolutely hate being obliged to use only a bidet.

Here are my steps:

1. Bodily function on the toilet
2. Allow a minute or two to drip
3. Bidet. Nice and gentle.
4. Allow another minute or two to drip. Shimmy a bit, if you have to, to shake off all the drops.
5. Use a bit of toilet paper to pat dry.
6. Ta-da! Nice happy clean bottom.

Thanks @Adventine, I'll keep that in mind next time I see one.

[Alternatepriorities]

On topic again.

Noise cancelling Airpods. They really make a difference when trying to focus while sharing a space with someone who needs to spend significant time on the phone and they also work great when I am on the phone and need my hands. 

[better late]

Best purchase ever: Blood Pressure Monitor

Having those readings in hand got us out the door to the ER where they saved DH’s life/prevented a major stroke.

Many years later both DH and Monitor are doing great.

[achvfi]

Best purchase ever: Blood Pressure Monitor

Having those readings in hand got us out the door to the ER where they saved DH’s life/prevented a major stroke.

Many years later both DH and Monitor are doing great.

Lifesaving! How did you know to check for BP in the situation?  Good for you.

[LennStar]

Best purchase ever: Blood Pressure Monitor

Having those readings in hand got us out the door to the ER where they saved DH’s life/prevented a major stroke.

Many years later both DH and Monitor are doing great.

Lifesaving! How did you know to check for BP in the situation?  Good for you.

I do a check once per week or so with my 25€ arm blood pressure monitor. Certainly worth it to know your normal levels and spot strange behavior if it happens. I had a stressy time 2 years ago and my pressure went above 160 on bad days. (Bad weather. I react quite strong to it but normally it is not above 135 in those cases.)

Doctor gave me a 24h thingy. Annoying, but everything was totally okay by that time (In our Socialism medicine you get it without additional costs, but you might wait up to 3 month until one is free if you aren't an emergency). Still right decision to let it check. There are some things where it's better to waste a bit of time and nerves just to be sure. Your heart certainly is one of them.

[SpaceCow]

The bidet was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread. I've been using a cheap, $40 generic no-name Chinese bidet attachment for nearly a year, and I can't think of any other purchase that has done more to improve my daily life.

[dignam]

Decent office chair. I have WFH for about 17 years and started with a pretty shitty office chair. DW got tired of my complaints and persuaded me to get a good chair about 10 years ago. What a change! The chair is a Herman Miller aeron.

I came here to post the same thing.  Recently spent about $300 on a nice office chair and it was worth every single penny.  Serta Arlington.  I spend a large amount of my day in this chair for work, school and gaming.

[dandypandys]

The bidet was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread. I've been using a cheap, $40 generic no-name Chinese bidet attachment for nearly a year, and I can't think of any other purchase that has done more to improve my daily life.

Ok this is not exactly what I had planned to do this morning while drinking my coffee- researching Bidet Attachments! LOL
 Actually a lot are around 40 bucks. But can't decide if I need one, if I want one,  or if it will be a nightmare mess- like some of the one star reviews say. Granted those are only 2% of the 20000 reviews. Both Bio bidet and Luxe have some of the messy water going everywhere comments.

[Much Fishing to Do]

Best purchase ever: Blood Pressure Monitor

Having those readings in hand got us out the door to the ER where they saved DH’s life/prevented a major stroke.

Many years later both DH and Monitor are doing great.

Lifesaving! How did you know to check for BP in the situation?  Good for you.

I do a check once per week or so with my 25€ arm blood pressure monitor. Certainly worth it to know your normal levels and spot strange behavior if it happens. I had a stressy time 2 years ago and my pressure went above 160 on bad days. (Bad weather. I react quite strong to it but normally it is not above 135 in those cases.)

Doctor gave me a 24h thingy. Annoying, but everything was totally okay by that time (In our Socialism medicine you get it without additional costs, but you might wait up to 3 month until one is free if you aren't an emergency). Still right decision to let it check. There are some things where it's better to waste a bit of time and nerves just to be sure. Your heart certainly is one of them.

Agreed.  I had high (but not high enough yet to want medication) bp when I would check it during the rare drug store trip, ran in the family (even with the extremely healthy family members), so no surprises there.  I was having some bad days at work after which I would just feel physically unwell.  I would think a path of Ton of stress TO feeling unwell made sense, but got one of these things and on a whim checked my bp at the end of a couple of those days and it helped me figure out the actual cause/effect path was more ton of stress TO spiking bp TO feeling unwell.  Had no idea, and now I know.

[snic]

Bose SleepBuds. They fit in your ear comfortably so you can sleep on your side. They play white noise and relaxing sounds (but unfortunately not music). They've been the best $300 I've spent in my life because they drown out my spouse's snoring (or 90% of it - they aren't perfect).

A LifeSpan treadmill desk. More accurately, a LifeSpan treadmill that I set up with an adjustable wall-mounted shelf to use as a treadmill desk. Sitting is the new smoking, and I quit "smoking."

An Instant Pot. Homemade yogurt is delicious! And way cheaper than buying it.

An immersion blender. Creamy soup in seconds without having to transfer it to a blender.

A single-serve coffee maker that uses regular ground coffee, not those stupid expensive pods. The brand is Hamilton Beach.  I think $25 or $30 on Amazon. It has a genius double-screen filterless system so there's no need to buy filters either. Since no one else in the house drinks coffee, this is perfect. (People on Amazon complain that it leave sludge in the coffee. Well, the very last sip is sludge and that's it. Maybe don't drink the last sip?)