tell me the last thing you bought for under $50 that radically improved your life.

@kevin common reading glasses from a department store https://www.hema.nl/search?q=leesbrillen

@kevin Wilderness permits for my kids and I to backpack 5 days in the Sierras before they went to college.

@kevin breadknife

@Abmart345

Mine cost me nearly $40 (you lucky stiff) but yeah, I keep coming back to it... I've had my Gen2 (safe plastic) 'Press for over a decade now, still going...

@kevin

@kevin I think they were _right at_ $50, but: Bicycle gloves, winter-style. They're almost mittens, but the index finger is free, so you can still do stuff like mess with your ebike's boost level, the other three fingers are together for warmth (and frankly, I haven't noticed my index finger being noticeably cooler), the "mitten" part is covered with SEE ME green on the back so folks behind me can easily see me signalling for a turn, and it means when I have to run out in a slushy mix to get meds for somebody who's sick, _I'm_ not frozen-handedly miserable at the end of the ride... Definite radical improvement.

Oh, along those lines: a GoreTex "cap" for my bike helmet. My helmet is _well ventilated_, as in summer months I get warm easily, but the rest of the year, I want to keep the wind and rain OUT... it just pops on the helmet like a shower cap. WARM. (Sometimes I'll take it off to go in the store, so the vents are open, and then pop it back on when I get back to the bike... it's that easy.)

And I'll second the emotion of (a) Aeropress and (b) kitchen scale... I've actually got two of the latter, a bigger gram-accurate scale for weighing bigger things (flour, rice, broth, tomatoes, the like) and a tenth-gram-accurate one for coffee, yeast, salt, etc... which also has a timer in it for brewing coffee... no faffing about with separate gadgets when trying to make one's brew... you _can_ spend way more than $50 for one of these things, fully-integrated Bluetooth webfangled whatchamacalits, but those folks are way more serious about their coffee than me...

@kevin an Auracast Bluetooth transmitter for £40. Now I can share the audio from my Chromebook with my family whilst watching videos on long train journeys.

@kevin
a tiny dustpan the right size for catching crumbs off the counter

@kevin Shelled out for personalized Filofax inserts, really helps me keep focus. Also, there is a company here that helps farmers process and earn income from produce that would otherwise be thrown away (think damaged fruit, contracts that weren't honoured by processors etc.) You subscribe for 50 euro and get a big box with all the stuff. Bloody wholesome!

@exlibrarykris @kevin Agreed! Can't live without my pill box.

@kevin A Garmin step tracker.

@kevin coffee bean canister with vacuum seal. Morning coffee always tastes amazing.

@kevin rechargeable, heated winter gloves. no more numb fingies.

@kevin anti-fog shower mirror that actually works as described. Improved my whole morning routine.

@kevin@theforkiverse.com Spanish visa.

@kevin milk frother. Eggnog lattes every morning during the holidays is where it’s at.

@kevin
Kagi search (per month)

@kevin electric kettle!

@kevin@theforkiverse.com
a cat
Adopted for free
Thus she isn’t a “thing”, is my cat

@kevin grain filled socks/shoes that can be heated in the microwave.

@kevin a shoehorn made out of metal instead of shitty plastic