When I was seven-years-old, I decided to use my allowance to buy one of those disposable cameras. It was less than $10, and my life was never the same!
Since I was so young, I wasn’t allowed to use my dad’s Nikon, in case I dropped it, so I never understood the joy he got from taking pictures until I got my own camera. Once I took my first photograph, I never stopped.
Now, I’m the one who gets pictorial evidence of special events or documents family trips. I’m the one who makes sure memories are preserved, and I love it.
You never know what purchase is going to be life-changing, but chances are, something was. Usually, these life-changing purchases aren’t even that expensive.
Curious about this or perhaps hoping for a recommendation, Redditor stampoutreality asked:
“What life-changing item can you buy for less than a hundred dollars?”
Kept Me In Food
"Rice Cooker. That kept me fed during covid when I barely had the energy to get out of bed"
– ArkadyKirilenko
"Chinese families know this. Got addicted when I married into one. We keep soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar around for condiments."
– ihbarddx
For A Good Night's Sleep
"A good pillow"
– wilsonianuk
"Completely changes the way you sleep am I right?"
"I had trouble for months getting good sleep, brought a under pillow and a memory pillow for the top and I swear a nuke could go off and I'd just sleep through it."
– viking_raider94
To Heal
"First aid kit. They are handy when you least want them to be."
– ThePhoenixBird2022
"My family is very outdoorsy, and my grandpa was a medic in the National Guard. He always stressed having a basic first aid kit wherever you go, and making sure to throw out anything that’s expired. That bag has more mileage than my grandpa’s ‘55 Chevy lol"
– IllurinatiL
"Exactly, you never want to need it but when you keep it handy it turns form a minor inconvenience to have near you to a potential literal lifesaver."
– MrPers0n30
"Yep. My freshman year of college I used lots of band aids on myself and my floor mates, and once had a girl come to my apartment at 2am to splint her broken hand until she could get to the doctor in the morning as she couldn’t go to the ER."
"Ironically I didn’t have it the day I ended up in a serious biking accident and had a nasty head injury. The off duty EMT who found me had a first aid kit with him and did more to actually treat me then the crew that showed up in the ambulance."
– IronDominion
Caught It On Camera
"A decent dash cam. I scoffed at the idea of a dashcam for years. A friend told me to try it out and it helped me out when I got in an accident a couple years back."
– Froggy-of-the-butt
"I keep thinking about getting a dash cam, but I also have an irrational fear that as soon as I get one I'll really need it like I'm tipping probability somehow."
– RomanSeraphim
Protect Yourself
"Condoms"
– DucoNdona
"Not buying them would be more life changing"
– rippin12000
"An even cheaper birth control method is to tell your potential mate how you spend 8 hours a day on reddit. Works every time."
– FartingBob
Arthur Said It Best
"A library card--free if you live in the library's district, a fee if you are a non-resident. So many resources for self improvement and growth...and so many free alternatives to paid services."
– TheSanityInspector
"Hot tip: Librarians want you to have a card, so they are very often willing to very liberally interpret the requirements to prove that you are in district."
– TrineonX
"Having fun isn’t hard, when you’ve got a library card!"
– psiv92
Can We Fix It?
"Basic tool set."
"A little youtube/Google work, a $100 worth of tools and you'd be amazed at the things you can fix on your car, around the house, etc."
"Bonus points if you're a man - chicks dig dudes that are handy"
"Bonus points if you're a woman - dudes dig chicks that can turn wrenches with them"
"Everyone wins!"
– 86Logs
"people love people who can handle their own sh*t**"
– granth1993
Once You Grind, You Never Go Back
"Pepper grinder. Seriously I will never use regular pepper again"
– Deleted User
"Same goes for coffee!"
– realityGrtrThanUs
"Recently got a salt/pepper grinder set and bulk peppercorn medley and pink Himalayan salt off Amazon and it’s been a great decision. We also buy bulk dried Thai bird chilies and grind our own for spice at home."
–swimsuitsamus
Run, Run, Fast As You Can
"Running shoes."
"Can easily get a quality, long-lasting and versatile pair under 100."
"Running can have such a massive positive effect for anyone struggling with their mental health I can’t recommend it enough."
– forreverendgreen_
"Been running a mile a day for the last few months. It may have unnoticed benefits to my mental health outside of the time spent running, but on a conscious level it's brought nothing but misery - whether hating the act of running itself to the tiredness that follows."
"I hope someday to feel the mythical runner's high. So far it feels more like a kick in the gut."
– texanarob
"Blackout curtains"
– Ny_Mike27
"Every time I date a guy and spend the first night over the next morning I’m always like “we gotta get some black out curtains for this room.” Knew I met the love of my life when he already had them lol"
– AndyJCohen
"I'm going to ask for this for Christmas."
"Here in the UK especially in the north, it can get sunny from about 4AM onwards in summer"
– Peniche1997
All of these are totally justified, but that last one is definitely the best!
People Divulge The Most Life-Changing Items You Can Buy For Under $100
Sometimes a new purchase will have way more of an affect on our lives than we expected and, a lot of times, it's not the really expensive items that have the biggest impact.
Something like an air fryer making dinner faster and easier to cook can give you back a lot of time that you might otherwise have spent cooking, and that time adds up fast.
Redditor KingPin1010 asked:
"What life changing item can you buy for less than $100?"
More Screens
"Another monitor."
"Your productivity will increase dramatically."
- ItsTribeTimeNow
"I have 3. But maybe you are right..."
- TJonesyNinja
"There's never enough monitors."
- Account Deleted
Greenery
"House plants. They will make you happy looking after them. I recently bought a venus fly trap, she caught her first fly today. So proud."
- ManonastickUk
"This is so wholesome I could die."
"I started keeping and growing plants and herbs, and just not killing them feels like such a huge accomplishment. Seeing a new sprout is like a celebration."
"Now I understand why people have graduations for kindergarten."
- NeckroFeelyAck
"Feed me Seymour!!!"
- ManKittie
Hungry Feed Me GIFGiphyQuackers
"Two pet ducks. You may be tempted to go for one. But trust me. You need two. And you’ll have about $76 left over."
- duckmama89
"They don't tell you this in school, but the ducks in the park are free..."
- IntroDucktory_Clause
"Ducks are free in the pond near my house. They’re tricky to catch but worth it in the end."
- HerNameIsGrief
More Than Just Rice
"Rice cooker. That f**ker kept me fed during depression when I barely had the energy to get out of bed. Takes less than nothing to get some rice in there and flip the switch. Want something sweet? Throw coconut and sugar in there. Want flavor but can’t be f**ked to make anything? Get some Spanish rice or saffron goin. You can throw tofu in there with it if you need. Yeah it’s not the best for you but hot food is better than no food."
- HotTopicMallRat
"Cooking old fashioned oats in the rice cooker has become a winter tradition in our family. The texture of the oats is fantastic. The kids and I pick and dry fruits in the warmer months to use in oatmeal during the winter months."
- DameLibrio
Best Use For A Buck
"I bought a $1 back scratcher from an asian market in town. Best $1 I ever spent."
- matthewsmazes
"My boyfriend came home from work one day raving about this back scratcher his boss had. I thought it was the dumbest thing. A few days later he comes home and says he found the same one at a gas station for $8. I rolled my eyes thinking who needs a back scratcher for $8. It’s the best thing ever. It looks like a little metal skeleton hand and it’s extendable."
- pepperedcitrus
Tea With Ease
"If you have trouble getting up or functioning in the morning, and like a nice cup of coffee or tea, an electric kettle with a timer can be a real game-changer. Or just getting an electric kettle if you don't have one."
- zazzlekdazzle
"An electric kettle with a thermometer will up your tea game by leagues."
- Psychological_Tear_6
dolly parton tea GIF by London Theatre DirectGiphySo Snuggly
"A king sized blanket for a queen sized bed."
- ImHere4theFunnies
"I got a king for a double bed. Best decision ever! The double sheets fit the bed, but I couldn't snuggle completely under them without curling up. Now. I can hide completely under the duvet stretched out. Best thing ever in the winter!"
- Zanki
"If I pull the covers completely over myself the boogeyman can’t find me."
- apgeorge69
Save Your Shins, And Your Eyes
"Motion sensor night lights. Can’t tell you how many stubbed toes or falls they have prevented. Also a cheap intruder alarm."
- epanek
"Get a motion activated toilet bowl light. They're amazing. Don't kill your eyes in the middle of the night when you gotta pee."
- Onlythegoodstuff17
"Relatedly, a dimmer switch for the bathroom. Works in the middle of the night, as well as early mornings, as you can gradually increase the brightness to match your current tolerance for the world."
- Cimarro
Support Your Cranium
"May sound simple, but a good pillow. It is amazing the change in body aches, and sleep you see when you have a good pillow that fits you."
- shartnado3
"I thought that I liked memory foam and other fancy pillows, but the real life changer for me was a buckwheat pillow. I have sleep apnea, and it allows me to get my head into the perfect position and keep it there comfortably."
"Before you go out and buy one, please research the pro's and cons. They aren't for everyone."
"Consider them if you like a firmer pillow, occasionally wake up with an achey neck from lack of support, and want a pillow that breathes well. Someone in the comments has also pointed out that you will win every pillow fight you get into."
"Downsides are: if you shift around in your sleep a lot, you'll need to adjust the pillow to fit your new position. Adjusting the pillow and settling in makes a little bit of noise as the buckwheat husks rub against each other, kind of like dry leaves crinkling. Some people are also allergic to buckwheat, but there are other similar fillings such as millet husks. Organic fillings also need to be replaced once in a while, since it breaks down over time.
- Phosphero
Make Your Mornings Easier
"Step 1: Throw away all your socks.
Step 2: Buy 3-5 packages of the same sock.
Step 3: Enjoy a life without ever having to match socks again."
- slykly2
"OMG!! I thought I was the only one that did this. My husband and kids make fun of me but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. One gets a hole, throw it out and move on. No worries about finding the mate and getting rid of the pair. No matching socks when doing laundry. No worrying about wearing two different socks at the same time (sorry, my OCD won’t let me do this). This makes my life so much easier!'
- turtlefreak23
It doesn't take a $1,000 new toy or appliance to make a big difference in your life. Sometimes it's something like a $10 water bottle you found on sale that makes drinking water easier and more fun that makes the biggest improvement.
Working in a corporate environment is not for everyone. Some people thrive in them, others (like me) wilt and start to slowly unravel mentally. But what about those companies who pride themselves on their "alternative" corporate culture? We've all heard about companies that let you bring pets or have slides between floors, but even that isn't enough to keep some people there.
One Reddit user asked:
Redditors who left companies that non-stop talk about their amazing "culture", what was the cringe moment that made you realize you had to get out?
The answers are, honestly, kind of killing our hope that any corporate environment can really be different from the others. Having said that, it's also making us really thankful that we can write this article from our sofa while slamming guac and wearing no pants.
#PantsAreLegPrisons
Some responses have been edited for content/clarity.
H/T: Reddit