What are the best, lasting quality of life improvements you could get for $500 in total?

bidet bidet bidet bidet bidet bidet bidet

theyre like 20 bucks on amazon if u own a toilet highly recommend this is the shit i got (im sure theres more ethcial places to buy this shit idk)

https://www.amazon.com/SAMSICHI-Attachment-Retractable-Cleaning-Existing/dp/B0C56SCBM4

high key if you have hard water i had a problem where my water nozzle stopped automatically retracting after like 1.5 years bc of mineral buildup but it was 20 bucks so i cant be too disappointed so i guess not too lasting but idk maybe ill buy a more expensive one next time

you could probably soak it in some strong acid to remove the limescale, or spray it regularly with something like vinegar or lemon juice.
- thanks for the rec, i'll try that out
  im p sure what happened is that the limescale filled the bottom of the nozzle giving it just enough weight that it stays down with the water pressure off. i'll try soaking that bit in vinegar and pray it doesn't melt the plastic too much lmao
bidet bidet bidet bidet bidet

A good pair of shoes, especially if you're on your feet a lot. Your body will thank you now and in the future for spending a couple hundred bucks on a pair of good quality shoes. It depends on what you're doing but I do most of my running around in ASICS and I can feel the difference if I wear almost anything else. There are good choices in Brooks, Saucony, New Balance, and Mizuno as well

Agreed. I usually wear On. I know a ton of people love Hoka (I think they're ugly). But my MIL has really bad hip/knee/ankle issues and she has to be on her feet for work all day. Hoka was a life saver when she found them

Depends entirely on what you have. I'd say a used eReader and a VPN is one of the absolute best bang for your buck entertainment methods, but you can get by with your phone for reading if you don't read much. An Aeropress is fantastic for those who like coffee and don't have anything for making it. A good pillow, socks, shoes, and underwear goes a very long way, as does a comfy hoodie and sweatpants for lounging. Most of these can be quite inexpensive. If you're vegan, a good quality blender is night and day for making sauces and creams, milks, etc, or even a gym membership or set of dumbells can be massive for your fitness goals if you have any, along with a scale for you and a scale for food if this is something you personally want to do. No personal responsibility bullshit.

Try to think of what's missing from your life, any habits you wish you had to supplement your life or any you think need improvement, and go from there! This answer varies from person to person.

A nice chair

Secondhand Herman Miller Aeron 🗣️🗣️🗣️
- Are they good? I remember they used to advertise so heavily on NPR that I figured they were not.
- Secondhand Herman Miller anything. Or steelcase.
  Herman Miller Aeron. Herman Miller Embody. Herman Miller Mirra. Steelcase Gesture. Steelcase Leap.
  A good chair is a huge quality of life improvement if you're an office worker or PC gamer.
Especially if you spend large amounts of time sitting at a desk. Nice chair helps soooo much
- On the same kind of note, a mattress and good quality linens, or blackout blinds and a humidifier. Anything that improves your sleep is huge.

I'm gonna approach this question a different way and assume a situation where you're living out of a car or on someone's couch. A kind of basic kit for stuff that isn't a revolving good like food or hygiene products.

Basic, versatile wardrobe from thrift stores. Try to find high quality brands. If you're in a mixed climate this will be more expensive and you have to think in terms of layers. For places without much seasonal change, you can afford more variety. You can buy new for socks and underwear.
Comfortable footwear that will protect you from water. Walking will be your main mode of transport.
Tools like a knife, flashlight, a small mess kit (spoon, fork, cup/bowl). Reusable water container that's easy to clean. Sewing kit.
Something that will keep you dry when spending extended periods in the rain. Probably a poncho over an umbrella. Something that fits over your body and pack.
Accessories like a hat and sunglasses for spending time in the sun. Throw in a couple bandanas.
A basic pre-paid phone that can do wifi calling and can run a web browser. A small notebook with blue and black pens. A sharpie.
Build a first-aid kit from scratch to maximize space/weight
A good bag to carry it all in, something that won't hurt your shoulders
Small grooming kit (comb, brush, scissors, mirror, nail clippers, file)

All this isn't completely necessary if you scrounge and scavenge a little more. You can leave out the mess kit and just take free silverware packs. Hotels usually have free note pads and pens. Churches and shelters may give out some grooming stuff and clothing.

A Phillips sonicare toothbrush and a bunch of the heads. Idk if any other "sonic" or electric toothbrushes are similarly effective but it's one of the few things I've bought in the last 10 years that I unequivocally recommend to everybody.

I always used to have one or two little problems when I would go to the dentist normally and ever since getting it I'm golden. When I have to go somewhere without it for a few days and take a regular toothbrush my mouth starts to feel disgusting.

electric toothbrushes are basically a duopoly between sonicare and oral-b, studies are equal for both. main difference between the two is that sonicare uses vibration and you brush normally with it, oral-b is more like a oscillating electric car buffer so you basically slide it over the teeth as it does the brushing motion. i prefer the oral-b after trying both only because the head is smaller and that helps me reach my back molars/wisdom teeth easier
only recommendation for buying one is that make sure it has a 4 quadrant timer and a pressure sensor that alerts you when you're brushing too hard, these are features usually in the 30-50 buck range, anything over that is giving you random phone app bullshit you dont need lmao
if you really, really wanna splurge on this shit i hear the new magnetic drive oral-b brushes are pretty good but they cost way too much for me to consider buying one
- I love the sonicare vibration and I can't imagine anything being better but your other contribution to this thread is my other unequivocal recommendation so you might be on to something.
- I definitely prefer the oscillation to the vibration.
- I think Xiaomi makes some electric toothbrushes but idk if they are any good.
I got one from a brand called Aquasonic a few years ago now and it's still going strong. It was about $30 and came with I think 12 extra brushes? Anyway, a great alternative to the more expensive brands imo.

solid knives and pots/pans for cooking. Good, big ones that will survive the fucking apocalypse.

a duffel or backpack that's tough as nails

We're stretching the budget now, but good sleeping bag too.
How do you tell if kitchenware is good quality?
- Look for brands that top restaurants use everyday like Made In
- Any cheap ass carbon steel skillet from a restaurant supply store will be completely fine and very durable. You don't need to buy 5-ply allclad stainless steel for everything, only for recipes that use the fond for a pan sauce really, or maybe recipes that require adding acidic ingredients early in cooking.
  If I had no pans I would get a carbon steel comal and a regular old stainless steel saucepan as my #1 and #2 and then probably get an Instant Pot for #3 so I can get those tasty tasty beans.
- Costs money, doesn't have any type of coating, isn't being sold door-to-door.
  Any of the 3+ ply stainless cookware from any brand these days is damn near indestructible. Same goes for cast iron if you're willing to take care of it.
  Nonstick cookware is, functionally, disposable cookware. It's gonna last a few years with great care, but will need to be replaced after X number of uses.
  Non-pan/knife kitchenware: stainless steel or glass, generally. Nylon or silicone for nonstick cookware.
  Knives: people have opinions about knives. For an average chef/not-knife-nerd, most of those opinions aren't going to make enough difference to be relevant. Decent steel for knives isn't particularly hard to come by. If you know how to chop veg and such, and find a knife that feels like it fits your hand well, you'll probably be fine. Find somewhere to have it sharpened periodically, learn to use a honing rod. Restaurant brands like victorinox, mercer culinary, dexter russell will do just fine if you know how to use a honing rod, and are very cheap at restaurant supply stores. Mid-range consumer-focused brands like Zwilling/Henckels or any cookware brand are generally fine. Fancy-pants knives like global/wusthof/shun are $$$$ and worthy of actual research and thought and hands-on time before buying.
  Nobody really needs a "knife set", at least not as seen on big box store shelves. Get a big honkin' chef's knife and a little paring knife and go from there.
  Stay away from serrated blades except for bread and maybe tomatoes; you're not gonna be able to do your own maintenance on them or really get them properly sharpened anywhere so they're in the same category as nonstick cookware.

frozen fruit is crazy cheap and the texture is much better than ice cubes+fresh fruit
and the frozen fruit is often riper than the fresh grocery store fruit

You could get a cheap pistol which could lead to several other lifestyle improvements if you used it well. Jokes aside I think for that ammount of money it depends on your local environment. I could say good cold weather gear but maybe you aren't in a place with cold weather. I could say a car tow hitch but you might not be in a place where people drive alot and you could save thousands by being able to tow friends cars. You could probably take a class in something and that be the thing I think. I dunno what things you are intrested in but that would be my vote.

If you have pets I highly recommend a robot vacuum. I have a Roomba brand one but other brands have decent ones too. Having a freshly vacuumed floor every day is sooo nice.

They do like 90% as good a job vacuuming as a person does but if you’re like me vacuuming more than twice a week feels like a lot, so 90% every day on a set schedule is better overall.

How well do those work around household clutter though?
I think I might be a pretty un-neat person...
- Depends on the clutter. Cables are the thing it really hates. Definitely helps to pick up the floor before you run it though, even if that’s just throwing stuff onto the nearest surface.
  Personally I found it just makes me less bad about leaving shit on the floor, something I used to be really bad about.
- Gotta take 5 mins to clear the floor before running it, yeah
- Fabrics, papers, cables, hair ties. Ask your self "will this slide under the roomba?" Or "will two spinning rollers or a spinning brush latch on to this?" Otherwise if the object is big enough or heavy enough it'll bounce off it or navigate around it.
Yeah I got one several months ago and can't live without it now. Not sure about any other brands, but the roborock maps your house and let's you set up schedules so it can do things like cleaning up around the litter box once an hour. It cleans the whole house before I wake up and stepping out onto freshly swept carpet every morning is amazing. Have a routine for after meals where it cleans the kitchen and around the dining table. But mostly yeah never stepping on litter again is amazing if you have a cat.
- The nicer/newer roomba brand ones do the same thing. I set it to do the living room and office before I wake up and then it does the bedroom while I’m at work, it’s great. It also does straight parallel vacuum lines on the floor, which is a small detail but is super nice.
Gotta agree. Especially if your place is tiles or hard floors. I got a second hand one like ten years ago and it’s still going, though I’ve had to fix it up and replace parts over the years. They’re literally perfect if you have pets tbh. Definitely a bougie option but a worthy one.
twice a week
What
- Are you saying you vacuum more or less often than that? Having a dog and two cats ideally I’d vacuum every day but I simply do not have the energy for that. Twice a week is me being good, once a week is probably what I do more often.

Products I own that I have gotten way more value out of than I expected:

Philips Norelco electric shaver- paid about $40 for it over 10 years ago and use it daily. Works just as well as new with annual razor changes (about $20).

Oral B electric toothbrush- the Sonicare toothbrush was previously mentioned in the replies and this is just the alternative I use. Again, over 10 years of daily use.

Inzer lever lifting belt- bought it for about $100 20(!!) years ago and I thought it was a pricy purchase for the time. Now I see it as an absolute bargain. I've been using this thing 3x a week for the past 20 years through thousands of squat sets and not one stitch on the leather is loose.

Instant Pot- I can't believe how much a simple pressure cooker has changed my life for the better but the time and money this saves me can not be understated. I've been using this nearly daily for the past 5 years and now consider it essential to my daily routine.

Foam roller- any dense foam roller will do. Mine was 20 bucks and will last a lifetime. Everyone can benefit from daily rolling.

A good knife, and you wouldn't need 590£.

Shoes or boots, as others have said.

A good solid power drill if you're like me.

Whatever you use every day, most of the day, get a real solid version of that. Shoes, bedding, office chair, anti fatigue mats, knives, tools.

Dental work, too, though idk how much 500$ will get you.

Good to see we both went for the joke of a sword being a good small business invesment

Clothes. When I was basically down to three pairs of pants that were going threadbare, a friend paid generously for a show I put on with my banjo. For $200 I managed to minimize the amount of trips to the laundry room and really feel good about how I looked.

Other things are kitchen appliances on the fritz and a good stock of convenience food should your burnout kick in too early.

For $200 I managed to minimize the amount of trips to the laundry room and really feel good about how I looked.
I'm just going to glom on to your comment to pass on some of the best advice I ever got: if you can afford it, buy enough socks and underwear that you only need to do laundry every 3-4 weeks. For the other stuff you can get away with wearing it multiple times, spot cleaning etc. Socks and underwear are the real limiting factor.
(This is especially for people who don't have in-home laundry and therefor must waste time to travel somewhere to do laundry and pay per load. And obviously YMMV depending on job, lifestyle, body, geography etc for the other clothes.)
It might sound crazy to spend $500 on underwear alone but consider the following that lets you get away with 3 weeks between laundries:

Utility Underwear $5-10/ea x 20 = $100 - $200 Utility Socks $5-10/ea x 20 = $100 - $200 Nice Socks $30/ea x 2-4 = $60 - $120 Nice Underwear $30/ea x 2-4 = $60 - $120 TOTAL Range ------------------------ = $360 - $640
This doesn't even account for bras, which for some people could spend $500 on alone. But if you have spare you can always get undershirts, long johns, stockings, jocks or whatever. And on top of that there are more specialized items some people need/want due to health or gender reasons.
If you have a stable housing/storage situation, and a moreorless stable ass size, you'll never regret having extra socks/underwear, or having extra good quality of either.

echoing others:

a comfortable pair of all weather shoes (rain and cold is a thing that happens where i am) that can be shined up to work in a formal setting. they aren't as great as they once where, but i got a newer pair of doc martens and they have been comfy and durable over the 100+ miles of walking i've done in the last 3 months. they come up higher on the ankle than the more formal docs i bought back in the late 90s, which are still great and comfortable. i'm sure there are nicer shoes/boots for the discerning customer, but i'm basic.
a bidet attachment for your toilet. it will probably pay for itself in saved toilet paper. there are cheapies for $20-30 which are totally great. for my second one i decided to dollar down and get a $50 one and it's magnificent, all high quality components made hooking it up a breeze.
an entry level, basic tier rice maker with steam tray. i got a 10 year old one secondhand Aroma like 6 years ago, and it still crushes. would i like an S-tier Zojirushi that sings to me and makes my rice most auspiciously? yes. but i am not upgrading until the Aroma shits the bed.
the lowest tier vitamix
instapot

i got a bidet seat from costco because i found a $150 gift card in my wallet when I was finally cleaning it out after many years.. i have no idea where the card came from or how i got it.. my partner doesn't know either. We decided a bidet might be cool to try and now I don't think we can go back to not having one.
- yeah, it's like of like trying dual monitors, except for b-hole hygiene.
Yes! Bidet! Wash your damn ass.

I don't think I saw it mentioned but here goes: A double edged safety razor.

Better shave, better for the environment, and cheaper in the long run. Just make sure you also get a razor blade disposal case and make sure those blades are safely recycled.

To add to this, once you are good with a double edged safety razor it’s better for your skin as well. Took me 4-5 shaves to get used to it and then I had zero cuts or redness post shave.
Also get a nice synthetic shaving brush and a block of vegan shaving soap and you’ll save a fortune, good shaving soap lasts a long time.
Finally get a alum block for post-shave skincare and if climate appropriate one for using as an anti-perspirant too.
And then congrats! You have a zero-waste daily skincare / hygiene routine.
- Hey, this is kind of embarrassing to admit but what is shaving soap and the brush used for? I tend to just use a regular ass skin cleanser and since I go clean shaven I never got a badger brush. Also the alum block sounds interesting.
  EDIT: Just googled it and it looks like it’s just shaving cream but better in literally every conceivable way and badger brushes are just how you put it on.
The bottom of the razor blade case usually has a place to dispose the blades.
I was going to write the exact same thing. Safety razor has saved me a lot of money.

If you cook and don't have a good knife, get a Victorinox Fibrox chef knife, preferably 7"ish, and an inexpensive whetstone. I use the back of a coarse leveling whetstone and a 1000/3000 grit combo whetstone. Neither should be above $20ish on Amazon. Use the knife especially to prepare vegetables and mince garlic and ginger.

A standard chef's knife is 8" and I think the fibrox only comes in 8" and 10"
- There's the 6" which is also very good and not expensive at all. I'd get the 8" over the 10" as a shorter blade means you have to do less sharpening.

Good shoes or good weather tolerant outdoor clothes like a rain jacket. When I had very little money, these I struggled to afford and often put aside the longest because I could not quite justify them to myself. But walking around in wet clothes and shoes is such misery.

Same with other basic stuff like a really good useful backpack, a good frying pan, something genuinely helpful for their home.

I suppose what matters is the type of person this is for. I for example got myself a secondhand home gym setup at the start of covid and it is in use still, has been a huge quality if life increase for a neurospicy introvert. Many say a robot vacuum is a really big help. My adult kid would love a dish washer if he could afford one.

Bonus: a body pillow, the best thing ever just for pure comfort.

I wanted to say a Playstation 5 but then I remembered it has no games to play

There are several categories, and I'll keep below $500 in each category. I marked stuff with a ^ that has been life-changing for me personally, although a lot of these things I've always had and couldn't imagine living without.

Kitchen stuff: Skillet, small saucepan, larger pan, big cutting board, chef's knife, baking pans (loaf, cake, large sheet), measuring spoons/cups, decent spatula or two, plus $20 in dishes and silverware from a thrift store. Use whatever durable lidded containers as fridge storage, and empty glass jars as cups (or also as storage). Pressure cooker, (more versatile than a crockpot) food processor (more versatile and reliable than a blender), and electric tea kettle^. Appliances might be pushing it close to 500, and there are more gadgets that you might want, depending on what you prefer making, but these are the basics to be able to cook most things yourself. Cooking instead of relying on pre-made food saves you hundreds of dollars a month, and opens up so much.

Transportation: A bicycle^ that fits you well, and if you have the space for it, a bike cart. Hybrid bikes are great but expensive, larger mountain bikes are suitable and versatile, road bikes are good if everywhere you want to go is 5+ miles away. If you can cycle places within an 8-mile radius (or 12 if road bike) on most days instead of driving, you'll save a lot of money, and it's effectively half a gym membership- the other effective half is a yoga mat and maybe a pair of free weights. For everything that's outside the range of cycling, a bus/metro pass.

Tools: A drill, circular saw, screwdriver set, allen wrench set, claw hammer, adjustable wrench, needle-nose pliers, multitool, whetstone, plenty of duct tape and WD-40.

Furnishings: A decent mattress, box springs, and bed frame that's high enough to put storage totes underneath, plus those storage totes. An adjustable desk chair, and a spacious desk^ that you're neither straining at nor crunched over. A large table that can fit a lot of people around it, or a sizable project on top of it. Windowsill plants, for either air quality or herbs. A foldable stool. The more familiar you are with the tools, the more of this you can make yourself.

Terminal: A computer case that will fit all the hardware you'll ever need, and that you can run Linux on. A good-sized screen, keyboard and mouse and webcam, and a printer/scanner.

Clothing: A really good winter coat (with plenty of pockets), a decent rainproof windbreaker, a wicking layer/long johns^, a pair of rain pants, a good pair of work boots. At least 2 sets of dress clothes or semi-formal wear, because having a good-looking outfit gives you a real self-esteem boost. At least one set of really sturdy clothes that you don't mind getting dirty and worn. If you learn to sew and get yourself a sewing machine, you can make a lot of custom clothing, which is especially important if it's hard to find the right fit. Plus you save a lot of money and get a concrete kind of ownership that money can't buy.

Gear: A tent^ - unless you can never see yourself or any guests camping. A hand cart/dolly^ because there will be things too bulky or heavy to carry or move. A portable first aid kit, and a larger one for your home. A wireless speaker^{. If you're musically inclined, your own instrument, plus a music stand and amp and even bigger speakers. A couple lamps} for lower levels of light at night, or candles if that's your thing.

Miscellaneous (depending on your location and lifestyle, either absolutely essential or useless): A dehydrator, if you do food or seed or specimen preservation. A weighted blanket, if it makes a big enough difference. A water filter/purifier if you don't trust the water district or your pipes. If you have long and/or thick hair, a hair dryer. If you're in a humid climate, a dehumidifier^ (food spoils slower, clothes won't get mildew, deters some pests).

Gonna jump on to the bicycle recommendation.

Use it for all of your transportation needs (I bus or Lyft when biking is not feasible) and you'll save oodles of money that you can use to grab other items from this thread eventually.

Glasses

My list could be some mix and match, or you could spend $500 on each.

Shoes/boots

Proper bedding/a good pillow

Percussive massage gun

A good office chair or your most frequent seating

Ergonomic keyboard and mouse

Pressure cooker

A cordless vacuum

Air fryer

A good dog or cat

A ~50$ handheld steam cleaner goes a long way.

If doing dry herb, a ball vape.

Headlamp.

Massage gun can be great, anecdotes aside, worth considering.

I gotta say, my ex got a theragun and I was addicted to that thing. Smashing your IT band with that thing after a hard day on your feet feels incredible. I actually get to the point where my legs ache so much I can’t sleep at night, it was amazing using it before bed.
headlamp headlamp headlamp. 18650 battery headlamp, warm white, and a charger.

Speed

Depending on your location and infrastructure, a decent bicycle (and safety gear!).

Free transport, good exercise, very little that can go wrong with it that you can't fix yourself.

I am, however, painfully aware that this isn't necessarily safe or viable in a lot of locations.

One more thing came to mind. A good spacious enough freezer if you don't have one.

It saves so much money and time in the long run. You can buy fresh stuff in bulk and patch freeze it and just cook from the freezer. Or meal prep and freeze ready meals for spoonless days. Or freeze leftovers so you don't waste food. And eat berries and other good stuff all year round.

“Spoonless days” required an extra read in this context but now I get it haha

As for others recommending a good knife/knives. I would totally recommend that you also get a knife sharpener, or more specifically a whetstone. An afternoon of toil can leave you with a bunch of knives that are better than new, rather than throwing out perfectly good stuff!

Dehumidifier is a life saver for properties prone to damp and mould. We spent about £100 on ours and it keeps mildew from forming on stuff left under the bed/in wardrobes and also lets us dry clothes indoors all year round, saving us on running the tumble dryer.

Best $500 I ever spent was a portable air conditioner for the summers. Depends where you live of course, because almost nobody has AC here where I live. Residential units simply do not come with it.

A good multitool to carry around in your pocket, I recommend Leatherman. The Wave+ I have is a nice tool, can also recommend the skeletool for something that's a bit easier to fit in your average pocket. Don't buy the cheap multi tools as they're generally rubbish to use and will not be a good experience.

If you don't have pockets that can fit a multitool, spend the remaining money on clothing that does have decent pockets and gain another real quality of life improvement.

If you live in a place with leaded paint painting over it or wallpapering over it will help your health to some degree. As a spoiler those waterproof peel and stick drawer liners from Dollar Tree make a reasonable wallpaper. If you rent beware of the stick, some of the peel and stick can really get stuck on if you leave it for a bit even though its supposedly a safe temp deal. For more decor improvements blinds/blackout curtains make a difference, especially if you have peeping tom neighbors or work on shifts. A lot of blackout curtains are nice to have in summer, they really do make the room feel cooler.

Good sheets/pillows and maybe a mattress topper, again more of a sales watch deal. Using a mattress topper I was able to get more life out of my 15yo mattress.

Tools are always good to have on hand.