What game changing item*s can you buy for $100 or less?

Bidet.

Yeah. I said it.

Can confirm. Lemmy suggested it. I got it. I hate going anywhere othet than at home.
- Travel bidet. You're welcome.
Bidet gang represent
Hey, no judgement from my end Mr. Clean Cheeks.
LUXE Bidet NEO 185 Plus The hinges are great for cleaning.
$100？
https://www.costco.com/toto-washlet-elongated-bidet-seat.product.100973005.html
- That’s a Cadillac of bidets. I’ve got just standard ones on 2 different toilets in my house, and I didn’t pay more than $40 for either of them.

Blackout curtains in combination with a sunlight alarm clock to fall asleep more easily and wake up gentler without my phone.

These are just frankly necessary if you live far enough north. When I'm going to sleep at 11pm ish, the sun is still up lmao.
- Went to the arctic circle for the first time. It's crazy how bright out it is at night.
  This is 12:30AM just after midnight.
- What the-? How far up there are you?
- I feel you, I've got a streetlamp right outside my bedroom window! lol
For me it’s a sleep mask, but I also understand that that misses the gentle wake up part. But I love that I can bring my sleep mask anywhere which you can’t do with curtains
Toss on a cheap sound machine and it's the best.

A Game Genie

Or a game shark.
My partner bought me a SNES Game Genie for my birthday years ago and now I have all of the Game Genies!
I see what you did there.

LSD

where can I get it?
- If you have any lake parks nearby look for someone that's kinda hippie looking. Either that or just go to a rave, even outside of it, everyone there will know someone
- Hang around a dive bar and look for people who work in kitchens.
- Order online

Noise canceling headphones. Yes, they exist for under $100, maybe not the best, but they’re a godsend.

got a pair at Costco for 70$
didn't know multiconection Bluetooth existed and they are a game changer as well. also noise cancelling is nice.
- What brand did you get?

Bidet attachment for your toilet bowl. Trust me, you’ll never go back.

Agree, but splurge and get one that has a water heater. No one wants cold water sprayed there.
- Eh. Cold water is fine. I’ve been using cold water for years.
  Warm water is nicer, but cold water is fine.
LUXE Bidet NEO 185 Plus The hinges are great for cleaning.
Yeah mine was just 30 €. You never have to manually clean your ass ever again because the thing just does it for you!

a high quality pocket knife. never leave home without one.

What game are you changing exactly with this?
- It's very convenient when you forgot lunch money.
This is illegal in France :(
- Just guillotines
- You can carry an opinel or laguiole afaik?
- that's really to bad, guess your guys' gangs really fucked that up for everyone
I understand the logic, but I've never been in a situation when I thought "I wish I had a pocket knife"
- If you carry one, you'll discover all sorts of uses for it.
Specifically a Swiss army knife with scissors. The amount of times I reach for those little scissors is a lot more than expected
I have a Boker Kwaiken, a real nice one, but man do I love the DW-1. It’s so wee you can really use it anywhere without worrying about freaking anyone out and it does things like box cutting waaaay better than a longer knife.
My EDC is a Spyderco Para 3, but IMHO Kershaw is a great budget brand. I really like the Iridium, but the finish is a bit too delicate for my taste because I keep my knife in the same pocket with my keys.

Multitool. Can't live without.

Recently bought a leatherman skeletool. It’s so compact and the perfect amount of utility for me. And it doubles as a fidget toy.
- I've had one of these for probably 15 years now. Excellent tool.

Any basic ear plugs, literally $2 to make the world nicer, to sleep better in loud situations, to protect your hearing, to prevent infections in pools, and more.

You don't realize how much nicer the world is when it's like 15db quiter, especially when you are in a city.

My ears doesn't like earplugs, or those old ear buds for listening to music, they just fall out. The new earbuds like apple & co works very well, are there ear plugs like that?
- Must be your ear shape since Airpods Pros are the only earbuds that fall out of my ears.
- Earplugs come in different sizes. Maybe it's a matter of experimenting?

Eyeing a rice cooker, it's really not a need-to-have but I might go for it... Edit: went for it and got one from my local asia market. :)

Pro tip, you can also cook oatmeal and beans in it and it's better then any other way.
- Nice pro tip. Cooking Lentis probably too then.
- sunglasses gif guy
You won't regret it. They're such a nice thing to have and there are totally decent ones for pretty cheap.
- I have the one that Uncle Roger has that plays music when your rice is ready. I wish it was larger, but that is my only complaint.
I love mine. Get a cheap analogue one that works with a magnet. Perfect rice every time
- Yup, for rice cookers, the cheaper the better. Anything with a gasket ain't worth the cleaning effort
- Nice one. Gonna check out the models at the Asia super market nearby. I mean rice is a staple in Asian kitchen!
I have better results with my instant pot than any of the results I’ve gotten from the zojirushi. Plus the zojirushi takes 4-5 times as long.
- My wife forbids me from getting any large appliances for any 1 thing, so I could never convince her to get a ride cooker. Instead we got an InstaPot that we use exclusively to cook rice. It's way different (trust me)
- There's a "fast" option on most zojirushis. it should take about 1 hour if you select that. Source: I'm Asian
- My mom dislikes instant pot rice and likes zojirushi rice. IDK what the difference is but she can tell. Shrug.
If you have a microwave, there's microwave rice cookers aswell.
Zorirushji is amazing! You should get it

A microwave sandwich griller. I saw one recommended on another of this type thread, so I gave it a try. You can’t believe how great this thing is. When I worked in an office, I had grilled sandwiches several times a week, and I still use it at home all the time.

https://a.co/d/4VSmebm

Doesn't look bad at all! Seems like a nice and space saving alternative to a dedicated sandwich maker.
Why is it $100?
- It’s not. The post says $100 or less. This is definitely less.

Bidet
Hand barbells + weights
Inexpensive watch like a casio f-91w, or a cheaper smart one. Turning off all phone sound notifs is nice.
Used e-reader
Heated blanket
One of those water bottles with a straw and a smart lid

It’s amazing how life changing a $35 bidet is
- Every time I go to a bidet-less house, and see that they're going as unwashed as a 5th century peasant

Low-profile noise-cancelling earbuds. Lived with a snoring roommate for some months, don't know how I would've slept without those.

CPAP for the roommate and sleep issues for both of you sorted.
- If only I had the courage to tell my roommate
Example?
- The nothing buds are pretty good and if I'm not wrong I got them under 50.

Shower curtain with pockets. Never again will you knock bottles off of those inadequate shelves.

Wait, I've been on this earth for 52 years and somehow didn't know they make shower curtains with fucking pockets?! I'm going to go buy one right now.
- Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.
Why have I never heard of this before that's a brilliant idea. Do they grow mad mold quickly?
- How would they ever dry out?
My bathroom has a sliding glass door and I hate it even more now.

You really should buy a bedbug proof mattress cover and interceptors for the legs of your bed and furniture. Trust me when I say that an ounce of prevention will save you a lot of trouble, cost, and emotional trauma. Even if it costs more, buy then anyway.

House slippers.

I have house Crocs, does that count?

Cast Iron Skillet, take care of it and you will pass it down to your children.

One of those flip boards for folding shirts, especially if you’re adhd, it makes it so you can neatly fold them and still see the front of the shirt so no more unfolding a bunch of things to check if it’s what you want and then just get left there unfolded

genuinely curious, do most people fold shirts so the front ends up inside? I pretty much just copied the way they fold them at stores so the front is on display
- My wife doesn't just do this, she irons t-shirts inside out to protect the design, but also folds them with the design on the inside. Most of my t-shirts are black, so I have no way of telling them apart without unfolding them...
I took to rolling mine, takes half the space, quarter of the time, and no wrinkles or seems.
- I simply hang all of my cloths in the closet. Shirts, pants, underwear. Socks go in a bag (which is also hanging)

Birth control

As someone that works from home and eats a lot of sandwiches; a bread maker. Great for pizza dough too!

Oh damn, I hadn't thought about this but that's not a bad idea. My mom used to have one when I was a teenager and would make this potato bread that I friggin' loved. She always said it was dead simple, maybe it's time to look into that myself.
Does it work with gluten-free flour?
- Yes they even have a gluten free mode on newer models.

Electric kettle.

Bone conduction headphones.

Rechargeable head lamp.

Nice EDC knife.

Driving gloves.

A really good insulated cup.

French press.

Digital kitchen scale.

Slow cooker.

I would switch French Press with AeroPress, for convenience. But other than that. Great list.
- I haven't used AeroPress, but I appreciate that the French press is equally useful for making both hot and cold brew coffee. Mine is all-metal and you could just about beat someone to death with it.

A Time Timer.

They're not cheap, especially for a timer that's bare bones (~20 USD).

But it has changed my work life.

People who want to interrupt me while I'm working can now see how long until I have my next break. So I am interrupted less.
Now I self-regulate a bit better, so I'm able to work longer without destroying myself in the process. I take breaks that help me with repetitive strain injuries and with feeling like I'm a human being and not just a machine.
Now I remember to actually start timers when I start working. I know this is a bit silly, but I was having trouble creating a habit of stopping for breaks. I tried to solve this by setting timers on my phone, but I constantly forgot doing it. Now I'm reminded to start a timer by something that I see on my desk.

Nice onel, thanks for sharing! This is something I can improve on aswell, as a desk worker. Furthermore because taking eyes of the monitor screen regulary is supposed to reduce eye strain! I got this timer for my desk and workouts at home.
Why is it the wrong way (going counter clockwise)?
- Ah. To set up the timer, you do pull the hand counter clockwise, as if you were pulling a spring-loaded car backwards for it to move forward on its own. After you release the Time Timer, its hand will move forward on its own, normally, clockwise.
  It is a bit unusual, but the point of the timer is to see how much time you’ve got left. It’s like a battery charge percentage. You know that when the battery reaches zero, you’ve got to charge it up again.
  I hope the explanation helps. If not, feel free to ask or to check out the videos in the Time Timer website. After all, it is a strange product.
- Visual timers are a dyscalculia and time-blindness game changer! I don't like Time Timer being "backwards" but the (often cheaper) alternative brands offer plenty more options! My Secura brand timer goes the opposite direction and I prefer it.

I was gonna say an OLED monitor but then i saw the 100$ or less

There are other kinds of monitors that come pretty close, but definitely not for under $100. For example, the Nebula display on some Asus laptops, or the Nixeus NX-EDG34S (which is no longer available, but I assume there are equally good monitors available using the same tech).

For me, literally game changing item is a game controller. For the games with native controller support it is awesome. Its easier and more confortable than mouse and keyboard. Of course it is not comparable with mouse and keyboard, especially in games heavily relied on mouse, but for anything else, on my opinion, it is a better option. My controller is quite cheap, but works well. I bought a controller to see what it is and how different it is for gaming, compared to mouse and keyboard. At first it was difficult, as i did not have an experience with controller, but now i enjoy it.

Good one, a controller is really a game changer. I enjoy it too, and think it's even much needed one for some games, like Dark Souls. 4 years ago I bought the used Xbox controller from a co-worker, as he got himself the new version. Paid him $10-15 IIRC. This year I bough a new wireless USB-Dongle for $15, as the old one got wonky. Very much worth it.
- What is it with those USB dongles? Mine also just died after a while. But yeah, the Xbox controller is great and since it uses regular Bluetooth, the dongle isn't the only way to connect it.
I like that having a controller gives me more versatility in my seating position when gaming. At my desk, I can use either the controller or mouse and keyboard. If I get tired in that position, the long wire on my controller means I can sit elsewhere and play (my desk is positioned such that I can just rotate my monitor and play it from my sofa if I want).
I also enjoy that a controller is more portable than my mouse and keyboard for playing games on my laptop when away from home.

Flex Reusable Disc

Thank you for the reminder that I've been meaning to buy a menstrual cup.
Like a Frisbee?
- Are there single-use frisbees?
- Yeah, like a Frisbee. 😉
- i tink they were referring to rewriteable CD

Sleep mask

Got a link?

Some chifi buds and a (Bluetooth) dac.

I have a pair of kz prx (planars, 37 bucks) and a hiby w3II (good enough over by and oké over cable, 40). If you don’t need by I will recommend the trn black pearl as it has the same parts as some of its more expensive counterparts

Wat?
- ELIX: Wifi headphones and a DAC (the thingy that taked digital music and makes it into analog sound for a 3.5 jack).
  Bet you can't get all that for $100 though. A used pair of senheisser maybe, but an OK used DAC is probably at least $100 in itself.
- Cheap headphones and a connector to make them sound good via Bluetooth pretty much. A lot better sound than AirPods Pro 2 André passive noise cancellation is also enough to drown out most noises

A functional gaming headset in a thrift shop

Hopefully, a quiet oscillating fan for sleeping. I just don't know which one yet.

Foldable bathtub
Ideal for smaller apartments that don't have their own bathtub since it fits in the shower.
I bought one despite not really being a bather, but then I realized why I wasn't into bathing. It's because bathtubs you lie in kinda suck. Buoyenzy means that your feet and chest will always want to rise above the water

But the foldable is more barrel shaped, like a Japanese bathtub. So your whole body save your head stays submerged. Who would have thought that the Japanese, a people with entire industries around bathing know a thing or two about good tub design

Ok I almost see the picture. Do you put a chair in or something or are you crouched? Even with boyuancy I feel like my knees would have a hard time with it. Also a little concerned with using something like that in a space that isint quite expected to have that much weight?
- No chair, the buoyenzy perfectly cancles it out. Also, it doesn't actually need tham much water. I usually only film it halfway foll and the mass of my own body fills it up the rest. So it only weighs as much as one very heavy guy
Do you have a good brand recommendation? Or something to look for? My wife always complains about how tub being too small and she is tiny compared to me. I can never fit