What was your best purchase?

Reusable water bottle. It’s just something I always have on me and it’s great because I’m not wasting money on plastic with liquid in it.
- it's honestly crazy to me that this isn't an item every person owns. the fact that some people call it a 'reusable' bottle, as if that isn't the standard, is shocking.
  like imagine historic humans spending time making a clay bottle or leather waterskin only to just throw it away on the ground after using it a single time. "disposable" bottles and other plastics are a crime against humanity and that's not even an exaggeration
  
  To make things even worse is that you can still reuse the disposable ones not as nice as metal ones but are lighter when empty and get the job of holding water until you get thirsty ultimately you can pretty easily tell who is from the country by what they consider a normal water bottle is because one person can easily just go to a store and get a new water bottle much more often than the other guy
- Mine is an extension of my body. I can’t not have it with me going out. But I get thirsty a lot. Took me a while to fine one that works for me size and function wise.
- I’m not wasting money on plastic with liquid in it.
  What are you wasting the money on now?
  
  Liquid with plastic on it.
- Honestly, the one liter smart bottle is my favorite.
  
  I've found that I do like the metal smart water bottles too bad they're ment to be disposable as I hate how fragile the caps are id love a bottle of that size so it fits in my cars cup holder but also has a cap so I don't have to walk so carefully with it
  
  Thanks for being honest with us.

This probably goes against the spirit of the post, but my 2.5 acres of NW FL swamp. It's dope.
Mom died of COVID, and after my divorce, I still had just enough inheritance left to pick it up. It's a place to camp, shoot (guns and bows), hike, relax, whatever the fuck I want.
Benefits:
Learning to build stuff. Working on converting trash trees to lumber right now, proper cabin next.
Learning the environment. Too much to go into, but I'm learning ecological things I never knew. Trying to improve the biosphere while keeping it (nearly) strictly native.
It's my home away from home. No matter how stressed I am, I can get out. I go every weekend and work on it.
I have a place to run away, no matter what. I'm no prepper, but I have a SHTF place for sure.
No matter how foolishly I live the rest of my life, I can still pass this to my kids when I croak. They're 8 and 10 and get to see it next month! (Playground isn't near done though.)
1,000 outdoor skills. Again, too much to list, but you could drop me off naked in January and I'd be comfortable within 15 minutes.
I can recycle so much stuff! So much of my gear was found on the side of the road. Plenty good enough for camp materials.
It's a place for friends to gather. Had my cat's funeral out there and it was a blast, after all the crying was out.
tl;dr Get some damned land if the opportunity presents itself. They're not making any more.

My SteamDeck. I fucking love that thing
- Seconded.

Heelys as an adult. Makes shopping hella quick and the looks I get are priceless.
- I want to, but I've never seen any in adult sizes.
  
  The website had some. I heard they were going under so I have no idea how their supplies are currently.
- They see me rollin

My house.
I started by looking at apartments, but after seeing a few I just wasn't feeling it. I've always wanted a yard, more space and privacy so I thought I'd have a look what kind of houses would fit my budget and found out that by paying just a little more I could get a small one on a good location for almost the same price. Now I own a small granny cottage with a damn nice yard, well, root cellar and a sauna in a separate building aswell as a small workshop. On top of all that my mortage payments are less than what my friends are paying rent.
- That's the dream! Congrats!
- Wow. I couldn't fathom collecting more in rent from my friends than I would need to keep both them and myself housed.
  
  It's not me they're renting from

E-bike. I hardly use my car anymore. Last time I filled up the gas was in March or so. I still have a quarter tank of gas.
- You probably want to top that up and drive it for a bit. Fuel degrades over time
  
  I drive it once in a while just to make sure nothing ceases up or dries out. Run the aircon for a bit. Hit the brakes hard to clean the brakes. Things like that.

Induction stove. Its responsiveness and power are incomparable to electric or gas. I'm never going back.
Alternatively, my Steam Deck. I use it practically every day. A gaming PC that I can take anywhere has always been my dream, and it absolutely delivers.
- Problem with induction is you can't use anodized aluminum, ceramic or other nonmagnetic cookware. I usually prefer gas, but I'd do hate what fracking is doing to the world, not to mention the constant small benzene exposures aren't good for you. But traditional electric ranges are a pain. Wish there was another option.
  
  They make metal plates you can use over an instruction stove to use whatever cookware you have
  
  Gas stoves also release carcinogens and need to be very well vented. They re superior other than that, IMO. I just run my vent hood when my stovetop is in use.

An air fryer. Those things are miracle machines.

A very nice rain coat. Now unless it's a downpour, I still walk places instead of driving if it's raining. And I stay bone dry.
- How do you keep the pants dry
  
  That's why I don't go out in a downpour. The coat goes about mid-thigh so my calves get a bit wet. But since my legs are mostly verticle and I'm fat, they don't get very wet at all.
  
  maybe a rainsuit? or a rain duster?
- What raincoat did you get?
  
  Patagonia torrentshell. But I'd wager any similar product from a good brand works just as well.

Treadmill. I live in a country where it's just not possible to run outside during winter so I used to gain some extra weight during those cold and dark months. Now I am in better shape than I have ever been during my life.
- Funny to see we are polar opposites I got used to running in winter to stay warm and having to slowly walk to not overheat in Florida

Best purchase? Probably my steam deck. Nobody else in my family really plays games and I always felt like my choice was either to monopolize the living room TV or retreat to my cave where my PC can be the only person that cares about me. With my steam deck I can play almost every game I care to try, and I don't have to be a dick to my partner who just wants to chitchat and watch bake off.
Best acquisition? Absolutely 100% the weight bench I got from FB marketplace for nothing. I'd go so far as to say that it literally saved my life at the beginning of the pandoodle when we were being super serial about locking down. I had just gone from a restaurant job to an office job anyway, so I was getting used to being a bit more sedentary and all of a sudden I had nowhere to go during the day, no access to the gym by the office, and nowhere to go/nothing to do all evening. I was probably about 5 minutes from trying to peel all the skin off my body just so I could say that something happened that day when some kind soul decided to put the bench up for free. Spent another $100 on adjustable dumbbells, then just kept trolling different online spots and picking up plates, dumbbells and barbells where I could. Now I can bench my weight, but more importantly I can sit still at work for almost 3 whole hours every day and sleep is a thing I do rather than a cruel joke.

Global Entry. Best $100 I ever spent, even with the headache of the application and scheduling interviews at airports. I only fly a few times a year and I’ve still probably accumulated high tens of hours of time saved from aggravation and standing in queue.
- I used to feel the same way, but then I was standing in a (short) global entry line and I watched people breeze right by that. Found out they were just using the free CBP app. Felt a little cheated, honestly.
  Haven't been doing as much international travel since second kid was born, so we didn't get him global entry. Last trip we did I used the app instead. It was just as fast as global entry, possibly faster.
  The only real reason to get global entry again now is for tsa ore check, and there are easier and cheaper ways to get that.
  
  Good info! Will look into this.

Ebook reader it's like a library card on steroids.
- You know about Libby, right? You can borrow ebooks from the library and read them on your ereader. It's amazing.

19.99€ I spent on Minecraft in 2011.
About 8000 hours of entertainment.

Security camera in my house. Saved me a bundle in the divorce
- Got a PEO cam recommendation? Not a big thing for me, but I got a 16-port POE switch and having cams about can sure act like insurance for certain life events.
  (I'm cheap and care for about nothing but POE compatibility, a FOSS software system and infrared.)

Steam Deck. I travel a lot and it's become a constant comfort in cramped airplane seats and backwater hotel rooms all over the states.

This may sound weird, but GTA V is one of mine. I've never bought any shark cards, just the criminal enterprise pack, so altogether I spent about $60 on it, and I've gotten 765 hours of enjoyment from it so far. That's roughly 8¢ per hour. I'm not planning to stop playing any time soon, too.

A Wahoo kickr snap on-wheel trainer and a secondhand specialized mountain bike. Cheaper than any gym membership and it helped me lose 20lb in two months over the winter.

My mazda mx-5 or miata depending from where you are from. Discovered lots of cool places fairly close to where i live. Sunny weekends are always a joy.
- Always loved the Miatas. The latest generation in targa version is something I wish to have one day.
- No way! I came here to say Miata haha. So much fun.

My Rx 580 is by far the best thing I could've possibly bought when I did, 8gb vram and I bought it for less than I could sell it for now, and I bought it right before the semiconductor shortage so it was hella cheap and I still use it 6 years later.
- I still want one if I can find a used one at a good price

Just about everything I've saved up to buy, that had a reputation for longevity or built for commercial use:
Appliances: Speed Queen washer/dryer: Washer is 10 years old this year and is working just like the day I bought it. Unlike the GE frontloader it replaced, which died at 6 year of age. Speed Queen actually rates their equipment's duty cycles. I'm about halfway through the washer's rated life. The dryer is about 4 years younger.
Wolf DF304 range: Cooking is a hobby for me, so it gets used... A LOT. Far more than the average range gets used. Otherwise, this is an extravagant purchase for most households. I clapped out a Dacor range in 6 years, but suffered with it for an additional 2 to save up for the Wolf. Have had the Wolf for 8 and it still works like new with no issues, unlike its antecedent.
Electronics: McIntosh: MC7100 it's 30 years old and I've owned it for 20 of those. I also have an MC7108 that had issues that I corrected. My grand kids will be fighting over those two pieces. Before, I had to dig into box store branded stuff at about 8 to 10 years to replace capacitors, or other things that happened to them or they were just junk. The MC7108 had a bad capacitor in the on/off circuit. It still worked, with that bypassed. It's fixed now as it was worth fixing.
Cars: Toyota: 85 Corolla GT-S (raced it in Autocross for many years and it never had a problem). I currently own a 14 Camry LE that has been reasonable over its 147,000 miles, but not as good as I was hoping. I detest fancy cars and anything that guzzles gas. Simplicity is where it is at, if you want a car to last a long time and not be a garage queen. People that buy the fancy German cars are just bewildering to me. Sure, they are nice, drive great, and might even get you laid... But that's a LOT of money to put into something that will uneconomical to fix by 150,000miles (241401km for my more civilized friends).
On my list of things I want to buy that I'm fiarly certain will be worth it:
Dash Cam
- A dash cam was definitely one of the best purchases I've made. I was able to submit video to the insurance company to show a collision wasn't my fault. It has also captured some other random interesting events like an electrical transformer explosion during a storm.
- How do you clap out a range? The valves get loose??
  
  The first thing you need to know is Dacor only makes parts for its products for 2 years. If you need something replaced after that period, you are pretty much out of luck.
  As to what broke, here goes:
  Oven door handle (broke just after two years and the part was unavailable.)
  Every igniter had to be replaced in the first two years.
  The coil that powers the igniters. This died after the two year period, so I spent nearly 5 years lighting the burners using a lighter.
  As an aside, there was only one coil powering all four igniters. If you didn't clean the range top properly and dry off the igniters, then only one would work. The Wolf has coils for each burner, so you don't have to worry about one igniter having less impedance than another.
  The controller for the oven died twice. This, fortunately, was ONE part that was available past the two year period. I think they used the same board in the next model range. However, the nail in the coffin was at 6 years of age, it died again and the part was no longer available, permanently disabling the oven.
  Various bits and bobs were either worn, or broken by the end.
  Funny enough, the gas valves were the one thing that lasted the entire time it was in the house.
- I've got an old Maytag dryer that seems to be made by speed queen. They share the same parts, and it looks identical to my dad's newer speed queen dryer.
  Mines giving me a lot of crap lately though, but it's easy to fix. I'm waiting on parts for it right now.
- Damned interesting! For example, I didn't know Speed Queen still made washers.
  Thoughts on a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse? (It's a Spyder convertible, same thing.) Needs a head gasket again, but it's a reliable car and fuel efficient. I loathe new cars. My gf's Subaru makes me want to punch it.
  Had to look up the McIntosh. :) Not an audiophile, but I just got a 1986 Sony EQ that's dope. And for y'all youngins, that's genuine Japanese 80's manufacture!) Also running a Pioneer DT-500 for kicks. $120 for both on eBay. I'll never in life buy modern audio stuff.
  Let me know how the cam thing works out. I'd buy some crappy Chinesium unit and regret.
  
  Energy regulations killed the original model SQs. They're back with the TC5000. I scored a 2016 set for $800 locally- the front panel of each comes off with 2 screws and everything is right there. Stupid easy to service. I was checking belts and brakes after I bought them but it looked brand new inside.

A road bike. I got slimmer and also found a way to just clear my head. No stress, no worries, just ride. It's a great way to switch off.
- I've always had mountain bikes. Most recently got a 29er. I don't ride much these days, but feel like a road bike might get me out more.
  
  I have an MTB too. I mainly ride it when it's icy so it's too dangerous for the road bike. Gravelly off road isn't really a problem when it's icy.

Nothing, just hoarding money until i realy need it.
- You're gonna be throwing the most amazing funeral!
  
  Don't be ridiculous. The healthcare system will wring it all out of them before they let them die.

Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5 inch smoker. I've cooked for 30 people at a time off of it, it's easy to use, holds temp well, lots of mods, etc. etc.

My bottle of Sex Panther
- Well, they say this on their website: "Scientifically engineered from the finest Smell Ingredients™ on earth, by the most talented Smell Engineers™ in the industry."

2-stage gas powered snowblower.
(10 years ago)

Mid twenties, I bought two items at a luggage store near the Castro in sf. One was a weekend bag for camping, or visiting another city, can hold 3 days of clothes. Another was a small bag for daily use. Lesbian here, I don't carry purses, just bags the size of purses, way more functional.
I'm late 40s now. Traveled, wandering, homelessness, camping, backpacking, have put those bags thru hell for over 20 years. They still look brand new. The small black bag, still use daily. I'm constantly astounded by what I can fit in it. It's like the tardis.

My kindle?
- Are you asking us or telling us?
  
  Maybe? It could be my Kindle? I don't know? I don't know why people end statements with question marks? For example, in this comment, none of these sentences is a question? So they shouldn't end in a question mark? But people often write like this? It's quite strange to me? Have a nice day?

Proper insoles. I used to think insoles should be squishy and fluffy until I had a good set. I uses to get blisters on anything longer than 10 km but now my feet can go forever.
- Are they really hard?
  
  Yes. The sole of my boots provides the cushion I need, while the insoles make it firm and slick inside my boots and shoes. Rubbery insoles grip my sock and the sock rubs on my foot, causing the blisters. The slick insoles allow the socks to stay on my feet in the same spot so no more friction.

My bookbag and also my Thinkpad T530 which is in my bookbag. I bought it for $99 at a goodwill and honestly it's slowing down but it's still the best laptop I've ever had. I just want this exact model with better specs

Well I spouse a few things
my pc which has an i7 3770 generic alliexpress motherboard 10gb ddr3 and a wx 2100 I'm going look into getting a new case ram and gpu so far has costed me £61
not really a purchase as I got it for free but I've been using a Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and it's been quite nice very comfortable
eono mechanical Keyboard I got it for £9 on ebay amazing value best bang for you buck mechanicl Keyboard out there actual mechanical switches not that cheap mechanical feel stuff eono is an discontinued amazon owned brand
my aoc gm500 which I bought for just £6 in early 2021 it has lasted longer than my logitech g203 and hopefully will continue to work into next year
- Two keyboards and the punctuation is broken on both of them? Unfortunate
  
  Who needs puncation and proper grammar when you got shitposts

A good set of mechanic hand tools. Sockets, ratches, wrenches, etc.
- Just bought some on prime day, after dragging my feet for years. Used it almost immediately to work on my dryer.

A computer that was good enough to run Windows Vista. Trust me when I say that I fell in love with it. And yeah, it was used when I got it. It served me a very long time, 11 years to be exact.

A pair of shoes of proper width EE. My feet are fairly wider than average, and suffered for years in improper width footwear. Never thought my feet could actually feel comfortable in footwear ever.
- I was browsing comments to see if this has been said. People have wider feet than they think and really good pair of well fitting shoes makes a big difference. I use New Balance as my daily drivers and for work I wear insulated Timberlands in the winter and Reebok tactical boots in the summer. Game changer when you have comfortable shows.
  
  Try some actual shoe companies where most of the price isn't just lining for a shareholder's pockets.
  Admittedly, hard to find and very country specific, but the same cost buys quality, not yachts

The engagement ring I proposed to my wife with. She said yes.
- Aww, that's great! Congratulations!
  
  Thanks! Although I proposed 15 years ago and we've been married 13 :)

My Elora ratchet set, bought in '99, used it on all daily drivers and hobby cars, saved me loads of cash on car maintenance. (And several jobs in the house) still going strong, although both ratchets need maintenance.

A 2.5" hard drive enclosure for 15$. 2.5" hdds are pretty cheap nowadays with pretty sizable capacity, got a 1tb toshiba for 30$, making them perfect for backups. Toshiba and western digital are the brands to look for. 2nd best purchase would be my digital license for cryptomator on android, encrypted cloud backups for most of the providers.

Treadmill. I live in a country where it's just not possible to run outside during winter so I used to gain some extra weight during those cold and dark months. Now I am in better shape than I have ever been during my life.
- Good on you!!

This ipad I'm using right now, it has lasted me quite some time.
- Ooh what model ipad I was using a ipad 2 with a hairline crack for half a decade till I got my ipad air 4
  
  Currently a pro 7.

LASIK Good quality gym wear (Lululemon circa 2015) Investing in mental health via a psychiatrist

My Sony noise cancelling headphones (XM3). I love them and use them every single day. And also my wall mounted pull-up bar.

TKC 1800
- What is that?
  
  A keyboard: https://massdrop-s3.imgix.net/product-images/the-key-company-tkc1800-mechanical-keyboard-kit/FP/ukYPnSQCS4m2XTs4b2HM_NDVyWAnT7qyynmBGRaiA_PC.png
  I bought it as a kit directly from The Key Company. It’s a modernized version of the Cherry 1800 and it runs QMK. I have Box Pinks in mine at the moment.
  
  Mechanical keyboard

Brompton folding bicycle.

Creative sbs 370 2.1 speakers; using it for 19 years. The sound quality is the same as day 1.
The wired remote stopped working after 15 years, so I cut it off and connected the wires.

Ketamine for my TRD.

femto lasik

A used 2015 mustang GT, cuz it makes me happy. InB4 "fuck cars you lil oil slut"
- OP can't inb4

The plane tickets to escape from the leftist hell of our home country. We literally had to sell whatever little we had left just to pay for them, which wasn't much, after socialists destroyed most of the economy. Kind of burned ships policy.
luckily we only got held at gunpoint at the airport once by the regime military police until we gave them the bribe they demanded of us.
The good part is that we are now much happier in another country were we can work and relatively live a normal life.
- Lol at the down votes because people don't understand that the far left and the far right are just the same place.
  Venezuela?
  
  Not even that, the moderator even deleted my comment for no reason at all
- They're an agenda spammer. Probably a made up story.