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RULES (updated 1/22/25)
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A high quality mechanical pencil that takes girthy lead. I use a staedtler 925 2mm and it's absolutely wonderful for taking notes and writing and has served me through high school, college, and work. It writes similar to a regular wood pencil but sharpening is optional
I use so-called "eternal pencils" now. They come in various "hardness" ratings (like pencils: B, HB, H, 2H, etc.) but even my "softest" (read: darkest with broadest tip) has been in use now for a couple of years without noticeable wear on the tip. That one is guaranteed to be usable for a decade. My hardest will likely stop working when the sun dies in four billion years or so.
Strap wrenches as jar openers, got a two-pack years ago (large and small) for less than $20 and end up using one every couple of weeks
I use a small sheet of that no-slip shelf liner stuff for jars.
We got an Un-Skru under-cabinet opener and it's pretty great
$20 total or per day? If total, then a dumb stylus for my phone. If per day, then junk food. As an American my retirement plan is to die from heart disease.
$20 can buy many peanuts.
A 10-foot USB cable. Most people use whatever's packed in with their electronics, and it's pretty rare to get anything longer than 6 feet. Having the extra length is really nice in many situations.
It's also one of my go-to inexpensive gifts or part of a care package for someone in the hospital. The extra length there is often the difference between being able to use a device while it's charging or not.
They're rare because 10 feet is too long for a reliable USB data transmission. But yes good for charging.
Especially if it's braided and has extra large and durable connector thingies so it won't hard bend.
1L water bottle, especially if it’s insulated. Keeps your drink cool, but also makes it so I don’t have to get up to get more drinks when I run out.
We had some in a car during a trip to Wonderland during the summer. A Gatorade bottle was disgustingly hot while the insulated bottles still had ice in them.
5/7 would recommend
I love insulated bottles but I can't find one that's 1L that isn't massive...
Oestrogen (joking but also serious)
On a more serious note, a raspberry pi to run pihole and gobble up all the ads for all devices on my home network
I'm surprised I did not think of mentioning it next to the Preppy fountain pen I already mentioned but a reading lamp! This one is 15-18€ clip-on. It's USB-C (I would prefer standard batteries if there was a model so it doesn't got to waste one the battery is dead). It's lightweight and the brightness (as well as its temp) can be adjusted.
Worth every single cent, imho. I find it so useful that I have purchased two, just in case I need to recharge one.
Reminds me of the GameBoy Color light accessory, but fancier. Man, that thing was clunky!
Converting $20 to local currency, I'd probably go with this:
This is so-called "Liubao Tea", a kissing cousin to pu'er tea. I did a review of my first batch(es) and it has rapidly (literally with one round of brews) reached the top of my circulation in teas.
The depicted tea is one aged from 1991 (the one I reviewed was tea stems from 2003) and is of one of the higher grades. A 100g package will set you back about $15 or so at today's exchange rate. 100g is about 15-20 servings, and each serving can be brewed multiple times (even my tea stems can be brewed four times without loss of flavour), so it's quite the bargain.
Save it for a time when you really need something warm, rich, and comforting. It will last forever as long as you store it in a cool, dry, dark space. And personally I think it's a bargain at 15 bucks.
Excuse me, kissing what?
It's an expression. It means "related, but not so closely that they can't fuck". Welcome to Dixieland, pardner
Pet jumping spider.
Honestly 10 star pet. They eat a small bug every other day or so. They look adorable. They will recognize and react to you, and you can even train them to accept handling. They come in a wide variety of colors.
Downsides are that you'll probably end up getting more than one (do NOT co-hab them!), or that they only live for 1-3 years. If you enjoy having the spider though, you can look into other arthropods like tarantulas, or vinegaroons (which look scary, but are harmless and have very sweet dispositions).
Not a pet but a couple weeks ago I had a big fly buzzing around my room and annoying the shit out of me for like 4 hours while I was working from home. Then I heard it buzzing against my window in a weird way and I turn around and there's a big ass jumping spider just murdering the shit out of it. I've never been so happy to see a spider in the house. It hung out in the corner of the window for like an hour after that and then it was gone and I haven't seen it since.
If you use your phone a lot (or if your battery is old and you haven't replaced it), a power bank is very useful.
A reputable powerbank (such as those from Anker) cost just under $20 USD for 10,000 MAH
It's worth it for other people too, the fun putting a "W" sticker in front of the logo is endlessly entertaining.
Fluffy stuffed animal. If I didn't have a couple stuffed kitties to hug I probably would have killed myself already. Nice to have something to pretend loves you
A cheap over shoulder satchel, it's like having a extra pocket always available
Mini Swiss army knife. I don't know how to live life without this on my keychain
A beard trimmer. Shaving sucks and irritates my skin, plus I look like a baby without facial hair. But that's only one benefit.
I have been using a beard trimmer to cut my own hair for the last 10 years which has saved me probably $2000 worth of haircuts (estimating a $25 haircut + tip every 2 months). Not to mention saving about 1 hour waiting at the barber every time. I only messed up once and had to do a buzz cut.
Not luxury, but I keep a small AAA flashlight with me nearly all the time.
Easier to handle and faster to use than a phone light. Also doesn't use phone battery. I clip it on my hat if I need both hands like taking out the trash.
I have an Olight i3T but I would try out the i3T 2. More lumens and better battery efficency.
A small USB-C hub. It has a USB-C out on one end then HDMI, 2 USB-A ports and another USB-C in on the other. I use it as my travel dock for my switch and steam deck, I've used it as a USB A to C converter, and I'll use it to test inputs on various TVs. I've gotten so much more mileage out of this $15 Amazon purchase than I ever would have expected
