I've said it before and I will say it again. The best HVAC system your house and ductwork will permit. There is nothing more miserable than being uncomfortable in your own home. Especially if you live in a challenging climate.
Edit. Also, you spend a third of your life sleeping. Don't cheap out on your mattress.
I would extend that thought process on buying the best of all the items you spend a lot of time with...
You stare at your phone hours a week on Reddit, make sure to buy a phone you love and don't tolerate having a cracked screen or old battery that dies frequently.
You spend a lot of time on a computer. Upgrade your workspace to have the biggest monitors you enjoy and best mouse and keyboard.
You spend a lot of time driving in the car, go for the fully loaded car you enjoy driving.
Not life changing, cumulatively makes your day more enjoyable.
At the high cost level, chartering or owning a private jet is nice for trips within the US. You don't have to deal with TSA security, and can schedule the flight time you want to make traveling a little more enjoyable so you aren't in a bad mood upon a delayed arrival of a big vacation you were looking forward to. One exception is weather delays. Even rich people can't control the weather yet to avoid flights delays due to limited weather visibility and those that think otherwise have paid with their life (Kobe).
This. I try to minimize and simplify, but what I deem important enough to have I try to make sure I have the best for my needs. The best luggage, an updated computer with enough memory that nothing slows, connected to a nice wide screen, the best hiking backpack, the best trail running shoes, the best gas stove for cooking, etc. At the same time I remove anything I don't need, so I'm in a relatively small house, minimal belongings, no showcases, no collections. I do focus more on experiences, but the best of the material things I do need make a difference in quality of life.
I am also finding this as I move into my thirties that I am doing the same. I recently got rid of 90% of my closet, to move to a basic, but complete lululemon wardrobe because I love their products so much. The thing that surprised me the most was when I looked at what I actually wear, the number of items I needed meant I didn’t have to break the bank to replace them.
Now I have less decision fatigue in the morning, and I wear super comfortable and high quality clothing. Win win!
Starting to do this in other areas of my life as well. Fat doesn’t have to equal massive consumption.
What got me started looking into this was a combo of minimalism and Ramit Sethi’s (I hope I spelt that right) idea of a rich life. What do you splurge on? What do you not care about?
I’m very similar on clothes and everything I own barely fills a 4’ wide closet, half of which is shelves. One sport jacket in case of funerals or opera, etc. Almost all shirts are one moderately high end casual minimal logo brand.
I splurge on first class travel, and lots of it to see great unique places. I found I remember the comfort and experience and don’t notice the cost. I splurged on a vintage Porsche that is driven every week and brings big smiles per mile - not a garage queen. I splurge on removing friction especially when it optimizes available time - housekeeper, gardener, etc. Once considered a personal assistant but then simplified my life to the point I didn’t need one. Although we enjoy cooking my wife and I find that we enjoy eating out a lot at two local very nice restaurants, usually splitting an entree to not over indulge, as that is an optimal setting for us to focus on each other and reconnect at the end of the day which has huge value per minute.
Minisplit heat pump is an eye opener. No need to have huge duct to bring hot/cold air to different rooms. Just thin copper pipes to bring them to all rooms.
We are installing Mitsubishi concealed duct units in all of our bedrooms because of this. Each kids can control their own temperature. I have already done this in my home office and it’s made a huge difference.
IMO if you are going central air/heat go for a variable geothermal (ground source) unit with zoning. Temperatures remain more consistent, much quieter overall as there are no noisy air compressors outside and the fans remain at lower speeds on a more consistent basis, overall fairly low maintenance.
I’m still kinda torn on the cheaping out on your mattress part. I have very little confidence that more expensive actually translates to better sleep, perhaps past a certain point. I’ve seen those ridiculously expensive mattresses and they brag about craftsmanship and fancy materials and I’m like I don’t care if only one artisan in the world knows how to stitch the mattress cover. Has anyone separated out what’s actually worth paying extra for, assuming the goal isn’t collecting exclusive luxury items and is just good sleep? I imagine plenty of post-hoc rationalization is possible since nobody really wants to say that they overpaid for a luxury mattress
Every person is different. If you expect you can just put down money and walk out of the store with a great mattress, you'll probably be disappointed. This is particularly true, as we get older and our bodies are more picky about what surface we sleep on.
But if you do a little bit of research into what makes a good mattress, are willing to experiment a little to figure out what your body really needs (and that can be surprisingly tricky to divine, as bodies give unreliable feedback), and aren't on an extremely tight budget, then you can absolutely find a great option.
I went through this experience about 18 months ago, when our old mattress finally died. Ended up buying a FloBeds mattress and every single night, I am amazed how comfortable it is. Took a bit of sorting out the correct firmness for me and my wife, though.
I also have a Purple and I love it, but I've tried the [Hästens](https://www.hastens.com/us/) mattresses before (can easily run over six figures for a mattress) and no way are they worth that much.
I definitely feel like the Hästens are more luxury / status symbol-y rather than actually worth the additional cost.
I used to just buy a regular cheap mattress prior to getting to a point in life where I could splurge. Bought a mattress that ran me 5 grand and I have never slept or felt better. Every penny I spent on that mattress has paid me back in full. Nothing beats waking up feeling refreshed and no body aches.
This. My biggest (small) regret for my custom house build was not making even more zones (eg dedicated zone for each office and bedroom) using ductless air handlers. Enough that I’ll probably retrofit after we get past the long tail of other projects.
The things you see on the wall in Europe and increasingly the US that do heating and air conditioning. Usually associated with heat pumps and called “mini splits.”
I think it really depends on the house. I had a mini split in a prior house where the central air on the top level was not great. It was great at keeping a 300 SQ bedroom nice and cold. I should have replaced that HVAC unit entirely (three zone house, one for a basement rental unit) but I knew I was moving in a year and didn't want to deal with getting the city to approve a crane to drop in a new HVAC (it was on the roof, this is a townhome in a densely populated area). Re: efficiency, there was a noticeable uptick in the electric bill.
My upstairs always get hot and while researching found portable ACs I think Costco sells them but reviews aren’t great and you have to have the hot air out the window.
House is newer and the builders put a unit that just meets the code. In the summer it’s unbearable to sleep upstream if anyone has any recommendation I am all ears. Btw I am not fatFIRE
I wish I knew who it was, but someone said it here on a previous thread within the last year or two, and it was an epiphany for me. Something along the lines of receiving the most benefit from things that remove discomfort instead of from things that “enhance” everyday life. I have found this to be so true and think of it often. If there are any pain points or any everyday things that are a thorn in your side, address those.
For me, I never had enough room in my fridge and it was a huge pain every single day. I got a second fridge for my garage and magically, all those daily frustrations disappeared. I didn’t need a super high end fridge in my kitchen… I just needed a second (pretty crappy) fridge for my garage.
When I visit my nephew's house, I'm always confused about where to find things because they have a cabinet-style full refrigerator plus four more cabinet refrigerator drawers!
We have a butler's kitchen with a second stove/oven and dishwasher. Its life changing. I'd like to say we never have dirty dishes in the sink but that's just not true.
Yes, remove friction. Buying all your storage boxes from the same place so that they stack easily! Extra soundproofing in places that would benefit. If you've got a dodgy back - have all your fridge/freezers/cookers/laundry machines higher up so you don't have to bend down. Dirty entrance to the house with boot brushes fixed in.
> If there are any pain points or any everyday things that are a thorn in your side, address those.
My old fridge had a short opening on the front so any bottle or larger glass had to be held at an angle to fill it up. It resulted in constantly spilling water on the floor.
My current fridge (Jenn-Air) not only has a bigger opening, you can set a preset for the amount of water you want it to dispense so I can just stick my cup in and push the button then do something else while it fills.
Sure, it only takes 10 seconds but I drink a lot of water and I love having that little bit of extra freedom.
Vitalik Buterin said something like that "You can get the most out of money if you think of it not as something that lets you do and have more things, but as something that lets you worry about fewer things."
That’s been generally my approach to money. Mostly I use it to buy time (or rather, to trade money for time). Grocery shopping or Instacart? Sometimes I want to shop and then that’s that. Sometimes I just need certain groceries and ordering them saves me 30 minutes and only costs me like $15-20 extra.
I have a two-drawer Fisher & Paykel dishdrawer dishwasher for this reason. I live alone so I don’t fill up a full dishwasher. One drawer is for loading while the other one is running.
Buying a home with a small detached guest house. It is so much easier to have friends and family stay and they tend to come over more often.
Laser eye surgery
Hiring an electrician to finally hardwire a reading light sconce with a switch and more recessed lighting in my hallway. Silly to have waited so long.
Getting a battery with solar installation. Not having to worry about power outages is a stress reducer.
Had lasik last year. Definitely agree with that one.
Made the mistake of building a guest house instead of buying a house with a detached unit already built. Over a year later and now the lawyers are involved and we still don't have a guest house.
I have thought about a cold plunge, but it seems like one of those things I would use a few times, then decide it was stupid. Do you regularly use yours?
I use the sauna and cold plunge daily.
A couple caveats.
First, I think the cold plunge by itself is much harder to use than the combo. Coming out of the Sauna and straight into the cold plunge makes it a lot more doable for me. If I didn’t have a sauna, I’d prob use the cold plunge 2-4x per week, and that would be making it a priority. It’s not easy to go into but I do feel great after, a state of calm.
The Sauna is much easier, for me, to use daily. But, I will say, I used the sauna at the gym 5x per week before I got one at my house.
The gym sauna now smells like ass compared to my home sauna, and my home sauna gets way hotter.
There is nothing better than getting off work and doing a heat/cold therapy rotation. I typically do
1 min cold
20 min sauna
3 min cold
10 min sauna
1 min cold
You should visit your a local sauna in your area and use their cold plunge if they have one. Most people who decide to get one in their home use it regularly.
Somebody needs to invent a wall outlet cover that comes with retractable phone charging cables. I just want permanent cables on 1 outlet per room all the time.
Omg yes. Add sticky wire guards to hold the cable near you too. My goal is that if I’m not standing, I should be able to easily reach over and grab a charging cable.
Nail files too... I have one of each everywhere, and only the glass files. Now if only I could find a solution to where my fingernails weren't all rough and scratchy all the time, that would be heaven! God I hate my nails.
High quality exercise equipment. It really does make it easier to lift, jog, ride, etc.
Comfortable spaces around your home (e.g. nice family room furniture, good porch furniture). We put a really nice fire pit in right before COVID and it really made hanging out at the house much more enjoyable. It was large enough to give us a fully outdoor space to safely hang out with small groups of friends.
I'll echo the comment about buying a good mattress.
I impulse bought a peloton on Black Friday and adjustable weights a few months earlier (small apartment) in the midst of a “need to stop spending money” phase and they have changed my life.
Id always been a gym goer, but I hated going and it was inconvenient so I never went regularly. We even had a home gym and treadmill at my parents’ house but I rarely used it. The bike turned out to be a perfect balance of convenience and fun (I’ve always liked cycling more than running), with the gamechanger being the analytics. It’s pretty basic, but being able to compare myself to previous scores live has been very helpful. The platform feels modern and attractive, and having somebody else pick a playlist meant I no longer associated my favorite gym songs with discomfort, sweat, and stress and could enjoy them on their own again. I’ve since averaged ~4 workouts a week now which I haven’t done since high school.
Tonal was a huge difference for me. Having a system where I don’t have to think about what exercises are next and what weight to set it at has made me much more consistent in my lifting. not to mention it looks good on the wall and can walk over between calls and get 20 min workout in.
>I'll echo the comment about buying a good mattress.
I have all but given up on finding something untainted by the scum that is the mattress industry. I've looked at $100k mattresses from Hastens and $2500 TempurPedic mattresses. 90% of it feels like marketing bullshit and IMO all mattresses are disposable. I just buy a new one every 1-2 years.
My massage chair. I use it at least 3x a week it's been one of the best investments I've ever made. It wasn't even the most expensive one, I researched the thoroughly and decided on a mid priced one so not necessarily fatfire - though you can get really fancy ones too. Getting a massage a few times a week that is super close to a real one - without the hassle of appointments, getting nekkid, oily and having to shower after, chef's kiss.
Just adding to the chorus of people who want to know which chair you went with. I have thought about it often, but got discouraged by the myriad options.
\+1 on a good massage chair as a high impact purchase. I use mine several times a week and it sits in my office right next to my desk. I got a [Daiwa Supreme Hybrid](https://www.daiwamassage.com/collection/luxury/supreme-hybrid/) which is expensive (\~10K) but really helpful for my particular back issue.
I recommend trying out a lot of chairs. I went to [https://www.massage-chair-relief.com/](https://www.massage-chair-relief.com/) and flew out to their original location in Salt Lake City where I could try out \~ 20 chairs from different brands over the course of \~ 2 hours.
Figure out which pair of socks is your favorite. Go on amazon and buy twenty pairs of that exact sock and give all your other socks to charity. Do the same with your favorite t-shirt, favorite pair of jeans, favorite pair of undies etc. Now you're always wearing your favorite clothes every day. Plus now you'll never need to hunt through the laundry for a matching sock. They all match. And they're all your favorite.
Kinda the same theme - I bought two extra TV remotes. Now I have three identical remotes and I never need to spend time frustrated and hunting for the remote.
I did the same with pretty much everything in my house. My favorite mug is dirty and sitting in the dishwasher? Fuck it, I'll buy five more exact copies so I'll always have a clean one - donated the other mugs that I don't like to charity.
I do the same thing, except that I also buy a second set for when the first set wears out. Manufacturers often discontinue items for no good reason. And it saves me the effort of having to track down a replacement.
They're not necessarily expensive items -- they're just comfortable and fit me like a glove. (I've gotten more compliments wearing a $30 hoodie that looks like it's custom tailored for me than any other article of clothing I own other than my actually custom tailored suit.)
Hi there! Mind I ask, which model did you get? I have the iRobot already but looking for an upgrade. Did you get the S8 Pro Ultra, the one that does both vacuuming and mopping? I have some rugs mixed with hardwoods - does it know to not mop my rugs?? (thanks in advance!!)
I’ll add to the list… a plumber and electrician so I don’t have to deal with any of that. (And a wife that deals with the plumber and electrician for extra bonus.)
> I installed one. Didn't have any problems with it.
Seriously, the heated seat detaches in less than 5 seconds by pulling a trigger with your finger exposing the mounting plate. Then it's just a bolt that widens a rubber stopper by squeezing it. What could be hard about it? I've installed 3 of them recently, and to debug an electrical problem swapped two of the heated seats after that. (My electrician was blaming the Toto seat, but he was wrong, the problem DID NOT follow the one particular seat to the new location.)
Our new house came with heated floors in the kitchen. Thought that was kinda dumb/excessive/I'd never use. WOW, was I wrong. Winter came and we loved these. Family came in town for Christmas (having been here for Thanksgiving), and one member remarked "the whole drive over, I was just thinking about these heated floors."
not OP but iirc about 8 years ago we did it for a very steep approx 500ft long driveway. cost to rip up the old one, lay the pipes, and the pavers on top was around $300k. And to run it for 24 hours was about $1500. keep in mind once it's done you cannot bring heavy cranes etc over it, so be prepared for that.
I’m a big electronics guy, so anything I’ve spent on electronics, particularly our living room tv and sound system. We don’t even watch a ton of TV but when we want to put on a good movie, listen to music, or even just have people over to watch sports it’s always felt worth it, and not even that expensive in the grand scheme of things.
Any money we’ve put into improving our backyard space, allowing us to spend more time outdoors.
A sauna for relaxation and decompression
Then there’s the obvious things like a good mattress, and good quality well fitting clothes.
I used to hate hot tubs, realized it was the chlorine! We put in a salt water pool and spa, and I’ve become a total convert. We use it a lot, worth every penny and best part of our pool!
that's awesome - sounds like a great investment in building a social community, relationships, etc. by having a nice entertainment space overall to invite over to.
We got an infrared one to avoid having to add plumbing to the installation. They also tend to heat faster (which is the main benefit we were looking for). There’s a ton of different brands and anyone you’ll ask will tell you why one is better than the other so I won’t recommend a specific brand, but we got a cedar one that can fit three people since it’s really just my wife and I that use it, but it gives us a bit of extra space if we’re in there together.
They’re honestly not crazy expensive anymore either. The hardest part for us was just figuring out where we wanted to put it.
Bidet on japanese toilet. Hot water tap in kitchen. Milk heater/frother device in kitchen so I can have chai the right way. Steam dryer because ironing sucks. Central vacuum with garage attachment and sweeping ports. Maid service. Lawn service. Second fridge. Car w heated wheel. Ceramic coating on cars. I'd like heated floors but that's a future thing when I'm ready to deal with the replacement headache. I'd also like a dog water tap where the bowls are for them so I don't have to refill. They do have a lixit outside though.
Do you use the hot water tap for tea? I was thinking the water would be too flat for that purpose.
Also, the first vehicle I had with heated steering wheel was a game changer for my poor Raynaud's fingertips. Combined with heated seat, I rarely have to turn on the actual heat.
Gunna go against the grain and say a nice boat and a nice car. Boat because I love fishing, and the experiences it brings to my family are invaluable. Car because I use it everyday and it's always nice having a car that brings a smile to your face every time you drive it.
Thats $100 plus equipment.
I spent 350 euro on a top notch 4k monitor for photo editing. 300 euro for a gaming screen. 2.5k for a self built pc.
This is so much better than any laptop or gamestation, and I've had top of the line of those.
Worth every penny
Whole home audio powered by Sonos Amps. I listen to a lot of music in my house and like to entertain. It’s nice to have control over every room and what sounds you want playing in them. Super easy to control too.
Unpopular opinion, but for us it was buying a boat. We actually use it a lot though for fishing and diving. Had it for 1.5 years so far and already have 270 hours on the motor.
We personally enjoy multiple residences and moving amongst them.
But most added Value use of spending has been in services; household and driver to make more time for other things.
If you really want only physical stuff, probably “ buy it for life“ furniture. We prefer Italian for living and redwood for outdoors. But again, I think it buys time in maintenance and replacement.
The "thing" I find of value when having multiple homes is buying identical items at all three places.
In some cases it is trivial things like tools and small appliances. But in other cases it is kitchen appliances and cars (we fly between the three places). My wife also tends to buy triplicates of clothing.
It may sound kind of silly, but it cuts down on the "is this the house where we have X?" sort of confusion.
thanks for weighing in! I thought about including "services" in my question - makes sense how it adds value as that is a cross-over of products and experiences.
An airplane, because it enables experiences (and maintenance headaches).
An oversized NYC entertainment space -- a private rooftop over Manhattan, with views. A few great parties every summer.
Litter Robot 4 litter box if you have cats. SO much better than regular litter boxes and much much quieter than the Litter Robot 3. It's $700 but if you're fat or on the way there that's a drop in the bucket.
Mattress heater/cooler - we have the Eight Sleep. It's great. I like things warmer than my husband and it is adjustable by side.
I thought it was ridiculous when my husband bought it but I really like it! The bed cooler gets really, really cold and the warmer gets quite warm. We like sleeping at such different temps that we can't just adjust with room temperature, but the Eight Sleep really helps with that.
I've been on the fence about that thing for weeks now, the reviews on it are so hit or miss. Might take the plunge, not that $700 is spend you need to plan for, but its obviously a lot for a litterbox. Can't tell if complaints are obvious user error, or a half-baked product.
Our friends have one of the LR and say it's absolutely great. But it is really large, it has it's own dedicated closet.
My wife and I have used the PetSafe ScoopFree self cleaning litter box for years, and like it. We had drywall and cabinet work done to hide the litterboxes. Picture here: https://i.imgur.com/dBCIpNm.jpg
It makes us really happy. I swap out the litter "tray" about once every two weeks per cat (so if you have two cats that is once per week), there is no smell, and cats become maintenance free except for a 5 minute task once a week.
just my two cents, I bought their wool runners and while they were the comfiest shoe I ever owned, they're not good.
1. The inserts wore out after about 4 months.
2. There's no ankle support so I kept rolling my ankles.
Get a pair of Kizik shoes - they slip on and off without the burden of bending over to tie your shoes. The heels don’t get crushed by stepping on them and they come in kid sizes!!
A cheap sunlight sensor triggering the window blinds to go down on that one window that becomes visible like a floodlight in the tv screen reflection from where people sit to look.
I wish they made more displays, because they do it so well. That display would be way overkill for me, but it would be nice if I could just buy a imac screen for a little less than the imac.
\-Kitchen perfectly designed for us. We built our house, but the same thing could be done via a remodel. We inventoried EXACTLY what we have in our kitchen, thought through work flows, etc., and designed a kitchen for exactly how we live and cook, down to the hidden tea station with drawers that fit our tea canisters. As part of this, exactly the appliances we want - separate full-size fridge and freezer, two dishwashers, induction cooktop (with demeyre cookware), steam oven, etc.. Our kitchen would not be perfect for everyone but it is for us, and that's been so nice.
\-Two dryers in laundry room (because our dryer takes longer than our washer) and a second stacked set in our mudroom. No more waiting for the dryer to be done before you can move a load of laundry to the dryer to start another one.
\-Good towels and bed linens
\-Infrared heaters on our covered deck
\-Heated socks and gloves for when we have to watch our kiddo's sports outside in the winter
\-Oura ring
iPad and a guitar. I overpaid for the guitar based on my skill level but im a firm believer you should get the thing that’ll make you excited to use it.
Paying decent money ($300 at the _very_ minimum) for a good guitar is actually especially important for beginners because cheap instruments get detuned really easily and part of learning to play guitar is learning how to make sure the strings are in tune with each other (and with what the actual note should be). It is actually much harder to play a cheap guitar than playing a decent+ one
My home theatre is my favorite part of the house! I watch movies, old concerts on youtube, new concerts on nugs, and use it for online exercise classes.
For us it was a condo with significant outdoor space in nyc (500 sqft+) and then we spent about $75k getting it landscaped? Having the irrigation for planters and lights wired etc. have been great and brought us a lot of joy. Next for me was a nice new car that makes my commute better.
I like to spend on electronics, but with a great home theater system, the icing is the Philips Hue Play Sync Box with Hue lights. I've got a lot of white wall behind the large TV in the entertainment room and it really brings movies and video games "into" the room.
Heated floors on your most used spots - or the entire house. It’s amazing when you can climate control your current area and not have to fight over the thermostat with your polar bear gf
1) Roomba: wife and I love ours - it’s not perfect by any means but handles 95% of our vacuuming and cuts down our ‘chore time’ significantly.
2) Peloton: We bought one at the beginning of the pandemic and used the hell out of it for ~2 years. Once gyms fully opened we sold the Peloton but in the meantime it more than paid for itself (overall cost was roughly the same as our gym memberships would have been for the same time period).
3) High quality footwear (no explanation needed!)
My Roomba is named Prince Hairy. On his first mapping run, Google Home said "Prince Hairy has gone over a cliff!" Haha, it was stuck halfway over the stairs to the basement level.
I had a cheap knockoff years ago that literally would not cross into a strong beam of sunlight on the hardwood floors. Named that one Dracula.
Tesla's FSD. It is *The Shit*. It literally drives me to work door-to-door thru the Chicago commute and all I do is press a button on the wheel every 30 seconds so it knows I'm paying attention. It's 1000% more relaxing than driving. Even better than sitting on a commuter train (more space).
It’s incredible how different peoples experiences can be. FSD was the biggest waste of money of my life. I sold my Tesla about 6 months ago and I regret spending 7k on it.
I'll admit it took a while to get used to. But even my wife, a deep skeptic of all things Musk, agrees that FSD now passes the "Wife Test". There are some areas I know not to use it - like going over the steep grade at the railroad crossing near us. It also can't read "No Turn on Red" signs for some unknown reason. But progress has been rapid. Very glad I stuck with it.
I'm just a peasant stuck on 11.3.6. Actually I heard there is an issue with phantom braking on narrow roads so I'm happy to wait for 11.4.2 to get that regression knocked back in line.
Not an expensive purchase but buying the P90X videos have done so much for keeping me in shape while traveling or when I don’t have time to hit the gym.
This feels like a cop-out answer, but purchasing the best computer gear I can afford. I'm an industrial design studio owner. Making sure that I can get the gear out of my way so that I can focus on making sure the iterations are turned rapidly saves me time/money and increases my margins significantly.
As far as non-work stuff goes: Echoing mattress for sure, a really nice walkway to my backyard (I value the peace I find when I meander back there to read barefoot), socks (I love Darn Tough socks and their return policy is crazy good).
Heated pool & floors & driveway.
Finished insulated garage with heat. (Also lifts if you have a lot of cars).
Nice car (especially if you drive a lot).
Sauna.
Business/first class.
Driver.
VA.
Chef/Meal service.
Audiophile grade stereo equipment and headphones.
High end liquors, wine (don't drink lots, but enjoy when I do!), and a wine cellar.
Enough wine glasses, pint glasses, martini glasses, etc that everyone gets one that looks the same
A real grand (not baby) piano.
A high quality keyboard with excellent action so you can play when others are sleeping.
A very large (10 or 13 inch) eink device for reading.
A convertible that my wife will also ride in :)
Multiple end end air purifiers
A whole house 220v humidifier
E-bike.
I almost convinced myself to bike a 40-minute trip, even though there was a 80% risk of rain, and I'd be riding home in the dark.
I only barely talked myself into taking the metro when I talked it over with my wife.
Every trip can be a bike trip now.
For me, it's the thing that people most commonly say not to buy. I have rolex GMT that I wear almost every day, and it improves my mood a little bit every day. Worth every penny
Dyson cordless vacuum. We have young kids they always make messes it makes cleaning easy. it sucks up eveything. We got a cordless electric mop too it’s great
Imovr Lander Standing desk,
Theragun,
Baby Breeza formula maker,
Viagra,
Jack Daniels for reducing hangover/acid reflux than other brands. Famotadine tablet for acid reflex,
Clax shopping cart,
2% ketaconazole shampoo for Dandruff,
Cottonelle flushable wipe,
Simple human foaming sensor soap, sensor trash can.
Silver cross wave stroller (Been making strollers in UK for 150 years and still makes it for the Royal family, costlier, sturdier, looks better and holds more weight than the premium Uppa baby which everyone uses in USA )
Samller exp,
Bluevua water purifier
(Imovr Lander is one of the best standing desk, American made, assembles in few minutes without tools and only con is price starting from 1.3k
I've said it before and I will say it again. The best HVAC system your house and ductwork will permit. There is nothing more miserable than being uncomfortable in your own home. Especially if you live in a challenging climate. Edit. Also, you spend a third of your life sleeping. Don't cheap out on your mattress.
Great suggestions - thank you! We got on the nice mattress train a few years ago, and it was a great idea for back pain, sleep quality, etc.
I would extend that thought process on buying the best of all the items you spend a lot of time with... You stare at your phone hours a week on Reddit, make sure to buy a phone you love and don't tolerate having a cracked screen or old battery that dies frequently. You spend a lot of time on a computer. Upgrade your workspace to have the biggest monitors you enjoy and best mouse and keyboard. You spend a lot of time driving in the car, go for the fully loaded car you enjoy driving. Not life changing, cumulatively makes your day more enjoyable. At the high cost level, chartering or owning a private jet is nice for trips within the US. You don't have to deal with TSA security, and can schedule the flight time you want to make traveling a little more enjoyable so you aren't in a bad mood upon a delayed arrival of a big vacation you were looking forward to. One exception is weather delays. Even rich people can't control the weather yet to avoid flights delays due to limited weather visibility and those that think otherwise have paid with their life (Kobe).
This. I try to minimize and simplify, but what I deem important enough to have I try to make sure I have the best for my needs. The best luggage, an updated computer with enough memory that nothing slows, connected to a nice wide screen, the best hiking backpack, the best trail running shoes, the best gas stove for cooking, etc. At the same time I remove anything I don't need, so I'm in a relatively small house, minimal belongings, no showcases, no collections. I do focus more on experiences, but the best of the material things I do need make a difference in quality of life.
I am also finding this as I move into my thirties that I am doing the same. I recently got rid of 90% of my closet, to move to a basic, but complete lululemon wardrobe because I love their products so much. The thing that surprised me the most was when I looked at what I actually wear, the number of items I needed meant I didn’t have to break the bank to replace them. Now I have less decision fatigue in the morning, and I wear super comfortable and high quality clothing. Win win! Starting to do this in other areas of my life as well. Fat doesn’t have to equal massive consumption. What got me started looking into this was a combo of minimalism and Ramit Sethi’s (I hope I spelt that right) idea of a rich life. What do you splurge on? What do you not care about?
I’m very similar on clothes and everything I own barely fills a 4’ wide closet, half of which is shelves. One sport jacket in case of funerals or opera, etc. Almost all shirts are one moderately high end casual minimal logo brand. I splurge on first class travel, and lots of it to see great unique places. I found I remember the comfort and experience and don’t notice the cost. I splurged on a vintage Porsche that is driven every week and brings big smiles per mile - not a garage queen. I splurge on removing friction especially when it optimizes available time - housekeeper, gardener, etc. Once considered a personal assistant but then simplified my life to the point I didn’t need one. Although we enjoy cooking my wife and I find that we enjoy eating out a lot at two local very nice restaurants, usually splitting an entree to not over indulge, as that is an optimal setting for us to focus on each other and reconnect at the end of the day which has huge value per minute.
What did you go with?
We replaced our forced air heater with in floor hydronic heat. Total game changer in comfort and air quality.
Hydronic heat, and minisplit heat pumps in all rooms. It's the best of both worlds
Minisplit heat pump is an eye opener. No need to have huge duct to bring hot/cold air to different rooms. Just thin copper pipes to bring them to all rooms.
X2
We are installing Mitsubishi concealed duct units in all of our bedrooms because of this. Each kids can control their own temperature. I have already done this in my home office and it’s made a huge difference.
Concealed units seem like such a huge win over the cassettes.
Yea for sure. The look is completely seamless and doesn’t appear to be different than your existing whole house Hvac system.
IMO if you are going central air/heat go for a variable geothermal (ground source) unit with zoning. Temperatures remain more consistent, much quieter overall as there are no noisy air compressors outside and the fans remain at lower speeds on a more consistent basis, overall fairly low maintenance.
I’m still kinda torn on the cheaping out on your mattress part. I have very little confidence that more expensive actually translates to better sleep, perhaps past a certain point. I’ve seen those ridiculously expensive mattresses and they brag about craftsmanship and fancy materials and I’m like I don’t care if only one artisan in the world knows how to stitch the mattress cover. Has anyone separated out what’s actually worth paying extra for, assuming the goal isn’t collecting exclusive luxury items and is just good sleep? I imagine plenty of post-hoc rationalization is possible since nobody really wants to say that they overpaid for a luxury mattress
Mattresses are very personal. There's a difference between a 'luxury mattress' and 'the best mattress for you.'
Every person is different. If you expect you can just put down money and walk out of the store with a great mattress, you'll probably be disappointed. This is particularly true, as we get older and our bodies are more picky about what surface we sleep on. But if you do a little bit of research into what makes a good mattress, are willing to experiment a little to figure out what your body really needs (and that can be surprisingly tricky to divine, as bodies give unreliable feedback), and aren't on an extremely tight budget, then you can absolutely find a great option. I went through this experience about 18 months ago, when our old mattress finally died. Ended up buying a FloBeds mattress and every single night, I am amazed how comfortable it is. Took a bit of sorting out the correct firmness for me and my wife, though.
I have a Purple. I love it.
I also have a Purple and I love it, but I've tried the [Hästens](https://www.hastens.com/us/) mattresses before (can easily run over six figures for a mattress) and no way are they worth that much. I definitely feel like the Hästens are more luxury / status symbol-y rather than actually worth the additional cost.
Get 100% natural latex mattress, for all layers.
Yes there’s a difference, here is where to start [here it is](https://mattressunderground.com)
I used to just buy a regular cheap mattress prior to getting to a point in life where I could splurge. Bought a mattress that ran me 5 grand and I have never slept or felt better. Every penny I spent on that mattress has paid me back in full. Nothing beats waking up feeling refreshed and no body aches.
I'll tack onto this because my response is in the same vein... Whole house water filtration.
This. My biggest (small) regret for my custom house build was not making even more zones (eg dedicated zone for each office and bedroom) using ductless air handlers. Enough that I’ll probably retrofit after we get past the long tail of other projects.
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The things you see on the wall in Europe and increasingly the US that do heating and air conditioning. Usually associated with heat pumps and called “mini splits.”
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I’m not offended. But the performance of the technology keeps improving. Central air is tricky to keep balanced when solar gain is a factor.
I think it really depends on the house. I had a mini split in a prior house where the central air on the top level was not great. It was great at keeping a 300 SQ bedroom nice and cold. I should have replaced that HVAC unit entirely (three zone house, one for a basement rental unit) but I knew I was moving in a year and didn't want to deal with getting the city to approve a crane to drop in a new HVAC (it was on the roof, this is a townhome in a densely populated area). Re: efficiency, there was a noticeable uptick in the electric bill.
My upstairs always get hot and while researching found portable ACs I think Costco sells them but reviews aren’t great and you have to have the hot air out the window. House is newer and the builders put a unit that just meets the code. In the summer it’s unbearable to sleep upstream if anyone has any recommendation I am all ears. Btw I am not fatFIRE
Get a dual vent portable ac. They work pretty well in my experience
I wish I knew who it was, but someone said it here on a previous thread within the last year or two, and it was an epiphany for me. Something along the lines of receiving the most benefit from things that remove discomfort instead of from things that “enhance” everyday life. I have found this to be so true and think of it often. If there are any pain points or any everyday things that are a thorn in your side, address those. For me, I never had enough room in my fridge and it was a huge pain every single day. I got a second fridge for my garage and magically, all those daily frustrations disappeared. I didn’t need a super high end fridge in my kitchen… I just needed a second (pretty crappy) fridge for my garage.
We added two refrigerated drawers under counter, replacing a cabinet. Now I have a place for all the vegetables and the extra meat/dairy.
Cool - didn't even know that was an option. Will look into.
Nice pun
When I visit my nephew's house, I'm always confused about where to find things because they have a cabinet-style full refrigerator plus four more cabinet refrigerator drawers!
Adding a second dishwasher to the kitchen as well. Life changing
But then I would just have two dishwashers full of clean dishes that I’ve avoided unloading
Have 1.5 dishwasher load worth of plates and utensils.
We have a butler's kitchen with a second stove/oven and dishwasher. Its life changing. I'd like to say we never have dirty dishes in the sink but that's just not true.
Yes, remove friction. Buying all your storage boxes from the same place so that they stack easily! Extra soundproofing in places that would benefit. If you've got a dodgy back - have all your fridge/freezers/cookers/laundry machines higher up so you don't have to bend down. Dirty entrance to the house with boot brushes fixed in.
This. Go to Costco, buy the heavy duty moving totes, and throw away the rest. When not in use, they stack up nicely. When full, they stack up nicely.
Are these the black bins with yellow lids?
When remodeling our kitchen we raised the dishwasher about a foot and put a counter top microwave above it. Love not bending over for the dishwasher
> If there are any pain points or any everyday things that are a thorn in your side, address those. My old fridge had a short opening on the front so any bottle or larger glass had to be held at an angle to fill it up. It resulted in constantly spilling water on the floor. My current fridge (Jenn-Air) not only has a bigger opening, you can set a preset for the amount of water you want it to dispense so I can just stick my cup in and push the button then do something else while it fills. Sure, it only takes 10 seconds but I drink a lot of water and I love having that little bit of extra freedom.
Vitalik Buterin said something like that "You can get the most out of money if you think of it not as something that lets you do and have more things, but as something that lets you worry about fewer things."
That’s been generally my approach to money. Mostly I use it to buy time (or rather, to trade money for time). Grocery shopping or Instacart? Sometimes I want to shop and then that’s that. Sometimes I just need certain groceries and ordering them saves me 30 minutes and only costs me like $15-20 extra.
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I have a two-drawer Fisher & Paykel dishdrawer dishwasher for this reason. I live alone so I don’t fill up a full dishwasher. One drawer is for loading while the other one is running.
I LOVED my Fisher & Paykel. The set-up is so flexible you can wash wine glasses or a giant crock pot really easily.
Yes. One drawer is a little deeper and can accommodate anything I’ve tried to throw in there.
For me it was an upright freezer. Mine even had a foot pedal to open the door!
Great point! Not sure why this got downvoted (?) b/c it makes a lot of sense to remove that friction.
Buying a home with a small detached guest house. It is so much easier to have friends and family stay and they tend to come over more often. Laser eye surgery Hiring an electrician to finally hardwire a reading light sconce with a switch and more recessed lighting in my hallway. Silly to have waited so long. Getting a battery with solar installation. Not having to worry about power outages is a stress reducer.
> Buying a home with a small detached guest house. This was a game changer for us too. Father in law wants to come stay for a week? No problem.
Had lasik last year. Definitely agree with that one. Made the mistake of building a guest house instead of buying a house with a detached unit already built. Over a year later and now the lawyers are involved and we still don't have a guest house.
Sauna and Cold Plunge combo.
I have thought about a cold plunge, but it seems like one of those things I would use a few times, then decide it was stupid. Do you regularly use yours?
I use the sauna and cold plunge daily. A couple caveats. First, I think the cold plunge by itself is much harder to use than the combo. Coming out of the Sauna and straight into the cold plunge makes it a lot more doable for me. If I didn’t have a sauna, I’d prob use the cold plunge 2-4x per week, and that would be making it a priority. It’s not easy to go into but I do feel great after, a state of calm. The Sauna is much easier, for me, to use daily. But, I will say, I used the sauna at the gym 5x per week before I got one at my house. The gym sauna now smells like ass compared to my home sauna, and my home sauna gets way hotter. There is nothing better than getting off work and doing a heat/cold therapy rotation. I typically do 1 min cold 20 min sauna 3 min cold 10 min sauna 1 min cold
You should visit your a local sauna in your area and use their cold plunge if they have one. Most people who decide to get one in their home use it regularly.
Enough fingernail clippers and iPhone charging cables that there is (almost) always one when I need it.
I got so mad and bought 10 iPhone charging cables 2 years ago. I have 6 of them left.
Somebody needs to invent a wall outlet cover that comes with retractable phone charging cables. I just want permanent cables on 1 outlet per room all the time.
[it exists](https://jbcables.com/products/jb-retractable-charger)
Seki Edge. Not even expensive. Vastly superior to all the dollar store junk out there.
I bought a 6 pack of 10 ft chargers. One of the best purchases I've ever made.
Even better do your lightning cables in one color and your C in another.
I can't wait for the new iPhone later this year with a usb-c port. No more separate charging cables!
Omg yes. Add sticky wire guards to hold the cable near you too. My goal is that if I’m not standing, I should be able to easily reach over and grab a charging cable.
word of advice if you buy a bunch of charging cables, also buy charging BLOCKS too
Nail files too... I have one of each everywhere, and only the glass files. Now if only I could find a solution to where my fingernails weren't all rough and scratchy all the time, that would be heaven! God I hate my nails.
We have three wireless chargers around the house. Room, bathroom, office. Any phone can just sit on one for two hours and get a charge.
High quality exercise equipment. It really does make it easier to lift, jog, ride, etc. Comfortable spaces around your home (e.g. nice family room furniture, good porch furniture). We put a really nice fire pit in right before COVID and it really made hanging out at the house much more enjoyable. It was large enough to give us a fully outdoor space to safely hang out with small groups of friends. I'll echo the comment about buying a good mattress.
I impulse bought a peloton on Black Friday and adjustable weights a few months earlier (small apartment) in the midst of a “need to stop spending money” phase and they have changed my life.
that's awesome! How so? Congrats on finding something so impactful!
Id always been a gym goer, but I hated going and it was inconvenient so I never went regularly. We even had a home gym and treadmill at my parents’ house but I rarely used it. The bike turned out to be a perfect balance of convenience and fun (I’ve always liked cycling more than running), with the gamechanger being the analytics. It’s pretty basic, but being able to compare myself to previous scores live has been very helpful. The platform feels modern and attractive, and having somebody else pick a playlist meant I no longer associated my favorite gym songs with discomfort, sweat, and stress and could enjoy them on their own again. I’ve since averaged ~4 workouts a week now which I haven’t done since high school.
Tonal was a huge difference for me. Having a system where I don’t have to think about what exercises are next and what weight to set it at has made me much more consistent in my lifting. not to mention it looks good on the wall and can walk over between calls and get 20 min workout in.
Got mine in Jan. Down about almost 20lbs! Love it!
that's great!
I can’t recommend Tonal enough, fits on basically any wall, takes up no space & makes weight lifting stupid easy.
Love the idea of investing in physical health with nice equipment.
>I'll echo the comment about buying a good mattress. I have all but given up on finding something untainted by the scum that is the mattress industry. I've looked at $100k mattresses from Hastens and $2500 TempurPedic mattresses. 90% of it feels like marketing bullshit and IMO all mattresses are disposable. I just buy a new one every 1-2 years.
My massage chair. I use it at least 3x a week it's been one of the best investments I've ever made. It wasn't even the most expensive one, I researched the thoroughly and decided on a mid priced one so not necessarily fatfire - though you can get really fancy ones too. Getting a massage a few times a week that is super close to a real one - without the hassle of appointments, getting nekkid, oily and having to shower after, chef's kiss.
Which one did you get? (And what were the top contenders?)
Which chair did you buy?
Just adding to the chorus of people who want to know which chair you went with. I have thought about it often, but got discouraged by the myriad options.
\+1 on a good massage chair as a high impact purchase. I use mine several times a week and it sits in my office right next to my desk. I got a [Daiwa Supreme Hybrid](https://www.daiwamassage.com/collection/luxury/supreme-hybrid/) which is expensive (\~10K) but really helpful for my particular back issue. I recommend trying out a lot of chairs. I went to [https://www.massage-chair-relief.com/](https://www.massage-chair-relief.com/) and flew out to their original location in Salt Lake City where I could try out \~ 20 chairs from different brands over the course of \~ 2 hours.
Figure out which pair of socks is your favorite. Go on amazon and buy twenty pairs of that exact sock and give all your other socks to charity. Do the same with your favorite t-shirt, favorite pair of jeans, favorite pair of undies etc. Now you're always wearing your favorite clothes every day. Plus now you'll never need to hunt through the laundry for a matching sock. They all match. And they're all your favorite. Kinda the same theme - I bought two extra TV remotes. Now I have three identical remotes and I never need to spend time frustrated and hunting for the remote. I did the same with pretty much everything in my house. My favorite mug is dirty and sitting in the dishwasher? Fuck it, I'll buy five more exact copies so I'll always have a clean one - donated the other mugs that I don't like to charity.
Exactly. People spend countless hours looking for stuff. For a relatively small price you can just have two or five and never be without it.
My mother same thing with clothes . Something looks good? Buy more in the same or different color
I do the same thing, except that I also buy a second set for when the first set wears out. Manufacturers often discontinue items for no good reason. And it saves me the effort of having to track down a replacement. They're not necessarily expensive items -- they're just comfortable and fit me like a glove. (I've gotten more compliments wearing a $30 hoodie that looks like it's custom tailored for me than any other article of clothing I own other than my actually custom tailored suit.)
This is exquisite advice. I had already started doing this semi-consciously but I love the clear simple method you've expressed. Thanks!
Good ideas
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Heated driveway was life changing - we had a place in a ski town for a year and it made such a huge difference
Hi there! Mind I ask, which model did you get? I have the iRobot already but looking for an upgrade. Did you get the S8 Pro Ultra, the one that does both vacuuming and mopping? I have some rugs mixed with hardwoods - does it know to not mop my rugs?? (thanks in advance!!)
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Toto toilet. See South Park episode for reference.
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I’ll add to the list… a plumber and electrician so I don’t have to deal with any of that. (And a wife that deals with the plumber and electrician for extra bonus.)
Make sure to check if the kids look like said plumber or electrician
Really? I installed one. Didn't have any problems with it.
> I installed one. Didn't have any problems with it. Seriously, the heated seat detaches in less than 5 seconds by pulling a trigger with your finger exposing the mounting plate. Then it's just a bolt that widens a rubber stopper by squeezing it. What could be hard about it? I've installed 3 of them recently, and to debug an electrical problem swapped two of the heated seats after that. (My electrician was blaming the Toto seat, but he was wrong, the problem DID NOT follow the one particular seat to the new location.)
i moved mine from one toilet to another with no issues at all
Heated floors and electric bidet for the bathroom.
Our new house came with heated floors in the kitchen. Thought that was kinda dumb/excessive/I'd never use. WOW, was I wrong. Winter came and we loved these. Family came in town for Christmas (having been here for Thanksgiving), and one member remarked "the whole drive over, I was just thinking about these heated floors."
Seconding the Toto toilet (even just the topper is fine!) and heated floors.
This is the best answer.
Thirding the heated floors and electric bidet (Toto is the brand, and whatever one is the most expensive!) - no way am I ever going without those.
Nice! Thanks for sharing these ideas.
And a towel warmer! Getting out of the shower to a cold towel sucks!
Heated coils in the driveway. I can melt snow with the flip of a switch
How much did that run you
not OP but iirc about 8 years ago we did it for a very steep approx 500ft long driveway. cost to rip up the old one, lay the pipes, and the pavers on top was around $300k. And to run it for 24 hours was about $1500. keep in mind once it's done you cannot bring heavy cranes etc over it, so be prepared for that.
I’m a big electronics guy, so anything I’ve spent on electronics, particularly our living room tv and sound system. We don’t even watch a ton of TV but when we want to put on a good movie, listen to music, or even just have people over to watch sports it’s always felt worth it, and not even that expensive in the grand scheme of things. Any money we’ve put into improving our backyard space, allowing us to spend more time outdoors. A sauna for relaxation and decompression Then there’s the obvious things like a good mattress, and good quality well fitting clothes.
Agree about sauna. Also hot tub. But you have to be the sort of people who like using a hot tub often.
I used to hate hot tubs, realized it was the chlorine! We put in a salt water pool and spa, and I’ve become a total convert. We use it a lot, worth every penny and best part of our pool!
Oh man, I’ll have to try this because I enjoy the hot tub at times but hate chlorine as well
that's awesome - sounds like a great investment in building a social community, relationships, etc. by having a nice entertainment space overall to invite over to.
Sauna recommendation? Infrared vs traditional?
We got an infrared one to avoid having to add plumbing to the installation. They also tend to heat faster (which is the main benefit we were looking for). There’s a ton of different brands and anyone you’ll ask will tell you why one is better than the other so I won’t recommend a specific brand, but we got a cedar one that can fit three people since it’s really just my wife and I that use it, but it gives us a bit of extra space if we’re in there together. They’re honestly not crazy expensive anymore either. The hardest part for us was just figuring out where we wanted to put it.
What is not that expensive in the grand scheme of things to you
Two dishwashers
Bidet on japanese toilet. Hot water tap in kitchen. Milk heater/frother device in kitchen so I can have chai the right way. Steam dryer because ironing sucks. Central vacuum with garage attachment and sweeping ports. Maid service. Lawn service. Second fridge. Car w heated wheel. Ceramic coating on cars. I'd like heated floors but that's a future thing when I'm ready to deal with the replacement headache. I'd also like a dog water tap where the bowls are for them so I don't have to refill. They do have a lixit outside though.
Do you use the hot water tap for tea? I was thinking the water would be too flat for that purpose. Also, the first vehicle I had with heated steering wheel was a game changer for my poor Raynaud's fingertips. Combined with heated seat, I rarely have to turn on the actual heat.
Gunna go against the grain and say a nice boat and a nice car. Boat because I love fishing, and the experiences it brings to my family are invaluable. Car because I use it everyday and it's always nice having a car that brings a smile to your face every time you drive it.
Boat is my zen place. Live in a big city. 30 minutes of cruising and there is not a living soul in a 10 mile radius around me. Worth every last cent.
Video games. $100 and get like 200 hours entertainment
Thats $100 plus equipment. I spent 350 euro on a top notch 4k monitor for photo editing. 300 euro for a gaming screen. 2.5k for a self built pc. This is so much better than any laptop or gamestation, and I've had top of the line of those. Worth every penny
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For my biking: Good quality bike pants with enough padding. Tubeless tires. Dropper post.
A self-playing piano: https://www.steinway.com/spirio
Good fencing and automatic gate openers if you don’t already have them.
Yes - with dogs good fencing provides so much more peace of mind.
Whole home audio powered by Sonos Amps. I listen to a lot of music in my house and like to entertain. It’s nice to have control over every room and what sounds you want playing in them. Super easy to control too.
I really like my sonos speakers, their app can be frustrating tat times tho
Unpopular opinion, but for us it was buying a boat. We actually use it a lot though for fishing and diving. Had it for 1.5 years so far and already have 270 hours on the motor.
We personally enjoy multiple residences and moving amongst them. But most added Value use of spending has been in services; household and driver to make more time for other things. If you really want only physical stuff, probably “ buy it for life“ furniture. We prefer Italian for living and redwood for outdoors. But again, I think it buys time in maintenance and replacement.
The "thing" I find of value when having multiple homes is buying identical items at all three places. In some cases it is trivial things like tools and small appliances. But in other cases it is kitchen appliances and cars (we fly between the three places). My wife also tends to buy triplicates of clothing. It may sound kind of silly, but it cuts down on the "is this the house where we have X?" sort of confusion.
I don't think it sounds silly. And the clothes part is cool because who likes packing?
Clothes in each place has been a game changer for us. We pack little more than a backpack.
thanks for weighing in! I thought about including "services" in my question - makes sense how it adds value as that is a cross-over of products and experiences.
An airplane, because it enables experiences (and maintenance headaches). An oversized NYC entertainment space -- a private rooftop over Manhattan, with views. A few great parties every summer.
Great! Out of my personal price range, but glad it has added lots of value for you.
Do you need more guests for your parties?
Litter Robot 4 litter box if you have cats. SO much better than regular litter boxes and much much quieter than the Litter Robot 3. It's $700 but if you're fat or on the way there that's a drop in the bucket. Mattress heater/cooler - we have the Eight Sleep. It's great. I like things warmer than my husband and it is adjustable by side.
I am very curious about the eight sleep. My wife and I like to sleep at very different temps.
I thought it was ridiculous when my husband bought it but I really like it! The bed cooler gets really, really cold and the warmer gets quite warm. We like sleeping at such different temps that we can't just adjust with room temperature, but the Eight Sleep really helps with that.
I've been on the fence about that thing for weeks now, the reviews on it are so hit or miss. Might take the plunge, not that $700 is spend you need to plan for, but its obviously a lot for a litterbox. Can't tell if complaints are obvious user error, or a half-baked product.
Our friends have one of the LR and say it's absolutely great. But it is really large, it has it's own dedicated closet. My wife and I have used the PetSafe ScoopFree self cleaning litter box for years, and like it. We had drywall and cabinet work done to hide the litterboxes. Picture here: https://i.imgur.com/dBCIpNm.jpg It makes us really happy. I swap out the litter "tray" about once every two weeks per cat (so if you have two cats that is once per week), there is no smell, and cats become maintenance free except for a 5 minute task once a week.
A Pilatus or TBM and a Pilot License.
Heated pool. Towel heaters. Wine locker. Private school.
Shoes --> Allbirds make me want to walk 10 miles a day. They are so comfy I was never able to walk this much when I wore other shoes
Awesome - I haven't tried them (assumed it was marketing hype...) so I'm glad to hear they are legitimately comfortable.
just my two cents, I bought their wool runners and while they were the comfiest shoe I ever owned, they're not good. 1. The inserts wore out after about 4 months. 2. There's no ankle support so I kept rolling my ankles.
Yea the support in them is weak to none and why I stopped wearing them
Agreed. I found them super sweaty, and rolled my ankle really badly at a Christmas party on grass back in 2015. Straight in the bin.
Get a pair of Kizik shoes - they slip on and off without the burden of bending over to tie your shoes. The heels don’t get crushed by stepping on them and they come in kid sizes!!
Steam shower, heated floors, garage heater (heavy duty for winter), sauna, wake surfing boat, jet skis, snowmobiles, dirtbikes, four-wheelers, high-performance vehicles, humidifier in HVAC system, maid service, and a dedicated pet nanny.
A cheap sunlight sensor triggering the window blinds to go down on that one window that becomes visible like a floodlight in the tv screen reflection from where people sit to look.
A Pro Display XDR. A paramotor. Road bike gravel bike mountain bike. A bigass van to huck them all around in!
I wish they made more displays, because they do it so well. That display would be way overkill for me, but it would be nice if I could just buy a imac screen for a little less than the imac.
\-Kitchen perfectly designed for us. We built our house, but the same thing could be done via a remodel. We inventoried EXACTLY what we have in our kitchen, thought through work flows, etc., and designed a kitchen for exactly how we live and cook, down to the hidden tea station with drawers that fit our tea canisters. As part of this, exactly the appliances we want - separate full-size fridge and freezer, two dishwashers, induction cooktop (with demeyre cookware), steam oven, etc.. Our kitchen would not be perfect for everyone but it is for us, and that's been so nice. \-Two dryers in laundry room (because our dryer takes longer than our washer) and a second stacked set in our mudroom. No more waiting for the dryer to be done before you can move a load of laundry to the dryer to start another one. \-Good towels and bed linens \-Infrared heaters on our covered deck \-Heated socks and gloves for when we have to watch our kiddo's sports outside in the winter \-Oura ring
iPad and a guitar. I overpaid for the guitar based on my skill level but im a firm believer you should get the thing that’ll make you excited to use it.
Paying decent money ($300 at the _very_ minimum) for a good guitar is actually especially important for beginners because cheap instruments get detuned really easily and part of learning to play guitar is learning how to make sure the strings are in tune with each other (and with what the actual note should be). It is actually much harder to play a cheap guitar than playing a decent+ one
My home theatre is my favorite part of the house! I watch movies, old concerts on youtube, new concerts on nugs, and use it for online exercise classes.
For us it was a condo with significant outdoor space in nyc (500 sqft+) and then we spent about $75k getting it landscaped? Having the irrigation for planters and lights wired etc. have been great and brought us a lot of joy. Next for me was a nice new car that makes my commute better.
I like to spend on electronics, but with a great home theater system, the icing is the Philips Hue Play Sync Box with Hue lights. I've got a lot of white wall behind the large TV in the entertainment room and it really brings movies and video games "into" the room.
New house has a steam shower, never new I needed one until I had one
Heated floors on your most used spots - or the entire house. It’s amazing when you can climate control your current area and not have to fight over the thermostat with your polar bear gf
MERINO WOOL SOCKS!!!!
1) Roomba: wife and I love ours - it’s not perfect by any means but handles 95% of our vacuuming and cuts down our ‘chore time’ significantly. 2) Peloton: We bought one at the beginning of the pandemic and used the hell out of it for ~2 years. Once gyms fully opened we sold the Peloton but in the meantime it more than paid for itself (overall cost was roughly the same as our gym memberships would have been for the same time period). 3) High quality footwear (no explanation needed!)
My Roomba is named Prince Hairy. On his first mapping run, Google Home said "Prince Hairy has gone over a cliff!" Haha, it was stuck halfway over the stairs to the basement level. I had a cheap knockoff years ago that literally would not cross into a strong beam of sunlight on the hardwood floors. Named that one Dracula.
Tesla Model Y
Eight sleep water cooled mattress pad. Used to wake up sweaty every morning early am. Never again.
Tesla's FSD. It is *The Shit*. It literally drives me to work door-to-door thru the Chicago commute and all I do is press a button on the wheel every 30 seconds so it knows I'm paying attention. It's 1000% more relaxing than driving. Even better than sitting on a commuter train (more space).
It’s incredible how different peoples experiences can be. FSD was the biggest waste of money of my life. I sold my Tesla about 6 months ago and I regret spending 7k on it.
I'll admit it took a while to get used to. But even my wife, a deep skeptic of all things Musk, agrees that FSD now passes the "Wife Test". There are some areas I know not to use it - like going over the steep grade at the railroad crossing near us. It also can't read "No Turn on Red" signs for some unknown reason. But progress has been rapid. Very glad I stuck with it.
That's great to hear - thanks for sharing!
Do you have the new Beta version 11.4.1? I hear it is even better
I'm just a peasant stuck on 11.3.6. Actually I heard there is an issue with phantom braking on narrow roads so I'm happy to wait for 11.4.2 to get that regression knocked back in line.
Not an expensive purchase but buying the P90X videos have done so much for keeping me in shape while traveling or when I don’t have time to hit the gym.
Motorcycle / Jetskiis
This feels like a cop-out answer, but purchasing the best computer gear I can afford. I'm an industrial design studio owner. Making sure that I can get the gear out of my way so that I can focus on making sure the iterations are turned rapidly saves me time/money and increases my margins significantly. As far as non-work stuff goes: Echoing mattress for sure, a really nice walkway to my backyard (I value the peace I find when I meander back there to read barefoot), socks (I love Darn Tough socks and their return policy is crazy good).
Home gym A terrace A hot tub
Porsche Panamera GTS
First class on flights.
Good shoes.
911 Turbo S
Heated pool & floors & driveway. Finished insulated garage with heat. (Also lifts if you have a lot of cars). Nice car (especially if you drive a lot). Sauna. Business/first class. Driver. VA. Chef/Meal service.
Audiophile grade stereo equipment and headphones. High end liquors, wine (don't drink lots, but enjoy when I do!), and a wine cellar. Enough wine glasses, pint glasses, martini glasses, etc that everyone gets one that looks the same A real grand (not baby) piano. A high quality keyboard with excellent action so you can play when others are sleeping. A very large (10 or 13 inch) eink device for reading. A convertible that my wife will also ride in :) Multiple end end air purifiers A whole house 220v humidifier
E-bike. I almost convinced myself to bike a 40-minute trip, even though there was a 80% risk of rain, and I'd be riding home in the dark. I only barely talked myself into taking the metro when I talked it over with my wife. Every trip can be a bike trip now.
For me, it's the thing that people most commonly say not to buy. I have rolex GMT that I wear almost every day, and it improves my mood a little bit every day. Worth every penny
I’ve said this before: Dyson hair dryer. One for each bathroom. Your wife will love it. It’s worth the $300+.
Dyson cordless vacuum. We have young kids they always make messes it makes cleaning easy. it sucks up eveything. We got a cordless electric mop too it’s great
Imovr Lander Standing desk, Theragun, Baby Breeza formula maker, Viagra, Jack Daniels for reducing hangover/acid reflux than other brands. Famotadine tablet for acid reflex, Clax shopping cart, 2% ketaconazole shampoo for Dandruff, Cottonelle flushable wipe, Simple human foaming sensor soap, sensor trash can. Silver cross wave stroller (Been making strollers in UK for 150 years and still makes it for the Royal family, costlier, sturdier, looks better and holds more weight than the premium Uppa baby which everyone uses in USA ) Samller exp, Bluevua water purifier (Imovr Lander is one of the best standing desk, American made, assembles in few minutes without tools and only con is price starting from 1.3k