“What Is Something That Is Super Cheap, But Vastly Improves Your Quality Of Life?” (30 Answers) (2024)

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The library. Free. So much joy and entertainment and learning right there.

shiplesp , Devon Divine Report

Long walks as often as you can. Preferably in nature.

bUrNtKoOlAiD , Zeynep Sümer Report

I received a microwave splatter cover as a Christmas present. I heard it was bought at a dollar store. It's my most valued, most often used gift of the past many years.

Seeking_Balance101 , NordicWare Report

Blackout curtains for your bedroom window

turfinite , Alicia Christin Gerald Report

Sobriety

Sad_Transition3885 , Fernando Brasil Report

Getting a good, long sleep.

1714alpha , Craig Adderley Report

We never had fresh flowers in the house growing up, but now that I’m almost 30 and married, I love getting the little $5 flower bunches at Kroger every week! I know $5 adds up over the year, but it makes me so happy seeing pretty little blooms on our dining room table. Sometimes little joys are worth the expense :)

jlladd16 , Christopher Martyn Report

$1 bamboo back scratcher (is this an age thing, I never needed one when I was young?)

dogsRgr8too , aliexpress Report

Drinking water lol no sodas or carbonated beverages. My teeth, gut and overall health are a bit grateful.

WatercressSubject717 , Giorgio Trovato Report

A hot shower.
And the little metal hair catcher I put in the drain so it doesn’t clog.

KemptHeveled , Hannah Xu Report

Condoms

Slow-Doctor9227 , Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition Report

Walking my daughter to school.

We literally live across the street and I would drive her. The amount of time it would take for us to get from our apartment to the van, get buckled, and down to the exit of the parking garage, around the block and wait at the light, I could already be across the street.

Now we walk to and from, round trip is 20 mins, twice per day, so roughly 40 mins of low-impact cardio per day five days per week.

We have more energy and diminished pain (she has scoliosis and some fused vertebrae and I have fibromyalgia). Bonus: my pants are now too big.

hanimal16 , Clarisse Meyer Report

Growing my own vegetables. Getting out in fresh air and working in it. Frees my mind and helps me relax. Plus is fresh vegetables.

darkwitch1306 , Markus Spiske Report

Not always cheap (vary in price) but houseplants.

crazycatlady331 , Prudence Earl Report

Homemade bread!

MsRachelGroupie , Mathilda Khoo Report

Binder clips. Handy for closing chip bags. Handy for anchoring picnic tablecloths to the table. Handy for posting things prominently so you remember to do them.

I keep some in multiple rooms of my house and in my vehicles.

excoriator , Content Pixie Report

I'm going to go with... Buying duplicates to cut down on the barrier to chores.

For example, cleaning the toilet. I could buy just one bottle of toilet bowl cleaner and carry it to each bathroom when I'm cleaning. But instead, I buy one for each bathroom and leave one by each toilet. This doesn't cost more than buying just one in the long run, since the cleaner is consumed at about through the same rate (although it's a little faster because I'm actually using it), but it means that it's that much easier to clean a toilet when I need to do it. And because it's easier to clean the toilet, they stay cleaner, which means it takes barely a few minutes to clean a toilet and I don't have to deal with the extra nasty level of grime that's hard to clean.

Another example would be having broom for each floor of the house. I'm more likely to sweep if I don't have to bring a broom from upstairs or something. Or buying extra rolls of trash bags and leaving the rolls near each trash can.

aja_c , Kelly Sikkema Report

Yoga With Adriene on YouTube. I love her relaxed vibe and variety of offerings. So much better than having to go somewhere and pay for a class, and I always feel so good afterwards.

hillycake , Alexandra Tran Report

A hot cup of tea with a little honey.

A day spent hiking or biking.

Free YouTube yoga classes.

Exercise in general - no expensive gym needed. Work out at home or outside.

An afternoon on the sofa with a good book and a blanket.

sauvignonyum , Jessica Delp Report

Buying treats for my pet, and showing him love through them. Quite rewarding

Nevertrumper2019 , McDobbie Hu Report

A second vote for some dollar store bins.

Having ADHD causes me to forget to do morning routine things constantly. So I finally put everything in a basket - hair brush, hair ties, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, tongue scraper, ear cleaner. Basket comes out and everything is right there.

Also a pill organizer. I got two huge unopened ones from the thrift store and since I take several daily meds to keep me alive, it's kind of important to remember to take them. So on Sundays I refill and I have two so I only have to do it twice a month. It sits out on my counter as a reminder.

Chester730 , Ron Lach Report

Dental floss

burnz1 , Sora Shimazaki Report

Taking walks or hiking in the woods. So rejuvenating!

Or simply birdwatching and listening to birds in the backyard.

GeekyGrannyTexas , Bonnie Kittle Report

A microwavable heat pack. Helps me feel relaxed and ease aches and pains

wiredandtired1980 , TESNN Report

A walk beside the ocean. A cup of tea and a blanket and a book.

the_wet_coast , Tamara Bellis Report

All of these suggestions are so good. Scrolling through I had that "these are my people" feeling. I love this sub

Lemon or cucumber water!
A crystal suncatcher prism in a sunny window (rainbows everywhere!)
A clean, organized home
Exercise in nature (hikes, yoga, wild swimming, etc)
Line dried bedding (the freshness makes me so happy)
Deep breathing
Tea and a book
Fresh flowers (bought or foraged)
Gardening
Volunteering

MixMaxMirror , Leonie Clough Report

SLIPPERS

Fletcher_Munson , Philippe Jausions Report

Really good food, not expensive either. Today I'm cooking mahi mahi over cheesy grits with asparagus . Less than $4 a serving. Everything was bought on sale. Last week was Mongolian pork with ramen noodles. Pork loin on sale for $1.48 a pound, ramen $.39 per packet.

lilithONE , Kevin McCutcheon Report

Water bottle

Professional-Pace-43 , Globelet Reusable Report

Cheap organizational containers- I tend to misplace things a lot, so having my items (office supplies, makeup, food, etc) allocated to different boxes saves me so much time and frustration. Also, it allows me to save space by vertically organizing my desk/cabinets via stacking boxes.

Used/resold books - I’ve gotten some classics for $2-3 at Half Price Books and at other great sales to add to my mini library and preoccupy me. Taking advantage of the library for free books/movies is also a great idea, and the library (or mine, at least) used to have a program where they were selling older books for $0.25-0.50.

Humidifier/diffuser/air purifier - The diffuser I got was from Five Below and had a low capacity, so it could only humidify a very small space, but all you do is put essential oils into the small sponge provided and it makes the room smell amazing. My tiny, drab dorm smelled like roses and was beautified by the changing rainbow light built in, which made my time in there less miserable lol. If you live in a cold, dry midwestern state like me, then a humidifier is a great investment and you can find a pretty good one under $20 on Amazon.

The_Sanity_Diaries , RODNAE Productions Report

Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

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Hi there! I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. My job is to ensure that all the articles are aesthetically pleasing. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from all the relationship drama to lots and lots of memes and, my personal favorites, funny cute cats. When I am not perfecting the images, you can find me reading with a cup of matcha latte and a cat in my lap, taking photos (of my cat), getting lost in the forest, or simply cuddling with my cat... Did I mention that I love cats?