Sometimes people get so caught up in the idea of saving money that they won’t use their hard earned cash to buy something that would improve their quality of life.
What the heck are you working for if you can’t buy yourself something that will make you happier?
I’m not talking about a $10k European vacation or a new expensive car. You don’t need those things (although if you have tons of money and want them, then go right ahead).
No. I’m talking about those things where you say “Gee golly gosh darnit! This would be so much easier if I had _______.” I bet you say this all the time verbatim. I know I do.
It hit me when my girlfriend Tag actually listened to one of my complaints and bought me a mirror for my shower. I shave in the shower and used to shave most of my face there, and then get out and check the mirror to see if I missed a spot.
Now I just use my Shower Mirror
and I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders.
Here are a few other cheap things I’ve found dramatically increased my quality of life. Maybe one of these would make your life better as well.
Life Gets Easier With A…
Rubber Spatula
I bet 98% of you already have rubber spatulas in your kitchen. I was the kid who would spend 25 minutes trying to get all the brownie batter scraped off the bowl, eventually using my fingers. It took a long time and it was disgusting.
The Wilton Easy-Flex Silicone Spatula Set of 3 costs $8.98 on Amazon.
This is a message to all the guys out there who think all they need is a can opener and some spoons. If you ever want your girlfriend to bake for you, you need to have some of these. If you ever want to bake something for yourself, you need to have one of these. Seriously.
If I had any sense at all, I would have bought a set the moment I got my first apartment. At least I finally have them now.
Second Monitor
I actually blogged about wanting a second monitor a long time ago. Well, I got one and holy crap is my life easier. Dual monitors allows me to either work on two separate things at the same time (usually blogging on one monitor and reading news on the other) or work on one big thing with twice the space (usually spreadsheet work).
If you want to spend less time on your computer because you are more productive while you are sitting there, this is the way to go. If you’ve never tried a dual monitor setup, you don’t know what you’re missing.
If you have a desktop computer and don’t have a second monitor yet, get one. You can get a 24″ widescreen LCD monitor for just over $100 at Amazon. It will change your life.
Magic Eraser
This is another thing I’ve already blogged about back when I was moving, but a Magic Eraser is about the most magical thing you can have in your house. If you’ve ever knocked your wall with something (or heaven forbid a kid does it) these little sponges will remove almost any mark without a problem.
You can get 5 Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for only $8.94 at Amazon now.
Magic erasers aren’t just useful; they are super fun! And this is coming from a guy who absolutely hates cleaning. When you see a big fat mark on the wall that you thought you’d have to paint over go away with a few swipes of this thing, it’s like a dream come true.
Lastly, before you get anything, be sure to google around and get a free coupon code for whatever you’re looking to buy.
photo credit: lachlanhardy
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
I drop some serious coin for those Mach 3 razorblades. Kinda pisses me off actually how expensive shaving my face is, but those cheap throw away razors are just that, garbage. I don’t mind dropping bills if it improves my quality of lfe. Now you need to go out and buy a curved shower bar. You never have to worry about the curtain sticking to your leg again.
I used to think Mach 3 blades were the best. Then I tried one of those razors with 5 or 6. I don’t know why, but more is always better when it comes to razor blades for your face.
And I’ve never minded the shower curtain. I’ve honestly never noticed it stick to my leg.
Have you ever used a safety razor (http://www.theartofshaving.com/shop/razors/safety)? They’re much nicer than the disposable kind, better for your face, and you get a much closer shave. You cut yourself less too, and using shave soap is more fun than shaving cream. Smells better too, and the blades are cheaper and last longer. And you get the added bonus of being fancy and dapper.
Been there, tried those, got cut to ribbons. I bought a couple of high end safety razors last year and a huge variety of blades. I tried it for 6 months to make sure my face would become acclimated to the razor. Tried shave soap, shave cream, shave gel, and shave oil. NOTHING worked. Safety razors are not for everyone.
Having said that, I suspect that the newer razors may have an updated geometry that doesn’t work for me. I used to have a safety razor 50 years ago, and it gave great shaves. The new ones, not so. So, I’m back to the Schick Quattro.
Bro. Mixing bowls, dvd stand, degreaser, etc. simple pleasures are awesome.
Mixing bowls are huge! I didn’t have those until about two years ago either. I was using old containers that once held a gallon of ice cream.
Yes, I’m that cheap.
My first taste of dual monitors came at work… If I had a desktop computer at home I would totally go that route. You are 100% correct on that one. It makes life so much easier.
The item my old lady got me was a really nice metal spatula. I had worked in kitchens for a couple years during school and had gotten spoiled by having a really good spatular for grilling. It is just so much nicer than the crappy ones I had been using at home
YES! I am the same – I have dual monitors at my desk in my new job and I could never go back – I always used to think it was pretty excessive and unnecessary but I would find it hard to go back. Sometimes I actually find the need for a third!
Yep, I think some people could legitimately need three monitors, but two is the bare minimum as far as I’m concerned.
They’ve actually done some studies on this. In an office environment, moving from one to two monitors increased productivity by about 50% for some tasks. Adding a third actually dropped productivity. It seems counterintuitive, but I guess people just can’t keep track of too many things at once, 😉
Little nit to pick: those are SILICONE spatulas (not rubber). I have been looking everywhere for the thin one…gonna order right now! The silicone is much more resistant to heat than rubber is.
>I have been looking everywhere for the thin one
Me too. And I mean everywhere. For my uses, I need a bunch of thin ones. The thin ones are very hard to find and almost never sold alone.
Apparently the thin ones are called Jar Scrapers and the major brick & mortar retailers don’t sell them.
Search amazon for “Jar Scraper” or “slim spatula” and you’ll find some good ones sold as singles without having to buy a bunch of big ones you’ll never use!
Pampered Chef sells their thin spatulas individually for $8.50. Rather expensive, but they have a lifetime guarantee on them. When i make Rice Krispie treats in the microwave, I stir the marshmallows with one then just put the whole thing (spatula and all) back in the micro. That way I don’t have to set a sticky spatula down.
Anyone try Spatula City?
Much LOL for the reference, thank you…
They have jar scrapers, too.
I’m glad everyone agrees with me on this. Although, I apologize for not knowing the difference between rubber and silicone. The kitchen is not my area of expertise…
Try your local dollar store for the silicone spatulas–i ALWAYS get mine there, both big and skinny sizes. Good luck! 🙂
One caveat about the magic eraser is that it can dull the wall, so if you painted with any sort of glossy paint (semi-gloss, even eggshell), you won’t see a stain anymore, but it still might come out looking a bit different.
I’ve never had fancy glossy paint, so I never knew that. Thanks for the warning!
Those magic erasers are basically acting like ultra fine sandpaper. They will remove material in addition to crud, so be careful!
Zester! For years I used a grater, but a couple bucks at Ikea, and I had a new zest for life. (That was pretty bad, wasn’t it?)
I honestly have no idea what a Zester is. I tried to look it up and it looks like a grater to me. I’m so confused!
Ha! It’s a grater for citrus peels. I’m just fancy like that.
Yeah, all these years (at Christmas-time), I’ve been using a grater to zest the oranges & lemons for our homemade fig cookie mixture and this year my mom bought an actual zester. Geez, I couldn’t believe it. Much easier and I got more of the rind grated than ever before. I don’t know what she paid for it, but it’s definitely worth it.
I love this post– One of my newer plans was to spend $100/month (if I had it at the end of the month) on all the little things on my list of Things That Make Life Easier.
In December I got uniform tupperware that fit into each other so that they don’t come crashing down on us when we open the cabinet.
This month I got a scale that works(!), a magnetic strip for hanging knives, and a beer starter kit so my boyfriend could make me two gallons of beer.
Next month we might get internet so that we can watch Hulu instead of renting our favorite shows a year after they’ve come out.
Every time we get even one of these little things, I get all giddy for the next month (or longer). Money might not buy happiness, but it buys convenient items which them make me happy!!!
Question: Do you know whether the Magic Eraser works on clothes? I’ve used Tide Stick before but would love something more powerful for an upcoming wedding.
If you’ve got the $100 a month, then I love that idea!
I have no idea about the magic eraser on clothes, but I doubt it would work. 🙁
Magic erasers do not work on clothing. As an added tip never use them on skin as they cause a chemical burn.
I need to replace my desk chair. My current one looks really nice, but It isreally uncomfortable after a couple of hours. I am in the hunt to replace it.
Have you tried using a stability ball as your chair? They’re only about $20 and are supposedly quite good for you to use. Plus they’re just plain fun, I’ve been using one for about a month now.
How about a decent/ergonomic keyboard/mouse/display. People often invest so much money in an expensive (and often unnecessary) computing set up and neglect the input/output devices. Given the amount of time that I spend on a computer each day, a quality keyboard and mouse definitely makes life easier! In fact, new peripherals can often give the illusion of a whole new setup. I wonder how ofter businesses upgrade computing hardware instead of peripherals unnecessarily?
I tried Magic Erasers on my high school students’ desks at school and was AMAZED at how well they take pencil off. It was almost fun to clean the desks!
Magic Eraser is my bud. Walk a mile in the shoes of a stay at home Dad and you’ll be much happier with an ME in your hip pocket. Common sense expenditures are a good idea.
Oh geez. I think if I have kids I’ll just lock them in their rooms forever so they can’t make my house dirty.
I have a second monitor at work and love it (actually three)! I do have an older flat screen monitor at home, I think I’ll try hooking my laptop up to it, and hopefully I’ll have two screens too 🙂
Do it. There’s nothing better than repurposing old crap into useful stuff. That doesn’t even cost any money!
Ever tried VirtuaWin? Multiple monitors without the cost or losing desk space:
http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/
LOL~ about two minutes ago I cleaned my shower with a Magic Eraser and I was thinking the same thing! How did I live without this?
Totally agree about the double monitors – it is awesome.
I live with my GF in a small place to save some extra cash, one of the biggest issues is TV volume when one of us is sleeping, she’s grading homework or I’m studying. Then I got some wireless headphones and hooked it up to the TV, that was a game changer. I paid about $100 for them, but honestly, for the convenience, this was the best investment I’ve probably ever made.
And I’m also aboard the dual monitor train, I don’t think I could go back to one.
I totally agree on the spatulas! Just pass pass the rubber and get the silicon. Rubber is not meant for heat.
I would also like to nominate parchment paper. I buy it at GFS (Gordon Food Service) in a package of full-sheet (huge!) size and then tear it down to fit the pan I’m using. Your girlfriend’s cookies will never stick again (and the cookie sheet stays clean!) I also use it to protect a small area for crafts/painting.
Stainless Steel Cookware – These are a godsend when it come to effortless cooking and the cleaning up that comes after. Food doesn’t stick to them when your cooking and they don’t stain, their better than copper and iron and also those nonstick varieties
I agree on the stainless steel. My wife and I picked up a Kenmore set with a cast Iron core and copper bottom at K-Mart for $220, 2 skillets, 2 pots, a steamer drop in, and lids. Cleanup is easy, food doesn’t stick, and they double as a club in case of break-ins. Just make sure you also get a set of silicone or wooden utensils to use with them. Metal ones will scratch and destroy the non-stick.
I’m a lady so my shower mirror is for making sure all my eye make-up is off and I don’t look like Gene Simmons. I love the Magic Eraser too but recently I find myself wondering if it works because it just removes the first layer of whatever is being difficult.
This is a “big ticket” item, I know, but I finally started outsourcing a bunch of projects that take me 927,439,297 hours to complete, but that an experienced person can complete in 5 minutes. I’m exaggerating, but you get the idea.
I’ve finally stopped trying to D.I.Y. everything, and my life is SO much less stressful now.