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The Lady we got ours from isn't showing up at the farmer's marker anymore, but for well under $20, you can make your own corn pillow
This winter's been bad for deep freezes and 4 minutes in the microwave will keep my corn pillow hot for an hour or more.
Freshly roasted coffee beans. A bag sets me back maybe $13 or so and gets me approximately 10 cups. Not what I would call outrageously expensive but I enjoy it a whole lot
May I share with you that I roast a lot of things and it's mind-blowingly easy, it saves a lot of money, and it's a lot better than buying roasted from the store!
I used to use my oven, but it's literally as simple as raw almonds 325 in the air cooker for 15 minutes sometimes. Depends on the ingredients, I've never done coffee but I think I'm going to do that this afternoon!!!
edit: I couldn't find coffee beans that weren't roasted (i never thought this through) so I bought the lightest ones and tried roasting them at different temperatures. It just kinda wrecked them.
Platinum Preppy fountain pen. Often, it's less than 10$
No one needs a fountain pen to write, but writing with a fountain pen is a unique experience. Alas, many fountain pens will cost a little fortune and other will cost a large fortune (what about a 40k$ one?). The Preppy is an exception. It's not the best fountain pen but it's very decent, it's even incredibly good considering its price. For slightly more 25-30$, I would also suggest the Lamy Safari.
Beside that, I can't think of many luxury items under 20. I mean, I can think of a few useful luxury things but they cost more than 20.
The Pilot Varsity fountain pen feels cheap in your hand, but the way it writes is exquisite. This pen is shorter than average, yet holding it by the opposite end and dragging the nib across paper, letting the nearly inexistent weight of the pen apply pressure, you'll be left with a beautiful and consistent line.
You can usually pick up single Varsity fountain pens at stores such as PoopShelf for less than $3 each, or you can support your local art store by buying them in 3-packs for less than $10. I've been using these pens for over a decade and the only pen I've ever found that had an equally smooth and delicate writing experience was something I found at Paradise Pen for over $500—back when I could get these fountain pens for less than $2.
I have to warn you about their cheap construction, though: don't store them in your pants pocket. They'll find some way to bend, crack, or otherwise dump their entire reservoir in your pants.
A bamboo back scratching stick. I bought dozens back when Pier 1 existed and sold them for 75¢. Most are still around.
An electric 'coffee grinder' just for grinding up spices / seeds. Don't use the regular coffee grinder, or your coffee drinking housemates will get super annoyed. The flavor, and nutrition is so much better when you cook with freshly ground spices.
May I suggest a mortar and pestle, then you don't have build up of contaminants in the burr, and blending of particulate from past grinds
I mainly use mine to get the finer espresso grounds from regular coffee. Why pay premium?
Also used it for chemistry experiments, grinding coriander, all sorts of things.
After breaking 2, I finally got a decent one for $40.
A small USB-C hub. It has a USB-C out on one end then HDMI, 2 USB-A ports and another USB-C in on the other. I use it as my travel dock for my switch and steam deck, I've used it as a USB A to C converter, and I'll use it to test inputs on various TVs. I've gotten so much more mileage out of this $15 Amazon purchase than I ever would have expected
Orthotic shoe inserts. The good ones (superfeet) cost more than $20 but I was able to use my HSA $ to buy another brand for $0 out of pocket. Feet not hurting is worth the money.
Foam roller. I roll out my back 2-3 times a day.
Can you tell I'm getting old?
I carry an arch lighter everywhere. It cost me $15 but saves me a ton in lighter fuel, and you'd be surprised by the number of every day situations that a controlled burst of plasma solves. Opening packages, lighting candles, kills mosquitos in the dark, and it's a fantastic taking piece as mine slots into a zippo.
Only downside is I can't use my zippo for light on the off chance I get trapped in a dark tunnel.
Only downside is I can't use my zippo for light on the off chance I get trapped in a dark tunnel.
Use your arc lighter to light something else on fire: your shirt, Joe Pesci's head, that angry bear you didn't notice at first in the darkness but really hoped it was Scooby-Doo
Zippo sucks imo because the gas evaporates so quick
Exactly, as a non smoker, I don't use it enough to justify the cost of fuel. That's why I like the arch lighter insert. All the look and feel of a zippo but I have to fuel it annually instead of hourly and it takes USB instead of oil.
Neat! Didn’t know these existed.
A coffee cup warmer. No more getting up from my desk to nuke cold coffee.
Get a double walled cup, i can have hot coffee for 4 hrs and warm for another 2-4 hours
Those are stupid cheap at the thrift stores and there's always one there.
A decent pen and/or pencil. I have several nice fountain pens that I use for journaling, but I use my Zebra F-301 ballpoint daily for general notes/etc. -- ~$10 for a 4 pack on Amazon. If you prefer a pencil, you can pick up a Pentel Sharp Kerry for under $20 on Amazon.
A key wallet ; Keep your keys organized, stops them from jingling, can put smart cards in it too. Easier to hand off to friends to borrow. I hate jingling keys.
A usb-rechargeable battery bank that doubles as a hand warmer. Comes in handy for computer time in the cold basement and during a power outage, was extremely useful to charge cell phone