“What Is Something That Is Super Cheap, But Vastly Improves Your Quality Of Life?” (30 Answers)
Not everything in this world costs an arm and a leg. And while most people believe that their quality of life is largely governed by the amount of money they have, this illuminating thread proves us wrong.
Shared on the Frugal community on Reddit, the thread has people sharing the cheapest buys and even things that cost nothing they use to improve their life quality and overall wellbeing.
From small things like incense sticks to amazing things that are free of charge like long sleeps and walks in nature, there are many ways to get ourselves together without breaking the bank!
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The library. Free. So much joy and entertainment and learning right there.
Love the library! The Libby app is awesome, and I even get free movies from Kanopy.
Long walks as often as you can. Preferably in nature.
Even better: walks with a friend. Healthy exercise, sun or at least fresh air and good conversations.
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.
Blackout curtains for your bedroom window
God yes, especially during the summer when the sun in still blazing at 9pm and you’re trying to get to sleep.
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 :)
$1 bamboo back scratcher (is this an age thing, I never needed one when I was young?)
Drinking water lol no sodas or carbonated beverages. My teeth, gut and overall health are a bit grateful.
I drink water 90% of the time, but sometimes I want some fizz. So I get some plain mineral water and add fruit to it. Strawberries etc are pretty good for flavouring. Sweetens it naturally and you get a serving of fruit too.
A hot shower.
And the little metal hair catcher I put in the drain so it doesn’t clog.
A hot shower is such a huge luxury that many people in the world do not have. Yet those of us who do, take it for granted.
Condoms
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.
Growing my own vegetables. Getting out in fresh air and working in it. Frees my mind and helps me relax. Plus is fresh vegetables.
Home grown vegetables taste infinitely better than the junk you buy at the store.
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.
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.
My mind boggles at the idea of being able to afford to live in a place that has more than one floor and more than one toilet/bathroom.
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.
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.
Walks outside are easy, but I've tried multiple times in the past to be an "exercise at home" kind of person, and I just don't have the discipline to keep with it if I don't have a group workout to go to. But a lot of towns do have groups that meet in the park in summer time and stuff.
Buying treats for my pet, and showing him love through them. Quite rewarding
This is good for pet and owner. It gives trust to pet and owner, plus it is very helpful in training dogs.
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.
Dental floss
Taking walks or hiking in the woods. So rejuvenating!
Or simply birdwatching and listening to birds in the backyard.
A microwavable heat pack. Helps me feel relaxed and ease aches and pains
A walk beside the ocean. A cup of tea and a blanket and a book.
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
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.
Water bottle
here in japan water bottles cost around 1-5k or smth depending on what kinds ur going to buy. but stainless that keeps everything in the bottle hot or cold last longer
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.
Used books at book sales are so amazing- Flyleaf Books also has an amazing used book section.
Earplugs - they help with sleep, relaxation, focus. It might take a few tries to find a pair that is comfy for you.
Puzzles. I exchange with neighbors and friends so don't buy many. Everyone in my house gravitates to the puzzle - we put on music, we drink tea or a glass of wine, we chat. It's a zen thing.
Aww :) my parents do this together, and when they’re done they glue and frame it. Pretty cute.
Squeegee. Squeegee your shower walls after you shower. Cuts down on mildew significantly.
Going to Goodwill, putting on headphones and browsing for treasures for an hour. I always spend less than $40 bucks but get a dopamine hit like a major shopping spree!!!
That sounds like fun. In Germany, you might want to try Diakonieläden.
Rainx windshield wash fluid. The difference driving in rain is night and day. For only a few dollars.
This changed my life. No more panic attacks because it was raining and I was driving.
Using the 3D printer at the library. All it costs is the cost of the materials (usually less than $5 per piece).
I make shelves, [lithographs](https://all3dp.com/2/how-to-3d-print-your-own-lithophane/) from photos, hooks and mounts and all sorts of gadgets, gears… I even fixed a pair of our fav scissors when they broke!
The drive home alone after work- where I can decompress and leave the stress before walking in the door
Fans. When the house is hot and the outside is cool, a window fan can vent the heat of the house out fast. In winter the fan and move warm afternoon air in.
We got a window unit from someone for $50...use it a couple hours late in the day to knock the heat out. My kids live in NC (USA) have the thermostat at 72..freezing!
Generic brand Mr Clean Magic Erasers. Scuff marks on walls, gone. Hard water deposits on glasses, gone. Cleans every surface in my kitchen, gets label residue off stuff, brings outdoor resin chairs back to looking like new. I’m in love with these cleaning miracles.
Tongue scraper and a fresh razor blade are some of my top “why didn’t I get this sooner?” Items
Grocery delivery. We pay a monthly fee which is about five. I can order groceries on the bus on my way to work. The app remembers my preferences which makes subsequent orders easier.
With a bunch of kids as a single parent, it's worth every penny.
Magnesium
Not that cheap, but I agree. I now take my daily tablet in the morning and a dissolvable dose if needed at night. Makes my restless leg syndrome much more manageable.
A whiteboard. It's hung right inside my front door and great for making to-do lists and leaving notes for my housemate when we're working opposite shifts.
I use my fridge as a whiteboard :) that’s where my grocery list is, and I have a dry-erase pen glued to a magnet. Most modern fridges can be written on with dry-erase marker! (Edit: in case someone messes up and gets mad at me - rubbing alcohol will remove any unwanted marker 😊)
Dude’s legitimately asking for product recommendations and everybody here is like “A nice weekend spent with friends at home costs you nothing,” or “Not doing crack cocaine is free and can save tons of money by not having to go to expensive rehab.”
Lip balm/ Chapstick, homemade sugar or salt scrub, nice lotion, a protein pack hair mask, a moisturizing bubble sheet mask. Less than $5 each. Put on some spa music and relax the hours away and look happy and healthy afterwards.
Homemade sugar scrub on the cheap cheap - swipe a sugar packet or two from a coffee shop/restaurant/gas station/work, then mix with your usual facial cleanser. OR cleanse your face first then mix with an oil of your preference - I like grape seed because it’s cheap and I can cook with it. Bonus points - use turbinado or fine sugar, as sugar grains are kind of large and can cause micro tears in your skin.
Clear door hanging shoe organizer. I use it for storage & organization. I have ADHD so object permanence is important to remember I even have something. I have a lot of random small items that I lose easily or get mixed up with a bunch of other items. It helps keep my space clean, easy to put stuff away (just a simple drop), and relieves the constant stress of losing something. Bonus points for adding labels to help me keep it really organized and not mixed up.
I’ve bought a few plastic jugs with screw tops (1L-2L), I make tea in my French press then keep it chilled in the fridge in the jugs. Homemade iced tea for the cost of a few bags per jug. I’ve been drinking soooooo much iced tea, all sorts of different teas.
The scrubber with a handle you can fill with soap & replace the brush pad is easily one of the most useful things I own, it's about $2 or $3.
I leave one of these in my shower :) once a week, while I’m waiting 1-2 mins for my hair conditioner to sink in, I use it to give the walls and shelves a quick scrub. Keeps my shower super clean (I also scrub the bath tub before every bath so the whole setup is always clean even if the rest of my bathroom isn’t)
There are these little rubber things that go around a dog’s leash that can then hold your full dog poop bag, allowing you to pick up the poop without having to carry the bag the whole time. I highly recommend them for dog owners.
I have a hip purse (attaches at the waist and the thigh to stay in your hip) for walking the dogs. One of the front pockets is designated for full bags so I don't have to carry them around in my hand. Also, I used a training leash (which has two loops) to make a diy version of those belt leashes for my 3 bigger dogs. Gotta stop to untangle periodically, but much nicer than holding the leashes in my hands. (Looping the clip through the second loop keeps the leash from completely cinching around your waist.
Podcasts to listen to while walking. Opens a whole new world of knowledge and learning.
Morbid, Stuff You Shoukd Know, Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know, Behind the Bastards, and Under The Influence with Terry O’Riley are a few of my faves. What podcasts do you guys like?
De-icer spray. I had never heard of this until a couple years ago. I spent the first 22 years of my life as a driving person scraping ice off by hand or burning up all my gas waiting for the window to defrost. One day we were going somewhere and my husband pulled out this magic spray elixir that melted the ice instantly. I was completely blown away. About $6. We only need it a couple times per year, but man is it worth it.
If we can count free apps:
A meditation app. Meditation has so many benefits.
I always recommend for this Insight Timer, there are free classes and thousands of meditations. It saved my sanity during lock down. I love it 💜
Dawn Powerwash. I can't believe how much easier it makes handwashing dishes than any other dishwashing liquid.
Pop socket. Such a simple invention. But I couldn’t use my phone comfortably with out it.
https://www.popsockets.com/dw/image/v2/BFSM_PRD/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-popsockets-master-catalog/default/dw53c429cb/images/hi-res/Enamel_Fly-Me-To-The-Moon_02_Grip-Expanded.png?sw=800&sh=800
A small spray bottle filled with homemade lavender pillow spray (distilled water + essential oil). Spritz on your pillow before you get in bed for the night. And a small notebook to document your favorite moments of the day, what you're thankful for, and to set an intention for tomorrow.
An earthenware mug that feels nice to hold
Also if you're in a snowy place and short, an extendable brush/ice scraper for the car. Although I think mine was $12.
Little sticky hooks to hold my phone on the wall while I wash dishes so I can Watch Netflix or listen to a podcast
Training your cat to use the toilet. I have not bought litter in over a decade. The only upfront cost was a city kitty training kit.
I bet training them to lift and lower the lid was the hardest part ;-)
Those little brillo pads with soap from dollar tree are golden. Nothing more irritating than a pan soaking for 3 days clogging up real estate in my kitchen. Just scrub whatever the fam burned in it off and toss in the cupboard.
I have a hallway style kitchen & I find I avoid cooking if it's dirty or cluttered.
https://ziasabers.com/product/fury-custom-lightsaber-10-sound-fonts/ its not like 5-20 bucks cheap but its great for the price and i can near guarentee it will make your life better
https://ziasabers.com/product/fury-custom-lightsaber-10-sound-fonts/ its not like 5-20 bucks cheap but its great for the price and i can near guarentee it will make your life better
