The personal finance community talks a lot about cutting spending to get out of debt faster and invest more. It rarely talks about spending on items that improve your quality of life. Yet one reason we all want money is because it can make our lives better.
If you’re responsible with money—saving and investing for the future—you should be spending some of your hard-earned money on items that improve your quality of life! And there are plenty of things that will do that without making you broke.
If you can’t afford to buy the items on this list, you don’t have a spending problem. You have an income problem.
In total, they cost me less than $1,000. And my life is richer because of each item.
Here are 25 items under $50 that have improved my quality of life. Yes, I actually own and use versions of them all. And I’m confident that many of them can improve your life too!
Coffee making
I love making coffee at home. Not just to save money. But because I thoroughly enjoy having that warm cup in my hands while going about my morning routine.
I started with an espresso machine so I could make cappuccinos and flat whites. After some time, I decided I didn’t need as much milk in my coffee, and I liked the idea of filtration. So I switched to a drip machine. But now I’ve decided that I want the smoothest cup of coffee that I can get. That required me to learn how to make the perfect pour-over. And this is the setup that I bought this year:
1 Chemex Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker
This is the highest rated pour-over coffeemaker out there, according to my research. It looks cool. And it’s satisfying to watch the coffee brew as you pour water over the grounds.
2 Manual Coffee Grinder
I decided on a manual grinder since I don’t like the noise that an electric grinder makes and I don’t mind the physical process of grinding my beans each morning. The added benefit is that I can easily take it with me on camping trips and have the same great coffee that I make at home!
Whether you use a manual or electric grinder, make sure it’s a burr grinder. Blade grinders just don’t get the same results.
3 Gooseneck Electric Kettle
An electric kettle boils water much faster than your stovetop ever will. A full kettle boils as fast as I can grind the beans. And the kettle is another item that looks good on the counter next to the coffeemaker.
4 Kicking Horse Coffee, Three Sisters
I only buy organic coffee anymore. And after moving to Colorado, I discovered Three Sisters in my local grocery store. On a camping trip, after making the best french press coffee I’ve ever tasted, I decided this bean was worth keeping around!
5 YETI Rambler 20 oz Travel Mug
I’ve had a bunch of stainless steel, vacuum sealed mugs. And I wasn’t sure I needed to spend top dollar on a YETI. But after getting one as a gift, I understand why they’re so popular. I love the quality and durability.
The most important things for me are that my mug keeps my coffee warm—or cold if I’m making an iced version on a summer day—and that it fits in my car’s cup holder.
Outdoor adventures
I love getting outside and being active. I don’t need much to be happy in the mountains, but I’ve come to appreciate comfortable clothing and a small, light pack to carry the essentials.
6 Merino Wool Socks
As you’re about to find out, I love merino wool. I also love the feeling of a good pair of socks. They’re nice for walking around the house on a cold morning. Hiking a trail in the forest. And sledding in the snow.
I used to always prefer a shorter crew sock. I didn’t need boot length socks as often when I lived in the desert of Arizona.
Now that I’m in the mountains of Colorado, though, I really appreciate having a long enough sock for the job. Longer socks are good for the cold in general. But they’re required when I’m wearing hiking boots, snow boots, or cross-country ski boots.
7 Merino Wool Base Layer Shirt
Merino wool is soft, fast drying, and odor free. It’s warm when it needs to be and breathable at the same time. Only nature can make a material that perfect!
I usually reserve my wool shirt for hiking, biking, skiing, and snowboarding. But it’s great for everyday use too.
8 Merino Wool Base Layer Pants
I wear my wool pants less often than my shirt. Mostly for snow sports. But I’ll also take them with me backpacking and camping, for those cold nights.
9 Light gloves
Another item I use all the time now is a pair of light gloves. I take them walking, running, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. Basically, any time I’m outside for more than 15 minutes with temperatures below 45°F.
My hands get cold faster than the rest of my body. So sometimes I’ll wear these gloves with a t-shirt and shorts, let my skin soak in the warm sun, and keep my fingers from the cool air. Just the right balance.
10 Neck Gaiter
I snowboarded for more than a decade without a good face and neck covering. Sometimes, I would use a scarf when the wind picked up at the top of the mountain. But it didn’t stay in place the way my neck gaiter does. And the solution was so inexpensive!
It probably sounds funny, but this was a game-changer for me. Am I the only one who took this long to figure it out?
11 Small Hiking/Biking Daypack
I use my small, 20 liter daypack 10 times as often as a larger pack. Even on a hard 20-mile day hike, I prefer taking a small pack to keep weight down.
A good daypack has enough room for a big water bladder, plenty of calories and electrolytes to get me home safe, and a few survival items in case something goes wrong. And I barely notice that I’m wearing it, compared to my bigger pack.
Smart home
I know people with many more smart devices than I have. But I’m slowly making my home smarter, and I’m starting to appreciate the benefits.
12 Echo Dot
There are three Echo Dots in my house. I also have an Echo Studio for its great sound, but it was too expensive to make the list. The Echos are the hub of my smart home system.
My favorite features are:
- Easily adding things to our shopping list as soon as they come to mind, then pulling up the list from our phones at the store.
- Playing music across the house on command.
13 Smart Light Bulbs
I used to think smart bulbs were just a novelty. Something you’d install to amuse your guests.
Then I won a bulb (I can’t remember how), set it up with Amazon Alexa, and realized it was pretty cool. So I bought a couple more.
I really like having lights that automatically turn on when we’re hanging out in the living room and the sun sets. And that I can set the brightness level by voice command if I’m working on something that needs more than mood lighting.
I also like that they turn on when we’re away. For security. For my dog, who would be alone in a dark house otherwise. And so our home isn’t so dark when we return.
The fact that my daughter can tell Alexa to turn the lights teal for her friends is still a novelty.
14 Blink Video Doorbell
We don’t have the doorbell yet. But it’s an under $50 version of the two Blink outdoor security cameras that keep watch at our house. The one-camera version gets close to $50 when it goes on sale.
The doorbells—and the cameras—allow you to see and speak with anyone who approaches your door. Even if you’re not home! And, of course, they work with Alexa devices and the Alexa app.
The fun thing about motion-detecting night vision cameras is that we pick up some interesting wildlife that only seem to pass our home at night: bears, elk, mountain lions, skunks, and raccoons.
Family fun
15 Whatever After Book Series
We read to our daughter every night. And this New York Times Bestselling book series has been the biggest hit with her.
Whatever After is about a sister and brother who go through a magic mirror in their basement at night and enter the fairy tales that we all grew up with. The books are funny and well written. They’re entertaining for me too! And although girls may relate most to the princesses and Abby, the main character, most boys will like Whatever After too.
I had to split it into two box sets, Books 1-6 and Books 7 – 13, to keep it under $50. But after we read a few, we invested in the entire set. Now, she’s starting to read chapter books on her own, and these will be the first that she goes to!
The author has also written a couple of books for older kids, which I’m sure my daughter will graduate to in a few years.
16 Ticket to Ride Board Game
Ticket to Ride is our newest family board game. It says it’s for ages 8+, but my 7-year-old picked it up quickly and plays with a little help from us.
The game is about connecting railroads between the destinations given by your cards. And blocking your opponent from connecting their destinations.
My wife and I enjoy the strategy, and all of us have fun with it!
17 Sequence Board Game
Sequence is a classic game that I’ve been playing most of my life. And another one that my daughter picked up at 7.
The object of the game is to put together a sequence of 5 chips in a row on a game board. And block your opponent from getting a sequence. With 4 or 6 players, it becomes a team game.
This is one that we can set up and play quickly. So it’s a good option when we don’t have a lot of time before bed.
18 Mancala Board Game
Mancala is a different kind of game than the last two. It uses marbles and cups, and is more like Backgammon than anything else I can think of.
It’s 2-player only, and is very fast to play. Kids seem to enjoy the feel of the marbles as they spread them around the game board.
19 Tree Swing
This swing was the biggest lifesaver item for our daughter during COVID lockdowns. Unless you count the puppy we bought to be her companion.
She was 4 when preschool closed, our jobs turned remote, and we began traveling between grandparents’ homes—and our vacation rental—to have childcare. The swing went everywhere with us. It’s simple to set up and take down, and easy to transport.
She loved it then, and needed our help pushing her. Now, she’s more independent and loves climbing to the top! But she still likes having me push her now and then.
Fewer kids are playing outside these days. But they really need the sun, fresh air, and exercise. So I’m glad to have one more thing that gets her out there.
20 Ladder Toss
Yard games are another great way to get the family outside. And ladder toss is one of our favorites.
Throw bolos and get points depending on which rung of the ladder you wrap them around.
Simple, but great entertainment.
21 Corn Hole
This bean bag toss game is everywhere now. You’ve probably seen it at bars and restaurants, and at home barbeques. We also like to take it camping.
22 Slammo (aka Spike Ball)
This game can be challenging for young kids. But when their hand-eye coordination is ready, it’s a fast-paced, fun game that keeps you on your toes and puts a smile on your face.
23 Snow Sled
We have a great sled hill right in our backyard. And we’ve taken as much advantage of it as possible. This winter, we had enough snow to dig a 12-foot tunnel and sled through it! On Easter, we went sledding in swimsuits!!
We have round sleds and long sleds. The longer sleds are faster and more steerable. The round sleds spin you around and provide a challenge of their own.
Sleep well
24 Bed Pillows
Good sleep is one of the most important things you can invest in. So I wouldn’t advise trying to save money in this category if it means losing sleep. But a good pillow can be found for under $50. These pillows use shredded memory foam, which allows you to customize them for the best sleep possible!
Dog walking
25 Electric Dog Leash
We love to walk and hike with our dog. But it’s most enjoyable when he can run free instead of being tethered to us by a leash. So we use an electric leash as often as possible, and it helps to train him to come on command. Even when he sees something he’d rather chase!
Honorable mention:
As I put this list together, I came up with a few items that really improve my quality of life, but that just missed the $50 cutoff. I’ll blame it on inflation!
I was so disappointed that I decided to include them here as a bonus. Everything goes on sale now and then, so who knows, maybe one of these will fall below $50 by the time you read this:
26 Fitbit
I’m a health and fitness enthusiast. I also like to gamify life sometimes. My Fitbit is one way to do that.
It’s fun for me to see how many steps I rack up each day, how well I slept the previous night, and that my resting heartrate and cardio fitness are where I want them to be.
Then I think about what’s affecting those numbers and see if I can improve them.
If this device helps me sleep even a little better at night or exercise a few minutes more each day, then it was totally worth the cost!
27 Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Tablet
We lost our iPad last year, which our daughter used for videos during plane rides and road trips. So Santa gave her a much less expensive Fire tablet.
Now she has her own device, loaded with read-along books, games, and videos. I can program it to make her read for 30 minutes before it allows anything else. And I can give it a daily time limit.
For such a low price, this device is great! I think Amazon is subsidizing the device so more parents will buy it, hoping they’ll sign up for premium content subscriptions. It’s a win-win since you’ll only pay for those subscriptions if they bring you value too.
28 Outdoor Pop-up Portable Shade
I have friends who think I should buy a camping trailer. So I’ve been shopping around a little. But before we bought one, we decided to see how much the family enjoys tent camping.
A simple shade structure might keep us from spending $10,000 on a trailer!
We’ve used it several times, and it gives us much of what we wanted in a trailer. A place to get out of the sun and hang out. And shelter from rain where we can prepare food and play games.
We’ve just had to cross our fingers and lower it whenever the wind picks up.
Conclusion
I hope you found something you love in this list of my favorite items under $50!
These items truly improve my quality of life. Whether it’s sleeping or hiking comfortably. Having more fun with my family. Keeping my home safe and bright. Or the joy of a great cup of coffee that I brewed myself.
And none of it will sacrifice your financial goals and dreams.
Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed!
Read I Don’t Regret Spending Big on These 4 Things next.
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