An eBay "package" which contained:<p>2x 2U HP DL385 (Gen 2 I think)
2x HP thin client PCs
2x Cisco managed switches
1x Cisco router (can't remember the model)
A handful of network cables.<p>This kick-started my career in operations, thanks to a dodgy VMware Server, Windows SBS 2003, XP Pro/W2K/Office 2k3, etc..<p>After spending months learning from books and the internet, I landed a job as a field engineer for a small MSP in London with no formal technical background/degree.... nearly 20 years ago now!
<i>What purchase under $1000 has changed your life the most?</i><p>Most of the first x86_64 PC's that I loaded Linux onto. They were a hobby and that hobby turned into a career that I was able to retire from. It's still a hobby and the machines are still affordable.
My two dogs.<p>I would never think of them as a 'purchase' but they saved me.<p>It is almost 5 years since I became a widower and these two beasties have saved me many times.<p>Changed my life? Maybe.<p>Kept me living? Definitely.
For me, it's a tie between a bidet and a standing mixer. Both of those were utterly life-changing for me, and with both, I regretted not getting them years earlier.
This is going to sound insane, but probably the Nintendo Switch (or maybe the capture card I got after that). That ended up kickstarting my YouTube channel and internet presence a ton, including my most popular video, and launched my community on the side. That community ended up introducing me to many of my closest friends, getting me various interviews with project leaders and figures in the gaming world, and (due to the site/channel/community being mentioned on my CV at one point), likely got me at least one of my tech jobs.
Book! I spend around ~€300 per year on books. Not only do I get lots of interesting ideas, concepts, perspective and cool history, I also get a good night’s sleep on days that I substitute infinite-scrolling-of-doom with books.<p>Also, I read a lot of tech books which often includes a lot of surprising new things that improves my work suddenly or unlocks issues at work by providing entirely simply solutions(of course adapted to my problem).<p>Also some indoor plants, they probably do a bit of air cleaning but their aesthetics cheer me up when I am back home.<p>Good pair of comfortable shoes I bought last year reduced my chronic back pain(hard soles apparently strains the heels and eventually back muscles?!).
#1 My first hub & patch cables back as an early teen to learn networking.
#2 Air Fryer
#3 Wedge pillow - Eliminated my chronic back pain completely in ~2 weeks about 7 years ago and it's not returned since I've kept using it.
#4 CGM off Craigslist - wasn't approved from previous insurance, but made managing my illness go from frustrating to nearly effortless so I fought to find better insurance and I'm doing awesome.
#5 Mint - Went from reckless spender to super saver.
#6 Incline treadmill - lost 45lbs in the first year watching shows and movies
I bought a high speed sheet-fed scanner to be used with paperless-ngx
based on a recent thread on HN. Before that my filing system for
financial statements and other important documents was verging on
meltdown and causing me considerable anxiety, but now that burden has
been lifted. The scanner is configured to send documents directly to a
home network file server that's always on and will store them until
the next time I boot my desktop rig, so it's nearly frictionless to
drop every piece of mail that comes through the door immediately into
the scanner, which has a box under it, instead of piling it up on my
desk where it used to stay for months. I wish I started this years ago
and I thank everyone who contributed to that thread. Honorable
mention: a printer with liquid ink tanks for £100 with thousands of
pages worth of ink has just replaced a £30 inkjet printer I got ten
years ago that made me cough up another £30 or £40 pounds every time
the cartridges ran out. It's expensive to be poor.
1. A nice bed. In my case a hybrid spring foam. I got a Zinus green tea hybrid and a latex foam topper. About $800 together after tax<p>2. A massage chair and audiobooks. I have trouble getting relaxed to sleep. 30 minutes in a message chair listening to a nice audio book is great. Recommend Osaki and its rebadges like the insignia 3D. $1000 or so.<p>3. A dog. Mixed feelings on this. I love my dog that I got from a shelter and he encourages good habits, like touching grass and socializing with people outside, but it’s a lot of work. Buyer beware. $300 to adopt and about $300-$1000 on yearly needs.<p>4. Nice walking shoes, about $100.<p>5. Robot vacuum. Recommend the roborock s7+. About $800.
Commodore 64 around $600. My first computer and my mom bought it for me (we were struggling). We drove to a barn computer store like 30 miles away. Now I earn a great living through things I type into a computer.
1) My first self-built PC (a 486DX2). Opened the door to so many games, apps, emulators, operating systems, programming tools, internet, etc etc.<p>Open platform general purpose computing is underrated these days, imho.<p>2) Lately: solar panel on my boat. Electricity generation independent from power grid or fuel input, on the move, potentially anywhere in the world, one-time cost = set for years to come, is super to have. Even if sometimes it pumps out only a few W (but eg. enough to charge phone).
A real ergo chair is a huge life improvement if you sat in crap chairs your pre adult life.<p>Verical mouse has eliminated wrist pain for me.<p>Decent coffee grinder at 130$ for drip.<p>Stand mixer if you bake, food processor if you cook. Also hand blender with whisk.<p>GeForce now sub has been great completely eliminated the need for a desktop. Just don’t forget to install auto hotkey to get past the 10min timeout.<p>AirPods have been pretty convenient. They aren’t my best phones but they are the most convenient.<p>Good boots are in the 600-1200 range but can be awesome.<p>Japanese digging knife for the garden.
A guitar.<p>My first classical guitar, which I bought 20 years ago, cost 50 PLN (~$12) and it kickstarted my love for playing a music. Not only that. I spent thousands of hours practising and now music accompanies me all the time. There's always a song stuck in my head these days, or I'm whistling or humming or singing or tapping my fingers or stamping my feet. It's exhausting sometimes.
1. Kindle<p>2. Tabla (south asian drums)<p>3. Backup, that I use both for daily travel and for one-bag trips.<p>4. Feet warmer at my desk. Our floor is extra cold and my feet get cold anyway.
About 8 years ago I purchased some puerh tea and some rice bowls, must've spent maybe £30?
I haven't stopped exploring puerh since and it's changed my life completely. Some of the results can be seen (puerh.uk and slowtea.org for example) but the greatest change is internal.
The first thing that comes to mind is a computer, of course. Anything even semi-modern is fine, but right now I daily-drive a Ryzen 5 3600 with 16GB of RAM.<p>A quality mechanical keyboard has also been great. I use a TKL GMMK with Kailh BOX White switches, it's been awesome. ~$100.
A bidet. It’s easier, more hygienic, cheaper, and environmentally friendly than traditional toilet paper. I genuinely don’t understand why they aren’t mainstream in the US when they’re better in every dimension I can think of.
My cats.<p>They were around $700 for the two of them. I got them when I was 11 or so.<p>I probably wouldn't be where I am today, emotionally, without them.
Concept2 Rowing Machine<p>Fitness DVDs and Player<p>Running Shoes<p>Hardcopy Encyclopedia<p>Milk Crate Shelving<p>Lot of AlphaSmart Danas from EBay for distraction-free writing
Bed stuff.
Medcline wedge,
Purple Pillow Harmony model.<p>Outside of that there's a lot of little things I bought in quick succession to make my bed comfortable, and it all really paid off.