Asklemmy

1. A corporation. Not like "I'm rich and I bought a whole existing business". Having a lawyer create an empty corporation and then buying it, so I can start a business. It was under two thousand bucks, not even the most expensive item on this list. Made back many times the cost.
2. The Huawei D15 is a good laptop at an excellent price. It's paid itself off many times over.
3. The Honda Air Blade 125cc 2021 model. Reliable transport at an excellent price, that has paid itself off several times over.

I also bought a used DSLR (Nikon D3200 for ~135$) to better document stuff I do, as a form of marketing. I pick up used, antique lenses for cheap as I encounter them. It's been profitable and generally great, but doesn't make top 3.

1. 2002 Honda CRV I got nearly a year ago, been a fixer upper, but otherwise in fantastic condition for the price I bought it at.

2. Some iFixIt toolkit I bought off of Amazon, has come in real handy for many different things.

3. An acoustic guitar (Fender Dreadnought) I got at guitar center for nearly 200 bucks I think? Specifically wanted metallic strings, and it certainly has that. The high E string breaks a lot if I change tuning too often, but otherwise sounds fantastic and feels great to play.

DeLonghi Magnifica espresso machine about 12 years ago. The counter on my first one is at 30k+ shots. I bought another used one several years ago for the cabin, it has over 20k shots on it.

Pretty BIFL for a little fully automatic coffee robot. I'll be sad when they both pack it in.

91 CRX Si. Some of the most fun I’ve had driving.

Aeropress Americano maker. Absolutely delicious for dirt cheap.

10” Pioneer sub and amp/upgraded car speakers.

Honorable mentions: 65” LG CX OLED TV. Absolutely gorgeous. Apple TV (various gens). No ads and works wonderfully on all of our TVs.

1. Bidet toilet seat
2. Good mattress & office chair.
3. Home Automation devices (mower/vacuum/lights etc).

1. Large tatami bed
2. Bicycle
3. Kitchen knife (and sharpening tools)

1. Dog
2. Prusa mk3s
3. Home Assistant Yellow

Just got one--a good, wide-brim, adjustable bucket hat. Shade during the sun, solid protection from the rain, comfortable, and not too difficult to make look decent, if not stylish.

Don't get me wrong, education, housing, health care etc have all been pretty important too, but hat wins.

1. Mitsubishi Lancer
2. Sony Ericsson P900
3. S2 Walkman

I don't have a lot of stuff and not a lot of expensive stuff, but my top are:

• Instant Pot. I have a tiny kitchen, so being able to do x number of things with one piece of equipment is amazing. Also keeps the heat down in summer instead of oven and gas stove.

• Hiking poles. Got them recently, and they are a game changer. I've only ever seen older folks use them, but they got it right. Not only is it easier on my knees, but somehow they feel like they let me go further when I can use my arms as a little push forward.

• Garmin Fenix watch. Keeps me motivated to keep moving, and it serves as a silent wake up alarm so I don't wake my partner in the early hours.

Honourable mentions:

• A good hand-held flashlight. I use this daily for work and when I go camping. Also great at night when hunting mosquitoes in the bedroom.

• A digital probe thermometer. Also used daily for work, and takes the guesswork out of cooking meats and things at home.

1. Electric Mountain bike - i am over 50 and had not rode regularly since my teens. I borrowed a MTB from a friend last year and struggled to make any progress until I picked up a secondhand e-MTB. Since then I have been averaging around 150km/week and my stamina has notably improved.

2. PC - been a PC guy since 1989 and could not picture life without one. I'm an inveterate tinkerer and have built and rebuilt dozens over the years. I currently have a gaming desktop dual-booting Ubuntu and Win11 and a laptop running Ubuntu plus a couple of servers.

3. iPad - for years I was an Android guy but a couple years back I traded a spare laptop to my niece for her iPad (she wanted to learn coding) and was blown away by the user experience. Since then I have gone all in with iPhone, apple watch, and an old Macbook Air.

You should always invest most in the things you spend the most time doing. With that in mind

1. Sleeping: A great bed with an amazing pillow and heated for the winter
2. Shidding: Custom septic system that converts the ick into fertile soil
3. Gaming: Built my own PC and it's been absolutely amazing

Best purchase I would have to say is the toaster oven. It can cook everything automatically and it's damn fast at it.

Nespresso Vertuo. Mechanical keyboard. Honda Accord Hybrid.