Stuff I Love and Actually Use
So here’s a list of stuff I actually own and use. Things that earned their place in my life. It fits the way I try to live below my means on purpose: buy the thing that lasts, skip the thing that doesn’t, and don’t pay for a logo when the logo doesn’t change the product.
That last point is its own column below — Brand matters? Sometimes the specific brand is the whole reason it’s good (a clipper that lasts 20 years). Most of the time, any decent version works and you’re just paying for a name. I tell you which is which.
One buying habit before the table, because it saved me from bad picks: for electronics, Amazon stars alone will fool you. New and better models often show fewer reviews than old ones, so the rating sorts the wrong way. I ask an LLM to compare specs and reputation too, then decide.
The list
| Item | My take | Brand matters? | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 777 Three Seven Nail Clipper Set (TS-800C) | Our last set lasted 20 years. The most-used clipper finally went dull, so we bought another set — betting on another 20. | Yes | Amazon |
| Safe-Cut Manual Can Opener (no sharp edges) | Different design: it cuts the side of the lid, not the top. No sharp edge left behind, and the lid lifts off clean instead of dropping into your food. You get a free lid instead of fishing sharp metal out of a can. | No | Amazon |
| Nexcare Strong Yet Pain-Free Tape | Mouth tape, to cut snoring. Doesn’t work 100%, but better than nothing. Tears by hand, gentle on sensitive skin. | No | Amazon |
| Oral-B EssentialFloss (50 m, 24-pack) | Love it. Use it every single day. | Yes | Amazon |
| SUNGAIT Lightweight Polarized Sunglasses (UV400) | Bought four pairs and stashed them strategically, so one’s always within reach. The nose bridge actually sits right on my flat face. | No | Amazon |
| Plastic Tongue Scraper / Cleaner | Tried a stainless one — felt too sharp. These plastic ones work best so far. | No | Amazon |
| G.a HOMEFAVOR Stainless Steel Bento Box | Pricey, but worth owning one. Can’t microwave it, so I heat my veggies at home, cool them off, then pack. | Yes | Amazon |
| APC UPS Battery Backup | Small backup battery, just enough to cover the internet router. No need to go big — they wear out in a few years anyway. | No | Amazon |
| Minimalist Quartz Watch | Accurate. Battery ran 1.5 years; my last watch ran 2. | No | Amazon |
| Kensington Duo Gel Wrist Rest (mouse + keyboard) | Use them every day. | No | Amazon |
| Wide-Brim Sun Hat with Neck Flap (UPF 50+) | Wear it any time I’m out under the sun, for UV protection. | No | Amazon |
| UPF 50+ Full-Zip Sun Hoodie | A sun-protection layer I wear outdoors. | No | Amazon |
| Pudolla Lightweight Hiking Pants (quick-dry) | Wear them under the sun for UV protection. Light, quick-dry, zipper pockets. | No | Amazon |
| Compact UV Umbrella (99% UV, rainproof) | Covers both rain and sun. | No | Amazon |
| CLEAR CREEK Black (Beluga) Lentils, 25 lb | Every breakfast, sometimes lunch too. I just boil them with water using the rice cooker’s steam function. | No | Amazon |
| Adidas Running Shoes | Wear them every day out of home. Don’t buy from Academy — buy from Costco, especially on sale. | Yes | Costco |
| Adidas Slides / Sandals | Wear them every day at home. Same advice: skip Academy, buy from Costco on sale. | Yes | Costco |
| Samsung Galaxy A-series phone | Cost-effective, and guarantees 6 years of major Android upgrades and security patches. I have an A35; honestly an A17 would’ve been plenty. | No | — |
| Asus Vivobook laptop | Solid value. (Remember: for computers and phones, check more than Amazon stars — ask an LLM too.) | No | — |
| Apple — nothing | I own zero Apple products. Remember how Apple made shareholders a fortune selling iPhones? I think they’re double-overpriced. I pass. | — | — |
A few notes
On “buy from Costco, not Academy.” Same Adidas shoe, lower price, and Costco’s return policy is forgiving. The brand is worth it here — Adidas fit and durability have earned my repeat money — but where you buy changes the price more than people expect.
On the sun gear. Hat, hoodie, pants, umbrella — it’s a system, not four random buys.
On the phone. The lesson isn’t “Samsung.” It’s years of updates per dollar. A mid-tier phone supported for 6 years beats a flagship you replace in 3. Run that math before you upgrade.
Plans & media
The pattern here is the same as the gear: pay for the cheapest thing that does the job, and refuse to pay for the things designed to eat your money and your time.
| Item | My take | Worth it? | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Mobile — Light plan | $8/month, 2 GB data. Tiny on purpose. I set my phone to block YouTube from pulling 5G data, so video stays on Wi-Fi and the small plan is plenty. | Yes | usmobile.com |
| T-Mobile Home Internet (5G) | $50/month. Our local cables are bad; the 5G tower has far higher uptime and gets repair priority. The catch: it trades peak speed for stability, so it’s slower than the ad promises for cable/fiber — but steady, which matters more. | Yes | t-mobile.com |
| Cable / Streaming TV | None. We only have Amazon Prime, which throws in some “free” movies with ads. TV is full of ads, runs long, and quietly eats your life. | No — skip it | — |
| Paper books | Best of all. Read, re-read, scan, jump, mark up, tear out — do it all. Cheap enough to buy multiple copies if you need them. | Yes | — |
| Kindle (e-books) | Usually cheaper than the paper version, and lighter to carry. | Yes | — |
| Audible (audiobooks) | The one screen-free way to “read” while your eyes are busy. Great for a long commute. | Yes | — |
On screens vs. pages. Here’s the ladder I sort media by, worst to best. TV is the bottom — ads, endless length, designed to keep you sitting. Movies are better but still capped: they can only show you what a camera can frame. Books win, and it’s not close. A movie is limited by what’s visible; a book is limited only by your imagination, which is a far bigger room. That’s why the reading options above all get a “yes” and the TV gets a hard “no.” (It’s the same idea behind designing the day on purpose — spend the hours on what grows you, not on what’s built to consume you.)
That’s the list for now. I’ll add to it as things prove themselves — and pull anything that stops earning its place.