10 Amazing Purchases That Improved My Life in 2022
I have always hated shopping. It was never an easy thing for me. If I want to buy something, I usually spend hours researching and exploring every possible option before making a choice. I put so much thought into the things that I buy. So when I spent 12000 euros on these 12 things this year, that is because I know they will bring many time more value in my life. And let me tell you in advance. So let's get started.
To make it easier, I will categorize these purchases into four important areas of my life. I believe being healthy is the most important thing in life. All our so called life problems, from missing the train to the internet being too slow, will vanish in a second if we get a serious health condition. Still, this is one area in our life that we all conveniently ignore. I am also guilty of it, even though I have recently tried to be more conscious about it.
And we all know that drinking plenty of water daily is key to good health. I knew this, and I wanted to follow this. So I tried. I installed reminder apps, bought a Brita Jug, and kept it on my table. But nothing worked. I didn't drink until I felt thirsty; there were even days when I survived with just a glass of water.
Hyrdacy water bottle
Then I came across this product, and it changed my drinking habits. This bottle cost me 20 euros. And for the small amount of money I spent on it, it made a significant impact on my life. In the book Atomic Habits, author James Clear talks a bit about how to build good habits.
“Much of the battle of building better habits comes down to finding ways to reduce the friction associated with our good habits and increase the friction associated with our bad ones.”
And that's exactly what this bottle does. It comes with an easy-open lid and a straw. Whenever I take a break from work, I click the lid open and take a sip. It also has markings on the side, indicating how much you should drink at each hour of the day.
Overall I drink more, and I feel better.
A standing table and an ergonomic chair
Being a software engineer, I spent around 8 hours daily at my workplace. Now add the content creator role, and I am on my chair more than I am on my feet.
And you know who is worried about this the most. My apple watch. It keeps reminding me to stand up every hour, and let's say the watch is not so happy with me. Sitting for long periods can be a major cause of back pain and could be bad for the back muscles and spinal discs. In short not good.
So I bought an ergonomic chair from a company called Ergotopia for around 250 euros and a standing desk from Flexispot for 275 euros. The chair has an armrest and back and neck support, which helps with posture. I work standing up most of the afternoon for at least a few hours, but I need to do this regularly. That's one goal for next year.
Personal Trainer
Now I am someone who has seen the inside of a lot of gyms and paid a lot of money on membership fees. I get this motivation boosts from time to time, which ends up with me taking a gym membership, going there for 2 3 months, and then after that only the money leaves home, and I sit on my couch. Now, this has been happening for some time. And it was time to make a change. Now I know the importance and benefits of working out regularly, and I wanted to do it. The problem was only getting to the Gym. The thing missing was the accountability factor. So I hired an online personal trainer.
I didn't need him to be good or do something extraordinary. I just wanted someone to make me accountable. Someone who can force me to get to the fitness room, and luckily he does that and more. He knows his stuff, explains the concepts, checks my diet, and makes me do my best.
I pay him around 125 euros a month, depending on the number of sessions I attend. But considering the fact that I am still continuing it after 8 months, I would say that's mission accomplished and money well spent.
Waking Up
Now mental health is as important as physical health. But I don't think I gave it enough attention it deserved until last year. During the pandemic, I came across a mediation app called Balance. They had a one-year free subscription, and I used it well. But when the time came to renew it, I didn't do it. And this year, I started listening the Making Sense podcast by Sam Harris. He is one of the most eloquent and logical thinkers I've encountered, and I enjoy listening to what he has to say. He strongly certifies to the life-changing benefits of meditation and has created an app for it called waking up.
I tried it for 30 days and then took the one-year subscription for around 100 euros. While other apps may tell you what you're supposed to do, this app tells you why you should. Now you certainly don't need an app or paid subscription to meditate. But then there are certain things we take seriously only once we pay for them. This is one area in my life, that I want to take more seriously and no longer ignore.
Productivity
Now when it comes to being more efficient with my time, I am kind of crazy. Our time on this planet is limited and I value my time more than anything. So I am always happy to pay for those products or services that bring more value to my life and help me save time.
Logitech Master MX.
And one such device is the Logitech master MX which I bought this year for 85 euros. To all those who are asking, what difference does a mouse make? It does. This mouse is faster and more responsive than any mouse I have ever used. Being the crazy person I am, I've counted my mouse clicks with an app on my Mac, and it's around 10000 times in a working day. This led me to this calculation: if physically clicking the button takes 50ms less, at 10000 clicks per day, it will amount to 8 minutes per day, 40 minutes per week.
Working 50 weeks per year will amount to 2000 minutes per year, 32 hours per year, or four full working days, every year.
It also has programmable switches and fast scrolling, and it just feels like an extension of my arm. I am so happy with this mouse that I carry it everywhere and will hold on to it until it takes its last breath.
Macbook M1X
My new Macbook is one of the most expensive purchases I made this year, costing me around 3000 euros. I know. It's a lot of money for a laptop. But for the amount of work it does, I think it's a fair price to pay. This laptop is like my second brain. My content creation, personal life, goals, travel plans, investments, everything runs through this. It's fast. It's efficient, and you never get to see this.
My first ever laptop was also a MacBook that I bought in early 2011. And it lasted me more than 10 years and is still a fighter. So even though this costs me a lot for the value it brings, and how long it will last, I know this will be an investment for the future.
Learning
I am always in search of new things to learn. Through books, podcasts, videos, or blogs, or even movies, getting to know new concepts that can make me think is kind of a dopamine hit for me.
Kindle Paperwhite
If you can develop one good habit, just one, it should be reading. Books are highly undervalued for how much life-changing information they provide for 5-10 dollars. I am not a big reader. I just read for 30 minutes daily. But I make sure that I do this regularly. And I think that alone accounts for any success I've had and any intelligence I might have. And for most of my reading, I use a Kindle now. With Kindle, I can highlight specific areas for future reference, and ebooks result in fewer dead trees.
And reading on a Kindle makes the whole process easier and more comfortable. I was using a Kindle my friends gave me as a birthday gift. But, recently, I upgraded to the signature edition for around 150 euros.
And considering the millions worth of information I get from this, it's a 10000x return on investments.
When it comes to video content, Youtube is my go-to place. I get most of my news and information from Youtube. And this year, I took their premium subscription. And if you are wondering, who pays for youtube? It's free. Trust me; it wasn't easy to start spending 11.99$ per month on something that was totally free. I consume a lot of content from other content creators on youtube, and having an ad-free experience makes the whole thing pleasant.
Probably I shouldn't say this being a content creator on youtube myself, who will at some point rely on ads for a source of revenue, but yea. Ads are annoying. And now there is no going back for me. Readwise is my information collector. I may read 1000 nonfiction books or 10000 web articles, but if I can't recollect what I read and make use of this knowledge, then there is no point. Capturing information is just the first step. Ideally, we need a system for transforming what we read into meaningful action, like a workflow. And that's what Readwise helps to bring.
You can think of read-wise as someone who walks with me all the time, note down everything I throw at it, and then sort and document them in a nice clean way to refer later. For example, When I read a book on Kindle, If I come across an interesting quote, I will highlight it. Readwise has integration with Kindle, and it automatically ends up in my preferred note-taking app, Notion. Readwise acts like an information highway. I use their pro subscription, which costs me around 77 euros/per year.
Entertainment
Now life is not all about productivity and learning. If someone is wondering, yes I do fun stuff too. And one such thing is travelling.
Travel
I am someone who travels a lot and enjoys visiting new places and having new experiences. Therefore a huge part of my yearly expenses goes into traveling. Although the last two years were kind of a low period due to the pandemic, the good old times are slowly coming back. This year I travelled to Miami and then to the central American country Nicaragua and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen in my life.
Then in summer to the beautiful Amalfi coast in Italy.
By the end of summer a road trip around Austria and Croatia with my sister and family. And for Halloween, a visit to Romania. I also wanted to finish the year with a hike to visit Gorillas in their natural habitat in Uganda. But this had to be canceled at the last minute due to a recent Ebola outbreak. Gorillas will have to wait. But yeah, in total, I spent roughly 7500 euros on travel-related expenses this year.
Music Festival
And, the last thing on the list is something I didn't have many expectations when I purchased it, but then it took me by surprise. This was a ticket to an EDM music festival I attended this summer in the Netherlands. I have been to Music festivals before, and I love the experience. I wasn't a big fan of electronic music and was in double mind when I bought the ticket for around 200 euros.
But that was such a fun experience. The energy, the music, the dancing, the crowd, the ambiance, everything was so refreshing and out of this world. This is one thing I will be investing more time and money in next year because of how good I felt. It was a happy time, and you can put a price for true happiness.
Disclaimer: The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. It is important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
