12 Items Under $100 That Actually Improve Your Life

• A follow-up to the previous video discussing inexpensive items that are life-changing.
• All items mentioned are under $100, with most under $50.
• The importance of good kitchen tools, especially kitchen knives.
• Freshly roasted coffee and reusable coffee cups for better coffee experiences.
• Tailoring clothing for a better fit and comfort.

Alrigh so a few weeks ago I made a video talking about eight expensive items that in my opinion are completely worth the investment. You guys seem to really enjoy that video. And a follow-up video was highly requested covering some inexpensive items that are equally life-changing. So that's exactly what we're doing right now.

In this video, I'm going to be talking about 12 relatively inexpensive items that I think provide far more value than the money they cost. And understanding that the term inexpensive is definitely subjective, I will just say that everything in this video will be under $100. The vast majority of items will be under $50, and some items will be as cheap as just a few dollars.

Just like before, I will link to everything I mentioned in the description box down below. And with that said, let's jump right into it.

Item number one is a good kitchen knife. Ooh, that looks a little bit threatening. I don't mean it like that. I gotta tell you this is pretty terrific. Yeah, I have this theory that the majority of people who claim to not like cooking actually just don't like cleaning up when they're done.

And unfortunately, I can't help you with that one. But my other theory is that the other reason that people don't like cooking is because they just don't have nice kitchen equipment to use. They have dull knives or things that are worn out and tattered and not enjoyable to work with. Fun fact: if cutting onions makes you cry, it's probably just because your knife isn't very sharp.

Having a sharp kitchen knife that you actually enjoy using makes cooking so much easier and so much more enjoyable. Personally, I cook pretty much every day. And so when it came time to buy a kitchen knife, I was very willing to spend a good chunk of money. I was willing to spend a couple hundred dollars to get a good knife.

But after doing some research, I learned that the most popular knife used in restaurant kitchens, the most highly rated knife on almost every list, including America's test kitchen, was surprisingly, a knife that was not very expensive at all. It was this one: the Victorinox 8 inch chef's knife. This knife cost me about 80 Canadian dollars, which is basically like US$3. That's a joke, by the way. But the point is that for a knife, it's actually fairly inexpensive and it's really good quality.

It's comfortable to hold, it's nice and sharp, it's versatile. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a knife block that had 20 different pieces that I'll probably never use, I decided instead just to get this one knife and a serrated bread knife to go with it. These two knives do everything I need. So if you like to cook, definitely it's worth getting yourself a good knife.

And if you don't like to cook, having a good knife might actually change your perspective at least a little bit. Item number two is not only one of the best inexpensive purchases I've ever made, but honestly, one of the best purchases I've ever made across the board. And that is my cast iron skillet.

It kind of makes me laugh how there are all of these trendy, expensive, aesthetically pleasing fry pans on the market now, like our place pans for two or three hundred dollars. And they're like, "Oh, this pan can do everything." And I'm like, "Yeah, but so can my cast iron skillet." And it's 1/10 of the price. Guess I'm never getting sponsored by our place. Oh well.

A good quality cast iron skillet can be had for as cheap as 20 to $30. You can do everything with this pan. It can go on the stovetop, in the oven, on the barbecue, indirect fire. It can make the best potatoes you've ever had in your life. And it makes vegetables taste amazing. You can bake pizza in it. You can even bake a chocolate chip cookie in it.

Cast iron skillets are one of the very few items that I truly believe are a buy it for life item. It's one of the very few things that will actually last your entire lifetime. Some people often pass these down from one generation to the next. If you don't have access to a barbecue or a grill, having a cast iron pan is like the next best thing because it's really good for high heat cooking.

As an extra bonus, it adds microscopic amounts of iron to your food, which is a mineral that we all need in our diets anyways. Oh boy. Liver iron helps us play. Contrary to what the Internet might lead you to believe, a cast iron skillet is not difficult to maintain. Just don't put it in the dishwasher.

Now item number three is something that might actually seem kind of expensive for what it is, but is still relatively inexpensive overall. And it is this, my husky cup. This is going to sound really dumb because it is really dumb, but for years I didn't have a to-go cup or a tumbler of any sort for a warm drink.

I used to put my tea in a regular ceramic open-top mug and then carefully drive, drinking my tea, avoiding potholes, hoping not to spill it everywhere. Yeah, like I said, that was dumb. But the reason that I didn't have a travel cup for a long time was simply because I couldn't find one that I actually liked.

I don't like drinking hot drinks out of stainless steel. I feel like I can taste the metal. A lot of them are thermos-style, which means that they keep your drink so scalding hot that you can't even drink it. They're big, they're bulky, they're awkward to hold on to, they're awkward to drink out of. Enter the husky cup.

This thing is really just like a reusable takeout coffee cup. It's made in part by leftover coffee husks, which is kind of cool. I think that it's pretty aesthetically pleasing, if that matters to you. It's comfortable to hold onto, it's comfortable to drink out of, and it fits nicely in a cup holder.

And to be clear, this cup is not leak-proof. It doesn't seal up; you can't throw it in a bag. It's not a thermos—it doesn't retain heat. It is just a reusable coffee cup that is, in my opinion, very pleasant to use. I think I paid about 25 Canadian dollars for this cup, which is admittedly a lot considering that it's just like a plastic cup with a lid.

But I use it all the time. Like I mentioned, it's the only cup that I have. I really enjoy it, and to me it's totally worth investing in because I get a lot of use out of it. And on that topic, item number four is freshly roasted coffee.

I hate to sound like a snob, but if you've only ever had coffee that comes in a big can from the grocery store like Folgers or Maxwell House or whatever, or you've only ever had coffee from a drive-thru or, God forbid, a Starbucks, I'm sorry to say that you have never had fresh coffee in your life. Coffee oxidizes and goes stale very quickly, like within weeks of it being roasted.

And when it's ground, that happens even faster. So when you go to the grocery store or to some big chain and you buy coffee, you're getting coffee that has been sitting there oxidizing, losing flavor for weeks, if not months, by the time that you actually drink it.

Now, in all fairness, a small bag of freshly roasted specialty coffee will probably cost you about as much, if not even a little more than a giant can of Folgers or whatever else you typically buy. But it is still relatively inexpensive. You're still spending well under a dollar per cup of coffee, and to me it is totally worth it.

If you have a local roaster near you, I would definitely check them out. If not, look online. There are plenty that will ship to you. There are also websites like Trade Coffee who are not sponsoring this video. I have worked with them before, but they have excellent coffee. Point is, there are lots of options available, and you don't need to drink stale coffee.

Item number five is a pretty simple one. In fact, it's actually kind of a goofy one. And it's having all matching socks. This might be a small thing, but I find it so frustrating having to sort socks when you do laundry or like reaching into the clean laundry hamper, pulling out one sock, reaching in, finding another, and then they don't match.

So a couple of years ago, I made the decision to just start buying all the same socks. I buy them in a big pack; they're maybe like $15 for 10 pairs. They're not expensive. And that way I don't have to waste time matching up socks every time I do laundry.

If one gets a hole in it and I have to throw it away, I don't lose an entire pair. I can just pair up the other sock with the other, you know what I'm saying? This is obviously a very small thing, but I think it's just one more way to remove friction from our day-to-day lives. Just to make the things we have to do all the time a little bit simpler and a little bit more straightforward and a little bit less time-consuming. And to me, it is definitely a worthwhile thing to do.

Item number six are extra pillowcases. So here's the thing: you should be changing your bedding or washing your bedding at least every week. Maybe every two weeks at most. And I know there are a lot of people out there who don't do that, but even if you do— even if you're really diligent, spending seven days in a row sleeping on the same pillowcase, putting your face on the same surface where you've produced oil and sweat and bacteria over and over again, I think is super gross.

Especially if you've ever struggled with acne or any other skin issues. There is no point in spending hundreds of dollars on different face washes and moisturizers and serums and products of all sorts if you're just constantly putting your face on a dirty surface every single night. So every time I buy a new set of sheets, I buy a couple of extra sets of pillowcases to go with them.

They cost maybe $10 to $15 per set. It's not a huge deal. And I religiously change my pillowcases every two to three days to make sure that I'm not lying on a dirty surface. But especially if you're one of those people who rarely ever washes their linens— I mean, please, please wash your linens! But at the very least, you should be changing your pillowcases every couple of days.

Now, on the topic of bedding, item number seven is one that I think is an absolute no-brainer. Because you're buying something that is inexpensive, which protects and ensures something that is very expensive, and that is a waterproof mattress cover.

To me, this is one of those purchases that it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. As you guys might have seen, a couple weeks back, I did a whole bedroom setup. I got a new bed, I got a new mattress.

And the very, very first thing that I did when I got my new mattress was to buy a waterproof mattress cover to protect it. When you consider the fact that a cover might cost you $20 to $30, but a mattress can cost you $1,000 or $2,000 or even $3,000, why wouldn't you want to put a cover on it?

Now I can say gratefully and with full honesty that I've never peed my bed or like sharded myself or anything like that. But again, our bodies sweat and produce bacteria and oils. I've had my dog throw up in my bed. You know, all sorts of things can happen. I'm not going to get specific, but all sorts of things can happen. And why wouldn't you want to protect your bed and keep it clean?

Now item number eight is another relatively inexpensive item that protects something that's actually very expensive. And that is an Otterbox phone case. These cases are pricey as far as phone cases go; they can easily run you $50 to $60.

But considering that a phone nowadays can cost $1,000 or $1,100 or even $2,000 in some cases, again, I think it's a no-brainer to get yourself a really good, really protective case that will stop your phone from smashing into a million pieces when you drop it. Because let's be honest, you're going to drop it. And these things are built to break. They're all glass. The company wants you to shatter it so you buy a new one.

In the past, I've cheaped out and I've spent $10 or $20 or $30 on a crappy phone case to find that not only does the case itself break, but of course, it doesn't protect the phone either. Get an Otterbox. It's totally worth it.

Item number nine is another simple one, but it's just something that's really nice to have, and that is an extra long phone charger. We've all been in the situation where we're sitting comfortably somewhere or we're in the middle of doing something and our phone starts to die and we go to plug it in and it just doesn't quite reach.

Why our standard phone chargers are so short, I don't know. But getting an extra long charger really only costs a few dollars more than getting your standard length one. And it's just such a nice thing to have be able to plug your phone in wherever you are and just keep doing what you're doing and not have to worry about being super close to an outlet.

I don't have a lot to say about this; it's pretty self-explanatory, but I got an extra long charger and it's just really helpful.

Item number ten might be one of the best bargains on this list. And it is a Tapo security camera. I wanted to have security cameras installed outside of my house for a while now. I started looking into it, and I found that it's a very expensive thing to do. You have to get an electrician out; they have to start drilling holes and running wires, and it can cost thousands of dollars.

And as much as I wanted to be able to keep an eye on things, I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars or have wires running all over the place. So I went on Amazon and found these Tapo security cameras that cost me 30 Canadian dollars—30 each. Best of all is that you don't need a subscription service to use them. They just take a memory card and record on that memory card.

And you would think that for $30, the picture quality would be garbage, but it's actually surprisingly really good. I put these cameras in my house, plug them into the wall, and point them out the windows, and I can read people's license plates when they pull onto my driveway. I can see people's faces when they're walking by. I see who they are, where they're going, and what they're up to.

You can monitor and control the camera from an app on your phone from anywhere. And because they rotate 360 degrees, not only can you pan from side to side, but I can actually flip the camera entirely around, look into the house, and see what my dog is up to, which is generally nothing because he's a good boy. But these cameras are great. You just plug them into the wall and can point them out the windows like I do. You can use them inside to watch your kids or your pets. I think that's what they're actually intended for. But for $30 and a memory card, to have peace of mind and some security, I mean, how can you go wrong with that?

Item number eleven is what I call my car ASSP warmer. This won't apply to anybody who has a new fancy car with heated seats. But if you're driving an old car like I am, and you don't have heated seats, and you live in a country that gets cold in the winter, this thing is a lifesaver.

It's just a car seat cover, but it plugs into the cigarette lighter and then it warms your butt and it warms your back and it turns your non-heated seat into a heated seat. These can range pretty dramatically in price, but the one that I have was only about $20, and it's great. I have absolutely no complaints.

It warms up even faster than the car seems to. So even when you don't want to turn the heat on in the car just yet, your butt and your back are already toasty and roasty and it feels so good. It makes driving in the winter so much less unpleasant. I won't say so much more pleasant; it's still never pleasant, but it's so much less unpleasant. That's a double negative. You know what I'm trying to say. It makes driving in the winter a lot more comfortable.

And finally, the twelfth item on the list is tailored clothing. When you go to a store and you buy clothing off the rack, it is probably not going to fit you totally perfectly. It's not really meant to because it would be impossible for one piece of clothing to fit the majority of the population. Everybody's body is a little bit different.

When you take clothing to a tailor and you get it adjusted and customized to fit your body, it feels so much better. It feels so much nicer, it fits so much better. And you're probably going to wear it a lot more and actually get a lot more value from it. So in a roundabout way, it actually saves you money.

Depending on who you are and what you need, this can mean anything from having your pants hemmed or tapered or having a top taken in so it fits a little bit more flattering. Personally, I've taken jeans into tailors many times and gotten the pockets enlarged because, as we all know, women's jeans have useless pockets. Tailors are like magicians to me. They can make something from nothing, and spending a little bit of extra money to have your clothing fit you in a way that actually makes you feel good is totally worth it and generally not nearly as expensive as you'd probably think.

Anyways, that's my list of 12 inexpensive items that I think dramatically improve your life. A lot of these items make really good gifts as well, especially if you don't want to spend too much money. Maybe you don't really like the person, so you just buy them a phone charger for Christmas. Here you go. Don't call me again.

You know, if there's something that you've bought that was under $100 or even under $50 that you think has really improved your life, drop a comment down below and let me know what it is. If you enjoyed this video at all, please go ahead and hit that like button. Feel free to subscribe if you haven't done so yet. You can follow me on Instagram @Recording2 under Nicole.

As I mentioned, links for everything will be in the description box down below. Other than that, thank you guys so much as always for watching. Take care and I'll see you next week.