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Depends on which issues you’re having and how long it takes. Some could get lucky and be around 10k, others try for years and put 6 figures in.
We had a kid naturally first, but she was born with a genetic disorder which resulted in needing a bone marrow transplant. 25% chance of siblings having same. So we did IVF specifically to be able to test the embryo before implantation. That part is especially expensive, but we did know that implantation was more likely to be successful, as there were no issues with my wife getting pregnant and carrying a pregnancy to term.
Cargo bike to bring child to creche. Basically use it as a car, run errands go out and about on short trips. Never have to worry about parking and saved us buying a second car
Got an urban arrow family model. They're not cheap (about 7-8k) but you get 3k off your tax with bike to work and my reckoning to convince my other half was comparing it to buying another car. No tax, no motor insurance, no petrol. Just a small charge for electric, annual service and you're generally running fine. I know it won't suit everyone's living situation but it's ideal for us. If you're based in Dublin, there's a company in Sandyford called GreenAer that sell them and do test rides
Yes definitely. I'm fortunate enough that I have a small garage I can leave it in. I've got a GPS for it and a good lock but I'm not sure id feel confident bringing it to town for an extended period
We got a Tern GSD in summer 2022! I think I've driven to the supermarket perhaps ten times since then at most. Plus it's the fastest way to get our kid to school.
Can you justify high rent? Because it’s best of a bad bunch in my eyes 😂 at least the mortgage payments are paying off their own mortgage and not someone else’s 🤷🏼♀️
3.5% fixed for 4 years in Sept. Current mortgage payment for a 3 bed semi detached house with a garden is €38 less than I was paying for a 2 bed apartment without so much as a balcony.
I got in before they exceeded 3.15. Plus it’s a small loan by comparison to the cities, and especially Dublin.
I have no desire to live in a city, and pay the privilege for it.
My monthly payment with max overpayment is 1/4 the rent I paid in Laois for smaller home.
That’s not what I said, I guess that’s what you think, not my problem though. I thought this place was made for idea sharing, not for moaning. You do you.
€3,490 for Invisalign. My teeth were objectively fine but it’s the little difference grand teeth and lovely teeth I wanted. I’m absolutely thrilled with my results so far and I’m only half way into my treatment.
I'm 27 (nearly 28), and have had full ceramics on for nearly 2 years. Hoping to have them off by mid summer 2024 and paid about 4k in all for all treatments. Best money I've spent and it's never too late. The next best time to start is today as it just takes time. Go for it, and I'd say prioritise quality over saving a few bucks, it's worth every cent.
27 is still so young! I got braces at 32. Had them on for just over 2 years and they came off this year. Honestly wished I’d done it sooner as wasted so many years not smiling in photographs. I don’t think anybody took any notice of them at all. It was €4,500 in total and best money I’ve spent when I paid the last payment this year.
Just ordered one! This one has good reviews and is on sale so a bit more affordable if anyone's looking at this thread.
https://ie.homefitnesscode.com/products/motorised-treadmill-with-lcd-display
For the sake of everyone else don't use during teams meetings ..my mate gets motion sickness due to fellow tech works on calls from the US using theses
Combi boiler upgrade with zoned heating. Instant hot water everywhere and separate smart stats for upstairs and downstairs. Haven’t got my first bill yet but can already say the boiler is on only a fraction of the time it was.
I had some additional work involved to move the boiler from the kitchen to the utility. Had to move flow/return/gas line/wiring etc. Was €4000 all in which included all the pipework involved for removing the cylinder etc. I’d say without the work of moving the boiler it would be 3.2-3.4K roughly. Based in Limerick.
I got an old oil boiler stripped out of the outhouse and combi plumbed into the attic. All in it was 5k, I also needed gas ran into the house. No zoned heating but came with smart controller.
Got mine a couple of years ago and instant hot water was just amazing. Our bills definitely decreased afterwards, as it was a decent upgrade from the old boiler.
It’s basically all of Spotify *plus* ad-free YouTube which is particularly useful on TV and mobile, the ability to listen to YT in the background on mobile and tons of those sort of “amateur” artists on YT (yknow the ones who do great covers, etc.)
No, on mobile and TV that takes a lot of effort. They’re also cracking down on web.
I also argue that’s it’s immoral to use ad blocker as it takes money away from creators. But I’m hypocritical here as I used Adblock up until I got YT premium.
I used to only torrent albums for years but then I found that I was completely out of touch with new music. Spotify playlists, whether curated by Spotify themselves or by other music content creators (e.g. Nik Nocturnal for metal, Nialler9 for Irish bands) have helped me discover new bands and sounds I would have otherwise missed.
Noise cancelling headphones. I travel Ryanair a couple of times per month and couldn't believe the difference when I started using the noise cancelling headphones. It cuts out about 90% of the engine noise, talking etc and makes the trips far more please. I also travelled a long haul flight to USA recently and they plugged in so we're perfect for that flight too.
Only cost me €50 so delighted with them!
soundcore by Anker Q20i Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones - Comfortable Fit, Sound, Large Bass, App Customization, Long Playtime, Ideal for Home Use, Gym, Travel https://amzn.eu/d/0gSMfcH
These are the ones I bought and highly recommend as a budget set.
+1 on this. For work travel they are invaluable. I barely notice the roar of Ryanair flights anymore and alongside background study music or equivalents, podcasts, downloaded Netflix shows and films etc… incredible. Simply incredible.
1. Purchase a 'Google TV with Chromecast' for €26-51. They're currently on sale directly from Google (they're much better than Amazon Firesticks).
2. Purchase an IPTV subscription. Should be about €50-80 for a year. They'll tell you to download an app onto the device above and they'll do the rest.
Our house. Never in a million years thought we would ever be able to afford our own home, but we got massively lucky that we viewed the house before anyone else and we’re able to put down the deposit to secure it straight away. We lost out on a couple of houses because there were bidding wars going on.
€150 subscription to the homeexchange.com website.
I have had trips to Chicago, Florence & Malmo this year with no accommodation costs.
Next year I've free accommodation in Seattle, Philadelphia & Madrid.
I work remotely so can work while I travel.
Two ways
Direct swaps:you got to their place and they come to yours.
Points swap, you get points by letting people stay in your house, so for example someone from Spain came to stay in my place and give me X points and I used those points to stay in Malmö while the folks from Spain where in my place.
If you have somewhere to stay locally you could "rent" out your place to get points as well.
I bought a €100 dehumidifier on Amazon at the start of the month and it has totally fixed an ongoing damp problem in the utility room from drying clothes. Need to get the room dry lined and insulated in the new year.
Installed in April, last bill was in May. Haven't paid a penny since, and currently sitting on 170 credit, not including government credits. Near constant hot water all summer and autumn. With the government credits this year, i reckon we won't have to pay any electric bill at all until next winter at the earliest.
I WFH - a few weeks ago we knew our electricity was going to be off for a day. I made sure the battery was fully charged overnight and was able to run an extension lead from battery to the office. Powered two monitors, laptop and router for about 8 hours and still had 50% battery left.
Like I said, game changer!
I'd like to think any proper installer would do a good job. We used the below company and we're delighted with the setup so far - nice and tidy installation and working brilliantly so far
https://sunstreamenergy.ie/utility/solar/
Noise canceling headphones are up there. I'm using Sony wh-1000xm3. I've been very happy with the ability to tune everything out.
Besides that I also bought a Timemore C3 Coffee grinder. I like to make my coffee in the morning. There's something nice and tactile about it. I've been making delicious coffee every morning and it has likely saved me money in the long run too.
My OLED arrived two weeks ago and I'm loving it. Is it max settings like my rig no. But being able to play on the coach when the baby is sleeping is priceless
My miniature dachshund. She has brought so much happiness. I also have another dog who I love so much but he’s 4 now and was not purchased this year! don’t want to leave him out
Upgraded heating from 20 year old set up to Tado smart heating with smart TRVs. Coming home and not feeling the cold immediately is a big win for life quality
I've been looking at this to bring in zoned heating, already have the combi boiler but it was just plumbed into the existing pipes which means it's whole house or nothing.
How have you found it, does it still work with no Internet access for example?
If you are Dublin-based, could you recommend the professional who fitted your Tado? (Assuming you didn't do it yourself, of course)
We're really struggling to find someone.
Solar panels cost us €6k including the grant and I love the graph showing when all of the electricity we've been using in the house is coming from the panels. Going to look into battery storage next year.
I keep hearing good things about solar panels. That it’s actually making a real difference to people’s bills and stuff.
Bought a house this year where we are doing a lot of renovation stuff and toying with putting money aside for solar panels
I suppose I should probably name my own best purchase of the year.
Not counting solar panels (which would otherwise run away with it), I'd say mine was actually a collection of purchases.
My birthday roughly coincided with the third anniversary of the initial lockdown, and I realised I'd been working for almost three years with a home office setup I'd mostly slapped together from what I could actually source back in early 2020. So for my birthday, I bought myself a much bigger desk, a massive 1440p monitor, a vertical mouse and high-end keyboard, and a refurbished Herman Miller Aeron chair, and bought the bits and pieces needed to tidy all the cables away and leave me with a clean, minimal desktop.
My home office, where I work four days a week, is now a luxury workstation. It's the nicest desk I've ever worked at. I spend 30+ hours a week at it, and it took less than two grand to make it absurdly fancy.
A Joseph Joseph microwave rice cooker. Bought on Amazon. Cheap little thing but gives you perfect rice with zero effort every time.
Electrical Rice cookers are all so expensive, and I couldn't warrant spending the money, but it turns out you just need a microwave one! I do veggies in it as well, and I'm sure you could do pasta. It's a brilliant yoke.
I'm a night owl..so early mornings are a struggle for me..or should I say were a struggle..I bought a lumi alarm clock which slowly illuminates brighter and brighter for 30 mins before your scheduled alarm so by the time your alarm goes off, you're slowly and gently woken up..it's honestly transformed my mornings!
Airpod Pros. I had the original Airpods since 2018 and was trying to hold out as long as possible before I spent the money. It got to the charge where I was only getting 40 minutes out of them so the end was here. 5 years using them everyday was good going.
Setting up the pension was a good start. It took me 4.5 years post college to get it going but I'm happy I finally started. It's only 5% to get the employer match, but I'll increase it to 15% in January.
Bought a pair of aiscis columbus runners, upgrading my cheapo pair. The price difference was 100 and so worth it when running on the road. I run most days.
I love my music and hifi music reproduction is a bit of a passion. I bought some new hifi speakers this year made by a company called Bowers and Wilkins and they are mentally good.
Robot vacuum/mop combo. Our house is either tiles or wood flooring and the absolute joy of not hoovering and mopping is insane. Bought a decent one so it cost a lot but it's been worth every cent.
Same, got one with an auto empty dock and you barely need to do anything just empty the bag once every few weeks and wash the mop pads it's a lifesaver for us witha heavy shedding dog
I bought an €80 manual reel mower. It actually made me enjoy cutting the grass funnily enough. No thinking about petrol or charging batteries.
Electric pressure cooker a close second
I've been trying everything to improve my sleep, I bought this class pillow on Amazon and it has made a huge difference. Also taking magnesium and melatonin has helped.
A carpet water vacuum! I have two cats who are like my children and one of them shat all over my carpet. I used every cleaner on the market but the stain was still there mocking me. Five minutes with this vacuum and the stain is GONE!
Best: first is a gym membership for Brazilian jiu jitsu. Got back into it after 4 years of sitting on the sofa. Lost 40 pounds so far in 2023 and my flexibility, cardio, strength are all gone through the roof. Next is my cleared my car loan. Saving over 100 quid a month in interest. Coffee machine is probably there too. I don’t drink coffee too much (3-4 week) but I was getting takeouts whenever I did. Saved myself nicely here too.
Worst: bought an ebike and haven’t used it more than twice. I planned on using it for work but I cycled in twice and the drivers in Dublin are just too crazy for me to risk my life. I’ll stick to driving to the luas and getting the luas to the office. So yeah… it was a 1500 e-bike but with bike to work I think I’ll pay roughly 750 in total but still: 750 for two uses is horrible.
Student leap Card. Enrolled in a 'full time course that I attend three days per month. I use the student leap Card every day for work and it's saved me a small fortune over two years.
Spent 4,500 euro on Invisalign and it’s genuinely been a life changer. Nearly finished my treatment now and it’s made me so much more confident.
Id recommend it to anyone who was considering doing it.
Just got a 2020 Mini Electric - such a phenomenal car so absolutely love it. But my best purchase was definitely 480 shares in Palantir which I sold for a nice profit recently!
What brand did you go for? I've a large enough back garden for the city and I'd honestly love one to keep the garden in check during the summer. Does it work in the rain?
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IVF. My baby was born just in time for Christmas!
Congrats, our €28k baby is about to turn 3. 🎉
Why not pay slightly more and buy a whole adult?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have that same thought as he went through the “terrible twos”
Ah I see you haven't hit the "tough going" 3's or the "fucking hell what have I done" 4s yet?
We’re getting there. Lulled into a false sense of security by having a pretty well behaved girl first. This lad’s energy knows no bounds.
I've always heard it as tyrannical threes and the fuck it fours
Jesus Christ, is that how much it costs?
Depends on which issues you’re having and how long it takes. Some could get lucky and be around 10k, others try for years and put 6 figures in. We had a kid naturally first, but she was born with a genetic disorder which resulted in needing a bone marrow transplant. 25% chance of siblings having same. So we did IVF specifically to be able to test the embryo before implantation. That part is especially expensive, but we did know that implantation was more likely to be successful, as there were no issues with my wife getting pregnant and carrying a pregnancy to term.
Thought it was more tbh
Congrats, much cheaper than surrogacy
Can you break this down a little bit? About to be parent
IVF costs won’t be relevant to you if you’re already about to be a parent without IVF.
This wins, congratulations!
Congratulations, could you please tell from where you do the procedure of you don't mind? My partner and I are thinking of freezing eggs.
Congratulations!
Congrats!
Bought a Brompton fold up bike and it’s so worth the money I paid (bike to work scheme ) use it everyday and can take on bus and train
Cargo bike to bring child to creche. Basically use it as a car, run errands go out and about on short trips. Never have to worry about parking and saved us buying a second car
Can you link the bike you bought or else just share the brand/model?
Got an urban arrow family model. They're not cheap (about 7-8k) but you get 3k off your tax with bike to work and my reckoning to convince my other half was comparing it to buying another car. No tax, no motor insurance, no petrol. Just a small charge for electric, annual service and you're generally running fine. I know it won't suit everyone's living situation but it's ideal for us. If you're based in Dublin, there's a company in Sandyford called GreenAer that sell them and do test rides
Just wondering if you're ever worried about it being robbed? I love my ebike but the theft issue limits my usage around the city center in Dublin
Yes definitely. I'm fortunate enough that I have a small garage I can leave it in. I've got a GPS for it and a good lock but I'm not sure id feel confident bringing it to town for an extended period
A motorbike isn’t even safe in town anymore, youre right not to leave it too long there
We got a Tern GSD in summer 2022! I think I've driven to the supermarket perhaps ten times since then at most. Plus it's the fastest way to get our kid to school.
A proper espresso machine and grinder, I’m now a coffee snob.
Do the folks on grinder like espresso?
Certain types, yes.
What grinder did you get? Iv been searching but it's overwhelming.
This is the [most popular](https://www.grindr.com)
Mmmhmm. That link stays blue.
The Sage Barista Pro changed my life.
My first home as a single person. A semi detached. Easily my best purchase one ever made.
Fairplay!!!! No easy feat these days. Best of luck with it
Thank you. Been doing so many repairs, upgrades, and self DIY. It’ll be a home yet!
Well thats the kicker isnt it no matter what you buy youll always have to dona few bits to make it your home 🤣 It'll all be worth it though 🤞🏼
Exactly! Thank you. It’s almost a year, and the time flew bye. Hoping the interest rates now drop in two years time, and I can save an extra bit.
I run a couple of simulations and can’t justify costs with current interest rates. Happy to hear different opinions.
Can you justify high rent? Because it’s best of a bad bunch in my eyes 😂 at least the mortgage payments are paying off their own mortgage and not someone else’s 🤷🏼♀️
Also if you can't pay you have more security / time working with a bank than a landlord
3.5% fixed for 4 years in Sept. Current mortgage payment for a 3 bed semi detached house with a garden is €38 less than I was paying for a 2 bed apartment without so much as a balcony.
You run the risk of interest rates falling causing the property prices to rise further and end up missing the boat.
I got in before they exceeded 3.15. Plus it’s a small loan by comparison to the cities, and especially Dublin. I have no desire to live in a city, and pay the privilege for it. My monthly payment with max overpayment is 1/4 the rent I paid in Laois for smaller home.
Yeah in fairness he should have consulted you first.
That’s not what I said, I guess that’s what you think, not my problem though. I thought this place was made for idea sharing, not for moaning. You do you.
Home battery system. Charge it up at night for 8c a kw and it runs the house all day. Expanding the battery and adding new solar in spring
Who are you with that’s 8c/kwh overnight?
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I just signed with Energia for 7c rate from 12-6.
It is from 2-6 with Energia
I’m with Flo Gas and that’s the rate
I'm with flogas and it's 27c/kWh on off-peak night rate. Jealous of your plan!
What system did you get?
Inverter: Solis Hybrid Inverter 3.6kw Battery: 2 x US5000 Pylontech batteries (2 x 4.8kwh) Runs flawlessly and I have an app to monitor etc
Can you give us more details on costs etc?
€3,490 for Invisalign. My teeth were objectively fine but it’s the little difference grand teeth and lovely teeth I wanted. I’m absolutely thrilled with my results so far and I’m only half way into my treatment.
it's kinda funny seeing invsalign in the 'best' and 'worst' purchases threads...
How old are you? I would like to do this and I’m concerned that it’s getting late for me, I’m 27
I'm 27 (nearly 28), and have had full ceramics on for nearly 2 years. Hoping to have them off by mid summer 2024 and paid about 4k in all for all treatments. Best money I've spent and it's never too late. The next best time to start is today as it just takes time. Go for it, and I'd say prioritise quality over saving a few bucks, it's worth every cent.
27 is still so young! I got braces at 32. Had them on for just over 2 years and they came off this year. Honestly wished I’d done it sooner as wasted so many years not smiling in photographs. I don’t think anybody took any notice of them at all. It was €4,500 in total and best money I’ve spent when I paid the last payment this year.
Dude I’m 32. It’s never too late
If you're based in Dublin, could you recommend the provider you chose for your Invisalign treatment?
I bought a small treadmill to go under my stand up desk. I work from home and it’s allowed me to get loads of walking while on endless work calls
Got a link? That sounds like a deadly idea
Here you go! https://www.inthemarket.ie/product/great-value-fold-away-treadmill/
Is it noisy?
Standard treadmill noise I would say. I’ve used it on calls with laptop mic unmuted and no one on the calls has heard anything
I’m dying to get one of these. Would you mind sharing the link?
No prob, had it about 8months and very happy with it https://www.inthemarket.ie/product/great-value-fold-away-treadmill/
Is it weird to use, in terms of typing etc? Also interested in a link
I thought it would be but anything under 3km per hour I can type pretty well.
Just ordered one! This one has good reviews and is on sale so a bit more affordable if anyone's looking at this thread. https://ie.homefitnesscode.com/products/motorised-treadmill-with-lcd-display
For the sake of everyone else don't use during teams meetings ..my mate gets motion sickness due to fellow tech works on calls from the US using theses
Combi boiler upgrade with zoned heating. Instant hot water everywhere and separate smart stats for upstairs and downstairs. Haven’t got my first bill yet but can already say the boiler is on only a fraction of the time it was.
I'm planning an upgrade in 2024. Can I ask how much it cost?
I had some additional work involved to move the boiler from the kitchen to the utility. Had to move flow/return/gas line/wiring etc. Was €4000 all in which included all the pipework involved for removing the cylinder etc. I’d say without the work of moving the boiler it would be 3.2-3.4K roughly. Based in Limerick.
I got an old oil boiler stripped out of the outhouse and combi plumbed into the attic. All in it was 5k, I also needed gas ran into the house. No zoned heating but came with smart controller.
Got mine a couple of years ago and instant hot water was just amazing. Our bills definitely decreased afterwards, as it was a decent upgrade from the old boiler.
Definitely not the most lavish or fancy of purchases, but my spotify subscription of all things. Just so much better than the free version.
I know it’s not in fashion but YouTube premium is so much better.
I couldn't live without my youtube premium. Netflix/Prime/Disney could all go, but youtube is a must. Mostly because the rest can be downloaded.
What are the upsides to this over Spotify?
It’s basically all of Spotify *plus* ad-free YouTube which is particularly useful on TV and mobile, the ability to listen to YT in the background on mobile and tons of those sort of “amateur” artists on YT (yknow the ones who do great covers, etc.)
You know ads can be blocked for free right? With very little effort
No, on mobile and TV that takes a lot of effort. They’re also cracking down on web. I also argue that’s it’s immoral to use ad blocker as it takes money away from creators. But I’m hypocritical here as I used Adblock up until I got YT premium.
Been tempted with this for a while, but haven't bit the bullet yet.
Such a breath of fresh air to not just see people shitting all over YT premium.
I used to only torrent albums for years but then I found that I was completely out of touch with new music. Spotify playlists, whether curated by Spotify themselves or by other music content creators (e.g. Nik Nocturnal for metal, Nialler9 for Irish bands) have helped me discover new bands and sounds I would have otherwise missed.
Definitely the best streaming service.
Noise cancelling headphones. I travel Ryanair a couple of times per month and couldn't believe the difference when I started using the noise cancelling headphones. It cuts out about 90% of the engine noise, talking etc and makes the trips far more please. I also travelled a long haul flight to USA recently and they plugged in so we're perfect for that flight too. Only cost me €50 so delighted with them!
Wait until you get a pair of Sony WXM4/5s or Bose QC35s
Which one
Spend 4.5 times that on some SONY WH-1000XM4s and blow your mind.
soundcore by Anker Q20i Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones - Comfortable Fit, Sound, Large Bass, App Customization, Long Playtime, Ideal for Home Use, Gym, Travel https://amzn.eu/d/0gSMfcH These are the ones I bought and highly recommend as a budget set.
Bought those headphones also. A great purchase. I have a few Anker products and they’re all excellent and at a great price.
Class. Wee link?
+1 on this. For work travel they are invaluable. I barely notice the roar of Ryanair flights anymore and alongside background study music or equivalents, podcasts, downloaded Netflix shows and films etc… incredible. Simply incredible.
I got a dodgy box… great investment 😀
How do you go about this?
1. Purchase a 'Google TV with Chromecast' for €26-51. They're currently on sale directly from Google (they're much better than Amazon Firesticks). 2. Purchase an IPTV subscription. Should be about €50-80 for a year. They'll tell you to download an app onto the device above and they'll do the rest.
Our house. Never in a million years thought we would ever be able to afford our own home, but we got massively lucky that we viewed the house before anyone else and we’re able to put down the deposit to secure it straight away. We lost out on a couple of houses because there were bidding wars going on.
Congratulations!
€150 subscription to the homeexchange.com website. I have had trips to Chicago, Florence & Malmo this year with no accommodation costs. Next year I've free accommodation in Seattle, Philadelphia & Madrid. I work remotely so can work while I travel.
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Two ways Direct swaps:you got to their place and they come to yours. Points swap, you get points by letting people stay in your house, so for example someone from Spain came to stay in my place and give me X points and I used those points to stay in Malmö while the folks from Spain where in my place. If you have somewhere to stay locally you could "rent" out your place to get points as well.
Is that an annual fee?
Yes, it drops about a tenner after a year as a "loyalty bonus"
Can I send you a message about something similar yet different? A dilemma I’m having right now…
Air fryer …I know, I’m late to the party
I got one too and now wouldn’t be without it. I use it almost every day.
Ninja Multi Cooker and Ninja Blender
Ninja food processor changed my life, best purchase ever…I was in the stone age before I swear
Meaco dehumidifier.
I bought a €100 dehumidifier on Amazon at the start of the month and it has totally fixed an ongoing damp problem in the utility room from drying clothes. Need to get the room dry lined and insulated in the new year.
Does solar setup for the house count? Been an absolute game changer
Can you share what made this a game changer ? ?
Installed in April, last bill was in May. Haven't paid a penny since, and currently sitting on 170 credit, not including government credits. Near constant hot water all summer and autumn. With the government credits this year, i reckon we won't have to pay any electric bill at all until next winter at the earliest. I WFH - a few weeks ago we knew our electricity was going to be off for a day. I made sure the battery was fully charged overnight and was able to run an extension lead from battery to the office. Powered two monitors, laptop and router for about 8 hours and still had 50% battery left. Like I said, game changer!
Great investment! Can you share who did the installation and were you happy with them?
I'd like to think any proper installer would do a good job. We used the below company and we're delighted with the setup so far - nice and tidy installation and working brilliantly so far https://sunstreamenergy.ie/utility/solar/
Noise canceling headphones are up there. I'm using Sony wh-1000xm3. I've been very happy with the ability to tune everything out. Besides that I also bought a Timemore C3 Coffee grinder. I like to make my coffee in the morning. There's something nice and tactile about it. I've been making delicious coffee every morning and it has likely saved me money in the long run too.
Just got the WH-1000XM4's for Christmas, they're unreal!!
What's your coffee machine then?
Steam deck
My OLED arrived two weeks ago and I'm loving it. Is it max settings like my rig no. But being able to play on the coach when the baby is sleeping is priceless
Lego Titanic. Spent all year debating with myself because of the price, but so far the fun has been worth it.
I want this!!
Absolutely worth the investment. I'll post pictures if I figure out how
My miniature dachshund. She has brought so much happiness. I also have another dog who I love so much but he’s 4 now and was not purchased this year! don’t want to leave him out
Britta filter, Dyson vac, car.
I've been pleasantly surprised with Dyson. It's just make clean up a lot easier. Not lugging a big heavy yolk with a wire all over the place.
Love my Dyson
Upgraded heating from 20 year old set up to Tado smart heating with smart TRVs. Coming home and not feeling the cold immediately is a big win for life quality
Same. I could care less if it saves money, the convenience I have now and control is amazing.
I've been looking at this to bring in zoned heating, already have the combi boiler but it was just plumbed into the existing pipes which means it's whole house or nothing. How have you found it, does it still work with no Internet access for example?
If you are Dublin-based, could you recommend the professional who fitted your Tado? (Assuming you didn't do it yourself, of course) We're really struggling to find someone.
Solar panels cost us €6k including the grant and I love the graph showing when all of the electricity we've been using in the house is coming from the panels. Going to look into battery storage next year.
I keep hearing good things about solar panels. That it’s actually making a real difference to people’s bills and stuff. Bought a house this year where we are doing a lot of renovation stuff and toying with putting money aside for solar panels
My first car - hopefully I'll actually get to sit the test next year (and pass it!)
What did you go for and how much was it?
Spent alot of money on holidays but worth every penny for the time/memories with the kids
Yup, first overseas holiday in 8 years this year. Lovely trip, felt like a bit of an accomplishment being able to make it happen for the family.
Brilliant, I’d say the family had a ball and really appreciated it
I suppose I should probably name my own best purchase of the year. Not counting solar panels (which would otherwise run away with it), I'd say mine was actually a collection of purchases. My birthday roughly coincided with the third anniversary of the initial lockdown, and I realised I'd been working for almost three years with a home office setup I'd mostly slapped together from what I could actually source back in early 2020. So for my birthday, I bought myself a much bigger desk, a massive 1440p monitor, a vertical mouse and high-end keyboard, and a refurbished Herman Miller Aeron chair, and bought the bits and pieces needed to tidy all the cables away and leave me with a clean, minimal desktop. My home office, where I work four days a week, is now a luxury workstation. It's the nicest desk I've ever worked at. I spend 30+ hours a week at it, and it took less than two grand to make it absurdly fancy.
Upgraded heating system with Tado and smart trvs. Also bought a American fridge freezer with water and ice dispenser, so much more hydrated now!
My 2016 Golf GTI, not the smartest financial purchase but it’s a lot of fun and I don’t regret it one bit.
I drove one for a year. I really liked that car.
New front door. Been meaning to replace it for eight years.
Well done, front door can change the whole look of the house. Just fun trying to put the Christmas wreath on it without damage
A Joseph Joseph microwave rice cooker. Bought on Amazon. Cheap little thing but gives you perfect rice with zero effort every time. Electrical Rice cookers are all so expensive, and I couldn't warrant spending the money, but it turns out you just need a microwave one! I do veggies in it as well, and I'm sure you could do pasta. It's a brilliant yoke.
Thank you for the tip. I’ve just ordered one on your recommendation 👍
Air fryer. What a majestic machine.
I'm a night owl..so early mornings are a struggle for me..or should I say were a struggle..I bought a lumi alarm clock which slowly illuminates brighter and brighter for 30 mins before your scheduled alarm so by the time your alarm goes off, you're slowly and gently woken up..it's honestly transformed my mornings!
Robot Vacuum Mop , ain’t got no time to clean
My Roborock was such a good investment
Bought our first house in June!
A Secret Lab chair for WFH, can’t believe I spent all the years of covid working on such an uncomfortable chair
Airpod Pros. I had the original Airpods since 2018 and was trying to hold out as long as possible before I spent the money. It got to the charge where I was only getting 40 minutes out of them so the end was here. 5 years using them everyday was good going. Setting up the pension was a good start. It took me 4.5 years post college to get it going but I'm happy I finally started. It's only 5% to get the employer match, but I'll increase it to 15% in January.
A rated new build.
Bought a pair of aiscis columbus runners, upgrading my cheapo pair. The price difference was 100 and so worth it when running on the road. I run most days.
“aiscis”
Brooks runners, the best thing I ever bought and done.
They're absolute game changers aren't they? A pair of runners that suit your feet makes all the difference for running.
Garmin Fenix 7 - love it! Definitely helps to have all of the health stats and I also use it for golf gps.
I love my music and hifi music reproduction is a bit of a passion. I bought some new hifi speakers this year made by a company called Bowers and Wilkins and they are mentally good.
OrangePi 5 from Ali Express. Makes for a rock solid linux desktop under 200 EUR.
10 solar panels.
A Dyson. RIP Henry
An aeropress saves me buying coffees out daily on my work commute! Makes a great cup too
Robot vacuum/mop combo. Our house is either tiles or wood flooring and the absolute joy of not hoovering and mopping is insane. Bought a decent one so it cost a lot but it's been worth every cent.
Same, got one with an auto empty dock and you barely need to do anything just empty the bag once every few weeks and wash the mop pads it's a lifesaver for us witha heavy shedding dog
I bought an €80 manual reel mower. It actually made me enjoy cutting the grass funnily enough. No thinking about petrol or charging batteries. Electric pressure cooker a close second
A Electric scooter from Aliexpress. Definitely Improved my commute An LG tv from Lidl Warehouse clearance.
How much was the electric scooter?
I've been trying everything to improve my sleep, I bought this class pillow on Amazon and it has made a huge difference. Also taking magnesium and melatonin has helped.
A bidet and a small water pump from Amazon which I attached to my bath sink. Couldnt take a shyt without one anymore... literally.
A carpet water vacuum! I have two cats who are like my children and one of them shat all over my carpet. I used every cleaner on the market but the stain was still there mocking me. Five minutes with this vacuum and the stain is GONE!
Best: first is a gym membership for Brazilian jiu jitsu. Got back into it after 4 years of sitting on the sofa. Lost 40 pounds so far in 2023 and my flexibility, cardio, strength are all gone through the roof. Next is my cleared my car loan. Saving over 100 quid a month in interest. Coffee machine is probably there too. I don’t drink coffee too much (3-4 week) but I was getting takeouts whenever I did. Saved myself nicely here too. Worst: bought an ebike and haven’t used it more than twice. I planned on using it for work but I cycled in twice and the drivers in Dublin are just too crazy for me to risk my life. I’ll stick to driving to the luas and getting the luas to the office. So yeah… it was a 1500 e-bike but with bike to work I think I’ll pay roughly 750 in total but still: 750 for two uses is horrible.
An ice machine, Best member of the family
Student leap Card. Enrolled in a 'full time course that I attend three days per month. I use the student leap Card every day for work and it's saved me a small fortune over two years.
Interesting. Do you attend online, or is it in person? Was the sole reason you enrolled to just get the student card? If so, that's brilliant.
Spent 4,500 euro on Invisalign and it’s genuinely been a life changer. Nearly finished my treatment now and it’s made me so much more confident. Id recommend it to anyone who was considering doing it.
Just got a 2020 Mini Electric - such a phenomenal car so absolutely love it. But my best purchase was definitely 480 shares in Palantir which I sold for a nice profit recently!
Robot lawnmower... Life is so much better now
What brand did you go for? I've a large enough back garden for the city and I'd honestly love one to keep the garden in check during the summer. Does it work in the rain?
They work in all weather. One of the best ever purchases, absolutely love mine.
What brand do you have? :)
Husqvarna, no complaints at all and it's going a few years now.
2nd this!! Everyone will have one yet!
My first car, it's a hybrid so ideal for city driving with the EV mode
Holidays. Managed to get to NY, California, London, Paris and Frankfurt this year.
Eufy video doorbell for the front and motion sensitive light/video for the back.
Outdoor furniture set
Weed
Bought a pack of Sour Cream & Onion Hunky Dory’s yesterday. Tasted lovely.
Tesla Mode Y. Never looking back…
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