What's your "it's expensive but it's worth it" product?

1. Compression socks. If you're on your feet for large portions of the day they make a huge difference. Also great to have for when you take road trips or have to fly. Edit - I've been asked which brands I recommend and the way I went about it was I picked a pair each from a few different sellers on Amazon that had high ratings. I read reviews of each and narrowed it down that way through reading a fair amount of the 1 star reviews to see if there were consistent issues. I chose Wanderlust socks in the end as my 'go-to' pair and they've been great. Held up well and the price is just right at about $15-20/pr. I do have a pair from Smartwool for camping/hiking as I thought the merino wool would help with odor but they're just ok. My feet just really stank I guess. :( I also personally hand wash and air dry my socks to cut down the likelihood of damage and shrinking from machine wash/drying.
   — MikeOxlitttle


2. Sometimes just calling out of work can be expensive, but damn if you’re really struggling mentally it’s worth taking a day for yourself to get away from everything.
   — blulizard07


3. Noise canceling headphones. I work in an open plan office, and it just makes work so much bearable.
   — FarmerSez






4. My hearing aids. I was 24 when I first got them and it was €4000 for two hearing aids, one for each ear. I... I can't even imagine life without them anymore. I always knew my hearing "wasn't that great" but it took the hearing aids to fully realise just how bad it was. I once saw a commercial for hearing aids where the person was literally living in a bubble, separated from everyone around them. It's exactly like that. I got to test three different price ranges and while the middle and top range were *really* close, the top class had that little bit of extra clarity so I went with those. It took quite a bite out of my savings but god damn it, it was worth it! **edit**: Man, I did *not* expect this much attention! I'll add a little more about how I got to hearing aids. I've had issues with my ears since I was in elementary school. Started with a lot of ear infections which resulted in cholesteatoma. When I was 13y/o I had my first ear drum transplant, another when I was 19 (the first transplant had "melted away"). The second ear drum healed but my ossicles (ear bones) are still damaged and the new ear drum too firm. In between the two transplants I had another surgery to fully get rid of the cholesteatoma. While my hearing is now stable, it will never be the same as someone with normal hearing. Since my body has a habit of building up excessive scar tissue I won't go for another surgery, so the next best thing was trying hearing aids. It took me 10years to get them because my doctor kept up hope that surgery would be the answer. It wasn't. I tested out three different price ranges: cheap, middle range and expensive (there was one more category "extra expensive" but I didn't try those). I started out with the expensive ones, took me a few weeks to get used to them. Then I tried out the cheap ones and immediately noticed a big difference in sound quality and how they filtered out background noise. Then I tried out the middle range, they were a lot better than the cheap ones and definitely worth your while! But, just to be sure I tried the expensive ones again and they were, ever so slightly, better. The middle range filtered out the background noise just as well but the ones I have now, their sound quality and mostly the clarity was better so after thinking about it long and hard I went with those. My argument was: I had the money saved and I'd be using them day in and day out for at least the next five years. It was worth it. I must add though my hearing loss is almost 50% on each ear, so getting a heavy hitter for hearing aids was necessary. If your hearing loss is less you might be just as good with a cheaper model. Finally. If you, or someone you know, think you have some hearing loss. **Get tested! It's free in most countries, even trying out hearing aids. I cannot stress enough how much of a life changer it is**. And if your grandma or whoever claims "it's too loud, they're not good" tell them to **give it TIME. It took me weeks to get used to the extra volume and radio-like sound of the hearing aids**. Everything sounds perfectly normal now and taking them out feels like walking around with ear plugs even though that was what was "normal" before.
   — Nikittele


5. Musican's earplugs, if you go to concerts or play a moderately loud instrument. You'll be doing that for years, if not decades. Save your ears, enjoy the music, and stop that god-awful ringing before it turns to tinnitus. Edit: This blew up. Entymonics are good to start with, but custom molded ones are the gold standard and I can't empathize enough how awful tinnitus is. That ringing invades every bit of your life until you die. You won't understand quiet words from lovers, you won't have peaceful sleep, and there is no beauty in silence, just that endless buzz. Use protection, kids. Google ETY ER-20s, I'm not sure if Amazon links are ok
   — InaMellophoneMood


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   — [deleted]






7. A dehumidifier. We spent £80 on getting a good one. 6 years later it has dried out our first damp flat for 3 years being on almost every day. Its been used to dry clothes when its raining or in winter and recently its dried our new lining paper overnight to get the house painted for our house warming a couple days later. It's like a son to me. EDIT: For those asking, I have [**this**](https://www.trotec24.co.uk/machines/dehumidification/ttk-e-s-comfort-dehumidifier/ttk-30-s-dehumidifier.html?rc=5b89253657&rc=5b89253657&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9LPYBRDSARIsAHL7J5lI_X4Lu0RTcpC_oj-EvD8PeCSm0HURBJkhMrJgI9rHySpRjmNLEXUaAn_NEALw_wcB) one.
   — PrimarchH0rus


8. Underwear. Good quality feels much better on my parts!
   — KyleCharisma