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17 Cheap Purchases That Actually Improved My Life

2025-05-03 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 16:25 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech (also: Health, sleep and habits, Productivity and time, Books and reading, Relationships and personal life) · mode: List of tips or lessons · tags: Sponsor segment present, His own products discussed, Family, His own numbers

Ali lists 17 cheap purchases that improved his life, from an apple chopper, a magnetic phone tripod, a portable bidet and USB-C cables to Harry Potter Moleskine notebooks, a paper to-do card system, mouth tape, blue-light glasses, a basic Kindle, conversation cards, an AeroPress, a yoga mat and a massage ball, plus his app VoicePal.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Item 1: the apple chopper

  • ★★ Ali recommends an apple chopper: a plate of chopped apple, with almond butter, is an easier snack than biting into an apple, and he says that since using one his apple consumption has gone up about 10X. — 00:00:25

00:01:05 — Item 2: the Peak Design magnetic phone tripod

  • ★★ Ali recommends Peak Design's magnetic MagSafe tripod for the iPhone, or a cheaper knockoff: it is light, sticks to the phone and turns it into a tripod for photos with friends or video calls. — 00:01:10 · iPhone

00:01:39 — Item 3: the portable bidet

  • ★★ Ali swears by a portable bidet: he keeps one in his backpack and one in every bathroom at home, so even at a coworking space he feels clean instead of grim all day. — 00:02:05
  • ★ Ali says bidets are standard and built into the walls in Muslim countries and common in France, while most Western countries default to wiping with toilet paper. — 00:02:05

00:02:45 — Items 4 to 6: multi-pronged USB-C cables, battery packs and the Nomad key cable

  • ★★ Ali, a self-described USB-C maximalist, keeps multi-pronged USB-C cables in practically every room: one plug gives two cables and cuts down the tangle of leads. — 00:02:48
  • ★★ Ali keeps several Anker magnetic iPhone battery packs, whose flip kickstand also works as a stand for Zoom calls. — 00:03:21 · iPhone, Zoom
  • ★ Ali likes a Belkin battery pack with built-in USB-C and Lightning cables, handy for people who still have an old iPhone. — 00:03:21 · iPhone
  • ★ The Nomad key-chain USB-C cable lets Ali charge a phone from a battery pack without MagSafe when he or a friend has forgotten a cable. — 00:03:58

00:04:28 — Item 7: real plants for the studio

  • ★★ Ali is adding real plants, bought for under 10 USD each from a local shop in Hong Kong, to his studio, hoping it becomes a more vibrant, creative, productive place to work. (hedged) — 00:04:58 · Hong Kong
  • ★★ Ali has long liked fake plants in his studio, but his wife's YouTube studio with real plants smells fresh, while his, with an off-gassing rug, smells funky. — 00:04:58 · Izzy Sealey

00:05:12 — Sponsor read for DeleteMe

  • ★★ Ali uses three Harry Potter Moleskine notebooks daily: Lumos for business and life journaling, Expecto Patronum for the software and courses his team builds, and Protego Maxima for planning YouTube videos. — 00:07:07 · Harry Potter (book series)
  • ★★ Ali says you do not need special-edition notebooks, but a notebook that is nice to use makes him far more likely to actually use it. — 00:07:07

00:07:11 — Item 8: Harry Potter Moleskine notebooks

  • ★★ Ali used Leuchtturm1917 dot-grid notebooks for several years before the Harry Potter Moleskine collaboration came out, and still calls them a favourite. — 00:07:56 · Harry Potter (book series)
  • ★★ Ali says there is all sorts of evidence that writing by hand, as in physical journaling, improves the link between mind and words and boosts creativity compared with typing. — 00:07:56

00:08:21 — Item 9: a small bin in every room

  • ★★ Ali keeps a cheap small bin in every room, studio, bedroom and the couple's living-room desk, so trash from parcels or tissues goes straight in instead of piling up on the desk. — 00:08:50 · Amazon
  • ★★ Ugmonk's paper to-do card system is luxury and costs about 100, Ali says, but on Amazon you can now find cheap knockoffs of it for about ten dollars. — 00:09:19 · Amazon

00:09:31 — Item 10: a paper to-do list and card system

  • ★★ Ali writes the day's to-dos on a paper card and keeps it on a stand in front of him all day, striking items off as he goes, to keep the list front of mind. — 00:10:14
  • ★★ Ali, a chronic mouth breather, tapes his mouth shut with 3M Transpore surgical tape most nights, first done in 2021, and has begun breathing more through his nose. — 00:10:14

00:10:27 — Items 11 and 12: surgical tape for the mouth and blue light blocking glasses

  • ★★ Ali says there is apparently all sorts of evidence that breathing through the nose is far better than through the mouth, pointing to the book Breath by James Nestor. (hedged) — 00:10:42
  • ★★ Although the scientific evidence for blue-light-blocking glasses is slightly dubious, Ali personally thinks they work: on a screen he cannot see much blue light, and in theory they improve sleep. — 00:11:11
  • ★★ Around 9 p.m. Ali and his wife put on orange-tinted blue-light-blocking glasses; even if they do nothing else, they act as a placebo signal that it is time to get ready for bed. — 00:11:11 · Izzy Sealey

00:11:51 — Item 13: the most basic Kindle

  • ★★ Ali recommends the most basic Kindle, which is super cheap at about $50, or a second-hand one if that is too expensive. — 00:11:51 · Kindle, Amazon
  • ★★★ The Kindle is one of the tech products that most changed Ali's life: he has read on one every day since about 2008 and read hundreds more books than he would have with paperbacks. — 00:11:51 · Kindle

00:12:22 — Item 14: the Confessions game by the School of Life

  • ★★ Ali recommends conversation card games such as the School of Life's Confessions game, with the right group and vibe, as a cheap way to deepen friendships and relationships. — 00:13:11
  • ★★ Ali calls the AeroPress the best and a super cheap way to make coffee, his go-to each morning; he has the premium version, but the basic plastic one does the job just as well. — 00:13:47
  • ★★ Ali keeps two cheap yoga mats out in the living room at all times, so while watching TV or playing the PlayStation he may as well stretch or sit cross-legged for hip mobility. — 00:13:47

00:13:50 — Item 15: the AeroPress coffee maker

00:14:04 — Items 16 and 17: a cheap yoga mat and a massage ball

  • ★★ Ali uses a cheap massage ball on a yoga mat as a harder, smaller, more targeted foam roller for hip flexors, glutes and muscle knots from desk work or exercise. — 00:14:33
  • ★★ VoicePal, which Ali's team has built over about 12 months, has thousands of users worldwide: you speak, it asks follow-up questions, and you export a draft to Notion, Google Docs, Claude or ChatGPT. — 00:15:03 · VoicePal, Notion, Google Docs, ChatGPT · also in: 30 Minutes with This App = 3 Hours of Writing

00:15:15 — Bonus: VoicePal, the app his team builds, and sign-off

  • ★★ Ali has written 203,000 words with VoicePal so far and reckons it has saved him 62 hours compared with typing. — 00:15:32 · VoicePal

Threads in this video

  • refine · Which tech is worth buying? — Ali, a self-described USB-C maximalist, keeps multi-pronged USB-C cables in practically every room: one plug gives two cables and cuts down the tangle of leads. (00:02:48)
  • refine · Should you journal, and how? — Ali says there is all sorts of evidence that writing by hand, as in physical journaling, improves the link between mind and words and boosts creativity compared with typing. (00:07:56)
  • restate · Should you run your work from a to-do list? — Ali writes the day's to-dos on a paper card and keeps it on a stand in front of him all day, striking items off as he goes, to keep the list front of mind. (00:10:14)
  • restate · How do you sleep better? — Ali, a chronic mouth breather, tapes his mouth shut with 3M Transpore surgical tape most nights, first done in 2021, and has begun breathing more through his nose. (00:10:14)
  • refine · How do you sleep better? — Around 9 p.m. Ali and his wife put on orange-tinted blue-light-blocking glasses; even if they do nothing else, they act as a placebo signal that it is time to get ready for bed. (00:11:11)
  • refine · Should you avoid blue light before bed? — Although the scientific evidence for blue-light-blocking glasses is slightly dubious, Ali personally thinks they work: on a screen he cannot see much blue light, and in theory they improve sleep. (00:11:11)
  • restate · Should you read on a Kindle, on paper or by audiobook? — The Kindle is one of the tech products that most changed Ali's life: he has read on one every day since about 2008 and read hundreds more books than he would have with paperbacks. (00:11:51)
  • restate · How do you read more books? — The Kindle is one of the tech products that most changed Ali's life: he has read on one every day since about 2008 and read hundreds more books than he would have with paperbacks. (00:11:51)
  • refine · How do you keep friendships and avoid loneliness? — Ali recommends conversation card games such as the School of Life's Confessions game, with the right group and vibe, as a cheap way to deepen friendships and relationships. (00:13:11)
  • refine · How do you make good coffee at home? — Ali calls the AeroPress the best and a super cheap way to make coffee, his go-to each morning; he has the premium version, but the basic plastic one does the job just as well. (00:13:47)
  • refine · How do you improve your flexibility and mobility? — Ali keeps two cheap yoga mats out in the living room at all times, so while watching TV or playing the PlayStation he may as well stretch or sit cross-legged for hip mobility. (00:13:47)
  • restate · How do you build a good habit and break a bad one? — Ali keeps two cheap yoga mats out in the living room at all times, so while watching TV or playing the PlayStation he may as well stretch or sit cross-legged for hip mobility. (00:13:47)
  • milestone · VoicePal, Ali's AI writing app built with his friend Pablo (2024) — VoicePal, which Ali's team has built over about 12 months, has thousands of users worldwide: you speak, it asks follow-up questions, and you export a draft to Notion, Google Docs, Claude or ChatGPT. (00:15:03)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Kindle

Also: People: Izzy Sealey · James Nestor

Works: Breath · Harry Potter (book series)

Organizations: Amazon · Anker · Belkin · Moleskine · Peak Design · The School of Life · Ugmonk

Concepts: blue light · mouth taping

Places: France · Hong Kong

Products: 3M Transpore Surgical Tape · AeroPress · ChatGPT · Claude · Google Docs · iPhone · Leuchtturm1917 notebook · Nomad ChargeKey · Notion · The Confessions Game · VoicePal · Zoom

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