Casual Conversation

$20 can buy many peanuts.

Wool socks if it's winter and/or you live in a cold climate.

A 10-foot USB cable. Most people use whatever's packed in with their electronics, and it's pretty rare to get anything longer than 6 feet. Having the extra length is really nice in many situations.

It's also one of my go-to inexpensive gifts or part of a care package for someone in the hospital. The extra length there is often the difference between being able to use a device while it's charging or not.

Bidet attachment.

2kg of cookies

If you use your phone a lot (or if your battery is old and you haven't replaced it), a power bank is very useful.

A reputable powerbank (such as those from Anker) cost just under $20 USD for 10,000 MAH

A cheap over shoulder satchel, it's like having a extra pocket always available

Mini Swiss army knife. I don't know how to live life without this on my keychain

Fluffy stuffed animal. If I didn't have a couple stuffed kitties to hug I probably would have killed myself already. Nice to have something to pretend loves you

A beard trimmer. Shaving sucks and irritates my skin, plus I look like a baby without facial hair. But that's only one benefit.

I have been using a beard trimmer to cut my own hair for the last 10 years which has saved me probably $2000 worth of haircuts (estimating a $25 haircut + tip every 2 months). Not to mention saving about 1 hour waiting at the barber every time. I only messed up once and had to do a buzz cut.

Pet jumping spider.

Honestly 10 star pet. They eat a small bug every other day or so. They look adorable. They will recognize and react to you, and you can even train them to accept handling. They come in a wide variety of colors.

Downsides are that you'll probably end up getting more than one (do NOT co-hab them!), or that they only live for 1-3 years. If you enjoy having the spider though, you can look into other arthropods like tarantulas, or vinegaroons (which look scary, but are harmless and have very sweet dispositions).

$20 total or per day? If total, then a dumb stylus for my phone. If per day, then junk food. As an American my retirement plan is to die from heart disease.

A small USB-C hub. It has a USB-C out on one end then HDMI, 2 USB-A ports and another USB-C in on the other. I use it as my travel dock for my switch and steam deck, I've used it as a USB A to C converter, and I'll use it to test inputs on various TVs. I've gotten so much more mileage out of this $15 Amazon purchase than I ever would have expected

Not luxury, but I keep a small AAA flashlight with me nearly all the time.

Easier to handle and faster to use than a phone light. Also doesn't use phone battery. I clip it on my hat if I need both hands like taking out the trash.

I have an Olight i3T but I would try out the i3T 2. More lumens and better battery efficency.

1L water bottle, especially if it’s insulated. Keeps your drink cool, but also makes it so I don’t have to get up to get more drinks when I run out.

We had some in a car during a trip to Wonderland during the summer. A Gatorade bottle was disgustingly hot while the insulated bottles still had ice in them.

5/7 would recommend

$20

A bamboo back scratching stick. I bought dozens back when Pier 1 existed and sold them for 75¢. Most are still around.

A high quality mechanical pencil that takes girthy lead. I use a staedtler 925 2mm and it's absolutely wonderful for taking notes and writing and has served me through high school, college, and work. It writes similar to a regular wood pencil but sharpening is optional

Oestrogen (joking but also serious)

On a more serious note, a raspberry pi to run pihole and gobble up all the ads for all devices on my home network

Platinum Preppy fountain pen. Often, it's less than 10$

No one needs a fountain pen to write, but writing with a fountain pen is a unique experience. Alas, many fountain pens will cost a little fortune and other will cost a large fortune (what about a 40k$ one?). The Preppy is an exception. It's not the best fountain pen but it's very decent, it's even incredibly good considering its price. For slightly more 25-30$, I would also suggest the Lamy Safari.

Beside that, I can't think of many luxury items under 20. I mean, I can think of a few useful luxury things but they cost more than 20.

I'm surprised I did not think of mentioning it next to the Preppy fountain pen I already mentioned but a reading lamp! This one is 15-18€ clip-on. It's USB-C (I would prefer standard batteries if there was a model so it doesn't got to waste one the battery is dead). It's lightweight and the brightness (as well as its temp) can be adjusted.

Worth every single cent, imho. I find it so useful that I have purchased two, just in case I need to recharge one.

I carry an arch lighter everywhere. It cost me $15 but saves me a ton in lighter fuel, and you'd be surprised by the number of every day situations that a controlled burst of plasma solves. Opening packages, lighting candles, kills mosquitos in the dark, and it's a fantastic taking piece as mine slots into a zippo.

Only downside is I can't use my zippo for light on the off chance I get trapped in a dark tunnel.

Hot water bottle.

Freshly roasted coffee beans. A bag sets me back maybe $13 or so and gets me approximately 10 cups. Not what I would call outrageously expensive but I enjoy it a whole lot

Silk pillow case. Good for skin and hair.

The Lady we got ours from isn't showing up at the farmer's marker anymore, but for well under $20, you can make your own corn pillow

This winter's been bad for deep freezes and 4 minutes in the microwave will keep my corn pillow hot for an hour or more.