If you’ve read any of my posts before, you know I talk a lot about not spending money and saving money. PLOT TWIST: today I’m going to share things I not only spend money on but even spend more than I need to. 

Let’s dive right in. When it comes to spending money, I don’t think there is one right way or wrong way to do it. At the end of the day, money is what we all use in exchange for things – both necessities and non-necessities.

As long as you can afford what you’re spending on, you’ve budgeted for said items/services, and it brings some kind of value to your life, then choosing to spend more on something is okay and up to each person. 

There are things I refuse to spend more money on than I need to. I refuse to spend money on things for an image or for people to believe I’m doing well. For example, I choose to drive a Honda Civic and I love it! Could I afford to drive a more expensive car? Sure. I choose not to though because a car to me is something to get me from point A to point B and I don’t need a fancy car to make me feel good about myself or make others believe anything. 

This might be different for you. Perhaps for you, a more expensive car may mean more or bring value into your life that for me it just wouldn’t. There are many other things I just don’t spend money on, but let’s get back to the point of this post. 

I choose to spend money on things that:

  1. Save me time
  2. Help me live a healthier lifestyle
  3. Bring me joy
  4. Help me develop myself
  5. Help me give back

Timesavers

TIME IS MONEY! How much is your time worth? It depends on a lot of things, but anytime you spend time on something, you’re giving up using that same time on something else. Let’s say you buy furniture and you can either take it home and build it yourself or for $75 you can have it delivered straight to your home and built by an expert. If you’re good at building things and can knock it out quickly, saving yourself the $75 fee is probably totally worth it! 

If you’re not so handy, don’t have the proper vehicle to transport the furniture, and you end up spending a whole day transporting the furniture and building it well then maybe spending the $75 to save you all the effort and hours is better. 

Something I spend money on to save me a ton of time is tolls for my commute. Without traffic, my office is about 30 miles or 35 minutes away from my house – not too bad. WITH traffic, my commute can be anywhere from 55 minutes on the low end and up to 2 hours on the high end. Fortunately, there are toll roads I can take that help shave some time off my commute. They add up, but they save me about 30 minutes each way PER day so I will gladly spend that money every month.

Healthier lifestyle

The older I get, the more I want to focus on my health. I truly believe that your health is your greatest wealth and without it, nothing else really matters. When it comes to the gym, I tend to spend more than I need to because the return on investment is huge (staying in shape). I have a whole article on why I spend so much on my gym membership that you can check out here. 

If I’m eating out, I know that the healthier options tend to be more expensive. As much as I’m not thrilled about a $12 lunch, if I didn’t prep my meals and need to buy lunch I will often opt for something like a salad or salmon plate even though it can be much pricier than your average fast-food joints. 

Joy

This one is HUGE for me. Similarly to Marie Kondo’s philosophy on things you own and keeping only those that truly bring you joy, I will spend money on things that do that for me. This can be anything from travel, activities with family or friends, fun dates with my boyfriend, eating at a favorite restaurant, getting a massage, treating myself to getting my nails done, etc. A common denominator here is experiences. As I’ve grown up, I have shifted from wanting the latest and greatest gadgets or handbags to wanting to spend more on experiences and less on things. All of those experiences are what make me happy, not a fancy new handbag or shoes. 

Self-development

When I finished college, I was so excited to be free from the school system and never have to worry about assignments and presentations again! Who doesn’t feel like that at the end of school, right?! What I didn’t realize then was that as excited as I was to be done with school, I quickly would miss the learning piece of it all. I believe that you should never stop learning or developing yourself. I will spend money on books, courses, memberships, and live events that help me learn something new or further develop myself either personally or professionally. 

Giving back

Last but certainly not least, I spend money on giving back. From giving back to church, picking charities to donate to, or donating to Go Fund Me campaigns that my friends or family share, anytime I can give back I do because it’s not only something that brings me joy but also helps make a small difference in someone else’s life. 

So while I believe in living within your means, not going into unnecessary debt, and saving as much as you can, I also believe that you can do all of those things and spend money on things that matter most to you. 

What are things YOU spend more on?

 
Nothing on this blog should be considered personal actionable advice, research, or an invitation to buy or sell any securities. Consider all risks before investing, including the loss of your hard-earned money. Vee is an Investment Advisor for Warren Street Wealth Advisors, this blog reflects her personal views and not that of Warren Street.