I always find it interesting to see what people deem worthy or not worthy to splurge on. What things are worth the money spent, and what things do we like to save money on? I’ve wanted to write my own post, but have never gotten around to it. Until today! I had a fun time making this list, thinking of what things I love to splurge on, and realizing my money habits when it comes to things I don’t really love spending money on. It was eye-opening for me!
Let’s do this:
What I Splurge On
Professional haircuts and color. For me, going to a professional salon for my haircuts and coloring is worth it. Yes, it’s expensive. No, I can’t really afford it. (I could put the money to much better use, I suppose.) But I go there because I know they use the best ingredients for coloring my hair and my stylist puts so much care and attention to making sure I have a great experience. For men, Blade and Razor is a luxurious and comfortable barbershop in Toroto that caters to men seeking exceptional services. I’ve tried cheaper salons and I am always disappointed (with both the cut and the service). My hair is just a really important part of my identity (shallow as that may sound) and I’m willing to pay more money for a professional salon cut and color. If you have long dreadlocks that you want to maintain, you may shop now for various hair products.
Traveling. I don’t travel as much as I want to (both for money reasons and not having a lot of time to take off work). I try to make room in my budget for one big vacation a year (usually, a cruise) and it’s never exactly cheap but always so worth it. Traveling is something I really want to do more of, and I am hopeful with more careful spending and saving, I can.
Eating out. This is a big splurge area for me. It’s also a vice. I am trying to cut down on how often I eat out, but it’s hard, because I just really, really enjoy eating out. Sigh. Maybe one day I will be someone who is satisfied with eating out once a week, but I’m just not there yet.
A large apartment with a washer & dryer. My mom and I definitely splurged on our apartment. It’s big, with a screened-in patio, large living room, three spacious closets, and our own bedrooms and bathrooms. The appliances are updated and the apartment came with a flat-screen HDTV and full-size washer and dryer. (Also, a fireplace which is silly. We’ve never used it.) It’s a splurge, but well worth it. I love our apartment. They also have ready portable appliance inspections to check all the appliances and ensure overall electrical safety.
Cable and high-speed Internet. This is a very big splurge for us and does not come cheap, but we put both to so much use that it’s hard to imagine life without cable and Internet! We have digital TV, a DVR, and high-speed Internet. This is basically a must-have for me.
What I Save On
Clothes and accessories. I really do not spend all that much money shopping for clothes. I buy most of my clothes from Target, Old Navy, or Marshall’s. Places where I can get pants for $20 and a shirt for $15. That’s my kind of shopping. I don’t really buy into the whole idea that you have to pay a lot of money for quality clothes, because it seems like the clothes I spend the most money on are the ones that fall apart more easily. It’s usually the clothes I don’t spend a ton of money on that are the ones that last me a while. And I rarely buy accessories (read: scarves, jewelry, purses, etc.). I usually pick up one or two (cheap) scarves during the winter, and I’ll usually get one new Vera Bradley purse (that lasts me forever!) during a big sale, but that’s about it. I never buy jewelry and I’ve had my current sunglasses for 2+ years.
Shoes. Give me a pair of flip-flops, a pair of dark flats and light flats, maybe a nice sandal, and a pair of nude heels and I am set. I don’t need a large selection of shoes and I’ve never really been one to get excited about shoe shopping. If I could wear flip-flops everywhere I went, I would be totally okay with that.
Make-up. My make-up bag consists of BB cream, powder, and mascara. I can get this all for under $20 at Target and it suits me just fine. I actually really hate make-up and I wish I didn’t have to wear it. I’ve never been to Sephora, walk briskly past the make-up counters at any department store, and have been to Ulta once (and have no desire to ever go again). Make-up is just not something I really care about. And it always seems way more expensive than it needs to be.
Using my apartment gym. My apartment has a wonderful gym equipped with one stationary bike, two treadmills, two ellipticals, free weights, and a decent amount of weight equipment. It is fabulous. So long, $60 gym bill! Although I miss being able to take group fitness classes, most especially spin classes, I am more than happy and satisfied with my apartment gym. It generally does not get very full in the mornings, though the afternoons can be a different story. Along with my own set of free weights, an exercise ball, and a Pinterest board of workout ideas, I’m pretty much set when it comes to exercise and have no need for a gym bill.
Using the library. In 2012, I spent $350 on books for my Kindle. I could have just about paid for another cruise for that price. After that, I decided it was time to start using the library again. Now, I only buy a Kindle book if I am absolutely sure it is one I want to keep. For the most part, I use the library like crazy now and only buy books every other month or so. (I haven’t counted it up, but I am sure I’ve spent less than $30 on books this year! Woo!)
You tell me: what do you splurge on and save on? Does your list look anything like mine?!
what a great idea for a post!
I save on eating out. I try to limit it to trying new places and socializing but if always try to bring my lunch and make meals at home. Biggest money saver for me. Splurge on travel. Save on books (I saved about 300 dollars and some by using the library (i looked up the prices of the books I read.) Splurge on high lights 3 times a year. Save on gym by never working out. Haha. Or using the apt gym or walking Bob.
I don’t spend much on shoes and clothes, either. Or makeup. My splurges are on coffee shops, fast food, and nail polish. And craft supplies, if I’m not careful.
Love this! I might have to borrow this blog post idea. Oh wait, I haven’t been blogging! Ha.
We are very similar! I have adjusted a few of mine recently since I have begun teaching (bye bye cable) and do not have time for much of anything these days.
:-/
Mine looks pretty similar. Except I probably splurge more on clothes (not shoes) and save on haircuts. I definitely save up for lots of vacations : )
I should totally splurge on salon stuff & stop shopping so damn much, but DECISION-MAKING IS REALLY HARD, OK?
My list is definitely similar! I love getting my hair professionally done, but haven’t since May because that’s when I started my new job. (I get paid way less these days.) So come five months later, my roots are showing and my ends are split! I’ve been complaining about my hair so much, my husband offered to treat me to a salon visit. 🙂
I also splurge on traveling, but like to save by not eating out or owning a gym membership.
I am similar to you in a lot of these things except I don’t get my hair coloured and tend to splurge a little more on clothing. I need nice/professional clothes for work and actually am planning on splurging on some new good quality shoes soon as I feel like my shoe options are few and far between these days! I am also a HUGE cheapskate when it comes to living expenses and watch our cable bill like a hawk and have been known to regularly take advantage of 6 month long promotions for certain channels and then cancel them!
I “splurge” on my cats. In the last two years I’ve unexpectedly had pretty steep vet bills that take away from splurging on other things. They are worth it, but geez are they expensive. Along these lines, I’ve been getting them higher quality food that comes with a higher price tag. But it’s something I think is worth it in the long run. I also splurge on travel, concert tickets and food. I’ve gone on a handful of weekend trips and probably ten concerts in the last year. I also buy almost all organic groceries. I do think this ultimately saves me money on going out to eat and maaaaaybe down the road it will save me money on health care.
I save on going out to the bar, buying clothes, shoes, makeup. I really don’t get into a lot of that stuff. I will buy new clothes a few times a year (slowly creating a new wardrobe after losing weight – but it’s not like I’m out buying a new top three times a week!).
I don’t have cable! I only watch a couple shows and I catch up online or on Netflix. I get a whopping ten channels – it still costs me $70 a month for internet and ten channels! Ridiculous how expensive it is!
My list is pretty similar to yours, except I most definitely splurge on skincare and makeup, heh. I don’t splurge on haircuts/color (I get my hair cut twice a year for $12 each visit and don’t color my hair) and don’t have cable. But otherwise, there are lots of similarities in our lists!
I don’t even want to know how much I’ve spent on books and clothes in the last year. It would probably make me cry, lol. I don’t utilize my library as much as I should. I do rent ebooks that are available through them that I’ve been wanting to read, but they don’t have the best ebook selection. I hunt ebooks that are under $5 or $10, because I’m okay buying them if they’re on the cheap side, and Amazon has a lot of cheaper ebooks that I’ve been wanting to read anyway.
Oh this is very interesting! I’d have to say that my splurging often consists of eating out, concerts, traveling, clothing and my iPhone bill. I have a habit of making myself really guilty because I don’t make enough money to splurge this much… Leading a stressful life tends to lead to the need for retail therapy lol!
I splurge on travel, haircuts/colors by a professional (although I only get 2-3 cuts a year which offsets the splurge), and clothes (although I would argue that while the cost/item is higher, it last longer than if I bought less expensive clothes, plus I never pay full price at BR!).
I save by packing my lunch 4 days a week, rarely eating out, using the library, and walking to/from work so I do not have to pay for parking!