Ask the readers: What’s worth splurging on?

As far as makeup goes, I always splurge on the skin care products. I really like clinque’s 3 step program. But for everything else (the icing if you will) I can go either way. Drugstore brands have gotten surprisingly good.

I like this article & I think we have a similar philosophy. I frequently justify my splurges using a cost per use formula. For example, if eyeglasses cost $300, but I wear them everyday for a year, they cost about $0.82 per use. However, if I buy a $40 pair of shoes that I wear only once and then send to Goodwill because they hurt, then they cost $40 for one use. So as long as my budget can afford it, I’m willing to splurge more on things that I’ll use over and over until they just fall apart. :-)

I splurge on food, because I think we should not buy cheap processed foods. And if farmers, bakers etc. produce great food, they deserve to be paid well.
Apart from that I splurge on well made furniture, because I have to live with it every day, hopefully for the rest of my life. And I splurge on tools, craft tools as well as power tools, because I think it is too frustrating to work with cheap stuff.
Underwear can be cheap, jewelry and sunglasses as well (get lost anyway). I also try to buy many things from thrift stores like books, handbags and vintage fabrics.

My kind of topic.
I spend money on what I enjoy, what brings me pleasure or what I know will last a long time if it’s cared for properly. Good olive oil, Rishi tea, delicious cheese, local honey & produce, elderflower liqeur (so obsessed), moisturizer (Face Oasis which I’ve used for 15 years and I can’t give up), nice yarn, great clogs and boots, Wacoal bras (I’m also busty, thanks for the Prima Donna tip!), and I buy a small piece of vintage jewelry a year or a lovely perfume. To offset the cost of my indulgences, I grow some of my own veg/herbs, buy cheap cotton underpants & tanktops, loan books from the library, line-dry my laundry and generally try to conserve resources.

I totally splurge on shoes – they have to be made out of nice material or they won’t last. It also gives me more of a reason to take care of them. Another thing I like to splurge on is good fabric. Beautiful fabric made out of natural fibers is so fulfilling to wear and sew with. Also, I am a foodie so I love to buy delicious cheeses, olive oils, fancy salts, etc. You only live once – might as well enjoy it!

i don’t really splurge on anything clothes wise – i#m a high street/ home sewn girl!

but i guess the answer would be that things that address your major concerns are worth splurging on. in terms of make up – i have always had skin issues stemming from spotty skin as a teenager. there fore for me, a posh foundation makes me feel better, and i’m happy to skimp on eye pencils/ eyeshadows/ lipsticks. i have dark shadows under my eyes so i buy a good concealer.

in terms of clothes, i spend on bottoms esp jeans as i have more fit issues there. i am happy to buy cheaper tees and vests.

I’ve been trying to live by the “too poor to buy cheap” mantra lately.

Furniture: I tend to like second hand furniture more than new… but the furniture that costs about the same as new midrange furniture, rather than the $10 at garage sale/free on side of road. So that’s a bit of splurge and skimp, depending on which angle you go from.

Splurge: books. I’ll always pay double for the prettier cover.

Bras: I’d love to say splurge, but I’ve never really found “the” bra at any price. I’m keeping my eye out.

Kitchen appliances are a total splurge. Why would I want to buy a new kettle every six months? I’m also terrified the really cheap stuff (like the $6 Kmart kettles) will just flat out explode in a terrifying mix of fire and boiling water.

But I totally skimp on most other stuff. I’ve come to the realisation that I can get a lot of home/clothing stuff from op shops for

I despise impulsive consumerism also. We buy only high quality foods, and buy local whenever we can. I splurge on fabric, and underwear is the highest priced clothing I own. I will gladly shell out $100+ on a bra and my panties cost $30 apiece. I just have a lot less then if I bought cotton packs. For all my other clothes I shop second hand or sew them myself, we splurge on my husbands work clothes, both business and blue collar. About 3 years ago I switched to Origins skin care, and Everyday Minerals makeup and have not looked back since. We have 4 children, and I sew and shop secondhand for them also. I come from a large family and we all pass childrens clothing around and also have clothing swaps. We splurge for shoes for them. We also splurge on kitchen appliances and tools for my husband. We save on the cars we drive. This is a very interesting discussion!

Splurge:
A quality pair of Sorel winter boots that will keep my toes toasty when the wind chill dips down to -40 or colder. For the summer months, Mephistos.
My Saturday morning coffee and a newspapers (local and national) that I can hold in my hands.
Silk organza
Sewing machine and attachments

Save:
My camera. I would love to splurge on a new one but the budget won’t allow for it.
Fabric, I try to wait for sales. Sometimes I fail.
Gas, I’ll walk to work when the weather warms up.
Food, I eat less bread when I discovered I had to eat a gluten free diet and discovered the price of gluten free bakery items. Yikes! I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. And who knew spaghetti squash was a more delicious alternative to the pricey gluten free pastas?

Splurge:
Winter/outdoor gear. I live in Maine and walk to work. Waterproof boots and shoes are clutch.
Most make-up. I know that there are great drugstore dupes out there, I just can’t seem to find them. Definitely worth the upgrade for matte eye shadows and blushes.
Shoes. Quality matters. I’d rather buy an expensive pair on super sale than a cheaper brand.
Nail polish. Just makes me feel good, and it’s worth it to me to buy 3 or 4-free formulas.

Save:
Make-up remover/cleanser/shampoo. I’ll spend more on items that stay on my skin.
Mascara. If I upgrade, I end up keeping the tube too long. Drugstore brands work for me!
Books. I use the library constantly, and I like to ask for more expensive books for gifts.
Handbags/wallets. I just can’t justify spending several hundred dollars on pieces when I can buy sale items from TJ Maxx or Marshalls.

i alway spend on shoes/boots and buy the best fabric i can afford. i also spend vast quantities on books!

i also only ever use aveda moisturiser. it’s not the most expensive out there, but it’s pricey for my budget life. i’ve used it for nearly 20yrs and can’t think of a reason that i’d ever stop.

I’m not much of a shopper anymore, but when I do shop it tends to need-based and a splurge, relatively speaking.

Quality fabric and yarn; Mario Badescu skincare (as opposed to drugstore); cosmetic formulas that work for my 44-year-old complexion; shoes that support my narrow, ballet-destroyed feet; chic patterns from independent companies. ;)

Splurges:
A good quality sewing machine – but not necessarily one that has all the bells and whistles. I have found that a cheap machine just causes a lot of frustration and wastes time.

Eyeglasses

Appliances – I have a front loading washing machine, which is gentler on clothes than one with an agitator. I find that it washes better, stains are removed and my clothes last longer. In addition I just splurged on a Miele dishwasher. Every time I pull out my sparkling glassware and plates, I think it is well worth the money. My previous dishwasher would leave cloudy dishes & food particles, so often I’d have to wash again by hand afterward, a waste of time and energy.

Thread – cheap thread = broken thread ‘nuf said

Shoes – I’d rather own fewer pairs of well fitting shoes, than a closet full of poor fitting ones.

Clothing- I am a stay at home mom & frequent volunteer at my kid’s school. My mom uniform is t-shirts and jeans which I often buy from Target or Kohls. These cheaper clothes last because I don’t abuse them, but as my kids get older and I am less likely to be covered in food stains, I am slowly replacing with better quality items. I sew, but ironically, haven’t sewn anything for myself. I am hoping to begin making my own clothing this summer. I want the emphasis to be on hand made clothing as opposed to home made, if that makes sense.

Handbags – I have to admit that I don’t buy them. My mother in law buys me a new purse every year, usually a Dooney & Burke or Coach in a classic style. I just rotate them to keep them from wearing down. If she didn’t buy them for me, I would probably splurge in this area. Good quality purses last for years.

Saves
Beauty products – I keep it simple. I don’t wear a lot of make up, so I tend to stick with tried and true for those rare occasions I do use it. So I’ll often buy Maybelline mascara in the pink & green tube, L’oreal lipstick, etc. I admit, I use Suave shampoo. I also color my own hair, but I buy my color from a beauty supply store. I find that it is actually cheaper this way than buying the box from the drug store. I’ll buy a big bottle of developer on sale and try to get the colorant tube at a 2 for 1 sale and stock up. I use Age Beautiful from Sally Beauty Supply. It covers my gray roots and blends with my natural hair color.

Haircuts – I may splurge once in a great while (every couple of years or so), but mainly I do trims at home. I’m blessed with wavy hair that hides a multitude of sins.

Books/movies/magazines – I am a big reader and movie fan. A few years ago I would buy, paying retail for books and DVD’s, now I borrow exclusively from the library. My city has 5 library branches, the nearest is less than 2 miles away. I’ll often put a request for books or movies and get a notification to pick it up when it’s available. Some may have multiple holds, so the wait is a bit long, but I’m ok with that. Also, I have donated nearly my entire DVD and book collection to the library. This helps reduce clutter in my house, but also I know where to find the movie when I want to watch it again. If they have multiple copies, they sell them which give the library more money to buy new books. It’s a win/win.

Cable – We kept our internet, but cut the cable. We weren’t watching it that much and would end up recording shows that we’d watch a week or 2 after the air date. In addition to the service around $50 a month, our cable company charged us a monthly rental for the DVR, something like $16 a month. Instead, we bought Apple TV. The device was $100 and we pay a subscription fee for Hulu Plus & Netflix, together they cost about $16 a month. Once in a great while we may splurge on a movie from iTunes for family movie night, but that is rare. We’ve seen a huge savings here $600 a year – and don’t really miss the cable.

Food – I hate coupons & don’t have time to spend cutting & organizing. I’ll plan my menus around what is on sale at my local markets. Usually the front & back pages of the sales ads are loss leaders, the sales to get you into the store to spend more on other things. I’ll buy those items and limit my other purchases. We have something like 8 chains in our city, so they are always trying beat each other on those loss leaders to gain customers. I’ll also use the apps connected to the store card to get extra savings. I’ll typically shop at Target with my Red Card to get 5% savings on everything else.

I agree with a lot of the other commenters – when you pay more it’s not really ‘splurging’ , but investing in something that is not ‘cheap’ and can be easily broken (or doesn’t even work in the first place).

I’m considering spending money on some handmade shoes (or at least high quality that will probably last years and actually be comfortable) instead of buying a pair of mass produced crap shoes that don’t fit well and fall apart after about a year (if I’m lucky).

This is a really interesting discussion, both for the bit of insight it gives into what people splurge on, but also because the categories of products under discussion tend to be those that women buy more of than men (of course not universally, but in general), and which are certainly mainly marketed at women: Bras, nail polish, make-up and make-up removers, in-depth skin care, fancy bags, fancy shoes, fancy haircuts, hair color, etc.

I remember reading an article several years back (which of course I can’t find now) on a study that concluded that women spend a significant chunk of their income, and significantly more than men, on products and services to make themselves “presentable” in various ways: clothes, shoes, jewelry, haircuts, make-up, nail polish, etc. It predicted a commensurate (and significant) effect on how much money women, vs. men, had left over for other sorts of things, and for savings. I often think of this when I consider whether to splurge on this or that pair of shoes or necklace — although I’m not sure how much effect it really has ;)

As for spending vs. splurges: I am coming around to the idea that I, too, am too poor to buy cheap. Being a graduate student, I certainly don’t have the money for a *serious* splurge. But I’ve realized that good shoes will last much longer, be more comfortable, and are much more repairable; likewise with the clothes I buy, and the fabrics I buy to make clothes. My boyfriend loves to splurge on high-quality kitchen items, so I let him ;) My next bag will be a high quality leather one. And the only hairstylist that manages to cut my hair well is $50 a pop, so I try to limit it to 2 haircuts a year. We splurged (for us) on a mattress a year ago, and that was a really good idea.

On the other hand, I shop cheap (but well-researched) for makeup and skin care. I don’t use shampoo or conditioner, but instead use (diluted) baking soda to clean, and (diluted) apple cider vinegar to condition. and my hair feels and looks amazing btw! Cheap for furniture, but usually second-hand cheap.

I think it really depends on what ‘splurging’ means. For everything I buy, I try to buy the best quality possible (fabric, yarn, bras, shoes, food, sunglasses, clothing, etc.) but I do my very best not to pay full price for anything. This has caused me to be more mindful of the way I spend my money on a regular basis.

I guess the areas I really don’t care about spending a load of money on are underwear, socks, beauty products (except shampoo and conditioner), cars and travel.

I’m a little weird about the whole splurge vs cheap thing. If I splurged on anything it would be bags, skincare, and bras and even in that case I try to troll sales. Bras, I have to spend a pretty penny on because I have a small back in comparison to my bust and they just don’t make my size in the cheaper prices. As far as clothes is concerned I’ve found that my cheaper items have lasted just as long as my more expensive ones. Sometimes price doesn’t denote the quality of the stitching, just the quality of the fabric used. It’s not just one person in a factory assembling garments it a crew of them and one person may be better at it than another and that one pair of jeans may be stitched a little better than the other pair on the rack. It’s like when I go get a blow out. All the women there are trained to do it, but there is just that one girl who does it better and that is usually the one you want doing your hair. Her skill doesn’t doesn’t make her blow out cost more.

I splurge on good fabrics, expensive aquarelle paper for drawing(because on the bad one is impossible to paint!) and Italian pasta(I just feel the difference in taste%)

I recently bought a pair of good quality flats. I usually buy cheap $20 ballet flats that ALWAYS wear out and start looking hideous after a season or so. I finally learned my lesson and bought leather flats. I really don’t want to support the meat industry or cheap labor practices (since they’re made in China), but since I won’t have to buy as many pairs of shoes now, I’ll be saving the environment in the long run. I also don’t have any good thrift stores around me to check out the shoes. Thrift store perusing is a privilege, y’all.

I also splurge on food. Every weekend I go to the farmer’s market to check out the cool, tasty, local produce. Where else can you get purple kale and carrots (besides growing them yourself)? Buying better produce makes me like cooking SO much more, so it’s all worth it in the long run to not have the urge to eat out. (:

My mother was the worst at not purchasing the thing she actually wanted, because she thought it was too costly, and then going through several different iterations of progressively higher cost before she was satisfied. If she had just bought what she wanted in the first place she would have saved so much time and money…
Because of this, I am pretty selective about things. I have realized that life is too short to work with crappy materials. Don’t buy cheap fabric. It doesn’t give me the satisfaction of a beautiful finish that a better material would. It doesn’t have to be the very best fabric in the place, but get decent-quality stuff. Your effort and work are worth it, and you should treat your art with respect.
Don’t buy cheap bras. It’s bad for your back and your self-esteem. Get fitted and buy the best you can afford.
Buy a good mattress. You can’t buy sleep.
Other than that, as far as I’m concerned, it’s all up for certain levels of penny-pinching. Just think about what your real goal is before making a purchase.

Splurge:
Make-up – If it ain’t bobbi brown it don’t fix it.
Handbags – Unlike clothes some styles never go out of fashion and you can use them every day!
Food – I would rather spend an extra couple of pounds on something decent than waste a fiver on trash

Save:
Shampoo & Conditioner – I SWEAR your hair just gets used to them after a week anyway!
Shoes – Nice ones only end up scuffed up on filthy London pavements, it’s not worth the heartache.

I like to splurge on tools. Kitchen knives, sewing scissors, good pens and pencils, my pocket knife, etc. I’m often doing something with my hands and it’s annoying to work with shoddy tools that make me frustrated and waste time. One of my favorite quotes (i forgot from where) is that “tools are an extension of the hand” – so i’m willing to pay more for something that doesn’t fight against my hand as i use it.

Hello, I don’t spend a lot of money for beauty . I do it all by my self, all skin care..I think for age almost 31 and with 3 kids, I also look goood. ..but for make up I can spend money, usually I spend a lot for mineral cosmetic. I’m so conservative that I am accustomed to check the value of cosmetics and perfumes also.
clothes I just can not spend a lot of money, because I’m the owner of a very small size, so I am enthusiastically sewer. Shoes: I love a good brand of shoes, because comfort is my first place, even on very high heels :)

I tend to like to save on things that are fleeting. I used to spend $$$ on my hair now I dye my own and get my trims at Supercuts. I get more complements on my me done color because I can take the time and mix 3 tubes together to get the right shade and use a permanent on the roots and a demi on the shaft and ends. It’s so easy to buy professional color nowadays and study how to DIY.

With color cosmetics I like to skimp. With coupons a new pop of color can be almost free but I also will splurge on a good foundation or primer or good neutrals.

I will spend more money on materials to make something than I would to buy it. The way I see it I get the item + plus the experience of creating it + the knowledge gained in the process. I’ve probably spent more money on shoemaking supplies lately that I have on actual shoes in the last few years.

I think you have to look at each product/brand specifically. Some brands of inexpensive clothing last a long time. While mid-range or expensive fall apart. Also I’ve bought mid range wallets that don’t last but the cheap five and dime store one I got as Christmas gift from my little brother who was a kid at the time, lasted years and years.

By using general categories you are missing out on some good products. The best bra I had was from one of Playtex’s lines and I’ve bought more expensive ones that just don’t cut it. Yes, there are some products like handbags and shoes that tend to be better at higher price points. But, don’t overlook the unexpected good lower cost items. My everyday sneakers were around $80-$90. Acis are totally worth it and last. My workout sneakers were on sale at Target for $10 . Those Champions have held up.

For me the main splurge is to specifically buy Made in the USA products. Whether that is furniture, shoes, clothes, etc I purposely look for Made in the USA. Just recently I discovered Sven’s clogs from your blog and I am now hooked. I bought the silver clogs you featured in the Laurel posts and not only are they well made but the shoes actually fit my wide feet. I am reducing my carbon footprint by buying more locally produced items and it also keeps local folks employed!

Hmm – splurge on handbags, a nice wallet and earrings. Oh and nice materials (yarn and fabric); if you’re going to spend that much time on it it should be worth it.

I don’t “splurge”..to me that means buying impulsively, or falling for hype in magazines that a $2000 purse is an “investment piece” !? It’s all about trade-offs….some things just make sense to save on, while others I will spend more on getting quality. I do spend more money on organic food, good shoes, and classic, well made clothing. I also sew about 50% of my clothes, and often buy at thrift and consignment stores. I spend more $$ on makeup and skin care, having found out that the higher quality brands just work better and last longer. We grow veggies on our patio, and cook at home most of the time, I get my books at the library, and go to estate and garage sales for furniture and decor for my home. It works for me to blend thrift with spending thoughtfully.

I splurge on clothes that make me feel beautiful and confident. I am in front of people all day at my job. I like feeling good about how I look because it makes me more confident and as a result, better at my job. I also splurge on fabric–beautiful and quirky prints that are unique. I totally scrimp on hair products (chemically speaking, most of them are the same anyway). I don’t like spending a lot of money on home decor stuff so we buy quality furniture but get accessories at Target. I also don’t spend a lot on personal accessories.

I love what others are saying about thrifting being a way make clothing less expensive. Just wanted to add that I still regard my secondhand clothing (which makes up the bulk of my wardrobe) as an investment. It may not have cost as much money as new clothing, but it takes time to find good used clothing, and that’s an investment in its own right. And it still takes up space in my life and my closet.

I’m happy to buy cheap camis (thank you, Forever 21 for those $3 camis. I will take all the colors) or items that I do not intend to wear regularly, but I try to buy nice just about everything else. It’s easier now that I have a proper job, especially since I live in a town which is not distinguished by its excellent secondhand shopping options.

I only have three splurges- shoes, skin care and food.

Shoes because I have extra wide feet that won’t fit most store bought average sizes. That and I don’t mind spending more on a pair that are real leather, well made and will last a lifetime. Though in comparison to what others spend on shoes, mine are not so crazy expensive, all my shoes are Fluevogs – http://www.fluevog.com.

Food is something I will never cheap out on. We my husband and I were younger we used to splurge on going out to eat at nice restaurants all the time. Now that we have a house and are saving for retirement we cook at home, but we always buy organic, local if possible and eco friendly. While I have a nice size veggie garden in my backyard I still have to shop for our meat, grains and whatever else which we do mostly at Whole Foods or the local farmers market.

Skin care- I’ve been using Olay regenerist and Pro-X products which I love. While these are drugstore brand items they are sill pricey for me and considered a splurge. All my make up is drug store brand, I dye and cut my own hair, make almost all my own clothing, buy almost all our furnishings and house stuff from thrift stores and flea markets but I can’t go without my Olay Pro-X face stuff.

I am a flea market/garage sale/thrift store a-holic and try to buy as much of our house stuff/furniture/some clothing that was as possible. I am fond of vintage stuff from the 1940s and 1950s especially, so this is the best way to find what I like. I know there are a lot of people who will spend big bucks on vintage mid century items but I just can’t and won’t. So far my thrift-fu has been strong and I have a house full of nifty vintage 50s furniture and items I found for bargain basement prices.

I splurge on good appliances in the hope and belief they will serve me well for a lot longer. I recently bought a German made front loading washing machine, which was much more expensive than a similar Asian made model. Here’s hoping it lasts me for a good while.
I splurged on my Bernina and am so happy I did so.
I splurge on good fabric made from natural fibres, and always buy leather shoes.
I think my splurges turn out to be “Saves” because I try and buy better quality, less often.

I am always careful with what I splurge on. I don’t spend a lot on jewelry mostly because my sister-in-law makes really awesome jewelry and I just trade crafts with her or I look for sales. I will however pay for a really good bra. I really don’t mind paying full price a Victoria’s Secret if I need to.

Like most, I spend good money on shoes, my feet do a lot of hard work.

I like to buy Bare Minerals makeup as I find it gentle on my skin, nail varnish is Butter from London as it has no nasty chemicals. These products may not be the cheapest, but if I eat organic food I don’t want to put chemicals on my skin either, so I am willing to pay more for what I put in my body as well as what goes on it.

I like natural fibers for making my clothes, however I confess to running up quite a stash. So that is a definite splurge. I do make my own clothes, yet with the arrival of my first baby last year I have bought a few more off the peg garments in the last year.

I save on undies as they don’t seem to last long in the wash. I make my own lunches and mostly my own coffees. Try not to eat out as in Australia a cafe lunch can cost a small fortune. I am not really an accessories fan so I save on that.

Interesting discussion. For non-consumables, I tend to splurge on brands and models, but will almost always get things secondhand once I know exactly what I want (i.e. I don’t splurge on newness and guarantees). So things might be a splurge because they aren’t the cheapest on the market, but might be considered a save in the sense that I rarely go out and buy new (IT equipment being one notable exception).

I splurge on kitchenware (in love with my Woll pans and Le Creuset and my Kenwood Major and my Brabantia peeler and tin opener – but although all of those were expensive in their categories, they were still “deals” at the time. I’ve never found it’s worth buying something with a cheap motor for the kitchen). Since I cook every day, I want to enjoy it. Skincare (Liz Earle, Eve Lom, and Decleor – took me years of problem skin and little or cheap skincare before I spent more and found what works for me so now have no intention of changing), bras (an uncomfortable bra ruins your whole day) – although been trying to make do with M&S recently but it’s not quite the same – and sunglasses (if I’m going to look through it I want to the lenses to feel nice and solid, which is less common in cheap ones. And I love Oakleys – I feel like the world looks happy when I wear them). Also splurge on catfood since one of my cats has an allergy to cheaper stuff and I can’t only feed her the more expensive so they are all on it now. Another big splurge for me is bedlinen, duvet’s and pillows. I do like my sleep! And I can’t stand blobby poly-cotton. But I do view them as a lifetime investment. High thread-count cotton is so lovely to sleep in (Sheridan Millenia is my favorite). WHen I upgraded my duvet and pillows and got a mattress topper I literally got about an hour and half more sleep per night overnight. Totally worth it! I also splurge on quality thermals since I’ve realised being cold makes me grumpier, faster, than anything else.

I save on books – love books – but simply won’t buy them unless they are less than half the cover price. Also it’s a splurge / save thing on furniture – I like secondhand / antique furniture which I find tends to cost not much more than new if you buy it online rather than through a dealer, and will outlive me. Used to splurge on shoes but having a traumatic year while I sort out a neuroma, so I’m living in birkenstocks (only thing that’s comfortable) while I can see 20 shoe boxes of gorgeous shoes in the corner of my room that I currently can’t use, it’s very frustrating!). Save on haircuts and beauty treatments – I can just always think of something I’d rather be doing. Save on mobile phones – not a gadget person so have a very old, simple one. But i do splurge on a personal computer. For my sewing machine I did splurge on a (secondhand) Bernina 1008. I had a Necchi Lydia first, then it died and I bought a cheap sewing machine, hated it from the first day, and eventually gave up and got the Bernina. I still regret buying the cheap one at all – it was a such a waste of money.

Overall as I get older and make new buying choices I’m going for things with “I never want to have to shop for this ever again” in my head. And I’ve generally found I’ve ended up with things that are specific models by established brands which are often quite sought after even secondhand (e.g. Bernina 1008; Kenwood Majors). But so far I haven’t regretted any of those more expensive purchases.

Prawns

I find acquiring stuff really complicated – I am constantly reviewing my ‘rules’ – and it gets really complicated when you share finances with your partner and they have a totally different take on things. Then all my intentions go out the window, I either scrimp or miss out on things to make up for my partner’s spending, or get whatever I want because he’s doing the same so why shouldn’t I, since it’s ‘our’ money?

Mostly I scrimp because I can’t sacrifice meeting our responsibilities (mortgage, rates, utilities, insurances, vehicle rego & WOF, food) for getting exactly what I want. Ideally, my priorities are 1. local 2.long lasting (cost per use) 3.ethically produced or second hand. Things you use a lot, like your bed and sofa, I think it’s best to buy the best you can afford – it’s a matter of health too. I try not to spend a lot of money on things that can get broken or damaged easily – like tableware and glasses – it’s fun finding those kind of things second hand anyway.

Good quality materials and ingredients encourage you to use them thoughtfully and carefully, so finished products are best quality. Usually if you take your time finding or doing something, it’s cheaper than if you’re in a rush. My favourite times have been when I’ve been cash-strapped but able to choose to spend on something I wanted – an experience or a thing – the saving up and choosing one thing over others seems to make it even sweeter when you get what you want!

Spending anything at all on furniture? Never! (Lucky to have parents’, grandparents’ things in abundance. House is, in fact, crammed to the gills.) Thrifting clothes is great. But I’ll spend on good expensive shoes for my thoroughly tweaked feet. (Love Zappos!) I’ll also spend on New Yorker Magazine and The New York Times; good food; museum admission; travel;gardening and getting together with friends, none of which are “splurges”.

Most (not all) books come free from the library, but were that not possible, I’d be buying even more than I do. Are books a “splurge”? Not in my book.

I splurge on fabrics, trims and buttons. Well, I have to admit that I love my perfumes, too! Shoes ( I have high arches )and of course well made bras. I try to find many things in thrift shops and consignment stores too.

Hi,
belated comment/question on the bra issue. I got a Prima Donna bra after I read your post and loved it. I noticed you run marathons, and I was wondering whether you’ve come across a sports bra that you like? I’m a long-distance runner too and I’ve bought about 10 of them so far and there’s none I’ve really liked! Any insight on the issue?

thanks & best

Despina