The Things I Always Splurge On

I’m not sure I’d describe myself as a big spender or particularly frugal. I think I’m just very specific about what I’m willing to spend money on.

I would happily pay more for the “good version” of some things. If I use it every single day; if it makes my life easier; if it gives me back time; or if it genuinely makes me happy? Take my money!

Then there are other categories where I just...don’t care. You will never find a $300 pajama set in my closet; I’ve never owned a designer handbag; and despite the amount of skincare that arrives at my house, I use the same handful of products over and over again, and gift the rest to my girlfriends.

The older I get, the more I realize that I’d rather spend generously in the areas that matter to me and save without guilt in the ones that don’t.

So today, I thought it would be fun to share both.

I am a girl who prioritizes her sleep. I get a minimum of eight hours a night and, honestly, I’m happiest with nine or ten. I know that sounds like an absurd amount to some people, but sleep affects everything for me. My mood, my energy, my workouts, my patience...all of it.

So please, if your mattress sucks and you wake up uncomfortable every morning, BUY A NEW MATTRESS. You spend way too much of your life in that thing to hate it. This is the one we have and love.

Same goes for bedding. I love soft sheets, a fluffy duvet, and a bed that feels really freaking good when I crawl into it at night.

Sticking with the sleep theme...

My sleep mask is expensive. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But it is literally on my face every. single. night.

Whenever I sleep without it, I notice a difference. Plus, the silk is so soft and doesn’t leave me with a giant crease across my face in the morning. Is it also preventing wrinkles? I have absolutely no evidence of this, but I choose to believe it is.

It is so cozy, I use it constantly, and the cost-per-use at this point has to be pennies. Finn has the same one too.

This is specific, but hear me out. I wear retainers/night guards every single night. I’m a teeth grinder, and I also had Invisalign (more about that journey here), so after going through all of that, I am NOT letting these teeth move.

I used to clean my retainers with a toothbrush, which worked fine. Then I got this retainer cleaner, and it’s magic.

I use it every single day. My retainers get actually clean without me standing at the sink scrubbing them. For something that goes into my mouth every night, it is 100% worth it.

This one is newer to me, but it has already made the list.

I bought an espresso machine and have officially reached the point where I think my latte at home tastes better than the latte I get at a coffee shop. WHO AM I?!

There was definitely a learning curve, and I wrote an entire post about the machine and my experience with it if you’re curious. But now I genuinely look forward to making my coffee every morning.

This is probably the biggest one on this entire list.

At this stage of life, I’m very willing to spend money when what I’m actually buying is time. I can always clean my own house or mow my own lawn. I can’t get a Saturday with my family back

Our house cleaners come every two weeks, and they are AMAZING. There is nothing better than walking into the house after they’ve been here and everything is sparkling and smells so good.

Same with our lawn. We have someone mow it instead of spending our weekends keeping up with that chore.

You knew there had to be some DIY on this list.

When it comes to paint, I’m actually not that loyal to any one brand. But whatever brand you choose, buy the best line of paint they offer.

Do not spend hours prepping, taping, cutting in, rolling, cleaning up, and doing the whole dang project only to save a few bucks on the paint itself.

The good stuff covers better, goes on better, and makes the entire process easier.

Same goes for brushes. I’m a Purdy girl all the way. Give me a good Purdy brush and my Pelican paint pail, and I am ready to go.

Tiny, scratchy towels are the worst. I am firmly “Team Bath Sheet”. I want a towel so large I practically disappear into it.

Bath sheets are ginormous, soft, cozy, and one of those little everyday luxuries that I absolutely think is worth paying for.

The only downside? You absolutely cannot wrap one around your head unless you want your neck to give out.

For my hair, I use these microfiber towels instead. They’re lightweight, stay put, and are so much better than attempting to balance five pounds of wet bath sheet on top of my head.

I’m a Dyson girl all the way, and we own this V15 model.

For me, a vacuum needs to be EASY. I don’t want to drag something giant out of a closet, plug it in, wind up the cord, and make vacuuming into an entire production.

I want to grab it, do a quick zip around the kitchen, suck up a DIY mess, hit the stairs, and put it away.

A good cordless stick vacuum is one of those things that makes keeping up with the house so much easier, and ours gets used constantly.

I get my hair cut and colored about four times a year. I get Botox about four times a year.

And I will happily continue paying for both.

I absolutely adore the woman who does my hair and would probably pay her anything she asked me to at this point. I leave feeling like myself, only much better.

Same with Botox. It’s something I choose to spend money on because I like it and it makes me feel good.

Every year, we do a professional family photo shoot in the fall. It can be a big pain to figure out clothing, reserve a date, and bribe the kids into smiling. But every year, I’m so glad we did it.

Our annual photo shoot guarantees that once a year, I get beautiful pictures of our entire family together.

Yes, I use them for our Christmas card. But I also use them all year long—in frames, photo books, gifts, random projects, you name it.

My kids are changing so fast, and I know there will come a day when these annual photos are some of my favorite things we own.

This isn’t really one specific thing, but it is absolutely something I’m willing to spend money on. We love being the house.

I want the neighborhood kids to know they can wander over. I want friends to be able to stop by. I want to be able to text people, “Come over!” without immediately thinking, Crap, we have nothing here.

So our fridges are pretty much always stocked. Juice boxes, waters, Poppi, snacks, and drinks for the kids. Wine, THC drinks, and all the things for the adults.

Could we spend less in this category? Ohhhh yes. But having a house full of people is one of my favorite things, and this is one of those expenses where I know exactly what I’m paying for.

Our gym membership is definitely a splurge, but it has become such a huge part of our family’s life.

It’s less “gym” and more “club.” There’s childcare, a pool, a restaurant, and plenty for all of us to do. On a gross, rainy Chicago day when everyone needs to get out of the house? We can go to the gym.

And personally, my fitness has improved so much since we joined. We use it constantly, the entire family benefits from it, and it makes it easier for me to prioritize something that’s really important to me.

Worth every penny.

And now for the other side of this equation.

Because apparently I’ll spend good money on a silk sleep mask...and then crawl into my expensive bedding wearing a T-shirt from college. We all contain multitudes, right?!

I love nice bedding. I could not care less about nice pajamas.

I am an old-T-shirt-and-shorts girl through and through. I have a T-shirt from COLLEGE that I still wear multiple times a week. Throw in some comfy shorts in the summer or soft pants in the winter, and I am set.

This one may be surprising considering I just told you that I happily pay for Botox. But I really don’t spend a lot on skincare. You can read more about the skincare I use in this post.

I have a prescription retinol that is very inexpensive, vitamin C, and a few other products that I know work for my skin. Overall, my routine is pretty simple.

I do not subscribe to the idea that I need a 12-step skincare routine.

I actually get sent a TON of skincare products through my job, and most of the time, I give them to my friends. I already have what works for me. I don’t need to constantly introduce something new just because it exists.

I am just not a nail person. I’ll get the occasional pedicure, but you will not find me at the nail salon every two weeks.

Most of the time, I keep my nails short and paint them myself once a week using my beloved nail concealer.

And hilariously, this nail concealer has become one of the most popular products I’ve ever shared with you guys. Apparently my greatest contribution to the beauty world is coming from someone who barely cares about her nails.

I have never owned a designer handbag, and I honestly don’t think I ever will.

I know people who LOVE bags and absolutely light up over them, and I totally get spending money on something that brings you joy. It just doesn’t do it for me.

I cannot imagine myself spending thousands of dollars on a handbag. If you can, enjoy her. I will admire her from afar.

I don’t really decorate for seasons. I know. Home blogger blasphemy!

I don’t have bins of Valentine’s Day decor, Easter decor, spring decor, Fourth of July decor, fall decor, Halloween decor...

At Christmas, I’m in. Let’s do the tree. Let’s hang the garland. Let’s make it festive.

But the rest of the year, I mostly want my house to look like...my house. And I’m very happy not to have another 47 bins of stuff to store in the basement.

Our kids wear their clothes HARD. They play in them. They spill things on them. They get muddy. They grow out of things approximately a week after we buy them.

So we don’t buy a lot of precious clothes for them.

Finn actually wrote an entire post about where we shop for the kids and what we buy, so I’ll link that here if you’re interested.

They have plenty of cute clothes. I just don’t need to be stressed because somebody got ketchup on a $90 sweater, which will absolutely happen in three minutes.

This one has changed a lot for me because of Nuuly.

I don’t want to buy a new dress every time we have a wedding, event, work thing, party, or vacation. Inevitably, I’d wear it once or twice, and then it would hang in my closet forever.

Instead, I get six pieces a month through Nuuly.

If I have an event coming up, I rent something fun. I wear it. I send it back.

If I end up absolutely loving something, I can usually buy it for a pretty significant discount.

But for the most part, it has completely eliminated that feeling of, I have an event coming up, so now I need to go buy an entirely new outfit.

Looking at this list, I think my spending philosophy is actually pretty simple. I’ll spend on sleep. I’ll spend on time. I’ll spend on things I use constantly, taking care of myself, making memories, and making our house a place where people want to gather.

But I’m also very happy to save in the categories I just don’t care about. I don’t need fancy pajamas just because I love fancy bedding. I don’t need expensive skincare because someone tells me I should. And I certainly don’t need a designer handbag just because it’s considered an “investment.”

I think that’s the real takeaway for me: spend generously on the things that make your life better, and stop feeling like you’re supposed to spend money on everything else.

Now I want to hear yours. What’s something you’ll happily splurge on every single time? And what’s one thing you absolutely refuse to spend good money on?