8 Things You Should Splurge On

Last week I talked about things that I would never pay full price for and this week I would like to talk about things that I would splurge on. There are certain things in life that are worth spending a bit of money on.

Being frugal does not mean purchasing the cheapest items possible, but rather purchasing the best quality items for the best possible prices.

Following is a list of things you should splurge on.

Mattress

The average person spends 1/3 of their lifetime sleeping. That’s a lot time in one spot. In order to function properly every day I need to get a decent sleep. For me, that means 7-8 hours. Our queen mattress cost around $1300 and it was worth every penny.

I know you can go out and buy a $100 or $200 mattress and be done with it, but I can guarantee it won’t be of high quality and you probably won’t sleep that well on it. I really believe that everyone should invest in an excellent mattress. We spend so much time in it, it needs to be comfortable!

Quality Furniture

I’ve learned from experience that just because something is cheap in price, doesn’t mean it’s a good deal. I once bought an inexpensive coffee table from Ikea (I think it was around $20) and it started peeling in just a few days. My mom bought a great coffee table 10 years ago that was $200 (solid wood and very heavy) and it still looks as good as new!

Accessories such as vases, picture frames and knick knacks – those I wouldn’t spend a lot of cash on (I get most of these items from thrift stores), but furniture you plan to keep around for awhile like a dining room set, couch, etc. – those are the things I would suggest splurging on.

Pots, Pans & Knives

I really love cooking in the kitchen and all of my cheap-o cookware just isn’t cutting it anymore. My in-laws gifted us an awesome Paderno cookware set for Christmas last year and we LOVE it. It is so durable and cooks food very well.

I also love T-Fal for our pans. As for knives, the inexpensive ones don’t do it for me. I NEED those high-quality (usually expensive) knives to get the jobs done in my kitchen.

Restaraunt Meals

I would rather pay a little bit more for my meal and really enjoy it, than pay less for a meal that I’m not too thrilled about. I think it’s worth it to treat yourself to a nice, fancy dinner every once in awhile!

We don’t go out to eat very much anyway, so this isn’t much of an issue for us, financially speaking.

Crib

I wish I had researched the importance of a good crib when we first bought ours for our son. It was a $65 used crib on Kijiji (we bought the mattress separately) that my husband painted white. It was great until we had to lower the mattress – it wouldn’t come down and I guess we put too much pressure on it and the thing started falling apart.

We bought another used crib on Kijiji not too long ago and it was $225 (with mattress). It cost the original owners over $1000 when it was first purchased. We researched this crib and could only find positive reviews – and when we went to check it out we saw that it was in great shape, really heavy and solid wood – we snatched it up fast.

It was totally worth the price.

Car Seat

We have had so many problems with these things.

At first we had the infant car seat from a stroller system and it was fine, but then we had to get the larger car seat when Elliott grew out of the infant one – and that’s when we ran into problems. I bought one that looked good and was cheap and we used it once or twice and hated the way it sat in the car – so we returned it.

Then we bought another cheap one, that was inexpensive, but not quite as inexpensive as the first one, and we had the same issue.

Finally, we went out and bought an expensive Britax Marathon after doing lots and lots of research – and we love it. I wish we had done the research and bought the Britax in the first place. It would have saved us alot of time, trouble and money.

Please invest in a high quality car seat. Your child’s safety is number one. Don’t skimp on this important piece of baby gear!

Stroller

A good stroller is also important, especially if you go for lots of walks. We have the Chicco Liteway and are very happy with it.

We could have went with an inexpensive umbrella stroller, but they have no storage and I find them super flimsy. Invest in a durable, high-quality stroller for your child – they are worth the money. Try them out in the store before you buy one. We found that this was the best way to determine the right stroller for us.

Running Shoes

It’s important to wear shoes that are good for our feet. Don’t buy a pair of running shoes just because they are cheap. Spend a bit of money and get a very good pair that will last you a long time. Your feet will thank you!

Although I always suggest never paying full price for anything, I do recommend investing in certain things like what is listed above.

By investing, I don’t necessarily mean paying top dollar. The key is to research, research, research what you plan to spend your money on. Purchase the best possible item for the best possible price.

What do you splurge on?