
What I splurge on…
My entire blog is dedicated to how to be thrifty, where to cut costs and how to find great, cheap stuff. But sometimes, I splurge on things. Yes – the super stinge sometimes splashes her cash. The difference between me and someone who spends lots of money is that most of my splashes are calculated purchases. (Every so often I make split second purchases… we all do! I just try not to do it too often!) So today I’ve decided to share with you some of my regular splurges so you can see that even I’m not perfect when it comes to spending and saving money. This list isn’t complete, there are a few other things I could have added, but we don’t need to be here all day.
Also, you’ll see that the list is quite varied and some of these splurges are because I want a quality product that lasts and some are just because my taste buds prefer them. There’s no hard and fast rule for splurging, which I think is evident in how I spend my money.
So without further ado…
Hair cuts
This one is a no-brainer, a good haircut costs money. But that doesn’t mean you need to go to the most expensive salon, just one with a great reputation and who understands different types of hair. Once you’ve found a great hairdresser, stick with them – you might end up scoring yourself a bit of a friends discount in the long run. I’ve been with my hairdresser for years, she was with me in Perth and (lucky me!) she moved out to Sydney just six months after I did.
I totally recommend the Pandan Coconut
Ice cream
I like ice cream. It’s probably my absolute favourite ever food of all time, but it’s also not great for my waist line, so when I eat it, I eat the good stuff. That means yes, splurging on Messina. (Shout outs to Gelatomassi, River Reno and Cow&Moon for also being excellent) Plus, I’d rather ice cream over dinner, so yes I have occasionally forgone a proper meal in favour of coconut gelato. I love coconut gelato.
My favourite chocolate frogs (Sorry, Freddo)
Chocolate
See above, but replace ice cream with chocolate and the ice cream stores with Haighs, Lindt, Ritter Sport and Kit Kats (I demolish Kit Kats).
I live in these in winter
Stockings
Cheap stockings snag more easily, lose elasticity more easily and don’t keep you warm – so you end up spending more money than you would if you’d just bought the more expensive ones in the first place. (Tip: buy new stockings in the Boxing Day sales, they’re always SUPER cheap because it’s summer and nobody else is buying stockings in summer)
I’m a sucker for these Sambag flats – which are a great deal if you wait until sales
Shoes
Ok, I have a bit of a confession to make: most of the shoes I own have been gifts from my mum. Birthday, Christmas, etc, she knows that I don’t buy myself shoes EVER and wear them until they have holes in the soles, so I usually get a new pair or two every year from her. But when I do buy shoes, I favour full leather and something with a sole that isn’t going to wear through after two months of heavy use. Plus, I have terrible feet so a good pair of shoes goes a long way with me. You don’t need a thousand pairs of shoes (says the girl who hates wearing shoes, so it’s easy for me to say), but you do need good shoes.
Meats
I always try to buy organic, where possible and I appreciate an RSPCA-approved sticker. I think we all consume far too many animal products as a whole and while I am not prepared to give up meat entirely, I afford the slightly more expensive meat by not eating it at every meal. In fact, the amount of vegetarian food I consume has made people around me think I’m a vegetarian.
Eggs
I don’t love the idea of cage eggs. Does anyone?
So now it’s over to you, what do you splurge on?
Such a good post. A lot of mine are very similar to yours. I value ice cream over most other foods, Haighs chocolate is really one of the only chocolates worth the calories for me (and Lindt balls- the caramel and peanut butter flavours). I too have terrible foot problems (everything gives me blisters) and believe that if I want to eat meat and eggs (I really like them) that it needs to be as cruelty free as possible. My big splurge is wine, cause I am a wine girl. I struggle a bit with this because sometimes I really need shoes or something but will buy good wine instead because it is one I need/want to try or write about. Wine is such a luxury item that it feels really frivolous.
Wine does feel like a luxury! I must admit, I only really drink it when my mum’s in town – she was in the wine industry for ten years so I let her pick because I never pick well. But I do favour quality vodka, which I know always feels like a total splurge, but it doesn’t count if I buy it duty free right?
I splurge on eggs, shoes, cheese (sometimes mmmm) and I recently bought myself a new camera!
I also love a good mealout evey now and then so I’m happy to buy a $25-$30 main and nice glass of wine every month or so. AND SUNDAY BRUNCH.
You gotta treat youself and I see it as thats WHY I live thrifty, so I can spend a bit fo extra dosh on these things.
omg cheese! I have been known to go to a proper fromagerie (theres one near home) for the tiniest piece of real brie as a treat.
I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments Bec! I live thrifty so I can travel, despite my low income.