As many of you know, we love the “F” word in the Mad Money Monster household. I’m talking about frugality here. Frugality is a major component of our overall plan to achieve financial independence and give ourselves the OPTION to retire early. But despite being frugal, there are things we spend our money on. So, if you love frugality like we do but still want to live a top-notch life devoid of deprivation, I highly recommend spending sufficient money in the following categories.
1. Healthcare
Healthcare is one of those areas that, in my opinion, you absolutely cannot scrimp on. Your health is paramount to everything else in life. Have you ever heard the expression…you have nothing if you don’t have your health?
I am a firm believer that this is 100% true. Anyone who has dealt with major health issues or had a big scare can tell you that the quality of your health can have a tremendous impact on your mood and outlook. When you’re battling poor health, you really don’t care about the size of your bank account or when you’re going to reach your financial freedom number.
2. Education
Mr. MMM and I are BIG advocates of higher education. Although we both acknowledge that college degrees, certifications, or technical training aren’t necessary to become successful and/or earn a high salary, we do believe that having advanced schooling under your belt can never hurt.
Because of these beliefs, we also feel that it’s okay to spend money on education. Both, Mr. MMM and I borrowed some money to complete our college degrees. And although we do advocate higher education, we also encourage getting that education as cheaply as possible.
Borrowing money for higher education is completely acceptable as long as you’re smart about the amount you’re borrowing based on your future income potential. Check out how we attained our college degrees without going into massive debt.
3. Quality Food
This one ties back into #1 – healthcare. When it comes to staying healthy and feeling good, the quality of food you consume matters.
I’m not saying you need to shop exclusively at Wholefoods (although we do love it there!) and buy only things labeled “organic”, but you should definitely take an interest in the overall quality of food you and your family eat.
By taking advantage of coupons and store sales, buying in-season fruits and veggies, buying in bulk, and possibly even growing some of your own food, you’ll be able to save a ton of money with not much effort.
Other articles you might enjoy:
- How To Keep Your Friends If You’re Frugal
- Pet Ownership: A Frugal Guide To Happy, Healthy Pets
- Frugal Hacks For A Fabulously Fun Weekend
- We Made Our Dream Home A Reality
- Frugal Hacks To Live An Awesome Life
4. A Nice Home
A nice home goes along with a safe home in my book. We are absolutely okay with spending money on a home in a good area and improving that home to suit your needs and taste.
We have spent quite a bit of money renovating our home and have never regretted a single dime. Granted, our home is on the smaller side so it’s much easier to afford those luxuries.
Aside from our home being small and cheaper to renovate than a larger home, we’re also always together making memories in it, so we believe that spending money on tailoring it to make us happy is a worthwhile financial endeavor.
5. Experiences
Last but certainly not least, are experiences. There is no doubt about it, spending money on experiences makes us happier than spending money on STUFF.
As a kid, we never went on any family vacations. The biggest thing I remember our family doing was driving to the beach (and back) in one day. Yep. We drove 3 hours to the beach, spent the day, and hopped in the car and drove 3 hours home.
My family simply didn’t have the money for anything more than that. And that’s okay – I’m glad my family didn’t spend money they DIDN’T HAVE or go into debt to give us vacations.
BUT, if you do have the money to spend, I highly recommend spending some of it on experiences, because experiences will last a lifetime.
Two years ago we hit the road and embarked on a not-so-frugal Disney vacation. We had a wonderful time and it is an experience my family will remember forever.
This year, we plan on taking a 3-week road trip out to the Grand Canyon in our van! Yes, we have joined the ranks of #VanLife (part-time) and are loving it. Although this won’t be the cheapest form of entertainment, we plan to save where we can, pay cash for everything, and enjoy every single minute of it. I do hope you’ll follow along on the blog and via our other social media channels. 🙂
20 Comments
A great list that pretty much covered everything. I’d call this a frugal guide to responsible living or a guilt-free spending list.
Ooh…those are much better titles. ha!
Great article! I love frugality but equally love the above mentioned ideas where I also don’t mind spending money, especially amazing experiences on holiday.
Thank you for the post.
Thanks for commenting! I have never regretted spending money on experiences and memories. 🙂
I agree with your list of suggestions. Health is everything. Without good health, having all the money in the world would not matter. Life is short. While saving and investing are extremely important, so is having a high quality of life. I always try to find balance.
Balance is always key!
Experiences > stuff all day, every day. Experiences change who you are as a person. They create memories that stay with you forever as opposed to that Apple watch that gets replaced by a newer model time and time again. Great post!
Couldn’t agree with you more about experiences. We LOVE experiences. 🙂
We grew up with very little money. My Dad built a homemade camper and every June we drove to Kentucky and stayed with family. Those experiences made us feel rich. Along the way on different trips, we saw the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. My Mom packed all of our food, so it was definitely frugal, but the money spent to build that camper was well worth it.
Experiences. Yes!
It sounds like your parents gave you wonderful memories…and were able to be frugal in the process. What a win-win!
Thumbs up from me!
My health/fitness is always priority #1, even over my families finances. The reason being that if I am not healthy, then I won’t be here long enough to enjoy the financial seeds I am planting now in my mid 20’s. Taking care of your health will allow your money to compound even longer!
Great advice!
Health is definitely #1! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and congrats on starting your FI journey so early!
Great post. I would say buying these things IS frugal. Not buying them is being cheap, which often ends up costing more.
Good point! We are definitely not cheap.
I would agree with everything else on your except home. To me, home is just a place where I sleep and more comparable to a car than anything else. I only live on 350 sq ft (33 square meters) apartment and I consider moving to even smaller and cheaper apartment. I could easily afford much larger home but I don’t think it is worth it. I am even considering buying an RV (not big one, small is enough) and living in RV all year and not buying separate home at all. I want to change place where I live every now and then just for fun.
Wow! 350 sq ft is impressive! I grew up in 400 sq ft (in a trailer) in a family of 6…and couldn’t have been happier.
I agree 1000% on spending money on a comfortable home. We are in the middle of building right now, and we could have found a cheaper/smaller place but it wouldn’t have fit our needs and we wouldn’t have been happy with it. Spending so much money at once is scary and hard, but I don’t (and won’t) regret it. Your home is where you go to heal from a tough day out in the real world. You should be absolutely in love with it.
I obviously agree with you wholeheartedly 🙂 Congrats on building a new home. It sounds like you know exactly what you want and will suit your family. I’m sure you’ll love it when it’s finished!