The Best Things I Spent Money On This Year

Photo by Hans Vivek on Unsplash

In 2018, I plan to build up my emergency fund and save separately for a vacation — basically, the exact opposite of what I did this year. I spent a lot of money in 2017, some of it worth every penny, other things less so.

These are the best things I spent money on this year:

• Cast iron skillet and dutch oven — $US38 ($50) total and now I have mastered frittatas, shakshuka, and bolognese.
• 3m lightning cable — $US15 ($20) for a four-pack of lightning cables of various lengths, including a 3-metre which I highly recommend.
• Tattoos — $US200 ($261) for two tattoos that I love and had been thinking about getting for five-plus years.
• Trip to Maine — $US200 ($261) for a trip to Maine with some friends that, despite being crammed in the backseat of a car with two other people for eight hours and suffering from a migraine-inducing toothache, I would take again in a heartbeat.

These are not the best things I spent money on this year:

• Makeup organiser — $US10 ($13) for a makeup/skincare organiser off of Amazon that doesn’t have the right-sized compartments for my storage needs. That’s what I get for deciding to get into skincare this year.
• Books — Some of the books I bought were very good, some were not. Another downside of Amazon Prime is it’s just so easy to buy a bunch of books for $US1 ($1) and think it’s not that big of a drain on my savings account. I need to go to the library more.
• White sheets — $US30 ($39) for white sheets, like I live in a hotel or something. I use them, but I’m always nervous about getting them dirty. I ordered the same set in a dark grey about a week later, which I use more frequently.
• Lunch — I’ve spent so much money on lunches at work because I am lazy. So, so much money.

And many more that I’m omitting because I don’t want you to judge me more than you already do.

My main takeaway is that experiences, or things that aided experiences, like the cast iron skillet, were in fact worth more to me than random material items I thought I needed, which is in line with pretty much every study on the subject.

It’s a good reminder for the new year.

How about you — what purchases did you make this year that were the most — and least — worth the money?