I was taking a look around our house and realized that we have spent a lot of freaking money…but at least we only seem to enjoy spending on the things we use the most. 
Spending on the Most Used Items
Here’s a quick list of the most expensive items in our home:
1. Appliances – Refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, and the stove/oven combo. Each of those cost between $275-$700 each but were gifts and are all used at least twice a week. They are all 4 years old as well.
2. Tempurpedic mattress – $3000 but used at least 355 nights a year.
3. Bedroom set – $3000 but also used at least 355 days a year.
4. 47″ LCD TV – $1200 in 2007 and used at least 350 days a year.
5. Laptops – $450-$550 each and we use them at least 360 days a year.
6. Gaming Desktop Computer – $1100 and used at least 275 days a year. It also is only completely rebuilt by Mr. BFS every 5-8 years.
7. Sprint Samsung Epic Cell Phones – $225 each but it has enabled me to close advertising deals for Budgeting in the Fun Stuff from anywhere and they are used every single day.
8. Propane Grill – It was a gift but I know it cost $350. We use it at least twice a week and it is cheap to operate.
Looking at that list, I only question the value of the gaming computer and that is from hubby’s fun money so I shouldn’t even care, lol.
Why I Don’t Mind Spending in What We Use
If I have to sleep every night, it makes sense to me to sleep on the most comfortable mattress we can easily afford without hurting our long-term financial goals. Is $3000 a lot to spend for a bed? Heck yes. Do I regret it? Nope. Mr. BFS no longer has any back pains and I fall asleep faster. It’s been a year and it’s still a great bed. That’s simply a winner in my book.
In short, like many other personal finance bloggers, I have no problem spending on quality IF you can actually afford it and ALSO afford to save for your future. Like everything else, it’s about balance and prioritization (and personal opinion). If you don’t get back pains from a basic mattress, than spending a small fortune on a special one probably doesn’t make sense for you. Maybe you drive more than me, so my cheap and rickety Chevy Aveo would be a bad idea for you. I, on the other hand, only drive 7000-9000 miles a year, so a cheaply made car isn’t really that big of a deal.
Do you mind spending on what you use the most? What pricier items have you splurged on in the name of overall value?
Definitely agreed that you should buy what you want, IF you’re going to use it. One of my most recent “big” purchases was a Kindle, and think it’s completely worth it. So what if I don’t go any buy as many drinks this weekend? Somehow it all makes up for it. Stay away from the crap, budget right, and you should be OK.
I’d say, the most non-frugal things I own (I could’ve gone with cheaper alternatives) are my car and my Mac.
I hate a car that makes me go to the mechanic for minor things (and major of course!) and I don’t have to constantly worry about viruses and trojans each time I access my bank. Mac takes care of that.
But other stuff like my watch, I’ll use it till the cows come home!
Same here, although I bought the cheapest possible laptop, we do have an expensive mattress and I have no regrets buying a nice showerhead. I mean it gets used 2-3 times/day. I also love my new kitchen. It’s a dream.
I have no issue spending almost any amount of money on things that get used all the time. Comfortable shoes, a nice winter coat – yeah, I do like buying those on sale, but I also like quality stuff too.
I still have trouble spending a lot of money on cars. I don’t need much more than something that’s reliable, has good gas mileage and can get me from point a to point b. I don’t need heated seats or turbo charging or any of that.
@Dan, exactly.
@Moneycone, my next car will not be as cruddy as my current Chevy Aveo…you are so right about annoying little things…
@First Gen American, hahaha, heated seats in Houston makes me giggle…
spending money on what we want, need, feel like is why WE make money to begin with. I love the premise of this post.
Totally agree and get your expenditure on the mattress. Yeah, it might seem like a lot, but really it’s worth it when you consider that nearly 1/3 of every 24-hour day is spent there. Back problems can be debilitating or at least highly annoying, depending on severity. Thus, it’s a smart purchase!
My propane grill was about $400, and it costs me about $25 to refill it every month with new propane…but that just shows you how often I use it, even during a Michigan winter.
Cost per use can often be more effective than total cost when reviewing how to budget and what to cut back on.
Good post!
@Sunil, I’m glad you liked it!
@Squirrelers, I felt ill at spending that $3000 until I realized a few weeks later that my husband no longer had any back pain. Now it’s been almost 2 years and he is still back pain free! Totally worth it!
@Justin, you and I think alike. I even wrote a post about our cost with a propane grill: http://www.budgetinginthefunstuff.com/our-costs-with-a-propane-grill/
I dont mind spending quite a bit on heavily used items either. Ive been buying cast iron cooking equipment for about 2 years now (I buy about 1 pc/yr) and they are not cheap. However, they get used 6 or so times per week, and have allowed me to make extra so that I can freeze for when I need it later.
My most expensive purchases are definitely things I use everyday:
Macbook Pro
Mattress
HDTV (sports just aren’t the same without it)
I use all three daily, so I feel like it was money well spent on all three!
I don’t mind spending on things I use the most. Like Dave, I use my MacBook Pro daily. It’s the best investment I’ve ever made. Many of the other items around the house were either not expensive, or were donated to us by our family. Oh, another one is the PS3 as it doubles as a Blu-Ray player lol
Our most expensive purchase was the Toyota Sienna (safety for our kids).
Wow, looking around my house, a lot of the stuff we have is in the middle price range (I check out consumer reports in the library a lot).
I know this is unrelated, but I just recently got enough gift certificates to buy a big screen HDTV (46 to 50 inch set, I’m not sure which size yet). So we’re stoked!
Things that are going to last and be used daily should be invested in. I’m not going to drop $200 for a car if it’s not going to perform. I think people get into buying frivolous things that have no utility.
-Ravi Gupta
I think it comes down to quality. I’m willing to spend more money on quality products than a cheaper product, especially when it comes to something I’ll be using all the time. Hopefully through good research you can find a good price for what you are looking for.
Here’s one that hasn’t made the list yet: $800 for a Miele vacuum cleaner, bought 5 years ago and still going strong, not one problem with it. We were buying $200 vacuum cleaners every year it seems, one after the other as they broke or lost suction power. The Miele made me choke a little when first saw the receipt, but so far it’s been worth it.
I love my mattress! It didn’t cost as much as yours, but it wasn’t cheap either and it has been worth every penny. I am all for spending on comfort, which is why I keep my thermostat at any temperature I want.
As a side note, my Magic Bullet finally wore out. Well, the motor is fine, but the rubber wore off on one of the blades and it won’t turn anymore. Thought you would appreciate my pain…
I completely agree that it’s worth spending a little more on quality items that you’re going to use. We have had the same bed for 11 years, and we’re big people, so it’s to to replace it. We’re looking at getting a king sized bed (an upgrade for us) and a latex mattress. This is definitely expensive I’ve had no small amount of anxiety about the outlay of cash, but I anticipate that we’ll use it for another dozen years. Broken down in cost per use, your $3,000 used for 355 nights for 10 years is under a dollar a day. That doesn’t seem outrageous for the place you spend a third of every day!
Love this post. I agree that things you use all the time deserve to have a little more money spent on them (within the guidelines of your budget). One of the reasons I want to eliminate my debt and shore up my savings is to be able to spend some real money on things like furniture. I’ve made do with cheap furniture for a long time, but really it costs more in the long run because I wind up replacing, repairing, or covering things at a greater cost. I’m looking forward to being able to replace my cheap sofa with one that I’ll enjoy rather than tolerate.
I agree on the mattress. I love our mattress. We actually had to buy a second mattress (2 twins) because the king size wouldn’t fit into the house we moved into. My husband and I spent $1000 on a coffee maker. We drink 5 cups a day combined. We have had the coffee make for 5 years. 1000/5 = $200 per year. 5 cups * 365 a year = 1825 cups. This equals .10 a cup for the coffee maker. It does not include the cost of beans, but it really drives down the cost and my machine produces an awesome cup of coffee.
I’m glad to hear you like the tempurpedic because we’ll be in the market soon and I was thinking about that brand.
Like the commenters, I think it’s important to buy quality on things you use a lot.
I totally agree with you on this one, Crystal! Spending that much money on something isn’t irresponsible if you know you’re spending it for a real reason… at least one that matter to you and only you.
Now that you take the car as an example of something you don’t spend much on, I do spend lots of time in my car and I’m willing to pay for a nice, comfortable one. For some people it might seem as a waste of money, but they’re not me and they don’t know what I need.
On the other hand, since I’m not a big technology fan, I have my same old cell phone as always… no high tech phone, no data plans…
I believe that it’s fine to spend when you know why you’re spending and when your main reason isn’t fitting in or following what “everyone else is doing”.
i really agree with the ideas in this post! i have absolutely no issue dropping $100+ on a pair of shoes every 3 months. due to extreme flat foot and walking about 10 miles a day at my job, having comfortable and support tennis shoes is an absolute must for me. it also works out great for me since i have a huge shoe obsession
the one other thing i have no issue dropping money on is a computer. i have had my mac since 2005 (6 years!) and it is still running like a dream. when it comes time to replace it, i will purchase another mac. for me, the price is reflective of the success that i personally have had. i cannot say the same for other computer brands i have used.
in my family we really try to focus on quality over quantity- and also functionality in our daily lives (even in regards to our daughters toys). i am willing to spend more for quality. now if i can just convince my family that i need a quality mattress to support my back
I had to share this…the $1000 coffee maker has a counter. My husband checked it today. We have consumed 6000 cups of coffee. That is .16 per cup plus the cost of Starbucks beans on sale. So worth it!
On a side note, my husband was researching a travel coffee mug on amazon. The first review he read said something like “I cannot believe that I actually researched this mug”. My husband felt geeky researching the mug, but even though it is relatively inexpensive. The quality matters to my husband. He doesn’t want it to leak and he doesn’t want the coffee cold when he gets to work.
I like that your HDTV was on that list; I use mine quite often as well. I don’t mind spending the extra dollar or two to improve my TV watching experience. Thankfully I don’t have to spend the extra buck on my TV services. I have DISH and was shocked when I looked into U-Verse prices. When comparing everyday prices, customers can save up to $169 annually by choosing DISH. Don’t get me wrong, I work for DISH so I know they have great deals but I was surprised by the difference. Definitely helps the budget.
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