I love a frugal deal but have you ever thought about the things you refuse to budge on? You know, those things you splurge on or indulge in?
For those of you who know me well, I’m the farthest thing from a fashionista you can imagine. I own the least amount of clothes in our family and I can live with that. I am a fairly simple person.
I thought it would be fun to switch gears and look at what I splurge on. As I’ve been working with a kitchen designer for our house, I’ve really noticed that there are some things that I’m really picky about and others that I could care less! (Which will appear in another post down the road.)
Here are 4 things our family splurges on. I can’t wait for you to tell me what your family splurges on in the comments below!
1. Vacations.
Jason and I both love a good vacation. Not only is it good for the soul, but it’s great for relationships. We make it a yearly goal to not only get away by ourselves at least once to invest in our marriage, but also to take the kids on a vacation. (Trust me, I’ve heard “Are we there yet?” more times than I can count but it’s always worth it!)
We don’t always take extravagant vacations but when we’re on vacation, we’re on vacation. We have the mentality of when we work, we work hard. When we play, we play hard.
On vacations, we plan and budget far in advance so if the kids really want to stop somewhere we hadn’t planned, it’s not an issue financially.
However, we don’t buy hardly any souvenirs on our vacations. I invested in a nice camera last year and we invest in memories. Most of the things you buy from souvenir shops are poorly made and don’t last. We’ve made exceptions but for the most part, the kids know that their “gift” is the vacation.
2. Heinz Ketchup
I can’t stand other brands of ketchup. I’ve tried about all of them and I’m a ketchup snob. I saw a recipe online to can your own a few days ago and I’m curious to give it a try when I can tomatoes this fall…I’ll let you know how that turns out!
3. Kids Activities
Our kids have tried many different activities. Some were free, many weren’t. I’ve seen the kids develop new skills, confidence, and friendships because of these activities. Both Jason and I agree that they have learned many life lessons from these activities.
Is it always easy to balance all of their activities? Absolutely not. Do we have to set limits sometimes on how many activities they can participate in to make sure we are able to get in enough family time? Absolutely.
4. A Good Paper Planner
My memory is definitely not as good as it used to be! 🙂 Trying to balance the kids activities, all of our appointments, meals, bills that need paid and everything else, I need the help of a good planner. I’ve tried about all of them because I’m an office supply lover. This year I chose the Erin Condren planner and it’s worked beautifully for my family with a little tweaking to fit our needs.
Here are 4 things that my splurges on. How about you? Is it a designer purse? Pedicures? New vehicles? Leave me a comment below!
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Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says
I’ll have to think about this before I can answer the question about what we splurge on.
I do think, however, that it is important for us to be able to relax the spending on the things that are important to us. There is always a danger (for me, at least), to work so hard at being frugal that I can burn out.
Thanks for the reminder that we need to balance stewardship with enjoying life a little. 🙂
Kristy Omelianuk says
My husband will often tease me because I tend to be cheap but i too splurge on some brand name items like Heinz, Hellman’s and All. I also recently splurged in a new diaper bag which doubles as a camera bag.
Rachel G says
The ketchup one made me laugh! I am not a ketchup connoisseur at all–they all taste the same to me. My husband and I splurge on ingredients for homemade Mexican food–tortillas and cheese are considered quite ‘exotic’ where we live, and are pricey, but we can’t live forever without tacos!
Michelle Westbrook | The Happiness Blogger says
My husband and I are frugal when it comes to just about everything. Even when we “splurge” we still have to find the best deals, lol. Long ago, I decided to collect less stuff and more experiences, so I would have to say we splurge on our hobbies, date nights, and trips – all things that create memories 🙂 Oh, and books. I almost forgot about the books.
Mariet - Practicingnormal says
I agree with a great planner. I would be really lost without mine. #LittleR&R
Julie @ Logger's Wife says
We splurge on satellite TV (still not getting the biggest package though) and, as weird as it is, real Cheerios. None of us like the store brands. At all.
(visiting from the A Little R & R link-up)
Sharon Rowe says
What a great list totally agree about the planner, I am currently in love with the ARC system from staples because I can create the perfect planner for me! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness Link Party 🙂
Mrs. AOK says
I’m a food snob. I too have a love for Heinz ketchup, I like their organic Heinz ketchup.
I need to splurge on a good planner.
Thanks for sharing your post with us at Mommy Monday!
XOXO