What do you spend money on?
If you follow me you know I LOVE to save money! However, there are some things that are worth spending money on and I don’t mind spending money on things that are important to me and my family.
Sure we all love our stuff, but buying a bunch of knick-knacks that take up space in my home and life doesn’t appeal to me much. I like owning things I will actually use, but owning a bunch of stuff just to own it, causes clutter and confusion.
And if you are wondering what I will spend money on, if you guessed experiences, you are right!
So when my husband and I budget our money we always plan for a few vacations per year. There are also a few other things we must have in our lives I will discuss in the post.
Keep in mind, this is our “fun money.” We continue to pay down our mortgage, save for retirement/emergency fund, save for our children’s college fund, invest our money,and we have paid off our cars. So we are using Warren Buffet’s advice and spending our money only after we have saved.
Then with what is left over, we budget travel into our yearly goals and we love showing our kids the world.
In fact, we rarely go on a trip without our littles. We want them to experience life with us and we both know life is short and you have to live.
Yes, it is important to pay down debt and learn to budget, but after that is taken care of, it is time to start enjoying life.
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What We Will Spend Money On
Travel
We enjoy living frugally; however, we love to travel. Traveling the world opens your mind to other cultures and ways of living.
It allows you to see the world from a different perspective and enjoy the beauty of other climates/countries.
Therefore, travel is definitely a priority for my husband and myself.
And we enjoy showing our kids what the world has to offer.
So we try to save money in other areas of our lives so we can use our extra money to take vacations. Because my husband works a lot, we enjoy this family time together as we see the sights.
If you want to spend money on something, travel is the way to go.
We also use our budget travel tips to save the most on vacation so we can go more often.
Museum pass
We buy an annual museum pass every year. This pass has come in handy during our travels.
We buy our pass at the Grand Rapids Public Museum when we visit the West side of our state. When you buy a pass away from your home town, you can use it to enter museums outside of a ninety-mile radius from that home museum.
In short, we are able to use our pass to enter the museums close to our house for free. We visit the Detroit Science Center, Cranbrook Museum, Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum all for the price on one museum pass which was around $65 last year. We have also visited museums in Tampa, Toronto, Orlando, and Midland, Michigan with our pass. The pass pays for itself.
I don’t mind spending money on learning experiences for my kids. Plus, it is fun for adults to watch their kids experience different museums.
Short weekend trips
If you don’t have the money to go on a long vacation, why not spend money on short trips in your own state. Find some attractions close by and take a day trip or go camping at a favorite campground. We like to take day trips to Toledo Zoo and nearby beaches and parks.
Zoo pass
We live by the Detroit Zoo and we absolutely LOVE going there.
The zoo pass has saved us so much money over the years. We have bought this pass since my first boy was under one year old and we have enjoyed going to our zoo over the years.
Also, we have had birthday parties there, went to summer concerts, and we really just enjoy walking around and looking at the animals.
With our pass, we don’t feel rushed because we can view one side of the zoo and then come back and view the other side.
My kids have a love for animals and I believe it is because we have taken them to the zoo for so many years. Not to mention, our zoo also has a splash pad and a playground so often we visit just to play.
If you have a zoo close by, check out the price for one-day admissions and then compare that price to an annual pass. If you think you will go back, it is usually worth it to buy the pass.
Another great thing about buying a zoo pass is many other zoos offer reciprocity. So you will save money if you decide to visit another zoo while on vacation or plan a day trip to another zoo.
Donations
Although we love saving money, we also believe in helping others. We donate to our favorite charities and our church. We also believe in donating our time (which anyone can do regardless of financial circ*mstances). Not to mention, we donate food to our church food pantry each week.
When you are able to give, you are opening up your heart to bring good your way.
Experiences
Instead of buying our toys all the time, we save those for birthdays and holidays.
We spend our money on experiences. Nonetheless, we often find free things to do, but we do enjoy traveling as a family and visiting places we have never been to.
Nonetheless, we are frugal travelers too, but we believe in spending money on a state park admission and not a bunch of stuff.
Books
If you are considering buying a book, I always say go for it. Who doesn’t want more knowledge, right?
However, before I buy a book, I usually check to see if I can borrow it from my local library. Most of the time – unless it is a specific blogging book – my library has it for free.
Coffee
We believe in being frugal and saving on most things, but also spending money on things you love. Well, we LOVE coffee.
My husband and I still make our own coffee at home, but we will treat ourselves to Starbucks once in a while.
Since we love Starbucks coffee, we often buy a box of Starbucks ‘ K-cups and make it at home. We also buy reusable K-cup pods and make our coffee for even less.
Spend Money On Conclusion
After all the budgeting is said and done, look at what you have left. Make a list of things you love and use your extra money to enjoy life. If you don’t have a lot of extra money, continue living below your means so you will eventually catch up and be able to spend money on the things you love. It is definitely travel and experiences for me. How about you? Leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.
What do you spend money on?
2 Comments on The One Thing I Will Spend Money on That May Surprise You
We have always made a family vacation a financial priority.
Family vacations are such a great way to spend extra money! We love to spend time together as a family and my husband isn’t working so we will spend money on vacations too! Thanks for the visit!!
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