# Best Reasons To Spend Money



## Learn Save Invest (Mar 18, 2010)

Hey there,

I'm a first time poster!

I thought I'd start off by offering a question. Typically, all us frugal savers and investors are interested in.....well saving and investing!

But what are some of your top reasons to SPEND money?


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Welcome!

Great question. I'll bite. 

One area of life where I do not try to economize is with food. I buy fantastic ingredients, cook 'em myself, and enjoy them. Now, I don't buy everything organic...and I don't shop at high-end grocery stores (unless you count Loblaw's as a high-end store) - but I do buy stuff like grass-fed meat and eggs from free-range chickens and I do not balk at the price.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

For me, it is when the pleasure value derived from spending that money is likely to be worth more than the invested value of that money in the future.
For example, for me, taking my family on a nice vacation (within affordability)and sharing those memories while we are still together as a family is worth more than having that compounded money after my children are on their own. However, spending money at a casino, too many dinners out, or purchasing frivolous items would not be worth it.

Of course, this is a very individual decision.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

I'm with MoneyGal on food. Apart from the fact that I love to cook and enjoy eating good food, it's also an investment in my health -- and that's far more important than any of my monetary investments. 

I'm a big fan of simple recipes that rely on good ingredients to make them shine. I cook almost all our meals (we eat out once or twice a month) and even make most of our bread. None of it takes long; most of the recipes I use take 30 minutes or so, and the bread recipe I use requires about 5 minutes of actual work (and no, I don't use a bread machine!). I probably spend more time each week shopping for food and thinking about what to make for supper than I do actually cooking it.

I also believe in spending money on maintenance: on my car, my house, myself, since this tends to avoid bigger costs down the road.

And I think it's important to splurge on a few creature comforts and indulgences a few times per year -- a nice vacation, some furniture or clothes you've been hankering after, etc.


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## CuriousReader (Apr 3, 2009)

spend on something that makes you *happy* 

For me, it's travelling - it's an expensive hobby - but I love to see the world. Of course, I do it in a frugal way.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Brad! we are very aligned. This year is the year of north African food for me (for no reason except that's what I declared I was doing this year) - so I am reading and cooking a lot of Moroccan and Tunisian things. That said, I have no idea what is for dinner tonight...


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## Future Millionaire (Mar 8, 2010)

For me, it'd be travelling. I am not a good cook  Well, with that said, investing in a cooking class sounds like a good reason right now


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## Ben (Apr 3, 2009)

Spending time with family, doing stuff with family.
Travel has been a big one so far, but that'll be quieting down now for a bit.
Maintaining health (gym, running shoes, squash racquet, etc).


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

I have a FEW hobbies and I'm always spending money quite liberally on them. For instance, have to buy the books and magazines, do the travelling (gas, lunch, occasional airfare/hotel etc) to partake in the hobbies. Is this money that should be saved? NO! Reason being is that when I make the decision to spend money on these hobbies, I have already "set aside" savings in case of a rainy day. The money I spend/"waste" on hobbies does NOT (nor has ever) come out of my rainy day fund. They are not mutually exclusive. That's the key.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

MoneyGal said:


> That said, I have no idea what is for dinner tonight...


Check your PMs shortly, I'm going to send you a delicious recipe for a Tunisian vegetable stew!


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Got it, thanks!!


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## ashby corner (Jun 15, 2009)

for certain things, it's worth it to take the time to figure out EXACTLY what you want, save for it and just get it. For me, it's guitars. Over the years I have bought many different guitars, and sold many guitars.

But when I actually stumble on what I want, save for it, and get it, I keep them forever. Do they hold their value? the good ones do fairly well. Do I get enjoyment out of them? 

YES!


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

For us it's also food - I don't mind spending more for quality ingredients. 

Another thing I won't balk at spending money on is books for my daughter - I figure it's a fantastic investment in her education/learning. I still buy second hand books, but if we're at a store and she wants a book or two (I will set my limit... once she had 8 books in the cart so I made her choose two and she cried and criieeed about that!) I will buy them for her.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

I find I always get hammered on the resale value of any hobby items I purchase. I am lucky to get 20 cents on the dollar. Other vendors seem to do much better. Middlemen and their fees these days take way too much. So I guess the 80 cents is money lost and the item(s) enjoyed at the time and that's that. Some people try to make money on or at least recoup the money they spend on the hobby, by reselling. Not me. That is turning the hobby into a job. Fortunately I already have a very good job so the need to recoup money spent on the enjoyment of life is not necessary.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Addy said:


> Another thing I won't balk at spending money on is books for my daughter - I figure it's a fantastic investment in her education/learning. I still buy second hand books, but if we're at a store and she wants a book or two (I will set my limit... once she had 8 books in the cart so I made her choose two and she cried and criieeed about that!) I will buy them for her.


Very interesting! Although painful, she will likely remember that for the rest of her life. The lesson here is obviously that you can definitely spend money on things you like but that there are limitations. It is a painful but valuable lesson that I think many people these days have thrown out the window, if they ever even learned it to begin with. People want it all, even if it bankrupts them. Your daughter could be our future MoneyGal lol.


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## travelgeek (Nov 29, 2009)

I love travelling, especially flying in first/business class. But there's no way I'd pay 5-10X the fare that airlines are asking for, so I do it by accumulating/redeeming frequent flyer miles, and with upgrade certs earned through airline status.

Food and dining experiences are the next big expenditure.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I'm extremely frugal when it comes to myself but whenever I'm shopping kids toys keep falling into my cart and sometimes my husbands takes off and buys all kinds of techie gadgets. 

Ironically the stuff my hubby buys usually ends up being for my use. Our last purchase was a state of the art hands free iphone compatible stereo system for our 10 year old van. Yep it's worth more than the van. 

My husband is also the guy who looks up clothes deals and coupons for me. Whenever he starts mentioning it and showing his 50% off deals it means I am well overdue for some clothing. I hate shopping for myself. 

Also I can be very generous with gifts as long as they are something the person really needs and would like but would not usually buy for themselves. I put an awful lot of thought into gifts.


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## spirit (May 9, 2009)

*Brad. Will you share?*

The recipe for your stew sounds wonderful. care to post it for others?


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

spirit said:


> The recipe for your stew sounds wonderful. care to post it for others?


Sure -- a liittle off-topic which is why I sent it by PM, but here it is. 

This is a simple Tunisian-style vegetable stew from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, which has nothing to do with the original granola-crunchy Moosewood Cookbook. It's full of easy, delicious recipes, almost all of which take 30 minutes or less to prepare. Most of them are vegetarian although there's a chapter of fish recipes.

I wouldn't say this stew is authentically Tunisian, just Tunisian-inspired, but it is delicious and healthy. We have it several times a year and it's been a big hit with guests. The book also has an excellent recipe for a North African couscous paella.

Tunisian Vegetable Stew

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups thinly sliced cabbage 
dash of salt
1 large bell pepper cut into thin strips
2 teaspoons ground coriander (I use whole coriander seeds and grind them in a mortar and pestle as needed)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or more to taste)
3 cups undrained canned tomatoes, chopped (28-ounce can)
1 1/2 cups drained cooked chick peas (if using canned, this is a 16-ounce can)
1/3 cup currants or raisins
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

grated feta cheese
toasted slivered almonds

In a large skillet, sauté the onions in the olive oil for five minutes. Add the cabbage, sprinkle with salt, and continue to sauté at least five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper and spices and sauté another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, chick peas, and currants or raisins, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes until the veggies are just tender. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Top with feta and toasted almonds.

This is good over couscous (which takes 5 minutes to make) and makes enough food for four good-sized servings.

In general, good sources for simple-but-sophisticated recipes are Mark Bittman (any of his cookbooks, and his column in the New York Times) and Martha Rose Shulman (her "recipes for health" column in the New York Times is brilliant).


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

travelling, but obviously searching for the best deals. Ha.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

Berubeland said:


> I'm extremely frugal when it comes to myself but whenever I'm shopping kids toys keep falling into my cart and sometimes my husbands takes off and buys all kinds of techie gadgets.
> 
> Ironically the stuff my hubby buys usually ends up being for my use. Our last purchase was a state of the art hands free iphone compatible stereo system for our 10 year old van. Yep it's worth more than the van.
> 
> ...


I'm the same way. I'm very frugal when it comes to buying things for myself, but the credit card seems to swipe much more freely when buying things for others. It must be some kind of psychological disorder.


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## Tesla (Mar 20, 2010)

I'm with a few other posters as I buy really healthy food. I have a pool and gym in my condo building which both are amazing and I use the pool everyday and the gym everyday.
I also like martial arts and I goto a school that teaches alot of varity of classes and I pay a low price for all of them vs another school which I goto alot.
Also I love skiing and snowboarding so I buy a membership to the local hill every year which is cheap and I have winters off. 
Also travelling to other places and experiences is important. I was in BC for the winter Olympics this past year and saw canada win the gold medal in hockey as I was at that game. As well as a bunch of other events what an experience.

So ya theres a few things I enjoy doing.


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## square one (Jan 19, 2010)

My husband and I often talk about what in life really gives us joy and wonderful memories. Since both of our fathers died before they reached retirement age, we feel it is important to spend some money now on the things/experiences that make our lives fuller and richer (in the non-monetary sense). So for us: yearly vacations, and we are saving up for an inground pool that will hopefully keep our kids and their friends closer to home. We choose to be frugal with the stuff that won't give us lasting happiness and family memories so that we can free up cash for the things we value.


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## Bullseye (Apr 5, 2009)

The couple thousand dollars we spend to rent cottages every year is probably the best spent money for us. A couple weeks of close family time, lots of memories.

For myself personally, I feel I get full value for the magazines I subscribe to. I know I could read most of them for free at the library, but I like being able to read at my leisure, clip, save, pass on, etc. For $150/year (6 magazines), this is really cheap entertainment, and something I really enjoy. 

Lastly, donations. Not really 'spending', but I like the warm and fuzzy glow from supporting something I feel strongly about.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Hopefully everyone can agree that spending money on non-essentials is not done at the expense of paying off your regular expenses, debts and loans first. As well, by all means spend on what makes you happy but make sure you are ALSO squirelling money away for a rainy day.

IMO, if you've got all of these fundamentals in place then it's ok (again IMO) to spend money on luxuries and non-essentials.


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## DavidJD (Sep 27, 2009)

My guilty pleasure for SPENDING is on home renos. They add value to your home blah, blah but they also increase your comfort and enjoyment while you live there. In my situation I plan on living in this home till the end of my days so my family and I are the biggest beneficiaries. In the 2.5 years that I have lived in my home (built in 1908) I have replaced 27 windows (tri-pane etc), new French doors, new back doors, ripped out old basement, re-parged stone foundation, spray-foamed entire basement, removed all galvanized plumbing, removed all old wiring, new stairs, made a rec room & spare bedroom, installed flooring, replaced a bunch of old black piping for copper, new eaves troughs, new brick patio and significant grading, installed two new closets in rooms that had none, lots of exterior work and painting, leveled a porch, professionally pruned some massive elm trees,…all kinds of other changes but too many to list…

My new priority is a fence (kids are walking) and I have gutted a bathroom, closet and den down to the studs and joists. Leveled the floor, running all new plumbing and electrical to the rooms. The closet is gone and the bathroom is bigger. Had the walls spray foamed last weekend and am roughing in the drains, exhaust fan, heated floor and other plumbing before getting professional drywall/tapers and tile guys in. Also splurging on fixtures.

Tools (that assist with all the above) are also a guilty pleasure but really is a savings in the big picture.

The pleasure is in knowing that what needed improving is no longer built poorly or impractically and that the cost was lower with my labour. Enjoying the finished product is also nice.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

DavidJD said:


> My guilty pleasure for SPENDING is on home renos.


Wow, that's a lot of work (and a lot of money), but it mostly sounds like reasonable stuff. In contrast (to get an idea of "unreasonable" renovation addictions), when my father sold the house I grew up in, the new owners spent more than $1 million on renovations alone, including adding 7 bathrooms, presumably one for each day of the week. And then they divorced. The woman lives there alone now with her 7 bathrooms. I drove by the house a few years ago and could hardly recognize it -- it used to be a tasteful and understated brick and stone house; it now looks like something Elvis might live in.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

I'd say...

Fitness - I don't mind spending extra money on hockey because I get a good workout and I enjoy it.

Beer - I love beer - especially the more expensive stuff.

Food - whether at home or in a restaurant.

Tv - we watch a fair bit of tv and will be buying a "modern" tv this year.

Computer/internet - I spend a lot of time on both, mainly because of my biz so I don't mind spending more if it helps productivity (ie bigger screen etc)

Expensive snowboarding trips to western Can/USA. Ok, I haven't done one of these since I had kids but they were worth it.

Kite surfing - I haven't taken the plunge yet (no pun intended) but I want to give this a try.

Travelling - if I could find a way to do this without the kids.


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## hboy43 (May 10, 2009)

Hi:

For me, I usually don't spend on all the little stuff that proceeds pretty quickly to garbage with the exception of magazines. The closest decent library is 120 km away, so I have been growing my own library since moving to the bush.

I tend to spend big numbers infrequently. A nice pool table, about $15,000 worth of bicycles over the years. I am always building my tool collection, almost always used though. Oh and my beloved workshop. I would live in a tent in the winter before giving up my workspace.

Many people mention food. I grow a fair amount of ours. I find that carrots are second to tomatos in most improved taste by growing your own vs supermarket. So the expenditures here are tractor, implements, fencing, cold frames etc.

hboy43


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## DavidJD (Sep 27, 2009)

I have an antique moped that I dump cash into. I rationalize this because it is an antique! I bought it for $100 and have probably spent $1000 on it in total (new parts are available in San Diego CA and Italy). It runs great and is fun. The vehicle insurance is about $8 per month and the tank only holds 1.9L so I splurge on the higher octane gas. I also don't have to pay for parking like a scooter as I can lock it up to a sign post on the sidewalk.

I have the original manuals so I can do any work myself with simple tools. This is also enjoyable as the motor and electrical system are very basic, i.e. my ability is not stretched. 

With the parts book and repair manuals that I have picked up - with the original parts that will be needed in the future, (brakes, gaskets, etc) I think it is worth a bit of money with the parts. I am always flagged down by motorists who want to buy it.


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