15 Essential Things Worth Spending Money On

1. Fancy hand soap

The first thing worth spending on, even in major savings mode, is fancy hand soap. Liquid hand soap does something to my skin and makes it slimy. I like foaming soap.

My girls are more likely to wash their hands if they'll smell like a cupcake afterward. Seriously, what kid doesn’t want to smell like a cupcake?

2. Dish soap

I hate washing dishes. We don't have a dishwasher in our RV, so I had to get used to washing dishes by hand. I decided to find a dish soap that I liked and that smelled good.

I found Mrs. Meyers. It smells fantastic. My hands aren’t raw after washing dishes like they were with Dawn, and it cleans my dishes as well as Dawn does, if not better. 

3. Skincare products

This is probably non-negotiable for a lot of people, but we spend on good skincare products. I've never had to work on my skin, but my husband has bad skin. So, no matter where we were on our financial journey, taking care of his skin has been super important in our budgets. 

4. Home organization

There is nothing worse than being in a space with all of your stuff everywhere and you can't find anything. I’ve made room in our budget to organize our things. It still may look messy. I'm not the tidiest person on the planet. But my closets are immaculate. I love organizing. 

5. Experiences

One of the things worth spending money on is experiences. We are an experiences-over-stuff family. So, whatever concert, whatever museum, whatever play place, making those memories with our kids is extremely important. Now that our finances are freer, we make these memories a lot more often. 

6. Restaurants 

No matter where we were financially, we’ve always had a restaurant budget, including when our adjusted gross income was $14,000. I need an easy button some days. It’s been essential in making mom life bearable. On days when your kids are going nuts, and you’re literally pulling out your hair, all you want is to eat a hamburger.

7. Personal money

That means some money for me and some for Scott. We budget together. All our money is “ours.” To make that work, we both needed question-free spending. 

If I wanted to buy something from Hobby Lobby or Joanne's Fabric, having $40 a month to do that was important. And, not having to ask your partner about small purchases makes budgeting and finance easier in a partnership.

8. Gifts

Everybody spends money on gifts. I'm talking about “the right gift.” If I have a $50 budget for someone, but an idea for the “perfect gift” for that person, I’ll blow my budget and that’s ok. Seeing a gift touch their heart is more important to me than sticking to a particular gift budget.

I’d rather sacrifice my own Christmas gift to give the best gifts. It’s the thought behind them that shows you’re paying attention to the things they need in life.

9. Bedsheets

When Scott and I first married, his sheets felt like sandpaper. I bought a $100 pair of sheets. He was so mad at me. I told him, “Sleep on them one night. If it does not change your life, I’ll never spend $100 on a pair of sheets again.”

He woke up the next morning and said, “You go spend, baby, whatever you want on sheets.” I love Jersey cotton sheets because they’re always nice and tight on the bed.

10. Professional car cleaning

I'm not talking about just a wash and a vacuum; I’m talking about seats removed, vacuuming under the carpet, etc… I have four young kids and my car gets disgusting. Occasional cleaning is one of my favorite gifts because often my car is an absolute embarrassment.

11. Pet things

Holy wow! This is the first time we've had dogs. I don't think, if I really understood how expensive dogs were, I don’t think I’d have gotten my kids a dog. But, the extra things – the toys, the treats, the things to keep them occupied – I will spend on them.

12. New swimsuits

This is a quirk of mine. I really don't like wearing someone's old swimsuit. It's gross to me. I don’t buy them from the consignment shop. You can usually find them on sale at the end of the season and just save them for next year.

13. Quality Shoes

If I buy $80 TSUKIHOSHI shoes, I can literally pass them down to all four of my girls. Or if I buy the sun sandals as church shoes, they will go through all four girls.

It originally was a giant kick in the budget when I purchased the shoes, but after having them for years and seeing how wonderful they are, they became our kids’ main bread and butter shoes, their tennis shoes, and their sun sands in the summertime.

One pair of Natives that I bought for my oldest daughter is now being worn by my third daughter, and they're easily going to make it to my fourth without being scratched or scuffed,

14. Good luggage

We don't fly much, but I’ve found that a good, hard-sided suitcase with four rollers on the bottom is absolutely essential when I'm juggling kids, purses, and everything. There’s usually a great sale at department stores twice a year for luggage.

15. Plants and gardening

I used to be the person that killed everything that lived, but now I seem to really enjoy keeping them alive and doting on them. I've always had a vegetable garden.

It's probably not that cost-effective with the way I grow vegetables, but I used to get so many vegetables that I sold them to a local organic grocery store. Plants and gardening make me smile, so I spend money on it. 

Things worth spending money on

Whatever brings you joy, do budget for that. Life’s too short not to have a bit of joy in your monthly budget. What are some things that are worth spending money on for you? Let us know in the comments.