Financial Freedom – Page 2 – The Common Cents Club

There's no question, I am frugal. I run a tight budget and love finding deals. It's the only way I was able to pay off all my student loans on a teacher's salary and afford to leave my job as the breadwinner to be a work-at-home mom. But people are often surprised about some of the items I have because they're not exactly cheap. Below are a few things that were well worth my hard-earned money, and I would buy them all again in a heartbeat. Which things? This post contains affiliate links, which help make awesome content for you free and without annoying ads. Things Worth The Splurge These things are not cheap but were worth the investment because they make my life easier and will last for years. In the long run, they save me time, money, and stress. 1. Apple MacBook Pro When my husband and I decided I was going to seriously pursue this whole "work from home" thing, the first thing I invested in was a MacBook Pro. Having worked in school districts with both PC and Mac computers, I know how much harder life is for me when technology doesn't work. When my work is 100% on the computer, I need my computer to work! I spent about $1,200 on my laptop and it was worth every penny. I've used it every single day for over two years, and I have not spent a dime on it since. Going from a 9-5 office with no windows to being able to work on a laptop anywhere, including on my back deck, is good for the soul. Get My MacBook! 2. Vitamix 5200 Blender I finally splurged on a new blender. My husband teased me because I've been saying I wanted a new blender for years. Here's the thing: I didn't want just another blender off the Walmart shelf, but I wasn't ready to spend the kind of money for a really good one. My old blender was a plain old Ninja, and it worked fine for a lot of things...but definitely not for green smoothies. I was so tired of chewing kale in my non-smooth "smoothie." It was gross. After we got our $300 Amazon gift cards through our health insurance (which I talk more about in this post about ways to save money), and experiencing major struggles with my diet and nursing my second baby, we decided it was finally time invest in a QUALITY blender to make healthy eating easier on all of us. Of course, I did research, read a million reviews, compared prices, and finally purchased the Vitamix 5200 Blender...and I AM IN LOVE!!! After just one smoothie, I finally understood how people get their smoothies to look the way they do on Pinterest! No more chunks. No more chewing. Just smooooth fruits and veggies for me and the kids. The best part is my baby and toddler LOVE drinking green smoothies too. You would not believe all the veggies my kids eat now because of this blender. So this one was definitely worth splurging on. Get My Vitamix! 3. iRobot Roomba Vacuum When we moved to a house with double the square footage, I quickly realized three things: it was awesome to have my own office It was amazing to have room for the kids to run and play it was a pain to have so much floor space to clean! (first world problem, I know.) I hemmed and hawed over the idea because I had a vacuum that worked fine. It was just a pain in the butt to either have dirty floors or waste so much precious time cleaning the floors! So just like I suggest in all my stories of how we save money and were able to get out of debt, I asked for this gift for Christmas. I got an iRobot Roomba and love it! It saves me SO much time and does a pretty darn good job. We call it "Robo," and he's like another member of our family. Robo is cleaning the kids' playroom as I write this (and the kids are napping. Hallelujah!) You can read my complete Roomba review and see it clean my kitchen floors over here. In summary: Kids sleep. I get work done. And the floor is cleaned. All at the same time! Needless to say, this one easily made the list of purchases worth the splurge! Get My Roomba! 4. Healthy Food Delivery Yes, eating healthy foods can be more expensive sometimes. But without good health, your entire life is going to be more of a struggle. So I really can't think of anything better to invest in than your health and the health of your loved ones. Whenever I can, I use cheap healthy foods like oats, eggs, beans, carrots, bananas, lentils, rice, greens, cucumbers, and sweet potatoes. For everything else, I try to save money without sacrificing quality by getting food delivered from: Thrive Market (the lower price of foods we regularly eat make the annual membership worth it. Try it FREE for 30 days! Vitacost Amazon Prime Subscribe & Save. If you don't have Prime, you can Try Amazon Prime FREE for 30 days! Local organic farmers (CSA box and Farmer's market) You can also save money on quality food by using cash back apps and earn free gift cards like these: Rakuten (formerly Ebates) for coupons and easy cash back Ibotta for rebates Swagbucks redeemed as Amazon gift cards 5. Supportive Running Shoes I like the accomplishment of running further and faster, but my body really does not like running. It's weird, I know. I deal with quite a bit of foot pain and injuries from overpronation, so for me, supportive running shoes are a must. So far, my favorite brands have been Brooks, New Balance, and Saucony. My sister, who can wear just about any shoe she wants, recently bought her first pair of "good tennies." She sent me a picture the first day she wore them and said it was like "walking on clouds." (These are the pair she got. So cute!) Sometimes the younger sister is the wiser one. ;) Get Good Running Shoes! Related: 12 Best Walking Shoes for Women & How to Pick the Right Ones For for Your Feet 6. All-Natural, Non-Toxic Skin Care & Makeup When I started to clean up my beauty and skin care, I fell in love with Beauty Counter. Not only do their products look and feel amazing, but I feel better about what I'm putting on my skin too! There's a reason so many friends and family members raved when I first asked about the brand. Their products are safer, cleaner, and work really well! The Cleansing Balm was the first of many products I fell in love with, and I use it every day to remove makeup, clean my face, and even as a hydrating mask. I love following it upw ith this Radiance Serum. The Tinted Skin Hydrating Foundation is a staple in my simple makeup routine and goes on easily with a Flat Complexion Brush. Check out what Beauty Counter has to offer in skin care, makeup, men's and baby & kids' products. I've even given Beauty Counter as gifts and every gift so far has been adored! Get Cleaner Skin Care! 7. Toyota and Honda Vehicles We save up and pay cash for our vehicles because we don't like debt. We don't just randomly have enough money in our bank account when the time comes to make a purchase. As soon as we buy a vehicle and deplete those savings, we start building it up again because we wear on them and they need to be replaced over time. We never know exactly when it will happen, but we all know it's going to happen. Although Toyotas and Hondas cost more than many others upfront, they hold their value for much longer. We have a small Toyota commuter car that has well over 200,000 miles on it (I bought it with 90,000 many years ago) and it's still going strong. I also joined the Minivan Mom Club with a Honda Odyssey. And this is how we comfortably haul our family of 4 + golden retriever around. I'll never say never, but I'll be shocked if I ever purchase a vehicle that's not one of these brands. 8. Diono Carseats Have you ever had kids who did not like riding in the car? Me too. That's why it was super important that we found the safest, most comfortable car seats we could find. And after many hours of research and consulting with other professional mamas, we ended up with one of these Diono Radian 3RXT All-In-One Convertible Car Seats. It didn't take long before one turned into two...then three! The kids love these car seats. They aren't curved like most other seats, so they will fit them years longer. They come in neutral or fun color options. And they made this RV road trip much more enjoyable! Totally worth the splurge. See This Car Seat! Invest in Things That Make Your Life Better Living a simple and frugal life is not all about saving all of your money and never splurging. Instead, when you create an intentional plan for your money and set goals, you can comfortably splurge on things that matter most to you. Whether they save you time, money, or your sanity, there are some things that are worth spending money on. What's on your list of things you're glad you splurged on? Invest in things that make your life better, -Val Breit