Hi everyone today I am doing a blog swap with Pauline at Reach Financial Independence. So if you like what you read, please head over to her website and check it out. You can also access my post on her site about Preparing Financially for a Baby

 

The following is a guest post from Pauline Paquin, a French girl who has recently started to blog over at Reach Financial Independence. Born and raised in Paris, Pauline blogs about how she has been traveling the world for the past 10 years, while trying to build wealth and achieve financial independence, and how you can follow your dreams and reach your goals too. You can follow Pauline on Twitter @RFIndependence.

 

Spending Money

Glen says in this article how we can and need to be saving money. While I couldn’t agree more, I think there are situations where you shouldn’t be pinching pennies, and should instead start spending your money. I suffer from great frugality disorder myself, but I am reforming one step at a time and those expenses are definitely worth it in my opinion.

 

Yourself

You are your best asset. So you should take care of yourself by doing the following:

  • Eat healthy
  • Exercise
  • Buy good shoes to protect your feet
  • Brush your teeth
  • Remember to floss
  • Avoid smoking
  • Limit your drinking
  • Have regular medical check ups

Not taking care of yourself can lead to chronic conditions and also impact your earning potential. If you are unable to go to work, or have a condition that prevents you from doing your job well, you can miss out on thousands of dollars.

Educating yourself is also a sound investment. If you think that taking a night class or going back to college will get you a promotion at work, or just make you feel like a better happier individual, then by all means go for it.

 

Your home

Keeping your home cosy and well run is important to value yourself as a person, because you deserve it, and also because you spend so much time at home. You do not need to have the latest sofa and change it every year. But it is maybe time to get rid of your college furniture if you are in your thirties? I have never regretted spending money on making my home nicer. A fresh coat of paint, matched cutlery and a few items from your backpacking days can go a long way to give your house a unique personal feel.

Your bed

The quality of your sleep will affect your relations with people, your well-being, and how your day will go. Get a good mattress and change it regularly. Get nice sheets that make you happy when you go to bed. You spend one third of your life in bed, so you should spend a little more on making it a comfortable place. While you are at it, go for a queen or king size bed. Studies show that humans are not made to sleep with company, and a narrow bed can lead to conjugal problems (for the Francophiles out there, here is a link to the study). Your relationship or marriage is worth the upgrade.

 

Your car

I am not telling you to go get the last shiny car for sale. Just to keep a maintenance schedule and not postpone it. Forgoing an oil change for too long will damage your motor and affect your gas mileage. Failing to change your tires on time can lead to an accident. A well-kept car will last longer and cost less money in the long run.

 

Your daily items

I cook every day and you probably do too. If you don’t, refer to #1, and drop the junk food. If you do, invest in a good knife, non adhesive pots and pans and a good chopping board. Why should you spend 10 minutes more doing the dishes every night just because the pans are sticky? One hour per week or half a day per month lost for not getting a new pan? I value my time much more than this.

If you use something every day, consider getting the best version of it that you can afford. Personal items that I don’t have a problem splurging on include my laptop, kitchenware, towels, linen, and clothes.

I would rather buy a few items of clothing that are more expensive, classic items that will last for a few years, than cheap trendy clothes that I won’t wear the next season. I also bought a pretty expensive motorcycle last summer to tour Europe, that brought me no trouble over 20000 miles.

 

Experiences

Going out with your spouse on a special date or taking your kids to a theme park are things that you will remember for a long time. Do your kids remember what presents they got last Christmas? I don’t remember many presents from my childhood, but those memories are still there. You do not have to spend money, a picnic in the park can make for a romantic date, but if you spend on experiences, it is likely going to be money well spent.

 

What else do you think it is worth to spend money on?

 



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