The 3 Best Purchases I’ve Made to SAVE Me Money
The thing I love most about being a Certified Financial Trainer at The Financial Gym is that we take the WHOLE person into account. We know that none of our clients are going to just stop buying things. We also know that the reason our clients come to us is because they want to create a better life for themselves using their financial resources.
While we do often talk about reducing expenses or eliminating unnecessary expenses, we ALSO believe in spending money in ways that are in alignment with your goals or that bring value to your life. Today, I wanted to share with you 3 of the best purchases I’ve ever made —not only because they make my life better, but also because they save me money!
Milk Frother = $15
Confession: I bought the milk frother I use almost every day as a Christmas gift for my husband. At the time, I didn’t realize it would also become a gift for me. This super simple (and cheap!) handheld milk frother has leveled up our coffee game about 1 million percent. Taking the extra 2 minutes in the morning to whiz up a mug of half and half creates rich and creamy froth for us to add to our morning cup of coffee. This small luxury makes us slow down and enjoy the morning together while completely curbing our Starbucks (or in my husband’s case, Dunkin’ Donuts) cravings. This simple $15 purchase has easily saved us over $500 in annual coffee runs.
Knife Skills Class = $120 for two
Early in our relationship, Mr. Financial Trainer and I decided to take a knife skills class. We had recently moved in together and figured it could be a fun and unique date night. Little did we know this class would completely upgrade our kitchen game. We went from the type of people who would have sandwiches or a bag of frozen vegetables most nights to Master Chef level gourmands. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But, we did gain the confidence to do basic meal prep that meant our fresh veggies stopped liquifying in the fridge every week.
Now, we can pull together a meal like roasted chicken thighs, brussel sprouts and baby potatoes in about 45 minutes with most of that being oven time. We also gained the confidence to experiment with new types of cuisine and with recreating our favorite restaurant meals (my husband’s ramen game is legendary). This one really fun date night turned into years of kitchen confidence and literally thousands of dollars saved on takeout and restaurants.
Down Dog App = $40-$60/year (you can usually get a discount)
This last one has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. During the pandemic, I noticed a yoga app that was giving away free yoga classes through the end of the summer. Like the rest of us, I was looking for ways to destress at home and this seemed like the perfect thing to try. Y’all! This. Freaking. App. Is. Amazing!!!
I started taking Down Dog’s yoga classes just using my phone and became obsessed with their classes and the app’s features. The classes themselves flow so naturally you feel like you’re in a 1:1 with your favorite teacher. Then, the way you can customize each class is next level. They let you switch up the amount of time, the music, the teacher’s voice, the amount they talk, the muscle groups you focus on, and the style of yoga. I hate to say this, but this app has made me never want to go to an IRL yoga class again. Not to mention the fact that the price for a year is what you would pay for a 1 week pass in some studios.
Now, to be fair, if you’re brand new to yoga you will want to take some hands-on classes to get adjustments and make sure your form is correct. However, this amazing app (did I say that it’s amazing?), has saved me an infinite amount of money and makes me happy every single time I use it.
The moral of the story is, we’re all going to spend money. It’s totally okay to buy things! Our goal here at the Gym is to help you determine which things you buy are actually bringing value to you and your life. My love language is quality time, so these 3 purchases that give me more quality time with my husband and myself—while saving loads of money—are game changers. Make sure the next thing you spend your hard earned money on is a game changer for you.