On my mission to pay off my six-figure debt, I have been actively cutting down on unnecessary expenses. I’ve even written a blog post on 6 Things I No Longer Buy to Save Money so trust me when I say I do not like spending money unnecessarily.

While I don’t like to splurge, I do realize that splurging on certain items have allowed me to save money in the long run.

So I decided to post a list of 7 purchases that I have personally made that I believe everyone should buy to save money in the long run.

 

1.  Reusable water bottle 

The absolute number one thing I always have with me throughout high school, college, grad school, and even now as a working woman is a reusable water bottle. They are so convenient and so easy to refill.

While I still buy a pack of plastic water bottles to keep at home for guests and some I keep in my car for emergency, those last me a while as I’m always refilling my reusable water bottle.

I say invest for an insulated water bottle like this one that can keep your drink hot or cold for the whole day regardless of the weather outside.

Plus, what’s even better than saving the environment from plastic waste? Saving your money along with it. I drink a lot (of water)! If I was to only drink from plastic water bottles, I would probably have to buy a new pack every week.

While I’m all in for conserving our planet, my favorite part of using reusable water bottle is hands down not having to take the inconvenient and heavy trip of buying a pack of water bottles from the grocery and lugging it all the way home.

2.  Coffee Maker

I have to admit, I actually finally quit coffee after I graduated from grad school so I no longer use my coffee maker. But back when coffee was like religion to me, I was spending $4-$5/day on my daily coffee run.

I have Keurig coffee maker and it has served me well for the last 4 years so save yourself money in the long run and invest in a good coffee machine. It’ll save you time in the morning as well, not having to get up earlier to make that early Starbucks run.

3.  Crock-pot

I was late getting into the crock-pot game and I regretted not finding out about crock-pots sooner. Up until three years ago, I hated cooking.

When I did start cooking more, I found it very tiring to have to cook most nights after a long day at school or work. In fact, that’s usually the number 1 reason people end up eating out. They have no energy to cook and end up spending more money eating out.

So take the cheaper and healthier method. I use my crockpot to literally dump all my ingredients and leave it on while I’m at school or work, only to come home to a warm home-cooked meal. Getting my first crockpot three years ago was nothing short of life-changing and I’m not usually one to exaggerate.

I really attribute having a crockpot to saving me money by allowing me to resist the temptation of eating out.

4.  Water filter pitcher

I’ve always had a Brita water filter at home for as long as I can remember. From the big size dispenser to the lighter pitcher, it has served me well throughout these years.

It really goes hand in hand with my reusable water bottle in helping me save money from buying plastic water bottles. I use it to refill my reusable water bottles and to drink water every day.

While my refrigerator now comes with a built-in water dispenser, I still have a water pitcher in my kitchen for when I want to drink room temperature water.

5.  Smart system

I cannot say enough how cutting cable has saved me so much money. I finally convinced my parents to cut our cable last year and I don’t miss it one bit. We now have the Fire TV Stick and DirectTV Now subscription that works perfectly well.

It saved us hundreds of dollars per month when I bought a one time purchase of the Fire TV Stick last Black Friday for half the price.

6.  Good workout shoes

Having good workout shoes is indispensable. After all, your health is priceless. So splurge on good workout shoes.

I’m actually on the market for new shoes since I’ve used mine to pieces for the last 5(!) years. That’s right, I haven’t bought new workout shoes for the last 5 years because I made sure to invest in good, comfortable shoes that lasted for years.

I’ve been eyeing this Nike one that looks good enough to go also to work in since my work require me to stand all day long.

While I do love to do my shopping online, shoe purchases are definitely ones I recommend actually going in store first to try.

Little tip: after you find a pair that fits you, try searching online for better deals.

7.  Durable phone case and tempered glass screen protector

I’ve had my share of cracked phones over the years and as you may all know, it is expensive to repair or worse, buy a new phone. So do yourself a favor and get a durable case from a trusted brand like this one and a tempered glass screen protector to go along with it.

I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve dropped my phone and cracked my tempered glass protector while my actual phone screen came away unscratched.

So that’s it for the 7 things I’ve bought that have actually ended up saving me money! If you don’t have any of these yet, I absolutely recommend splurging on them to help you save money in the long run.