10 things worth spending more on

This article is a reprint of one I wrote for Gather Little By Little a few days ago…

I was thinking about how I have spent a whole lot more money on certain items only to find out that they are just a little bit better than the cheaper alternatives. And on the other hand there have been things I have spent just a bit more money on and they were a whole lot better than the cheaper alternatives. When you look at buying decisions this way, it can dramatically change how and what you buy.

Let me first say this is my list of things that I have found to be worth spending more money on. Everyone will have a different priority list of what is most important to them. But maybe this will generate some ideas for you. Here goes…

1. A Mac.

I know that this may rub some of the PC people the wrong way, but I just switched to Mac about a month ago and I just can't believe what I was missing out on. The overall simplicity has saved me countless hours of time and frustration that was a regular event with my PC.

2. Quality food.

I am not necessarily talking about $100 meals prepared by French chefs, but rather food that will benefit your health rather than harm it. Organic food is great, but even just eating fruits and vegetables rather than hyper-processed stuff that once resembled food. There are consequences to our actions and decades of eating fast food 5 days a week is not likely to yield a good result.

3. A Honda.

Or Toyota. They are more expensive than a lot of cars on the market on the front end, but looking at the big picture you will end up saving money in the end. Consumer Reports says that the Honda Civic has the overall lowest total cost of ownership. This figure includes everything from sticker price, car depreciation, insurance, repairs, to resale value. After it all is calculated the Civic was the cheapest to own. But if you just look at the sticker price, you will find that there are a lot of cheaper cars out there.

4. Medical expenses.

Eating better is my attempt to prevent these from occurring, but when I am in the hospital I want the best Doc I can find working on me. It is amazing how little money seems to matter when you are in pain.

5. Looseleaf Tea

If you have always drank bag tea and never tried looseleaf do yourself a favor - find a Teavana near you and get some Rooibos Vanilla. You can thank me later.

6. Nice dress shoes.

(Disclaimer: I am a guy, I have no idea if this is true for ladies) Working in an office environment for most of my career, I have come to appreciate high-quality dress shoes. You can spend a couple hundred on a nice pair of shoes that can last you decades. You may need to replace the soles every few years, but if you take care of them they will last. The conservative business style hasn't changed much over the last 50 years - I anticipate it to stay that way. (Tip: to save money, check what the Ebay sellers are selling them at. I have found some great bargains on Ebay.)

7. Potting soil.

I planted a balcony garden this year and I have always heard this from gardeners and it is true. Get good potting soil, it will make a tremendous amount of difference.

8. A wallet.

Like my dress shoes I like to keep my wallets for a long time. They get broken in so nicely and get contoured to fit just perfectly to your body. But if you don't get a nice leather one, they probably won't make it that long. I actually just retired my old wallet that I had for about 12 years. My wife bought me a new one from Coach - isn't she sweet?

9. A bed.

We took all of our wedding money and bought a nice King sized bed. I am convinced that it was and will remain one of our best buying decisions of our marriage. You spend 1/3 of your life in it - it ought to be nice!

10. Chocolate.

I prefer to minimize my indulgences, but to make them really good. Quality over quantity is the key here. I like the darkest dark chocolate you can find. It is so strong that you can't really overindulge like you can with milk chocolate. And the added bonus is that Dark Chocolate actually has health benefits!

What about you? What do you think is worth spending more on?