The following is a guest post from Shoeaholicnomore whose blog I’ve been enjoying reading lately! I welcome guest posts from fellow bloggers on this site, so if you’re interested in sharing your articles with my readers, please get in touch.

It may seem counter intuitive for me to be telling you all what you SHOULD be spending money on while trying to get out of debt, but I’d like to think the things I have listed below are good investments.
By spending money on these 5 things up-front, you will be saving yourself money and other resources in the long run.
5 Things You Should be Spending Money On (even while trying to pay off debt):
1. Your Health
In my opinion, you should be spending money on preventative care and your health. You might think that a gym membership is too much money, and you might be right if you aren’t one to use the membership regularly. For me though, continuing to pay $80 a month for my Crossfit membership is totally worth it. It keeps me in shape, is helping me build muscle, and relieves stress after a long day at work.
You should also spend the money to go to the eye doctor, dentist, and regular practitioner for your annual (or as needed) check-ups. These appointments are scheduled regularly for a reason, to help the doctors catch problems. This should, in theory, make treatment possible and hopefully cheaper than problems caught later on. Buying healthy foods may seem expensive but there’s plenty of research out there to show how eating healthy foods can prevent many diseases and thus end up saving you money.
2. Your Home
Maintenance is important and much like preventative care for your health, regular maintenance of your home can help prevent bigger problems down the road. It is also important to spend some money on small “upgrades” every now and then for your home. Make sure it is something that makes you happy or makes your home more enjoyable. Your home is somewhere you spend a lot of time and having things around you that bring joy can help your outlook on life improve drastically.
3. Your Vehicle
If you own a vehicle, make sure to maintain it regularly. I get my oil changed every 3,000 miles and rotate my tires as needed. Doing this maintenance may seem expensive, but it’s much cheaper to budget for these regular maintenance tasks than huge car repair bills later. I don’t put the premium fuel in my car, though some may argue that using premium fuel is better for your engine. This is one area I DON’T spend my money on and I’ve never had problems because of what fuel grade I chose.
4. Your Loved Ones
Despite trying to get out of debt, I still take the time and money to spend with my loved ones. I budget for birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s days, Christmas etc. It is important to continue to spend time and money with loved ones because they are the ones who will be there for you no matter what!
5.Your Education
While some might argue that education is NOT something you should spend money on, I disagree. Now, I’m not saying you MUST go to college/university or that you must pursue traditional higher education. I’m also not suggesting pursuing so much education or training that you go into further debt to obtain it.
What I am saying is that you should seek opportunities to hone and improve your skills, whatever they may be. Your education and your skills are something that can never be taken away from you and focusing on improving your skills is an area that has the potential to payoff in the end. Many skills can be used for making more money via a career or a side hustle possibility.
What do you think is worth spending money on?
Author Bio: Shoeaholicnomore is a mid-20s single girl living in the Midwest United States. She is focused on paying off her consumer and student loans, while simplifying her life and closet. You can join her on her journey at Shoeaholicnomore.
*Image courtesy of Free Digital Photos
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15 Comments
Great article. I agree! There are some things that you can’t stop funding just to get out of debt. As you mentioned, I think maintenance is often overlooked when paying down debt. Whether for your car or home, it will cost you so much more money later if you don’t spend a few bucks to maintain now.
Thanks for the great article!
Kalen @ MoneyMiniBlog recently posted…Where is Your Money Really Going When You Donate to Charities?
Thanks Kalen! Maintenance is something I wish I could do without sometimes, but it just isn’t possible. You are so right, better to maintain now rather than shell out big bucks later for things that could have been prevented.
Shoeaholicnomore recently posted…Budget Check 5/9/2014
I do agree with these. My parents were horrible with maintenance for our old house. They couldn’t afford to do much of anything. As a result, major repairs cropped up at least every other year, draining whatever savings they had. Not a good way to do things! The same can definitely go for cars or your own health.
E.M. recently posted…Choose Wealth! Be A Millionaire By Midlife: A Review
Exactly EM, that’s why I budget a bit of cash each month for home repairs and car repairs, in addition to my EF savings! I am hoping to eventually get “caught up” to where I want to be with each of these. A few months without something new popping up with my car would be helpful 🙂
Shoeaholicnomore recently posted…Budget Check 5/9/2014
I definitely agree with you. There are things that you just can’t overlook. I love rock climbing and rock climbing gyms are expensive, but I didn’t stop going while I was paying down my debt because I still needed to enjoy my life. To me, rock climbing was a must. I cut spending on other unnecessary things so I can enjoy the things that I love.
I don’t like conventional gyms because I get bored and end up paying a monthly membership to not attend, but I really enjoy rock climbing and it is my only workout. I should be working out more but I feel that rock climbing is a good enough workout for me…. for now.
Aldo @ MDN recently posted…Asset Allocation – Where Do I Invest My Money?
Aldo, this is a great point. Not only is your rock climbing good for your health, but it is also a great way to do something you enjoy. For me, its Crossfit. To each their own, but I am glad you didn’t cut out your fave type of exercise and entertainment.
Shoeaholicnomore recently posted…Budget Check 5/9/2014
Gotta say that’s a great list. We probably skimped on our home the most.
debt debs recently posted…Worth IT Wednesday! ~ Blog Reader Choice
Debt Debs, I’m not perfect. Right now I’m trying to keep up with the car maintenance and repairs, but it is getting hard as more and more things just keep popping up. I’m going to talk more about that on Monday, be sure to check it out 🙂 I hope you can get ahead before any major home repairs come up. Keep us up-to-date please!
Shoeaholicnomore recently posted…Budget Check 5/9/2014
I absolutely agree on the health thing, also involving eating good quality food. If you are only eating ramen, pasta, and other cheap junk just because it’s cheap, you will end up paying more in medical bills later on down the line.
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…It’s Not Always About the Benjamins
Exactly Tonya! Eating healthy may seem “expensive” but its a heck of a lot cheaper than medical issues! 🙂 I am trying to balance eating healthy with eating on a budget. 🙂
Shoeaholicnomore recently posted…Budget Check 5/9/2014
I could not agree more with you about investing in one’s health. There is simply now way one could be functional to his or her fullest potential and be able to achieve things if there is any failure in health. Not only that, what you said is so spot on because what is the investment to maintaining good health than the thousands spent on treatments and medications that may or may not work at all. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, right?
Jen @Sprout Wealth recently posted…Never Be Afraid to Fail
Absolutely! Prevention is the way to go, but it can be hard to see that sometimes when you are working so hard to save save save and pay off debt. I have to remind myself sometimes that prevention is a GOOD thing to spend money on.
Shoeaholicnomore recently posted…Budget Check 5/9/2014
This is a classic argument you bring up about spending money on anything other than your current debt load. I for one believe that even with some debt you should still start a small investment fund particularly with dividend growth stocks. I also agree with your points above especially your health.
I’ve tried to focus on spending my money to spend time with family and friends, not just gifts. The time together is priceless 🙂
Terry @ Path to Simple recently posted…5 Simple Foods for Healthy Eating