5 Things You Should be Spending Money On (even while trying to pay off debt)

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