"What Did You Buy That You Didn’t Absolutely Need?”

Given that this is a frugal community, we are always sharing about ways that we’ve saved money, or ways that we’ve avoided buying something.

But one day on a post, reader Reese suggested that we should all share something we’ve recently bought that we didn’t absolutely need.

I think this is a good idea because as I’ve said lots of times before, I am not interested in living a life of deprivation. I’m interested in living a rich life while spending less.

So, while I obviously do put a lot of effort into saving money, I don’t keep my budget to the absolute bare minimum that I could.

Sometimes, it’s lovely to buy something just because it makes you happy, not because it’s something you need.

And if you are careful with your spending overall, you usually can find some budgetary wiggle room to splurge on something that is solidly in the “want” category.

I’ll go first, obviously. 😉

You know how I bought that pair of purple Converse, but I accidentally bought a men’s 8 instead of a women’s 8?

I listed them back on eBay and they sold this past week. Yay!

So then I hopped right back onto eBay to browse the Converse in my size, and I came across a pair of coral low-tops. OOOH.

They were my size, so I plunked down the $30 and bought them.

These shoes are most definitely a want and not a need; I already have plenty of sneakers.

And not only that, I already have three pairs of Converse (all from eBay)!

But these are not a super expensive splurge, and colorful shoes make me pretty happy.

I feel good about this. 😉

Sooo, now it’s your turn.

What’s something you bought that you didn’t actually NEED?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Terri Cheney

Saturday 18th of February 2023

A lifetime quality black leather purse. It was $153. I figure it will save the annual expense of $30 a year for black non-leather bags that start to fall to pieces annually. I figure in 5 years this will have paid for itself.

Nancy

I buy so.many.gifts. Yes I'm giving them away, but it's excessive and a habit. I give gifts every week because it's my favorite thing to do, I can afford it, but it's overkill.

Shelly

Thursday 16th of February 2023

I admittedly went a little nuts lately. I have really started to dislike pants with buttons and harsh waistbands, so I bought (clearance or ebay) four sweater dresses and two pants with comfortable waistbands. I live in a rural area and the two closest thrift stores have weird hours (every other Thursday, from 10-2, if they have a volunteer) and I can never catch the timing right (or find much).

I also bought a diamond tip drill (not as fancy as it sounds) as I've started to collect glass on the beach and have decided to make jewelry out of it, which requires the drill. It's quite fun and a nice change from my office job!

Nichole

Www.ShopGoodwill.com has the best selection of Converse!

Kristen

Uh-oh. This might enable my Converse habit. Ha.

Cate

I love your sneaker collection! I'd argue they all serve different purposes :)

I was browsing at Goodwill recently and found a set of five melamine salad plates with a watermelon pattern - perfect for summer gatherings! I also found two red ceramic cereal bowls with white interiors. I technically didn't *need* bowls or plates, but I had room in my cabinets and they made me happy, so I bought them. They were about $13 total and I've already used the watermelon plates for serving snacks and the bowls for chili. No regrets!