A woman I know spent part of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend payout ($1,100 this year) on herself. She described it as a “splurge,” but we’re not talking mani-pedis, airline tickets or high-octane chocolate.
Instead, she plunked down some of those annual bucks for a pair of items that are simultaneously sensible and self-indulgent:
A new set of flannel sheets, and
One of those Instant Pot* cookers.
Both are useful and both were on sale (with in-store coupons to boot), making each splurge doubly sensible. Yet they’re also supremely self-indulgent because they’ll make the winter so much cozier.
She’s a divorced working mom, with a job that pecks at her nights and weekends. Sometimes it’s hard to face an hour or more of meal prep immediately upon arriving home. Sure, her kids can (and do) help with the cooking. But the Instant Pot – the crockpot’s high-pressure cousin – will make a big difference in how they eat.
It’ll also make a difference in her budget (less takeout) and, she’s hoping, in her health. She told me about an Instant Pot user who lost a lot of weight once she stopped eating so much restaurant food.
Maybe the word “splurge” isn’t quite accurate after all.
Your splurge might not be mine
Some might see a piece of household equipment as a cheerless purchase, a gift that isn’t really a gift. We laugh at the comedian who describes a clueless dude buying his wife a steam iron for Christmas, but there is some truth to that. Not everyone wants something chore-related under the tree (or next to the birthday cake).
I would, though, if we didn’t already have a pressure canner or a slow cooker. In fact, I’d suggest to DF that we watch for good deals during the Black Friday sales.
Once I interviewed a gardener whose kids asked for Mother’s Day gift ideas. A recent convert to hypertufa troughs, the woman replied that she wanted…a cement mixer.
She got it, too, because her kids didn’t try to second-guess her desires: Mom says she wants a piece of power equipment, but everybody knows what mothers REALLY want is to go out to brunch and get flowers on the second Sunday in May.
Indulgence is in the eye of the beholder. People who want to build stuff, grow plants or learn a new skill might be delighted with the gift of a table saw, a load of topsoil or a plasma cutter.
That is, unless they’re shouted down by people who think they know better.
Okay, readers, it’s your turn: What is the most recent splurge you gave yourself? Did other people think it was offbeat?
Those who haven’t splurged lately: What would you buy if you could, and why?
*Erin Chase of Grocery Budget Makeover fame now has a course called . It walks you through how the appliance works, teaches how to cook different food groups (grains, beans, roasts, stews, freezer meals, et al.), suggests the first 10 meals you should make, and provides shopping lists for those meals.
Normally the course is $16, but right now you can get it for $12 by clicking on the link above; if you decide to sign up, I get a small finder’s fee to help me keep the blog lights burning.
P.S. Thanks for all the good wishes, guys. I’m still pretty sick but hope to be better soon. This post was written before I left, but I was waiting for the affiliate link to show up. It arrived today and allowed me to post something from the easy chair, where I sit wrapped in a blanket, sipping tea and marking time until I can take more medication.
My last splurge was last week…an 85 min therapeutic massage (cross between deep tissue & sports). It’s the painful kind, not the relaxing kind, and since I FINALLY found someone who’s not afraid of applying pressure, she’s worth every expensive penny. I’ve been going every couple of months since the summer but realize the positive effects wear off after about a month and my hips start tightening up. So, since I lift heavy weights for almost 90 minutes 5 days/week, I’m going to start going once a month. We can well afford it and I save us so much in other areas that I’m not going to feel guilty. Besides, my husband encourages and supports any of my self-care initiatives. I’m a lucky gal, indeed.
I’m sorry the illness is hanging on into week 2. At least you’re back home and don’t have to mingle with the masses.
Massage — yes! It is definitely worth the price. File it under “preventive care.” And I’m with you on the deep pressure aspect: Sometimes the masseuse has to be cruel to be kind.
Thanks for your good wishes. DF and I are staying put all week, drinking a lot of fluids (yay Anchorage water! it doesn’t taste fracked!) and moving slowly. He took some soup stock and other things from the freezer when we got home, so we won’t even have to cook much.
Oh, and I had a frugal win on the way home: One of my bags didn’t make the flight, which had been moved up. The airline delivered it this morning and I will receive my choice of 2,500 airline miles or $50 off my next flight.
Good win for you! What airline!
Alaska Airlines (which recently bought Virgin America). The 20-minute guarantee has people checking their watches.
Score on the bag reward! Which option did choose?
I’m probably going to take the $50 off, and go see my dad in Florida some time this winter. Waiting for my sister, and maybe my brother, to make the trip as well; both did last year, and it was fun to be together for a little while.
My favorite splurge is FOOD. Whether a bagel, or some other small treat. If you want to hear of an odd gift I asked my husband for one year, I wanted a high quality double boiler.
I hope you’re feeling better soon!
Did you get the double boiler??? Don’t leave us hanging like that! 😉
Yes!!! He got it for me. 😀 And I’m getting a lot of use from it.
Don’t laugh —
My splurge was going to a three-day Bigfoot conference.
https://cindybrick.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-dozen-things-i-learned-about-bigfoot.html
I haven’t been to a conference in years (decades, even) that I wasn’t either teaching at, or in some kind of leadership role. This one was the exception.
My family humored me (or thought I was nutty). And a fair amount of it was a little wacky. (Or “whoo whoo,” as one of the speakers said.) But I enjoyed it, firmed up my own thoughts on Sasquatch — and learned a lot.
Sounds like fun to me. Then again, Linda B. and I watch “Finding Bigfoot” (for the entertainment value).
My two splurges are handbags and books. I’ve always been an avid reader and start feeling deprived if there are fewer than two books by my chair waiting to be read. The handbag love comes from the time I could only afford to carry one, every day and every occasion. I saved up a long time to buy my first Coach purse and have been hooked on high quality bags ever since. (BTW, I only recently gave that first Coach to Goodwill after carrying it off and on for over 20 years.
Those are mine as well.
Although I do buy more books than bags.
I asked to have a my rings resized for my birthday. I started upping my weights at jazzercise which has really helped my upper body but as a side effect I’ve gained muscle in my hands! I can open jars and such much easier now but my rings don’t fit. Who would have thought that would happen? I haven’t been able to wear them in so long it’s like getting new jewelry!
Muscular hands…That’s a new one on me. But go you for the health improvement, and for being able to open your own jars.
We splurged last week for a mini vacation of one night at La Quinta. We went out of town on Thursday and came home on Friday, as there were quite a few places we wanted to visit. I had gift cards for the meals out. Other than that, I reined in the money pretty tight to get things for home. Paid off our car ahead of time, got 2 rooms of carpet and 5 house windows that were needed badly. Hate that there is aways something needed when you own a home.
Hope you feel better soon!
I splurged and got a new sewing table for my one year old sewing machine. I love my machine, but it is too big to sit on the thrift-store card table that I have always used for my sewing machines.
The new table should arrive tomorrow with a custom insert specific for that machine. Hooray for ergonomics! No more sore hands, wrists and shoulders because the table was too high and cramped.
An ergonomic upgrade — good thinking.
My splurges are usually books and shoes. I tend to buy more expensive shoes because I know that I will wear my favourites all the time and I want them to last. My husband and I have a rule for buying presents. No household items unless they are specifically requested like the fancy mixer I got a few years ago for Christmas. Only okay because I had basically instructed him to go purchase one!
Last splurge was having my hair done…cut and color. I’m down to cut only now at the salon and DIY for the color (and highlights too!!)
My next splurge? I’m keeping it quite cool in the house. An electric blanket would be welcome. I had hoarded some nickels over the last couple of years before the split (woohoo!). There are enough nickels from probably this and…..the next item.
The only TV I have is 19″, so a 32″ would be appreciated. The words can get quite challenging on a small screen from across the room. lol They’ve been hovering $100 at Walmart.
Sling TV….I put in an antenna last year which provides me with some programming. I don’t do movies or shows…..I like hockey and hunting/fishing shows which aren’t on Netflix or Hulu. $30 a month during the winter might be in order since there is no contract.
A far cry from my splurge list a couple of years ago. 🙂
I have an illness that means I am in a wheelchair some days; even on my good days I am no speed demon and am frequently in so much pain from a paralyzed leg that I don’t get much housework done. My husband is a saint and never complains about doing housework but it wears on him. My PFD splurge was hiring a house cleaner to come in and do a deep cleaning, including defrosting/cleaning fridge and freezer and cleaning the oven. Also, washing all the walls and removing all the items from the cupboards and washing those down. She also steam cleaned the rug in the bedroom and the living room rug…it took her two 10 hour days and worth every penny of the $500 I spent. The rest of my PFD and all of my husband’s went into savings because one of the best indulgences in life is being worry-free because you have money in the bank for an emergency!
Another Alaskan weighs in! I’m sorry about the pain you’re enduring. A deep cleaning probably made you feel better both physically (fewer dust mites) and emotionally (cleanliness does make a difference).
And yes, mine is also in the bank. I sleep better that way.
My splurge was ghost Peeps. They were on sale, and they are ghosts! So that means no calories, right?
Usually I splurge on chocolates from Buffett’s, or a meal at a restaurant, both of which are rare expenditures.
22 Balls of 100% alpaca yarn on sale! Enough for poncho and legwarmers to keep warm during the New England winter. Poncho is half knit..maybe will finish before the first snow falls. Fell better.
That’s feel better!
Oh, you knit-wits: You sure know how to party.
My request for gifts these days is that they be useful (like clothes or kitchen gadgets) consumable like craft supplies or edible goodies) or experiential (like music or tickets to events). The Instant Pot definitely sounds like something I should check out–though I suspect its programming functions aren’t accessible for visually impaired users. But some things can be zeroed out and stepped through, so maybe…
Our most recent splurge was a trip to the local farmer’s market, where we bought an air plant (bromeliad) just because they’re cool and we’d been wanting one, a painted starfish Christmas ornament for my sister (to replace the one we got her years ago and her dog ate), some local grapes, and a cinnamon bun from a stand a friend recommended. The ornament was half off and a present to boot, but the plant, the grapes and the bun were pure indulgence. Livin’ the high life, eh? 😀
Livin’ large, indeed….And the appeal of the Instant Pot is that it takes so little time to cook things. You could do the prep and your DH or one of your sons could come home and push the buttons. We’re talking half an hour or one hour for major dishes.
True, I could always get someone else to do the programming if they’re here, or use the BeMyEyes app, especially if I know what the settings are supposed to be.
What I like about it is that it sounds like it’s not just a pressure cooker, but also a slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer and a few other things. All that functionality would be a wonderful thing, as long as I can work out how to use it. May have to go browse the stores and get a feel (ha!) for what’s available. Christmas is coming…
“Get a feel for what’s available” — snerk.
It apparently can make quinoa in one minute, and can make yogurt, and porridge, and all sorts of things.
Sounds crazy… but years ago my boyfriend at the time bought me an expensive iron that I had wanted, but would never spend money on. He said he wanted to make my mornings easier when I was getting ready for work. And it did! One of my best gifts ever. Yes, I am a very practical girl.
A book, a good pair of leather shoes, a certain movie, or an event. My wish for my Sept 11 birthday was to drive to Nashville for the total eclipse. I got that! Cut flowers do not impress me nor do fancy cards. I feel sad for wasted money.
Yesterday I went to Dollar General and bought a bunch of stuff for me.
$5 each for a toaster, an electric can opener, and a hand mixer, and 2 $10 plastic snow shovels (one for me and one for DH). The 4 slice toaster we won at Hershey Park years ago only semi works for the first 3 settings, and I’m tired of holding the handle down until it browns like I want it to. I do have a 2 slice I bought at church fund raiser for $2, but it does have a suspicious white deposit inside of it. My can opener has stopped working and for about 2 months I have been using the manual one, which might be one reason my hands hurt. With the hand mixer I will not have to clean and lift my stand mixer as much, and possibly avoid dropping it. After years of using our dirt shovels to shovel snow, last winter I borrowed our neighbors plastic snow shovels. What a difference in weight lifted and time spent! So much better! And then I spent more money on Birthday cards at 2 for $1 for all of the November birthdays for family and friends. A total of $44 + spent in less than an hour, and then we shopped at the Rescue Mission Store, and then dinner out with BOGO birthday coupon (with a nap in between).
That sounds like a fine and frugal day. And yeah, snow shovels are important.
My last splurge was pretty typical – I just got back from Maui where I spent a week frolicking in the ocean with fish and turtles! Pretty standard to spend money on a vacation.
The next will be a Christmas gift for myself. I’m currently contemplating buying a full-glass screen door for my front door, to replace the screen door I have now. I love having the front door open, to get light in from outside, since my living room is a dark hole otherwise – but most of the year it’s just too chilly to leave the door open with just a screen. Some of my neighbours have full glass storm doors – letting the light in, but providing insulation and not letting all the heat out in the winter!
Such a purchase would give you immediate and long-term results. Go you!
I’m a sensible grown woman: a homeschooling mother of three, I do everything from our taxes to homemade bread. Which makes it all the more amusing that two of my most recent splurges were Insaniquarium (a computer game where you feed fish and fight aliens) and Overcooked (an Xbox restaurant game). Age might try to take the girl out of the geek, but it’ll never take the geek out of this girl!
I’m a geek myself, and I approve this message.
I have, and LOVE, an electric pressure cooker–I actually won a pulled pork competition with it this summer! I highly recommend it as a splurge item. 😁
I’m wanting to splurge on a pair of extra warm slippers that actually fit my feet…after three foot surgeries, they need a little extra pampering. I keep the house cold, so layers are a necessity. They’re cheap, and being cozy makes for better snuggle time.
Being cozy makes for a better life in general, too. New slippers are on my own Black Friday list.
Congratulations on winning the competition.
Food! Good ingredients, like free range eggs and premium chocolate. Oh and expensive tea: There is this cinnamon tea that is amazing but costs $20 per 20 sachets in NZ.
I am a grad student so I conserve my splurge $$ for things I have to do anyway, like eat. 🙂
If you’re a grad student then you should take every opportunity to treat yourself kindly. Food is an excellent way to do that and if it’s good food, so much the better.