(1) My hair. I mentioned in my 10 Things I Don’t Spend On article that I don’t follow every beauty trend because some actually detract from my attractiveness or are just a waste of money. I do think my hair makes a big difference in the aesthetic I’m going for, so I spend a LOT on it. So much so that I brought up my hair in my article about how I got out of debt. I basically got the income of a 2^nd job when I shaved my head and just went to Supercuts for two years. But now I’m back to my expensive goldilocks and I’m happy about it.

(2) Car maintenance. Car maintenance is one I could easily ignore because it’s not exciting, but my car was a huge investment. I want it to last a very long time, so I try to be responsible and spend the few hundred dollars a year to keep is spiffy and running well.

(3) Any cosmetic surgeries / enhancements. Health is wealth. Looking attractive is nice, but it loses its appeal real quick if your body isn’t functional and healthy first.

I think we all know any surgery has its risks. BBLs are the deadliest cosmetic procedure with 1-2 people resulting in death for every 6,000 BBL procedures. But even medspa treatments can lead to incredibly destructive consequences. Filler can create vascular occlusions and even blindness. Kybella can lead to temporary paralysis of the face if a nerve is hit.

For these reasons, I’m willing to spend more money and go to the highest rated and most experienced place I can find.

(4) Fresh produce. Food, housing, and transportation are usually people’s largest expenses. Reducing one of these areas can have a significant impact on your budget; however, I learned that not fueling my body with fresh produce every day makes me sluggish. This isn’t a free for all for me to spend as much as I want on food. But I do make sure to not cut back so much on my food budget that I have to choose Top Ramen over fresh greens for a salad.

(5) Therapy. It took me a long time to justify spending money on therapy. I was reluctant because the results weren’t guaranteed and it’s very pricey for me. Some insurance covers therapy and if that’s the case, take advantage of it! My insurance doesn’t cover it, but I’m still willing to budget for it because I wanted someone on my team to objectively give me feedback on my thought processes. I have big goals for my life, and I don’t want any routine thinking I developed long ago to keep me from leveling up.

(6) Things that are cute. Have you heard of Marie Kondo? She’s this professional organizer from Japan who emphasizes to only have items in your home that spark joy. I read her books and am convinced that’s how I want to arrange my life. I’m comfortable spending more for items I think are cute! This doesn’t mean I use retail therapy to collect cute things I may not need. What I mean is if I need a new hairbrush, I’m willing to spend a little more to get one that is particularly cute or has a design that excites me.

(7) Things from small businesses. I don’t mind spending a little more to get a unique product from a small business. Supporting small businesses keeps more money in the community and lifts the overall community’s wealth. I’m not interested in being wealthy if my community isn’t able to build their wealth too.

(8) Gym membership. I spend a good chunk of change to go to gym classes. They’ve positively impacted my strength and energy level. I wouldn’t say I’d invest a lot in a gym where I’m just going to use the equipment, but I will spend more for classes that direct me on what to do.

(9) Comfortable living situation. Whenever I’m brainstorming ways to reduce my expenses, I consider if the savings will be worth the discomfort that may come with the cutback. It takes some trial and error, but I know that an uncomfortable living situation makes it harder for me to recharge and get into the zone I need to be to level up my income producing abilities. It doesn’t have to be completely luxurious, but I find investing in a quiet, clean, and safe space is worth it.

(10) Charity. Even when I was barely making ends meet, I made sure to budget some for charity. I wanted it to be a habit that doesn’t depend on how wealthy I was. Wealth is somewhat subjective. I felt like I was barely making ends meet, but I still had a car and a safe place to sleep. Someone out there doesn’t have those things and I wanted to acknowledge that and give some of my income to those people.