Yes, you can be frugal, save money and lead a modest life while enjoying some luxury as well. In this article, we share with you the luxury items that suit a budget lifestyle.
Be critical
Be criticalOver the past several years we have been very critical about the items we buy and use in our household. Especially since we know we will be moving onto a sailing boat with limited living space. Also, we are trying to spend as little money as possible to save up for this big life change.
In addition to buying fewer new things, we have also been focusing on selling a lot of our possessions. Things that we don’t use, need, or like anymore go for sale on an online second-hand market. We have already sold our gaming computer, juicer, wooden wine rack, and an external hard drive with 2 TB of space. These all were items we liked to have around, but we also don’t mind giving up, since they do not impact our lives that much.
Luxury that proves its worth
In each household, there are items you once bought, convinced of its use, after which they end up in the back of a closet or pantry. And these aren’t always cheap things. However, there are several luxury items that we bought and still use now. We think they are a good fit with a frugal lifestyle. But we’ll let you decide for yourself.
Here they are:
1. iRobot Roomba Vacuum 980
So the iRobot is our first pick and this is not without a reason. As two busy entrepreneurs, we often lack the time, energy, and motivation to clean the house. During the week, we are too busy and during the weekends, we want to chill and do as little as needed. Vacuum cleaning was the biggest job for us since we have a cute and playful bunny that always spreads the sawdust of her cage throughout the whole apartment.
With the iRobot, we always have nice clean floors, with only letting the Roomba run twice a week when we are out of the house. It creates more time for us to relax and recharge for our busy working lives, without having to pay for an expensive weekly cleaner. But even better: the iRobot uses less energy than a normal vacuum cleaner, so it lowers your electrical bill as well.
2. Nest Learning Thermostat
The Nest Thermostat was one of those purchases that started as a fun gadget but has grown to be so much more. Before the Nest, we weren’t large consumers of energy in the house. We are away quite often and have an apartment, which means our neighbors keep our house warm when they turn on the heat. Still, the Nest proves its worth for us, because we can monitor our use more closely. A bonus is that we can change the temperature when we are away from the house. This is super helpful when we exchanged our house and want to check whether the ones using our house didn’t forget to turn down the heat after the exchange for instance.
3. A good mattress
Having a good night’s sleep is of vital importance. Improving your sleep gives your life a huge positive impulse. You are happier in life, have more energy, and are simply more productive. The benefits in the longer-term – better health and even a longer life span – are at least as important. It may be seen as a luxury to spend a lot of money on a mattress, but when it enables you to have better concentration, do more problem solving, and record new information easier, it will pay off in no time in your life.
It is difficult to determine what is the best mattress for you, so shop around and be critical. Do not buy a cheaper mattress but invest in a good mattress that gives us a good night’s sleep. We went for a pocket spring mattress, which gives great support to your body while resting.
4. Apple Thunderbolt Display
As entrepreneurs, we regularly also work from home. This can be a part of the day, or a whole day working at home depending on the agenda. Since we only carry laptops with us during the day, it can be a real productivity booster to have a better screen to work from. In comparison with a good mattress, also the Apple Thunderbolt Display helps us to perform better. Even though it is in a completely different way.
5. Water rower exercise equipment
So one of the things we spend a lot of money on in the past was expensive gym subscriptions. It starts with good intentions and it ends with hundreds of dollars that go into a gym that you never visit. Such a shame, because getting enough exercise is very important for you. Of course, there are a lot of options when it comes to exercise that are less costly than those expensive fitness centers. For instance, running outside is a great way to get your weekly exercise cheaply. However, if running is not your game, you need to get more resourceful.
We liked the idea of having our own fitness equipment in the house to exercise when we like. But our problem is that we only have a two-bedroom apartment. There is no separate room for fitness equipment. That’s why we ended up choosing the Waterrower and we are still happy with it.
The WaterRower is a piece of fitness equipment that looks great in your living- or bedroom and it also stores upright. This way it isn’t a big problem to put it in plain view. Even better: when you see your Waterrower constantly, you are more tempted to use it. A win-win situation!
So, there you have it: these are the five luxury items that fit a frugal lifestyle. What are your thoughts on this? Please leave a comment and share the luxury items you still own while having a frugal lifestyle!
