Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
The countdown to the new year is on. I’ve already shared the 9 Best Posts to Save You Money in 2015 on Queen of Free. But now, I thought I’d share 15 purchases we made this year that saved us money. Some of the items were budgeted for in advance and others were emergencies that we funded by taking on extra hours of work or cutting back.
5. New White Towels
Oh how we needed decent towels. You may recall if you read Slaying the Debt Dragon that bath towels were among the first things we purchased in 2012 after we paid off our final debt. I purchased mid grade blue and yellow towels to match our bathroom. However, we must be rough on towels because this year they were already falling apart. I intentionally shifted to all white towel system and purchased “Luxury Hotel Towels” at Sam’s Club because they were the best price (they were roughly the same price of the smaller towels of a lesser quality I had purchased three years ago) for the fluffiness and size. I also went with white because I can always match new towels to the old ones and can wash all of the white towels in one load. And when necessary I can use whitener to brighten them up to make them look good as new. I have a feeling I won’t ever purchase solid color towels again. It’s made laundry so much easier and yields fewer loads in the long run. BAM, money saved because they won’t need replaced as often due to quality and less laundry to boot.
4. New White Sheets
Our sheets had seen better days and we were functioning on a set from my mom’s house. Again, I went with all white and bought a queen sized set at Sam’s Club for $39.99. They’re super soft and can be washed with the towels. Plus they won’t look dated and I can’t even tell you how pleasant it is to have a set of sheets that don’t slip off the mattress constantly. They weren’t a bargain basement purchase but they work and we plan on having them for a long time. The white color scheme fits my minimalist frame of mind and again cuts down on additional loads of laundry. Unrelated, having decent sheets has also made me a bedmaker for the first time in my life.
3. A “New” Used Car
Whoa, mama. This was a big one. Our primary family vehicle gave up the ghost early this year. It was the car I had driven for over eight years and had been paid for since 2009. She served her duty well. Can I be honest? I hate car shopping. Like dreadfully. Making major purchases makes me sweaty and freezes my decision making skills. Luckily, we had been saving back money to make the purchase for months and even though I don’t like dropping that much cash on anything, I’m thankful it was there when we needed it. We were able to buy a decent vehicle and even wrote a check for it at the dealer. That was pretty sweet and a first. Best of all, it’s had three oil changes so far and the sweetest words to my ears have been “It looks good.” Our other vehicle always had something wrong with her and we were constantly applying band aids, as she limped to the finish. Money saved purchasing a dependable vehicle that gets better gas mileage and requires fewer repairs.
2. A Mattress
You should always invest decent dollars in anything you spend time above. Shoes. Tires. Mattress. We’ve had our mattress for 16 years (embarrassed, I am) and it was a hand-me-down. Again, we hit Sam’s Club on a weekend when they had a deal $100 off mattresses and scored a queen for $298. It is like sleeping on clouds. Better sleep = more productive work day = more income. Coupled with new sheets and I feel like I’m sleeping in a hotel, ya’ll. Again, this was a budgeted for/we knew we needed to make an investment/we’re finally debt free and have established savings sort of purchase. Hey Sam’s Club, take all of our money this year, why don’t ya?
1. A New-To-Us Washing Machine
It must have been the year for our appliances to die because our washing machine bit the bullet, too. You might remember when we replaced our dryer with a Scratch and Dent a couple of years back. I was semi-depressed that the last store where we bought our reconditioned dryer went out of business. But after some research and legwork, I found a new local shop (Appliance Repair Network for those of you who live near the geographical Queendom) to find a new-to-us washing machine at a fraction of the price. It’s also much larger than our old one and I can do about double the laundry (#praise) and I spent half of what we would retail on a new model. I highly recommend going this route. Call a repair shop and see if they keep reconditioned stock on hand. The washing machine was an emergency purchase but didn’t ding our finances too much.
When we were $127K in debt, any of the above purchases would have either been impossible or resulted in a boatload of more debt. We’re still cruising toward savings goals for retirement and college and hacking away at our mortgage. However, it is possible for us to make major purchases when something needs replaced. We also took real vacation this year and visited the mouse in Florida (look for a Debt Free Disney series in February of 2016, because I can’t wait to share with you all of the ways I saved money on our trip!).
Fun or necessary, what did you buy with cash this year that’s saving you money in the long run? How did you save the money to make the purchase? How did you get the best deal?
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
