Once you start cutting expenses to improve your budget, everything you can spend money on starts to feel guilt-inducing. Instead of cutting every luxury, focus on a few that you really love.


As personal finance blog I Will Teach You to Be Rich points out, not all luxury purchases are created equal. What may be a frivolous waste of cash for one person can be a lifetime investment that makes life better for someone else. By focusing your spending on the little luxuries that make you the happiest, you can get the greatest value from your money:

If you can afford it, and you want it, there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself from time to time. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve always said you should cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t care about and — this is almost MORE important — spend extravagantly on the things you love.


The trick here isn’t to spend more, but rather to maximize how much the things you buy are worth to you. Which would you rather have? Twenty-five $4 coffees, or a $100 pair of boots that will last for a long time. Would you rather have the nicer car with a higher monthly payment, or a slightly crappier car, but take a nice vacation? The answer will be different for everyone, which is why the dollar value of an item isn’t necessarily reflective of the personal value of that item.

Inside the secret world of luxury | I Will Teach You to Be Rich via Rockstar Finance