Have you ever bought something that turned out to be a total waste of money and left you questioning your life choices? Yeah, me too. But when you make smart purchases that save you money in the long run, you feel like a total boss!
I love buying products that actually turn out to be low-key investments, saving me money or time over the years.
Sometimes, this happens by design, but more often, it’s not until much later that I realize what a great asset a purchase has been!
So without further ado, let’s jump into my list of favorite purchases that save you money!
15 Purchases that Save You Money
This post contains affiliate links, and some links below will take you to Amazon. You can read my disclosure policy here.
1. YNAB
I’m listing YNAB first because it has saved us the most money of any purchase we’ve ever made! YNAB is a budgeting software that helps you to take control of your money.
We budget with YNAB every month. It has helped us to save over $150,000 toward our first home—not to mention reach countless smaller savings goals over the years!
The YNAB software is both easy to use and comprehensive. It offers lots of helpful features that help you to save more money!
2. Filtered Water Bottles
Ditching disposable plastic water bottles for reusable water bottles is a no-brainer. It’s better for your health, your wallet, and the environment.
(I love my Klean Kanteen!)
But buying a water bottle with a filter inside takes it to the next level! I always take a filtering water bottle with me when I travel, whether we’re driving, flying, or camping.
If you buy a bottle with a super high-quality filter, you can fill up your bottle anywhere without having to worry about how clean the water is—the airport, bathroom sinks, and even streams!
I personally love my Berkey Sport bottle. It filters out microorganisms like protozoa and pathogenic bacteria, heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum-based products, unpleasant tastes and odors, silt, sediment, and even viruses.
We also use a Berkey water filtration system at home, and we’ve never enjoyed healthier, better tasting water!
3. Blackout Curtains
Blackout curtains are incredibly energy efficient! They keep your home cooler in the warmer months, and warmer in the cooler months, saving you money on electricity.
Plus, sleeping in a very dark room is excellent for your health. It’s helped my 2-year-old to nap well and sleep in since his newborn days. Definitely a win-win!
4. Norwex & Microfiber Cloths
High-quality cleaning cloths are an upfront investment, but they will save you so much money on paper towels in the long-run!
I love my Norwex cloths, but you can even use microfiber cloths from Dollar Tree with great results.
5. Wool Dryer Balls
I feel like I’ve mentioned wool dryer balls a hundred times before, but I love them!
They eliminate the need for dryer sheets and dry your clothes faster, helping to lower your electric bill. Plus, they help keep wrinkles at bay.
A set of wool dryer balls will last for years, so they’re a great investment!
6. Slowcooker & Instant Pot
I love both my slow cooker and my Instant Pot. They help me to cook healthy food from scratch while also reducing the time I spend in the kitchen.
Putting an entire slow cooker meal together takes less than 30 minutes out of my morning!
And if I forget to thaw meat for dinner, I can put frozen chicken in my Instant Pot and have it ready in under 30 minutes!
Both appliances have been game-changers for me.
When I consistently meal plan and use smart strategies for getting dinner on the table, I’m not tempted to suggest Thai takeout at 5:00 o’clock!
7. Aeropress
My husband, Benj, and I both love a good cup of coffee! Benj roasts our coffee himself, and often prepares it in the AeroPress.
The AeroPress is fast, efficient, and portable—and it makes delicious coffee.
We’ve traveled with it on so many occasions—camping in the woods, various hotels, and even on our cross-country road trip!
Having an easy way to make awesome coffee keeps us from feeling like we need to frequent our favorite coffee shops as often.
8. Ice Cream Maker
If you’re following a certain lifestyle diet, such as keto or paleo, you know that it’s both expensive and difficult to find ice creams that are compliant.
That’s why making your own ice cream with ingredients like coconut milk, fresh fruit, and the sweetener of your choice is a great option!
Until recently, ice cream was a rare treat for me. One of the only ice creams I could eat cost $5 per pint. Yikes!
So I finally decided to buy an ice cream maker with the fun money I’d been saving, and we’ve been making healthy ice cream almost every night!
We really have. It’s been a little crazy…
Raw milk kefir ice cream and coconut milk ice cream have been on repeat! We’ve had a blast experimenting with different flavors!
That ice cream maker is going to pay for itself in no time.
Keep in mind that making your own ice cream might not actually be cheaper if you’re using conventional ingredients like sugar, cream, milk, etc. But either way, it’s a lot of fun!
9. Pyrex Food Storage Containers
I’ve been using glass Pyrex food storage containers for many years now. They hold up amazingly well with daily use, even though the plastic lids occasionally need to be replaced if they crack too badly.
A quality set of food storage containers will cut down on the amount of plastic containers, plastic wrap, foil, and baggies you use, saving you a lot of money over time.
They also do an amazing job of keeping your food nice and fresh—and glass is a much healthier option than plastic.
10. Amazon Prime
Ah, Amazon……the most dangerously convenient place on the internet.
For many families, an Amazon Prime subscription will be totally worth the investment! You receive access to all kinds of perks like free 2-day shipping, Prime pantry, video streaming, music streaming, and photo storage.
But if you don’t find yourself ordering much from Amazon—and wouldn’t utilize the perks—your money might be better spent elsewhere.
Personally, I love the peace of mind that comes with knowing that I can receive pretty much anything I need in two days or less without having to walk through a store!
When I spend less time walking the aisles of brick and mortar stores, I spend less money overall.
(Anybody else gotten slightly distracted on their Target run? Yeah, I thought perhaps I wasn’t the only one!)
11. Costco Membership
A Costco membership can be an exceptionally good deal if you use it regularly or purchase big-ticket items. If you only find yourself shopping there few times each year, you might not be saving as much as you think.
Many large families I know are able to save hundreds of dollars every year at Costco because they have to buy larger quantities anyway!
I find myself mostly buying whole foods on my Costco trips, such as almond flour, bulk nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds), organic frozen fruit, organic frozen vegetables, wild caught fish, organic chicken, spices, maple syrup, etc.
However, I don’t buy much fresh produce at Costco. We’re a small family of 3, and some of it inevitably spoils before we can eat it all. But I dobuy produce that stays fresh for a long time, like their bags of heirloom garlic and organic sweet potatoes.
In my experience, much of Costco’s produce is also more expensive than other stores I shop at, such as Sprouts, ALDI, and Trader Joe’s.
(This is how I save money on organic produce!)
And don’t forget all of the non-food related deals Costco has to offer— clothing, household supplies, toiletries, home furnishings, plants, furniture, flooring, insurance, electronics, and the list goes on!
The big-ticket items are where you can really earn back the cost of your membership.
12. Workout Equipment
The average gym membership costs over $50 every month! While gyms certainly have their perks, you can easily get in a great workout without one.
Invest in some quality equipment that will encourage you to be more active. Running shoes, a bicycle, a set of weights, and a yoga mat are great places to start.
The benefits of investing your money and time in a healthy hobby are far too many to name!
The company Benj works for gives him $45 quarterly to spend on health and wellness. So we’ve been slowly adding various pieces of workout equipment to our collection.
Check and see if you can take advantage of something similar!
13. DSLR Camera
A DSLR camera is yet another purchase that saves you money—if you learn how to use it!
I got into photography over a decade ago with a little Nikon D40. It was Nikon’s bottom-of-the-line, entry-level DSLR camera—all I could afford at the time.
But once I learned how to shoot manually and had practiced for hours on end, I was able to take beautiful photos I was proud of.
Eventually, I entered the world of pro photography as a self-taught freelancer, and thoroughly enjoyed capturing special moments for couples and families. It made me so happy knowing those memories would be treasured for a lifetime!
Apart from that, I’ve been able to leverage my photography skills in multiple business ventures over the years, which both saved and made me money in different ways.
I’ve also taken photos of my son that I would have otherwise hired someone else to do. And I’ve captured countless family moments that we’ll look back on for years to come.
You can’t put a price on that!
Purchasing a DSLR camera with the intention of learning how to properly use it is both a time and money investment, but one that will pay dividends.
14. Rechargeable Batteries
I’ve purchased disposable batteries plenty of times, but I still get sticker shock! They’re just so expensive to replace.
That’s why we switched to using rechargeable batteries.
You can save quite a lot of money on batteries every year by switching to the rechargeable kind! This is somewhat dependent on how many batteries you use, but it usually makes sense to invest in some reusable batteries and a charger.
As a bonus, rechargeable batteries are also much better for our environment!
15. A Chest Freezer
A chest freezer is definitely one of my favorite purchases that save you money!
Benj and I purchased our chest freezer when I was big pregnant with our son, Jack. We used it to store an entire month’s worth of freezer meals, and later enjoyed them during the crazy newborn days!
I fondly refer to it as the postpartum hack that changed my life.
Besides putting up freezer meals, we use it to store discounted chicken, beef, pork, and seafood. Whenever we find meat on sale—especially organic meat—we stock up! That way, we never have to pay full-price.
We also love to pick gallons of fresh berries at $1+ per pound and keep them in our freezer for the months to come.
You can also store prepared foods that are more labor intensive to make, but easy to prepare in bulk, like bone broth or grilled hamburgers.
There are just so many additional ways to save on food when you have a chest freezer to work with!
Share Some Purchases That Save You Money!
I hope these 15 ideas have given you some inspiration for purchases that could potentially be investments!
I’d love to hear about some of the purchases that save you money! Share your favorites down in the comments below.
