I loved this recent post at Modern Mrs. Darcy about the things she chooses to splurge on. I think we all have our lists of things that are worth the extra money and things that aren’t. As much as we strive to be frugal when we can, part of the reason is so that we can splurge in the other areas and create lives that are fulfilling in all the right ways. And that looks different for everyone. Here are 7 things we splurge on – or have splurged on recently.

1. Travel: I grew up moving every few years like clock work and I think that one side effect is that I’m riddled with wander lust. Since I can’t just pack up and move whenever I feel antsy, traveling is important to me. I’m a curious soul and I want to see everything and I love being a tourist and seeing new places and sharing those memories with my family. We have been lucky enough to take a couple of big vacations but I mostly get my travel fix via small day trips or weekend getaways in our general area. Vacations also really help me to recharge and unwind and come back to the usual day to day stuff with fresh energy.

2. Books: Guys, I know my book addiction is border line ridiculous but I mostly knowingly choose to splurge on books because they are my favorite form of entertainment. Reading a book is like going on a vacation that you don’t have to pack for or make reservations. And when you get back from your trip, you can send your spouse or kid or best friend on the same trip and then be like “I know, right? Wasn’t it amazing?” So yeah Amazon.com kind of owns me but I’m at peace with that. Mostly.

3. Good Shoes: Because my back insists that I can’t not invest in a good pair. It took several years of searching but I’ve been wearing these Naots for about a year now and I’ve been pretty darn happy with them. I’m thinking about getting a pair of their sandals so I can be walking in comfort 24/7/365 – maybe these?

4. Netflix AND Amazon Prime AND video store rentals: One of these days I’m going to find a regular baby sitter and start calling regular date nights a necessary splurge but we mostly get by on renting movies and enjoying each other’s company at home after the kids go to bed. We DO go on dates a few times a year but to keep our sanity in check the rest of the time? We like to have lots of places to find something good to watch. Bonus points if we can binge watch a favorite tv show there.

5. Technology that doesn’t drive us crazy: We’re gadget peeps. We upgrade our smartphones when awesome smartphones come out – probably not as often as other people do but often enough that we know it’s a splurge when it happens. And when I hit the absolute end of my rope with my inkjet, I made a passionate case for a color laser printer and kept making said case until that beauty was mine. It might not seem significant but not having to argue with my printer every damned time I use it is a huge quality of life savor that was worth every penny.

6. Private School: Education is a majorly important thing for us and unfortunately our public schools were not meeting our needs. I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to justify paying for private school but we are grateful to be able to do so right now (and even more grateful to have found a great private school that the kids and Dan and I are really happy with – worth every penny we pinch to make it happen).

7. Going Out to Eat: We have busy lives – lots to do and less time to do it in. And although we strive to eat at home as often as possible, we also cut ourselves some slack when we need it. This is one of those splurges that we have to work hard to keep in check because it can add up quickly but it’s always worth it if it means feeding the family without going insane.

What things do you splurge on?