7 Little Luxuries That Are Quietly Worth Every Single Penny

For much of my life I’ve tried to live frugally, and for the 12+ years of my married life I’ve tried to avoid spending wastefully. My assumption has always been that you get diminishing returns from spending more money after you’ve covered the basics.

But what if that’s not true?

I think it turns out there are certain categories of spending that provide a huge amount of happiness at a relatively small cost. One reason I believe this is true is because our society has gotten wealthier, there’s been a much higher premium put on squeezing every last ounce of convenience or comfort out of our money. In a sense, the richer we get, the simpler our pleasures.

Not every little luxury is for everyone. There’s certainly no moral obligation to spend your money to increase your own happiness. I have met some people who find the idea of spending more money for greater comfort as silly as not cutting your own grass.

For them, the luxuries might be in the form of experiences or relationships. But in either case, the examples below are merely ideas to get your thinking in the mindset of figuring out what you really enjoy and seeing if a small investment in that area might pay dividends in other areas of your life.

Here are 7 little luxuries I’ve enjoyed in my life.

Paying for convenience

I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy grocery shopping, or really any kind of shopping. And I hate nothing more than driving from store to store looking for one specific item. Thankfully my wife has taken on most of these shopping tasks for our family of 8, but it’s still a major job in terms of time and energy.

That’s why I think it’s such a huge luxury that we live in an age where you can order pretty much anything you want from your phone or computer, and have it delivered all the way to your house within a few days. Of course this costs a little extra money, but for me it’s money well spent.

Being generous and charitable

One of the purest pleasures in this life is giving a gift to a friend that you know they will love, and being able to see their gratitude and joy for your kind gesture. I think the only thing better is being able to give money to a needy person or to a cause you believe in, and knowing that you’ve made a positive impact in the world.

These are simple luxuries because they are just the direct result of having extra money on hand to spend, but they are real luxuries because they provide a huge return on investment for a relatively affordable outlay.

Spending money on friends

The older I get, the more I value spending time with friends. In fact, researchers have known for a while that deep and meaningful friendships are one of the biggest contributors to a happy, stress-free life. It’s no wonder that we become like the people we surround ourselves with, and that the quality of those people has a big impact on the direction of our lives.

As a long time frugal person, I can’t tell you how much I dislike going out to eat because I think it’s too expensive for what you’re getting. I’d rather just eat at my home for way cheaper and less hassle. But one way I’ve learned to get over this has been to recognize the value I’m getting out of the food isn’t the food at all, but the company of friends. Once I think of eating out as just a fun way to spend time with friends, it doesn’t seem nearly so expensive anymore, and in fact, I view it as a little luxury that I choose to indulge in with money I’ve set aside.

Buying high quality thick socks for winter

I hate feeling cold. I don’t know why it bothers me more than most people, but it’s one of those discomforts that just squeezes most of the enjoyment out of life. To be perfectly honest, I moved to Florida in my 20’s to get away from the cold climate of Pennsylvania—which shows you how far I’m willing to go to avoid being cold.

For the past 7 years I’ve lived back in the northeast so I’ve had to make peace with the cold, or at least find ways to cope with it. One of my favorite indulgences is wearing big, thick wool socks on the coldest days of the year. There’s just something about the warmth and coziness on my feet that makes the cold winter more bearable. It’s still cold of course, but it feels more manageable.

Having a well stocked fridge

I do a lot of the cooking in my family, and I like to be spontaneous with what I whip up for dinner. The worst feeling is when you’re in the mood to make something and you go to the fridge and realize you have barely any ingredients to work with.

One of the little luxuries I’ve come to enjoy is having a fridge, freezer, and pantry well-stocked with things I know I like to eat. This means I’m far less likely to go out to eat because I can make something I love eating right from the comfort of my own home. It’s so much more enjoyable to cook this way, and the extra supplies rarely go to waste given our family size.

Splurging on high quality ingredients

Not only do we keep our fridge stocked with the essentials, which means the things we use most and love the best, but I also like to splurge on the highest quality versions of some of those ingredients. For example, I like to keep a few blocks of great tasting cheese and a bottle or two of imported olive oil.

This is a luxury, no doubt about it, but the cost of these items is far less than going out to a nice restaurant, and you actually get way more “value” out of each item because you can spread that enjoyment across multiple meals. This is the kind of simple, mostly affordable luxury that makes my life more enjoyable and has done so with relatively little money spent.

Having anything delivered to my door

I’ve already mentioned how much I love shopping online, but another great convenience I’m happy to pay for is home delivery of everything I buy. The idea of driving across town to pick something up that I bought online seems like a huge inconvenience compared to just having it dropped at my door.

One of my favorite things is seeing a package delivered and taking it inside to open it. It’s like giving myself a present. I’m happy to pay for the delivery for the same reason I enjoy giving gifts—it’s a small pleasure in life, and one that adds a little pep to my step on those days when a package arrives in my mail.

Putting a little extra in my savings

If you added up everything I spent on these luxuries throughout a whole year, or decades worth of living, it’s actually a good bit of money. But as I’ve already tried to persuade you, these little indulgences are relatively affordable compared to other forms of entertainment.

And more importantly, they don’t cost me the ultimate luxury which is peace of mind. I’m happy to spend a little more money on these things because I’m already putting aside a little extra money each month and putting it into savings. I won’t claim that financial security is the best way to spend your money, but I know that it makes me smile when I see my savings growing, and there’s enough future benefit to justify this pleasure in my mind.