The 5 Best Purchases of My Life

Hi folks! Today, I’m sharing the 5 best purchases of my life. This time of year we tend to focus on the best purchases for our money but today I encourage you to evaluate your true best purchases- the things that you would invest in time and time again if you could.

I know that Black Friday is right around the corner (and I’ll be sharing my minimalist gifts checklist next week) but this week marks my 38th birthday. And that’s had me looking back over the years and thinking about things that have really made an impact. A few of these were super scary at the time but ended up being some of the best financial decisions of my life.

1. Moving To Portland

The number one thing I would do time and time again is the move to Portland. I grew up in a small town in Southeast Texas – born and raised in the same house on the same street. I like to visit it when I go back but I honestly couldn’t wait to leave that small town. In fact, I couldn’t wait to leave Texas. I had many different dreams – big, bold ideas, and it wasn’t until my daughters were already 2 and 4 that I ended up leaving Texas for the first time and moved to Arizona.

After bouncing around Arizona and California for a while, it still never felt like I was home. Something was always missing. But everything changed when I visited Portland in 2014. I knew then that this was the place that I was going to live. Moving was definitely risky, and not necessarily well-thought-out on my part.

I ended up racking up $21,000 in credit card debt moving states with 2 kids and no job prospect (an amount that took me 3 years to pay off). However, I can honestly say that I have never been happier.

My life has taken a totally different trajectory. All of a sudden, I felt grounded – had the clarity and direction. 1 month after making the move I met my husband, Matt and none of that would have happened if I hadn’t taken that leap of faith in myself and done what I felt drawn to do at that moment. There is no place that I would rather be and nobody that I would rather be with. 

2. Getting A Pet

Two years ago on January 15th, 2019, Charlie (our pup) was born. We had waited so long to be able to get a pet and bring a puppy into our home. Dogs weren’t allowed at the apartment we had been living in. So when we bought this condo, the first thing on our list was to get a pet! I think that the fact that we had waited so long to be able to get a dog made it so much sweeter.

One day, when we were at the food carts, I got an email saying that some puppies were available to be adopted. They were 8 weeks old and Charlie was a part of that litter. $650 and I would spend 10 times that amount! She’s such an amazing addition to our family and is by far one of the best purchases of my life.

3. A Really Nice Camera

This is something that you’re going to see on a lot of YouTubers’ lists (of course!), and that is a really nice camera. In my case, it’s a Canon T3i. I bought my camera almost a decade ago (way before I ever thought about doing anything on YouTube).

It was well over a thousand dollars with the extra lens and all of the accessories I got with it and I wanted to be sure that I knew how to use it. So I took an online program – earned about aperture and shutter. All of these things that I use regularly right now!

It’s just… too serendipitous. 🙂 Who would have thought that a camera I bought to take pretty pictures of the desert could lead me to where I am now in many ways?

4. Online Learning

Next up, online courses. The amount of knowledge that I’ve gained in the past five years is insane. Through online courses, I learned how to build a business; how to create content; how to create a YouTube channel from scratch, and so much more! I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars in the past five years since creating my online business and I would not take back a single dollar. This has truly been one of the best purchases of my life.

The courses and the journey didn’t just teach me about marketing, business, and copywriting; they also taught me to have faith in myself. I’ve learned to create something that I’m proud to put out there. The mindset changes that came through that entire process (and through the lessons themselves) were life-changing.

I learned how to create a mindset of possibility and really believe in myself and stop internalizing what other people say and think which is huge! You know… I used to feel so sensitive and it took me a long time to be able to work through that. Online classes have changed my state of being in such a dramatic life-changing way.

Since then, I’ve created my own course, Clutter Cure, that I share with people. Now, I see students of my own getting amazing results and it’s just such a cool thing that we can learn literally anything- it’s all at our fingertips. So I definitely have invested quite a bit in online learning and I would not take back a single course that I’ve invested in. 

5. Real Estate

The number 5 thing would definitely have to be real estate and home-related investments. Some of the most life-enhancing and beneficial investments have been in my living space. I remember when we got the keys to this condo it was such an exciting adventure for us coming from a tiny 900-square-foot apartment.

It was great to know that not only did we have our own home, but it’s also an investment where we’ve increased our net worth by $50,000 in the past 2 years. But I’m not just talking about purchasing. The updates that we’ve made over the past 2 years have truly enhanced how I experience the space that I’m in.

I believe that we all are influenced by our environments but I’m definitely very strongly impacted. The changes that we’ve made, from the garage to the kitchen, haven’t only increased the value of our home, but our experience of our home.

The first home that I owned, I ended up investing thousands and flipped a year later for a profit. The second home, I co-designed and built from scratch. We watched them put up the studs and lay the bricks (back when I was still in Texas). We also sold that one for a profit.

Real estate and home-related investments are fun, have a high return on investment, and have enhanced my life on a minute-by-minute basis. (Especially given that I spend like 95% of my time inside of this space).

To The Best Purchases Of My Life

So those are, to date, on the week of my birthday, the BEST 5 purchases of my life! They have amazingly, incredibly, shaped the life that I’m living right now and how I’m experiencing my world and the people in it. 

Hopefully, this has challenged and encouraged you to look into your own life investments that were SO worth the money. 🙂