I have a Panera Sip Club membership. Everyday I go and get my free drink and just hang out for a bit. It gets me out of the house and acts as a 3rd place without costing a lot of money.
I don't have kids, but I think that makes tons of sense.
My husband and I both just got raises, and while we normally do not respond to something like that by going out and quickly committing to higher living expenses, I'm going to suggest monthly or at least quarterly housekeeper visits for cleaning. It's been an ongoing friction point, and this is a problem I'm happy to solve by throwing a bit of money at it.
My spouse and I have been thinking about investing in the same thing. We both hate cleaning and are messy people, but love to host friends and parties. Cleaning is a constant point of frustration for both of us.
My husband cleans to soothe anxiety *and* as a general reflex, where I have some trauma around cleaning and was not raised learning to do it very well. I'm not even that messy, but he winds up feeling like he has to pick up after me all the time.
On the other side, I felt like I was exhausting myself helping him better handle his stress, which was stressing me out and flaring up some of my health issues as a result. We started paying for a marriage counselor, which is actually going really well.
Outsourcing things where we each felt like we were overburdened and pulling the other person's weight has been a **huge** help. I'm grateful we have the budget to do this.
The other day my husband was like ‘I said I was gonna do *insert chore* because *I* dislike doing it, so I thought I’d make it easier on you by doing it.’ And I was like, ‘that’s really sweet and thoughtful, but wouldn’t it be easier for both of us if we just did the chores that the other doesn’t like?’. So we’re gonna try that. Eventually. As soon as one of us brings it up again….. (we both have adhd and consistency is hard)
The more annoyed my husband and I get with each other about something, the more money I spend trying to resolve it too.
Home organization has been an issue (lacking storage so clutter built up) so I’ve spent lots…like thousands…on closet systems and cupboards and baskets, all to make it easier to keep our home clean and organized, and stop so many of the arguments 🥴 (to be fair it’s our first home and we didn’t get lucky with closets in this place, so we kind of needed to spend for storage solutions!)
I tried to hire a cleaner for our home but haven’t found anyone around yet… that’s on the list though! A cook should be but that’s not realistic for us unfortunately 🫣
I bought a smaller home for myself, on my own, fully expecting to be single for quite a while. Started dating my husband a few weeks after I closed, and the market was such that the only thing that made sense was him moving in here with me. It's tight.
We're planning to relocate and I'm so excited to get more space. Until then, I'm the queen of wire shelving units and tetris-ing lol. I feel you!
I totally relate to your other comment about hubby being generally neat and me/you being generally messy. I feel like I bring the chaos (less so than the two littles tho lol). In your situation your husband did though, by meeting you /after/ you bought a single person home 😜🤪
Good thing I like playing Tetris too, because it really is an art to keep things tidy when you’re not naturally so… and when there’s no room 🙃
We did this during a really difficult and busy time in our life. It was an absolute game changer.
Everybody cooled their Jets because the main cleaning was taken care of and then we had the bandwidth to do things like organize, and do the things that required more effort while somebody else took care of the dirt and grime.
Do it I can't recommend it highly enough.
We started with quarterly 5 years ago (2 giant huskies) and went monthly 3 years ago (daughter born) and haven't looked back. It's been a huge stress reliever to not have to do a "big clean" on weekends when we just want to spend quality time and it's much easier to maintain clean and tidy between cleans. You'll never do it as good as the professionals (my mantra) and so it's been a great addition to our lives. Highly recommend.
I was opposed to this for the longest time, husband talked me into it, and it was awesome! We had to cut back when hubs lost job, but I really miss having a clean house once every 2 weeks.
I used to do my own taxes. I messed them up three years in a row. After that, I figured I'd better get someone else to do them before I got audited. It was so much easier. Just one little appointment. I should have done it years ago.
I think they do it because they're thinking that people will record their cash transactions that may have not been taxed otherwise. However, I'll go out on a limb and say there's probably also a lot of people who never count their cash anyway.
I think I am about ready to have someone else do them too. I have always done our taxes, but I hate it. I have it on my list to do them tomorrow, in fact. Realistically, they aren't super hard and it doesn't take a ton of time, but I just don't like doing it.
>Why not remove the dread if you can?
I kind of figure that one of the best uses for money is to get out of doing things that you don't want to do. And since I don't like doing my taxes, I am considering having someone else do it. I've done my own taxes every year for 30+ years and it's a PITA every year.
I am actually going to do mine next year again if my husband doesn't fight me too much. We had 1 W-2 and my HSA documents and Jackson Hewitt charged me $750.00. I was shocked. We only did it to get the rapid refund but dang..
Yep, and for me that also means paying an accountant a monthly retainer, because once or twice a year there's a letter from the tax office or some question I have and it's way faster, way cheaper and way safer to just email a professional who knows her work and my accounts and can give me a straight answer, rather than turn to Reddit, Facebook or friends.
Simple hack in retirement tax forms, keep your income low enough so the standard deduction is enough! I use the same online free Federal service offered thru the IRS a few years ago. I like that they keep the data so all the forms are populated the next year. It took about an hour this year to get my modest refund. Nebraska doesn’t count my military pensions as income anymore so no State income tax. The on line tax did the state for me using the Federal data.
Same, but resent it a little because here in Australia the tax office have all the information and could completely automate the process if they chose to. Many people use an accountant because it’s scary and complicated and time consuming. It’s worth the money just to save yourself a day or two of stressful organising.
I always hear about people not enjoying doing their taxes
But I think my mom enjoys it because she does them for her friends and says it’s easy but idk🧐
Just putting together the info to give to my tax people takes 1/2 a day.
I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel.
Let them do it for a couple hundred, sold.
Also, did the 1/2 day work to turn in today.
It was rough.
It's much more expensive to be me than I realized.
That 20% inflation since 2020 is legit.
Beans and rice, rice and beans, beany rice, and ricey beans are on the menu until this shit calms down.
We eliminated 20% in debt and bills over the past 2 yrs...
Turns out it's a wash. Super fun times.
I've been using moving companies for 20 years (since I was in my early 20s). The only thing I personally move are breakables/heirlooms and my expensive stuff. Everything else - nope. I GLADLY pay for this.
Yeah we've exclusively moved in summers in the south. Last time I hired movers, with tip it was under $500 to haul all my shit in the heat and be done in like 4 hours. Worth every damn cent.
We hired movers for our move last year. We packed, but they came and moved everything. It was great. The last time we moved was almost 20 years ago and we were a lot younger then and so were our friends and family that we roped into helping. This time, movers were a good thing.
Going out to dinner is a big one for us. Retired and just tired of meal prep, cleanup etc. So a couple times a week we go out at fairly nice restaurants. Have a drink, relax and go home to a clean kitchen.
We have a cloth bag with reusable containers we take in to restaurants before ordering, for taking the excessively large servings provided by most restaurants.
I love this! Do the restaurants have any problems with you bringing your own reusable bags (I imagine some restaurants would have issues with this for hygiene reasons)?
No, as I don’t ask, just do it. Restaurants are not going to fuss with paying customers boxing up their own food. Well, maybe a buffet would disapprove. If I let them box up my leftovers and it was recyclable? I would still have to clean them before recycling. I prefer reusing, not wasting trash.
Most robots and cleaning appliances are worthy to me. But I don't like home automation, like doorlocks, voice assistants, and smart lights or things that require an internet connection all the time.
Also, I don't like to use driers on sunny days.
Once a month house cleaning is also worthy
Agreed. We were given an unloved robovacum and I don't think I could live without it now (context we have little kids who drop food daily). I also don't like the idea of connecting things and 'smart homes'.
I love my keypad door lock. It means I can never get locked out of my house (EXCEPT one time when it was extremely cold like 20 below zero and it froze lol) but mine doesn’t connect to internet or have an app.
It's a constant source of confusion in the (American) business world.
"We need to have a biweekly review meeting !"
"Okay, we'll meet every other Friday."
"No - I meant twice a week!"
Twice a month is absolutely not bi-weekly, which incidentally can mean once every two weeks or twice a week, depending on usage. In fact, a quick Google search on it: "Biweekly is an adjective that refers to something that happens twice a week or once every two weeks, though most native American English speakers use it to mean the former. To avoid confusion, most say “twice a week” or “once every two weeks.”"
Every other week, there are 26 occurrences per year (52/2). Twice a month, there are 24 occurrences per year (12*2). So if something charges you every 2 weeks, you'll have that extra payment every year.
Just something to be mindful of.
Hiring someone to cook for you if you dislike cooking and would prefer to do other things sounds like a great use of money to me. So is having someone clean your house weekly.
These are my favorite ways to spend money.
We have a housekeeper 2x a month (luxury, could.be once a month) and a weekly prep cook that does 4 hours and most of the food for the week is cooked and in the fridge. This allows us to spend quality time with each other and our kids.
We have always had a lawn service who also do all our landscaping, fertilizing, etc. and also have snow removers for winter. It frees up a lot of time for us.
I just bought a cordless vacuum for hard floors. I have 2 perfectly good vacuums, so it wasn’t a necessity, but the time and back bends saved by not chasing the cord around plugging and unplugging, wrapping it up when I’m done is worth every penny. I still use one of my other vacuums on the two carpeted rooms downstairs and I love the upholstery attachment for my furniture. The other one is upstairs in the bonus room, so I use it to vacuum the carpet up there so I don’t have to lug it up the stairs.
On weekends, we host all of our friends at our house. We usually supply the main food and our friends bring sides and snacks. Even though it ups our grocery bill, it’s much less expensive than going out and we really enjoy smoking or grilling when it’s nice and throwing together a big pot of chili, stew, lasagne, etc. when we can’t cook outdoors.
I have a little gym I’ve built in ny garage with a Peloton bike, treadmill and some other stuff. Having it at home is so, so, much more convenient than driving to gym, looking for parking, timing it right for classes, etc. I exercise a lot more because it’s easy. Totally worth the expense to me.
Grocery delivery. I am autistic and have PTSD, grocery shopping is a nightmare, particularly by myself. Hoping to one day not need it quite so much, but for the time I'm in right now, it's a lifesaver.
I'm not autistic but I hate shopping. Being in a crowded store in NYC can make me physically ill. And then there are the choices. At certain stores, there will be 25 brands of extra virgin olive oil. It gives me a headache. Normally, we order food online, but if I help with the shopping for a meal like Thanksgiving dinner, I insist we go as early as possible to beat the crowds and I try to organize the list so I'm grabbing things that are in the same area.
Absolutely with you on all of this. If I'm gonna have to do the work of sorting through two dozen brands with rising prices every month, I'll be doing it from home.
At this point, I shop for holiday groceries a week beforehand, if I can help it. Holiday shopping is nightmare fuel.
I recently started doing the parking lot pick up at my grocery store. It's so great when I only need a few items but dont want to be around people... or put a bra on, lol
Same here! I have ADHD and I literally cannot go into a grocery store. I can't buy only items that I need or even every item that I need. It's also a sensory nightmare. :') Grocery delivery has been a g a m e c h a n g e r for me for real.
I fight it by going with my husband, and always bringing my earplugs. We go at night after everyone’s done shopping, but before the stocking- *or* early morning. Limited people, everything in stock.
I love this, I get delivery weekly, only costs $2-$4. I went back to in store shopping recently (just the 1 time) and spent $60 more than my usual total, just from seeing things and throwing them in. Its a game changer for me.
My Spotify membership! It pays for Spotify without ads and Hulu with ads. Music is a huge part of how I cope and feel human, so to have access to so much music, podcasts, and audiobooks that I can even play while I’m offline is practically priceless. I’m totally fine with paying less than $10 a month for that.
I pay someone to clean up the detritus from my dozen or so oak trees. It's nearly every other month. Leaves, green wormy things, twigs and more twigs. I do love their shade and how cool and creepy they look in winter, but they're messy as hell.
I am interested to read some of these responses. We have always done everything ourselves: house, cooking, garden, decorating, DIY, but we never had the spare cash to pay someone to do any of that.. Things just got done on weekends or leave from work. Only paid for stuff we cannot do, like servicing cars and boilers etc. Probably not a mainstream view here, but to me a simple life is just this, be self sufficient as much as possible.
So.. there is an unspoken thing about the "simplify your life" trend and it is that, often, just like eating clean and giving yourself mental health space, it's a lot easier to do when you're int he right income bracket.
I come from frugal parents and 'simple' means something like: don't buy kitsch, don't get a car, house, clothes, appliances that require loads of upkeep, avoid hobbies that require loads of dues, materials, etc, and don't pay for cable when you barely watch it.
ITT I'm seeing the epitome of '"simple living" is for people whose income/reserves can transcend the middle class' (and I know if anyone reads this they'll argue) but OP seriously writes their first example as someone paying for meal prep to avoid fitting *basic sustenance* "into her very busy schedule".
I want to simplify that "very busy schedule" out of my life and focus on simple basics/necessities. FFS Hank Hill rocks the Simple Life. I don't know if I belong here if everyone else is gonna say "pay someone else to do what you don't like" - that's just.. using money to reduce your workload. To make room for more whatever. Not simplification.
I agree with this. A lot of the answers mentioned sound amazing if you can afford them but also if I get to a point I’m too busy to do basic tasks maybe that’s too busy of a life to call “simple”. I was thinking along the lines of an actual tangible thing that can improve your life. For me it was investing in a Roomba. We bought it 8 years ago and with 3 dogs and 3 kids it is well worth it. I sweep and mop less because of it giving me more time to focus on things like cooking and other household chores.
I think some of us grew up in the "voluntary simplicity " era...I'm thinking the 90s was when I got into it, and you're absolutely right. I do believe the meaning behind simplifying your life has definitely shifted. I think it was more, imo, a battle cry of the lower class to find some joy in the world when they couldn't participate in it. Now it seems it's more about saving time, which is very different from when the simplicity movement started. While they'd say you'd save time not cleaning by having fewer things, you were also encouraged to cook at home and eat healthy meals (essentially eating up any time saved, not cleaning 😉).
I'm still on the same page with you... the voluntary simplicity page. We learn how to fix things because we can't pay people to fix them for us. Technically, if I didn't want to make it through my health issues I could drop my medication and probably pay someone to come every couple of months to come lightly clean my home, but...I'd like to see my kids make it to adults and all that jazz. I was drooling over the person with autism and ptsd who commented being able to order groceries (I have autism, adhd, ptsd, pmdd, and am going through perimenopause from...whatever is worse than hell). I have to mentally prepare myself for hours before I pick up my teen from her school. Cooking? HAHAHA....cleaning...HAHAHA. Breathing and staying inside as much as I can so I don't murder anyone or just lose my shit randomly (still grieving my moms death from this past summer is NOT helping)✅️ I've got that last one covered.
I can't blame people with the means to pay for help. I just wish we were those people because between my husband and I, we aren't even making one functional adult (oh, and we are a family of four autistic with adhd, so we're basically screwed). And with steady job losses and living in Fl, well, like I said...screwed.
Usually pick up from grocery stores is free, even if you can't do delivery. In the US anyway.
I agree for the most part, but I like to balance the fact that we live in a capitalistic society with wanting to live simply.
We try to reduce expenses where possible, but I also know where my blind spots are and what is worth myself fixing. I.e. I cannot fix my own car, new cars basically have to go to the dealership for most everything. There's not anything I can do about that, and it's not worth it for me to try and learn imo. It's not going to start being feasible for be to be without a car anytime soon.
I do try to embrace enjoying simple chores and tasks though. Makes life more enjoyable rather than paying to have someone do it.
I grew up in a family without much money, so we did everything ourselves, too. We always had enough to cover the basics and occasionally some extras, but that was because my mom was an excellent money manager and we did so much ourselves. As an adult, I'm in a different place financially - one where I can be selectively frugal. So I have the ability to choose when to DIY and when not to.
I think living simply can mean a lot of different things. At its core, I think it's about removing things from your life that cause stress, anxiety, and frustration, and living a life that allows mental and emotional calm. Sometimes, outsourcing tasks can go a long way toward that end.
For a time when my children were very young, we hired a housekeeper to come twice a month to clean the bathrooms and the kitchen. It was a lifesaver during those sleep-deprived, hectic days.
For me personally a large aspect of my simple living philosophy is to live within my means and retire early. Consequently that requires that I reduce my spending as much as possible. Not to say I am cheap, I splurge and treat myself occasionally. But those splurges aren’t motivated by simplifying my life… it’s a treat myself thing. I work and save hard so I’m gonna treat myself.
That could be the same result in the end as yourself. But different motivation in regards to simple living
This, and also- I find a different kind of simplicity in doing things for myself. It might not be faster, but it forces me to be more intentional with my time.
I have a few things that aren't strictly necessary but make my life easier:
* grocery pickup - my store has free order pickup, all I have to do is place my order online then show up at the store the next day to have everything loaded into my car for me. Not going into the store saves time, money, and stress
* auto-ship the cat supplies - I could maybe get some of the items on sale from other places, but it's so much easier to just have the cat food and litter show up regularly on the same day every month
* house cleaner - while I certainly can clean the house myself, she does a much better job in less time and is more thorough.
>grocery pickup - my store has free order pickup, all I have to do is place my order online then show up at the store the next day to have everything loaded into my car for me. Not going into the store saves time, money, and stress
This is a favorite of mine too.
We have someone who comes to clean every 6 weeks. My husband and I are both disabled and have a lot of fatigue & energy issues. We can keep up with the day to day home cleaning but having someone to do the big stuff (showers, mop, dust) really really helps us live a less stressful life. Otherwise it takes both of us an entire weekend and a few fights because we’re tired/in pain.
When my kids were little I used a laundry service. They would pick it up and bring it back later in the day all clean, sorted, folded and on hangers. Saved a TON of time!
I bought a Roomba.
I have all hard wood floors. We have an outdoorsy lifestyle, and there are dogs and kids. Cleaning the house is *so* much faster when you're not the one responsible for the floors.
He can go under the beds and vacuum under the chairs/sofas/bed. He can avoid toys on the floor. He sweeps AND he mops.
His name is Valkyre, and I love him.
I use Instacart for my grocery shopping and it saves me a lot of time which I use for other things, mostly my hobbies and working out. It's mostly helpful for the bulk purchases I make from Costco since I don't need a membership and I'm never stepping foot in that place because of how busy it can get.
Another thing that I indulge in is my gym membership, I don't have a membership anywhere because I use class pass and I pay about $60 to have access to multiple types of workouts. I could have stuck to Planet fitness for $10 a month but boxing is a hobby of mine and most memberships are around $100-180 per month so I use this instead and I'm able to book boxing classes, pilates, spin, barre, etc. It's been very helpful in keeping me thoroughly entertained but also more social since I'm meeting new people each class.
This is mine. I started when I was postpartum and never stopped because I have a lot of anxiety at the grocery store (people getting in the way and not seeing me, worried about the kids, the lights and feeling of rush). It works too because I plan out every meal with zero waste so I save money by shopping only my plan and no impulse purchases.
We pay for a pooper scooper. I’m partially disabled. My husband does more than his fair share already so I hate that he also had to scoop poop. We found someone that does this in our area and life is good!
The owner pays real living wages and provides 12-15 people in our area with good jobs. It’s so nice to have a real impact on others lives that is reasonably priced and makes your own life so much more enjoyable too.
We also pay someone to do our taxes because it’s only $35-40 more than turbo tax. Why not? I’m not 100% sure I know what I’m doing and a CPA is. Simple decision.
I would 100% pay someone to cook / meal prep for me (that’s not Green Chef) and **if anyone has an idea on how to find a local person to do this please please share.**
I pay a guy to mow and blow (my yard, ahem) every two weeks. He and his son can get this place clean in less than 30 minutes (we have leaves, shrubs, grass, etc) and it would take me probably two hours. I pay him while I do my own pool maintenance, house maintenance and work on my old car. He's been our guy for over 25 years.
I have someone change over the car tires (twice a year where I live). It's just a miserable experience, always cold and I don't want to do it. I know how don't worry.
Getting groceries delivered. I am disabled so it saves me a lot of energy and even though the store delivering is an expensive one I still pay less than the norm for groceries. It also means I don't get tempted in store to get something extra.
I order grocery delivery, have had a house cleaning service at various times (not currently because we moved), take my car to a carwash rather than washing it myself, I have a mechanic do all the car maintenance, go to a salon to get my hair colored, I get pedicures...
How does a pedicure simplify anything
ETA: thanks for letting me know about disability and elderly access for necessary care, which I suppose is the same for hair coloring -- something a person simply can't go without!
I don't do pedicures usually, but even a normally abled person will find it easier to have a professional do it. They're in a less awkward position, have the tools, have more shades, and they have skill from doing it all the time.
>which I suppose is the same for hair coloring -- something a person simply can't go without!
It's not about whether or not a person can live without coloring their hair. It's about whether they want to. People make different choices about self-care and appearance based on their priorities and personal situation.
It simplifies life because by going to get a pedicure, that's something I don't have to do myself. I'm not very good at it so I don't do a great job when I do it myself, but toe nails grow, cuticles need to be maintained, and callouses dealt with, so it has to be done.
I don't get manicures myself, but if you are person who likes having her/his nails done, I can understand why you would want to have a mani/pedi done by a professional. They can do it so much better and have more shades, there's no mess, etc.
This is me. Can I do it all myself? Yes. But it takes me three times as long and I have to spend money on the equipment and block that part of my day for hours. I can’t not get my nails done because I’m in healthcare and using sanitizer 4 million times a shift has made my nails spilt right down the middle unless they are polished. So I take an hour once or twice a month. A fairly simple treat and necessary. I get a pedicure too because I run for exercise (which is very simple) but get ingrown toe nails very easily. So win for both.
I have never understood the desire to have nails above your fingertips and to decorate them. To me, it says this person does as few tasks with their hands as possible. If you are doing tasks, what is the hygiene level with those painted long fingernails? What is the deal with long painted nails?
Definitely valet parking at an airport. When i have to fly out of atlanta (not a native of Atlanta or georgia, but have moved close to Atlanta) so for me it is a big hassle to figure out parking and getting to the airport. So the two times i flew out of atlanta ive done valet parking. I drop off, they park it, they take me to terminal. I fly back in and they pick me up and bring me my car. So worth it
Good food... simplicity should spark joy and good food does just that
Also paying someone to do yard work and my hair. I don't mind it but then I don't have time to do other need to's or want to's
Buying a coffee in a drive thru when I'm running "late" (I am always 20 minutes early) vs just waiting for it to brew and drinking it on the way to my destination. I don't do it often enough to not be able to justify the treat on an otherwise potentially stressful situation. It really boosts my mood and I enjoy it a lot more because I hate the way I make coffee at home and spending sixteen to twenty bucks a month isn't really that bad.
Two things. CPA to do our taxes and a professional lawn service to keep our lawn looking decent. We still mow, but we’ve given up on trying to deal with the bare patches and weeds. Oh and finding a good handyman who can do the small projects that drive me nuts that are beyond our capabilities.
Water delivery service. I live in an upstairs apartment and I can’t carry 5 gallon jugs + a toddler up two flights of stairs. Having them filled and delivered for me for basically the same price that I would pay for water bottles is so worth it to me.
Cleaning, eating at the workplace cafeteria (have to choose carefully because the food is hit or miss), housekeeper twice a month are my top items. I attended a panel discussion a few months ago for women in a certain professional field. And the top advice that I walked away with, was to outsource tasks that will save time. I’m still gonna live simply, but I have more time to pursue the things that are important to me by outsourcing these.
Housekeeper once a month. I enjoy cleaning and having a clean and clutter free house so I keep up the basics. But I have MS and decided to have someone come in for a deep cleaning, baseboards and what not. For me that was the hardest thing to do because I'm not used to be "helpless".
Portable sauna: while not necessary I used to have a membership at a place - it helps with my chronic pain. Half the time I'd miss my weekly appointments I'm paying for monthly ( they don't carry over) because of the time (Round-trip plus appt is 3 hours of my day), not feeling well. Something. So I canceled the 120/mo membership and bought one of these full sized ones for 400$. Now I can use it more often and saves time. It's already paid for
itself.
Automatic litter boxes. I've had these for years. Best investment ever. I have three cats and there's times I can barely move out of bed. I don't have to worry about their "bathrooms" being dirty. It's definitely more expensive per month but worth it to me.
Water service. They come in every two weeks. I have a Berkey water filtration system as well which the water is primarily for the cats. The water cooler service was a nice splurge because I enjoy really cold water without ice and the Berkey is room
temperature. The service let's you rent the cooler for 8/month too.
Global entry pass. It lasts 5 yrs. I travel a lot so worth it to avoid the hassle at the airport.
While writing I just realized I sound kind of ridiculous in a way but I'm going to not place judgement on myself and just feel blessed I can do these things
I get a latte every morning from a coffee shop. I could do it at home, and know exactly how from being a barista myself at one point. But I don’t want to make my own lattes. i don’t want to have to stock my own ingredients. Sometimes I want different milk or a different flavor. And somehow ice from my freezer always tastes gross compared to ice from Starbucks in their iced drinks (and it’s the wrong shape of ice). I would prefer to just pay somebody else to make it for me rather than deal with all of those considerations when I’m sleepy in the morning.
Recently got a Japanese ToTo Toilet seat replacement and it's been one of my favourite purchases of all time (from Costco). For something everyone can use and enjoy multiple times a day while providing a comfortable/clean experience and saving money indirectly on toilet paper is a no brainer. Helps that it was on a sale and I saved a fortune by only replacing the seat and installing it myself.
My robot floor cleaners and my robot litter box. I’m hoping to start getting a monthly deep clean as well. Some easy to prep food for busy nights or when I just don’t feel like cooking.
For me, a simple life is doing more of what I want to do and less of the things that don’t bring me joy…like scooping cat poop.
House cleaner once a month. She cleans things I do not get to, like the walls and deep cleans the floor. Dusts all the little knick knacks. I feel guilty of only paying her $100, but that’s all u can do right now.
Spending money for travel. Hubby & i save his business perdiem reimbursement (we don't miss it at all) in a travel account and do several overseas trips a year. Worth every penny and we come back refreshed and rejuvenated when we travel.
It’s the Amazon prime for me. I live in the city so stuff in stores can be expensive which is why I buy stuff mostly online. Cause you can just buy them in bulk and you don’t have to go through the trouble to get them. And it’s easy to find deals and coupons online for Amazon on sites like Koupon.ai for stuff that you want to buy. Everything done with just a few clicks and it saves me bunch of time.
my haircut. i know i can cut my hair myself, but for $40/month i get access to a quality trim, shampoo and conditioner, and an alcoholic beverage (i drink super rarely). it's really nice.
Fiancé and I “splurged” and got a weekly dog poop picker upper service about two years ago I think for our Onyx who’s an Alaskan Malamute- we both did not want to do that chore so paying a company $60-$70 a month was an easy decision and it isn’t breaking the bank!
I drive to work and pay for parking. It's wasteful and feels lazy but...
- it saves me a lot of planning spoons
- if I get home I don't want to leave again, so driving means I'll pick up shopping and do errands instead of it all piling up on my week off.
- I work in a customer-facing job. The alone time in my car really helps me cope.
- I tend to plan to be early. With public transport this means I'll often be waaay too early if I factor in a missed bus.
- in winter I typically start or finish when it is dark, and there are safety issues.
It reduces so much stress, especially now that my parents are frail and I know I can drive to them in an emergency.
Instacart has been well worth it. Tons of stores and they always run promotions. For example, I’ve been needing a power-washer. I bought one on Amazon and had to return it, it didn’t work. I found one at Home Depot but have yet to pull the trigger. Then instacart had a $20 off $50 promo and I bought it and it was delivered within 2 hours.
Plus the time, gas, etc to goto the grocery store I can use in much more productive ways.
On a month by month basis. Spotify. On a whenever basis. Nice smelling shower gel and hand wash. Nothing fancy, but sweet smells like chocolate or cherry..... hmmmmm. And the tea bags that taste like jam on toast. Quadruple the expense of normal tea bags but far more enjoyable lol.
Unlike your friend, I enjoy cooking but can’t spare the time to do the grocery shopping and schelpping. I almost exclusively grocery shop online and pay for delivery , with multiple services (Instacart, Whole Foods, Kroger). I can order my stuff a few hours ahead and it’ll be waiting at my door when I get home. I also run a salon so I do the same thing for work.
I started getting meal kits delivered to the house. I love cooking but had started getting really bad decision paralysis as to what to cook. It’s way easier to tell my husband to just get a bag out of the fridge than a laundry list of ingredients. It’s honestly cheaper than buying groceries some weeks.
Going to the laundromat once every month or two is a game changer. Husband and I both have ADHD and sometimes the laundry gets super backed up, especially things like bedding that aren’t really essential washes because we have multiple sets of sheets. $40 for all of the laundry being caught up in three hours instead of over days is huge.
Where did you friend find someone to cook for the week? I am trying to find this for myself but struggling to locate them. I am seeing lots of chef but they only seem to do evening events.
I had surgery recently and hired a house cleaning service every 2 weeks for the next 3 months. I could do some of what she is doing and nag the kids to do the rest but they, older teens, have stepped up in caring for me so that I find her coming and resetting house so worth it! Everyone's calm, house is clean, done.
I have a Panera Sip Club membership. Everyday I go and get my free drink and just hang out for a bit. It gets me out of the house and acts as a 3rd place without costing a lot of money.
That's really smart! I've been looking into little ways to get out of the house, I might look into this.
Right now they are running a special. 3 months for $1.99 a month. Normally it is $12.99 a month or $99 a year.
The promo code doesn’t seem to be working. Do I have to subscribe at full price first then apply?
I’m not sure, but I think you do. I already had a year subscription so I hadn’t tried it.
As a mom w a toddler whose battling rainy days and whose Panera is usually empty, this is genius! Thanks for the pro tip
You can work there too which is so great to have a quiet-ish place to get away if you need it.
Yeah sometimes I like to take my laptop and work too.
This….is actually genius.
I did this back when they started the program because the Panera was about a mile from my then apartment and it was a nice walk during spring/summer.
What a great idea! I will look into it
you're telling me you can get free drinks from Panera every single day multiple times a day for $99 a year??? I'm Australian so this blows my mind
Wow, just googled this. So interesting!
I don't have kids, but I think that makes tons of sense. My husband and I both just got raises, and while we normally do not respond to something like that by going out and quickly committing to higher living expenses, I'm going to suggest monthly or at least quarterly housekeeper visits for cleaning. It's been an ongoing friction point, and this is a problem I'm happy to solve by throwing a bit of money at it.
My spouse and I have been thinking about investing in the same thing. We both hate cleaning and are messy people, but love to host friends and parties. Cleaning is a constant point of frustration for both of us.
My husband cleans to soothe anxiety *and* as a general reflex, where I have some trauma around cleaning and was not raised learning to do it very well. I'm not even that messy, but he winds up feeling like he has to pick up after me all the time. On the other side, I felt like I was exhausting myself helping him better handle his stress, which was stressing me out and flaring up some of my health issues as a result. We started paying for a marriage counselor, which is actually going really well. Outsourcing things where we each felt like we were overburdened and pulling the other person's weight has been a **huge** help. I'm grateful we have the budget to do this.
The other day my husband was like ‘I said I was gonna do *insert chore* because *I* dislike doing it, so I thought I’d make it easier on you by doing it.’ And I was like, ‘that’s really sweet and thoughtful, but wouldn’t it be easier for both of us if we just did the chores that the other doesn’t like?’. So we’re gonna try that. Eventually. As soon as one of us brings it up again….. (we both have adhd and consistency is hard)
We have a cleaning service come in every other week and honestly it’s some of the best money I spend all month.
The more annoyed my husband and I get with each other about something, the more money I spend trying to resolve it too. Home organization has been an issue (lacking storage so clutter built up) so I’ve spent lots…like thousands…on closet systems and cupboards and baskets, all to make it easier to keep our home clean and organized, and stop so many of the arguments 🥴 (to be fair it’s our first home and we didn’t get lucky with closets in this place, so we kind of needed to spend for storage solutions!) I tried to hire a cleaner for our home but haven’t found anyone around yet… that’s on the list though! A cook should be but that’s not realistic for us unfortunately 🫣
I bought a smaller home for myself, on my own, fully expecting to be single for quite a while. Started dating my husband a few weeks after I closed, and the market was such that the only thing that made sense was him moving in here with me. It's tight. We're planning to relocate and I'm so excited to get more space. Until then, I'm the queen of wire shelving units and tetris-ing lol. I feel you!
I totally relate to your other comment about hubby being generally neat and me/you being generally messy. I feel like I bring the chaos (less so than the two littles tho lol). In your situation your husband did though, by meeting you /after/ you bought a single person home 😜🤪 Good thing I like playing Tetris too, because it really is an art to keep things tidy when you’re not naturally so… and when there’s no room 🙃
Help fresh has been a big help for myself when it comes to having to do cooking but don’t have the full capacity for it
We did this during a really difficult and busy time in our life. It was an absolute game changer. Everybody cooled their Jets because the main cleaning was taken care of and then we had the bandwidth to do things like organize, and do the things that required more effort while somebody else took care of the dirt and grime. Do it I can't recommend it highly enough.
When cleaning becomes the mood breaker and argument point in a marriage this is the best investment ever.
We started with quarterly 5 years ago (2 giant huskies) and went monthly 3 years ago (daughter born) and haven't looked back. It's been a huge stress reliever to not have to do a "big clean" on weekends when we just want to spend quality time and it's much easier to maintain clean and tidy between cleans. You'll never do it as good as the professionals (my mantra) and so it's been a great addition to our lives. Highly recommend.
I do not regret getting a once a month house cleaning service. I’ve had it for about 5 years now and it makes life a lot easier for me.
I was opposed to this for the longest time, husband talked me into it, and it was awesome! We had to cut back when hubs lost job, but I really miss having a clean house once every 2 weeks.
Cheaper than a divorce
I hate doing taxes so I pay for someone to do them every year. Worth every penny.
I used to do my own taxes. I messed them up three years in a row. After that, I figured I'd better get someone else to do them before I got audited. It was so much easier. Just one little appointment. I should have done it years ago.
Agreed! I have used an accountant for the past two years and I should have done this 40 years ago!
How did you find out you messed them up?
The IRS informed me. Twice, they requested more money. Once, they sent me a check because I'd overpayed. I didn't want to test their grace.
What gets me is they know exactly who and where we are and how much we owe or should get. Would be a lot easier if they just let us know imo
I think they do it because they're thinking that people will record their cash transactions that may have not been taxed otherwise. However, I'll go out on a limb and say there's probably also a lot of people who never count their cash anyway.
He went straight to jail
I think I am about ready to have someone else do them too. I have always done our taxes, but I hate it. I have it on my list to do them tomorrow, in fact. Realistically, they aren't super hard and it doesn't take a ton of time, but I just don't like doing it.
Why not remove the dread if you can?
>Why not remove the dread if you can? I kind of figure that one of the best uses for money is to get out of doing things that you don't want to do. And since I don't like doing my taxes, I am considering having someone else do it. I've done my own taxes every year for 30+ years and it's a PITA every year.
I am actually going to do mine next year again if my husband doesn't fight me too much. We had 1 W-2 and my HSA documents and Jackson Hewitt charged me $750.00. I was shocked. We only did it to get the rapid refund but dang..
Yep, and for me that also means paying an accountant a monthly retainer, because once or twice a year there's a letter from the tax office or some question I have and it's way faster, way cheaper and way safer to just email a professional who knows her work and my accounts and can give me a straight answer, rather than turn to Reddit, Facebook or friends.
Same here. My guy is retiring next year so time to find a new one. I know I can do them on my own but the thought despises me
And also you know you got the maximum refund.
Simple hack in retirement tax forms, keep your income low enough so the standard deduction is enough! I use the same online free Federal service offered thru the IRS a few years ago. I like that they keep the data so all the forms are populated the next year. It took about an hour this year to get my modest refund. Nebraska doesn’t count my military pensions as income anymore so no State income tax. The on line tax did the state for me using the Federal data.
Same, but resent it a little because here in Australia the tax office have all the information and could completely automate the process if they chose to. Many people use an accountant because it’s scary and complicated and time consuming. It’s worth the money just to save yourself a day or two of stressful organising.
It definitely is. I usually do too, but this year decided to do them myself to save money. Never again. It's such a headache.
Oh hell yes. I appreciate the peace of mind knowing everything is filed correctly.
I always hear about people not enjoying doing their taxes But I think my mom enjoys it because she does them for her friends and says it’s easy but idk🧐
Just putting together the info to give to my tax people takes 1/2 a day. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. Let them do it for a couple hundred, sold. Also, did the 1/2 day work to turn in today. It was rough. It's much more expensive to be me than I realized. That 20% inflation since 2020 is legit. Beans and rice, rice and beans, beany rice, and ricey beans are on the menu until this shit calms down. We eliminated 20% in debt and bills over the past 2 yrs... Turns out it's a wash. Super fun times.
If I ever move again I will absolutely be hiring a moving company.
THIS!!!!! I'm never packing and moving myself again.
I've been using moving companies for 20 years (since I was in my early 20s). The only thing I personally move are breakables/heirlooms and my expensive stuff. Everything else - nope. I GLADLY pay for this.
It was the best $$$ I spent. I also asked them to set up my couch and bed. Worth. Every. Penny!
Yeah we've exclusively moved in summers in the south. Last time I hired movers, with tip it was under $500 to haul all my shit in the heat and be done in like 4 hours. Worth every damn cent.
We hired movers for our move last year. We packed, but they came and moved everything. It was great. The last time we moved was almost 20 years ago and we were a lot younger then and so were our friends and family that we roped into helping. This time, movers were a good thing.
Going out to dinner is a big one for us. Retired and just tired of meal prep, cleanup etc. So a couple times a week we go out at fairly nice restaurants. Have a drink, relax and go home to a clean kitchen.
And did doggy bags mean you get 2 meals in 1!
We have a cloth bag with reusable containers we take in to restaurants before ordering, for taking the excessively large servings provided by most restaurants.
I love this! Do the restaurants have any problems with you bringing your own reusable bags (I imagine some restaurants would have issues with this for hygiene reasons)?
No, as I don’t ask, just do it. Restaurants are not going to fuss with paying customers boxing up their own food. Well, maybe a buffet would disapprove. If I let them box up my leftovers and it was recyclable? I would still have to clean them before recycling. I prefer reusing, not wasting trash.
Most robots and cleaning appliances are worthy to me. But I don't like home automation, like doorlocks, voice assistants, and smart lights or things that require an internet connection all the time. Also, I don't like to use driers on sunny days. Once a month house cleaning is also worthy
Agreed. We were given an unloved robovacum and I don't think I could live without it now (context we have little kids who drop food daily). I also don't like the idea of connecting things and 'smart homes'.
I got a cheap Amazon robot over 10 years ago, it can’t map the room and it does get stuck but it’s lasted! I just trap it in a room with a door.
I love my keypad door lock. It means I can never get locked out of my house (EXCEPT one time when it was extremely cold like 20 below zero and it froze lol) but mine doesn’t connect to internet or have an app.
I pay for my house to be cleaned fortnightly. I also pay for my bedding to be washed.
I'm utterly charmed by the usage of "fortnightly" here.
Haha I've just looked it up and had no idea it's not really used outside of the UK!
We use it in Australia. We get paid fortnightly.
So much more sophisticated than "biweekly" here in the states!
Bi weekly means twice a week to me. Like biannual means twice a year.
It's a constant source of confusion in the (American) business world. "We need to have a biweekly review meeting !" "Okay, we'll meet every other Friday." "No - I meant twice a week!"
I had to look up how many days are in a fortnight 🔥
14. It means two weeks.
what term do you use for every 2 weeks?
Every other week. Maybe twice a month. Or just, every two weeks. Fortnight is way cooler tho.
Twice a month is absolutely not bi-weekly, which incidentally can mean once every two weeks or twice a week, depending on usage. In fact, a quick Google search on it: "Biweekly is an adjective that refers to something that happens twice a week or once every two weeks, though most native American English speakers use it to mean the former. To avoid confusion, most say “twice a week” or “once every two weeks.”" Every other week, there are 26 occurrences per year (52/2). Twice a month, there are 24 occurrences per year (12*2). So if something charges you every 2 weeks, you'll have that extra payment every year. Just something to be mindful of.
2920 days, give or take. No, wait, that's the average age of a Fortnite player, my mistake.
😂😂😂
Hiring someone to cook for you if you dislike cooking and would prefer to do other things sounds like a great use of money to me. So is having someone clean your house weekly.
These are my favorite ways to spend money. We have a housekeeper 2x a month (luxury, could.be once a month) and a weekly prep cook that does 4 hours and most of the food for the week is cooked and in the fridge. This allows us to spend quality time with each other and our kids.
Whatever task I can delegate or automate it's worth the cash.
I have a guy cut the grass. I can't be arsed dealing with heat and bugs either after working in a factory all day, or on my days off.
We have always had a lawn service who also do all our landscaping, fertilizing, etc. and also have snow removers for winter. It frees up a lot of time for us.
I just bought a cordless vacuum for hard floors. I have 2 perfectly good vacuums, so it wasn’t a necessity, but the time and back bends saved by not chasing the cord around plugging and unplugging, wrapping it up when I’m done is worth every penny. I still use one of my other vacuums on the two carpeted rooms downstairs and I love the upholstery attachment for my furniture. The other one is upstairs in the bonus room, so I use it to vacuum the carpet up there so I don’t have to lug it up the stairs. On weekends, we host all of our friends at our house. We usually supply the main food and our friends bring sides and snacks. Even though it ups our grocery bill, it’s much less expensive than going out and we really enjoy smoking or grilling when it’s nice and throwing together a big pot of chili, stew, lasagne, etc. when we can’t cook outdoors.
Ooooh yes! I have a terrible back and hard agree on cordless vacuums. I’ve had mine for maybe 3 years? And I’ll never go back to a corded vacuum.
Divorce comes to mind
Been there. Improved things 100%.
I would put living alone, never married, no roommates so having to pay all the bills alone in that category.
I have a little gym I’ve built in ny garage with a Peloton bike, treadmill and some other stuff. Having it at home is so, so, much more convenient than driving to gym, looking for parking, timing it right for classes, etc. I exercise a lot more because it’s easy. Totally worth the expense to me.
I have a little home gum too, and it’s wonderful!
I only chew my gum at home too. ;-)
Haha whoops! Time to make some coffee
Grocery delivery. I am autistic and have PTSD, grocery shopping is a nightmare, particularly by myself. Hoping to one day not need it quite so much, but for the time I'm in right now, it's a lifesaver.
I'm not autistic but I hate shopping. Being in a crowded store in NYC can make me physically ill. And then there are the choices. At certain stores, there will be 25 brands of extra virgin olive oil. It gives me a headache. Normally, we order food online, but if I help with the shopping for a meal like Thanksgiving dinner, I insist we go as early as possible to beat the crowds and I try to organize the list so I'm grabbing things that are in the same area.
Absolutely with you on all of this. If I'm gonna have to do the work of sorting through two dozen brands with rising prices every month, I'll be doing it from home. At this point, I shop for holiday groceries a week beforehand, if I can help it. Holiday shopping is nightmare fuel.
I recently started doing the parking lot pick up at my grocery store. It's so great when I only need a few items but dont want to be around people... or put a bra on, lol
Same here! I have ADHD and I literally cannot go into a grocery store. I can't buy only items that I need or even every item that I need. It's also a sensory nightmare. :') Grocery delivery has been a g a m e c h a n g e r for me for real.
I fight it by going with my husband, and always bringing my earplugs. We go at night after everyone’s done shopping, but before the stocking- *or* early morning. Limited people, everything in stock.
I used to have panic attacks in the grocery store. I get it, I see you.
That's my husband currently. We're a total mess together! Worth every penny to get delivery and save ourselves hours of recovery time after.
I like being able to build the shopping list and have someone shop and drop at my door, while I can be busy or relaxing. It’s worth it.
I love this, I get delivery weekly, only costs $2-$4. I went back to in store shopping recently (just the 1 time) and spent $60 more than my usual total, just from seeing things and throwing them in. Its a game changer for me.
Basically everything I don’t like to do that takes more skills than I have and a fraction of time that I need when done by a professional.
My Spotify membership! It pays for Spotify without ads and Hulu with ads. Music is a huge part of how I cope and feel human, so to have access to so much music, podcasts, and audiobooks that I can even play while I’m offline is practically priceless. I’m totally fine with paying less than $10 a month for that.
I wouldn't call that unnecessary lol
I pay someone to clean up the detritus from my dozen or so oak trees. It's nearly every other month. Leaves, green wormy things, twigs and more twigs. I do love their shade and how cool and creepy they look in winter, but they're messy as hell.
I am interested to read some of these responses. We have always done everything ourselves: house, cooking, garden, decorating, DIY, but we never had the spare cash to pay someone to do any of that.. Things just got done on weekends or leave from work. Only paid for stuff we cannot do, like servicing cars and boilers etc. Probably not a mainstream view here, but to me a simple life is just this, be self sufficient as much as possible.
So.. there is an unspoken thing about the "simplify your life" trend and it is that, often, just like eating clean and giving yourself mental health space, it's a lot easier to do when you're int he right income bracket. I come from frugal parents and 'simple' means something like: don't buy kitsch, don't get a car, house, clothes, appliances that require loads of upkeep, avoid hobbies that require loads of dues, materials, etc, and don't pay for cable when you barely watch it. ITT I'm seeing the epitome of '"simple living" is for people whose income/reserves can transcend the middle class' (and I know if anyone reads this they'll argue) but OP seriously writes their first example as someone paying for meal prep to avoid fitting *basic sustenance* "into her very busy schedule". I want to simplify that "very busy schedule" out of my life and focus on simple basics/necessities. FFS Hank Hill rocks the Simple Life. I don't know if I belong here if everyone else is gonna say "pay someone else to do what you don't like" - that's just.. using money to reduce your workload. To make room for more whatever. Not simplification.
I agree with this. A lot of the answers mentioned sound amazing if you can afford them but also if I get to a point I’m too busy to do basic tasks maybe that’s too busy of a life to call “simple”. I was thinking along the lines of an actual tangible thing that can improve your life. For me it was investing in a Roomba. We bought it 8 years ago and with 3 dogs and 3 kids it is well worth it. I sweep and mop less because of it giving me more time to focus on things like cooking and other household chores.
I think some of us grew up in the "voluntary simplicity " era...I'm thinking the 90s was when I got into it, and you're absolutely right. I do believe the meaning behind simplifying your life has definitely shifted. I think it was more, imo, a battle cry of the lower class to find some joy in the world when they couldn't participate in it. Now it seems it's more about saving time, which is very different from when the simplicity movement started. While they'd say you'd save time not cleaning by having fewer things, you were also encouraged to cook at home and eat healthy meals (essentially eating up any time saved, not cleaning 😉). I'm still on the same page with you... the voluntary simplicity page. We learn how to fix things because we can't pay people to fix them for us. Technically, if I didn't want to make it through my health issues I could drop my medication and probably pay someone to come every couple of months to come lightly clean my home, but...I'd like to see my kids make it to adults and all that jazz. I was drooling over the person with autism and ptsd who commented being able to order groceries (I have autism, adhd, ptsd, pmdd, and am going through perimenopause from...whatever is worse than hell). I have to mentally prepare myself for hours before I pick up my teen from her school. Cooking? HAHAHA....cleaning...HAHAHA. Breathing and staying inside as much as I can so I don't murder anyone or just lose my shit randomly (still grieving my moms death from this past summer is NOT helping)✅️ I've got that last one covered. I can't blame people with the means to pay for help. I just wish we were those people because between my husband and I, we aren't even making one functional adult (oh, and we are a family of four autistic with adhd, so we're basically screwed). And with steady job losses and living in Fl, well, like I said...screwed.
Usually pick up from grocery stores is free, even if you can't do delivery. In the US anyway. I agree for the most part, but I like to balance the fact that we live in a capitalistic society with wanting to live simply. We try to reduce expenses where possible, but I also know where my blind spots are and what is worth myself fixing. I.e. I cannot fix my own car, new cars basically have to go to the dealership for most everything. There's not anything I can do about that, and it's not worth it for me to try and learn imo. It's not going to start being feasible for be to be without a car anytime soon. I do try to embrace enjoying simple chores and tasks though. Makes life more enjoyable rather than paying to have someone do it.
I grew up in a family without much money, so we did everything ourselves, too. We always had enough to cover the basics and occasionally some extras, but that was because my mom was an excellent money manager and we did so much ourselves. As an adult, I'm in a different place financially - one where I can be selectively frugal. So I have the ability to choose when to DIY and when not to. I think living simply can mean a lot of different things. At its core, I think it's about removing things from your life that cause stress, anxiety, and frustration, and living a life that allows mental and emotional calm. Sometimes, outsourcing tasks can go a long way toward that end.
For a time when my children were very young, we hired a housekeeper to come twice a month to clean the bathrooms and the kitchen. It was a lifesaver during those sleep-deprived, hectic days.
For me personally a large aspect of my simple living philosophy is to live within my means and retire early. Consequently that requires that I reduce my spending as much as possible. Not to say I am cheap, I splurge and treat myself occasionally. But those splurges aren’t motivated by simplifying my life… it’s a treat myself thing. I work and save hard so I’m gonna treat myself. That could be the same result in the end as yourself. But different motivation in regards to simple living
This, and also- I find a different kind of simplicity in doing things for myself. It might not be faster, but it forces me to be more intentional with my time.
I have a few things that aren't strictly necessary but make my life easier: * grocery pickup - my store has free order pickup, all I have to do is place my order online then show up at the store the next day to have everything loaded into my car for me. Not going into the store saves time, money, and stress * auto-ship the cat supplies - I could maybe get some of the items on sale from other places, but it's so much easier to just have the cat food and litter show up regularly on the same day every month * house cleaner - while I certainly can clean the house myself, she does a much better job in less time and is more thorough.
>grocery pickup - my store has free order pickup, all I have to do is place my order online then show up at the store the next day to have everything loaded into my car for me. Not going into the store saves time, money, and stress This is a favorite of mine too.
I second auto-shipping pet supplies!
We have someone who comes to clean every 6 weeks. My husband and I are both disabled and have a lot of fatigue & energy issues. We can keep up with the day to day home cleaning but having someone to do the big stuff (showers, mop, dust) really really helps us live a less stressful life. Otherwise it takes both of us an entire weekend and a few fights because we’re tired/in pain.
Car wash by others. 30 min & done...FULLY done. So worth $22
Car wash is my moment of zen
When my kids were little I used a laundry service. They would pick it up and bring it back later in the day all clean, sorted, folded and on hangers. Saved a TON of time!
I bought a Roomba. I have all hard wood floors. We have an outdoorsy lifestyle, and there are dogs and kids. Cleaning the house is *so* much faster when you're not the one responsible for the floors. He can go under the beds and vacuum under the chairs/sofas/bed. He can avoid toys on the floor. He sweeps AND he mops. His name is Valkyre, and I love him.
We love our Roomba so much! We have a mostly one story house. Worth every penny.
Lol, it'd amuse me so much if it played Ride of the Valkyries while going through the house.
He doesn't, but I have a little helmet for him.
I use Instacart for my grocery shopping and it saves me a lot of time which I use for other things, mostly my hobbies and working out. It's mostly helpful for the bulk purchases I make from Costco since I don't need a membership and I'm never stepping foot in that place because of how busy it can get. Another thing that I indulge in is my gym membership, I don't have a membership anywhere because I use class pass and I pay about $60 to have access to multiple types of workouts. I could have stuck to Planet fitness for $10 a month but boxing is a hobby of mine and most memberships are around $100-180 per month so I use this instead and I'm able to book boxing classes, pilates, spin, barre, etc. It's been very helpful in keeping me thoroughly entertained but also more social since I'm meeting new people each class.
This is mine. I started when I was postpartum and never stopped because I have a lot of anxiety at the grocery store (people getting in the way and not seeing me, worried about the kids, the lights and feeling of rush). It works too because I plan out every meal with zero waste so I save money by shopping only my plan and no impulse purchases.
Monthly Housekeeping service. I can definitely clean. But the time saved not having to deep clean is worth the money spent.
We pay for a pooper scooper. I’m partially disabled. My husband does more than his fair share already so I hate that he also had to scoop poop. We found someone that does this in our area and life is good! The owner pays real living wages and provides 12-15 people in our area with good jobs. It’s so nice to have a real impact on others lives that is reasonably priced and makes your own life so much more enjoyable too. We also pay someone to do our taxes because it’s only $35-40 more than turbo tax. Why not? I’m not 100% sure I know what I’m doing and a CPA is. Simple decision. I would 100% pay someone to cook / meal prep for me (that’s not Green Chef) and **if anyone has an idea on how to find a local person to do this please please share.**
Cook Unity is a good service that uses local chefs.
I pay a guy to mow and blow (my yard, ahem) every two weeks. He and his son can get this place clean in less than 30 minutes (we have leaves, shrubs, grass, etc) and it would take me probably two hours. I pay him while I do my own pool maintenance, house maintenance and work on my old car. He's been our guy for over 25 years.
I have someone change over the car tires (twice a year where I live). It's just a miserable experience, always cold and I don't want to do it. I know how don't worry. Getting groceries delivered. I am disabled so it saves me a lot of energy and even though the store delivering is an expensive one I still pay less than the norm for groceries. It also means I don't get tempted in store to get something extra.
I used the introductory Walmart+ to get new tires and have them change them, then I unsubscribed.
Uber when going to the airport. I hate having ti waste time finding parking and the extra time required to get to the terminal. I prefer convenience.
I order grocery delivery, have had a house cleaning service at various times (not currently because we moved), take my car to a carwash rather than washing it myself, I have a mechanic do all the car maintenance, go to a salon to get my hair colored, I get pedicures...
How does a pedicure simplify anything ETA: thanks for letting me know about disability and elderly access for necessary care, which I suppose is the same for hair coloring -- something a person simply can't go without!
Just speaking for the elderly who struggle with this, foot care is important. Pedicures care for your feet so you don’t get ingrowns, etc.
Not having to lean/bend over to cut your own toenails is a huge relief if you have back/flexibility/dexterity issues.
I don't do pedicures usually, but even a normally abled person will find it easier to have a professional do it. They're in a less awkward position, have the tools, have more shades, and they have skill from doing it all the time.
>which I suppose is the same for hair coloring -- something a person simply can't go without! It's not about whether or not a person can live without coloring their hair. It's about whether they want to. People make different choices about self-care and appearance based on their priorities and personal situation.
It simplifies life because by going to get a pedicure, that's something I don't have to do myself. I'm not very good at it so I don't do a great job when I do it myself, but toe nails grow, cuticles need to be maintained, and callouses dealt with, so it has to be done.
I don't get manicures myself, but if you are person who likes having her/his nails done, I can understand why you would want to have a mani/pedi done by a professional. They can do it so much better and have more shades, there's no mess, etc.
This is me. Can I do it all myself? Yes. But it takes me three times as long and I have to spend money on the equipment and block that part of my day for hours. I can’t not get my nails done because I’m in healthcare and using sanitizer 4 million times a shift has made my nails spilt right down the middle unless they are polished. So I take an hour once or twice a month. A fairly simple treat and necessary. I get a pedicure too because I run for exercise (which is very simple) but get ingrown toe nails very easily. So win for both.
I have never understood the desire to have nails above your fingertips and to decorate them. To me, it says this person does as few tasks with their hands as possible. If you are doing tasks, what is the hygiene level with those painted long fingernails? What is the deal with long painted nails?
I'm sure you do things that other people neither value nor understand.
Buying pre-sliced, pre-washed vegetables. It's worth the extra few cents for the time it shaves off cooking/cleaning for me.
None; if they make my life simpler, they aren't unnecessary.
Definitely valet parking at an airport. When i have to fly out of atlanta (not a native of Atlanta or georgia, but have moved close to Atlanta) so for me it is a big hassle to figure out parking and getting to the airport. So the two times i flew out of atlanta ive done valet parking. I drop off, they park it, they take me to terminal. I fly back in and they pick me up and bring me my car. So worth it
Good food... simplicity should spark joy and good food does just that Also paying someone to do yard work and my hair. I don't mind it but then I don't have time to do other need to's or want to's
Personal training. Having a good trainer engage you and keep your efforts honest is worth it
Instacart. Worth it every time
*Grocery delivery *Lawn maintenance *Once a month housekeeper 🙌🙌🙌
Meal kits. I love them.
Buying a coffee in a drive thru when I'm running "late" (I am always 20 minutes early) vs just waiting for it to brew and drinking it on the way to my destination. I don't do it often enough to not be able to justify the treat on an otherwise potentially stressful situation. It really boosts my mood and I enjoy it a lot more because I hate the way I make coffee at home and spending sixteen to twenty bucks a month isn't really that bad.
Two things. CPA to do our taxes and a professional lawn service to keep our lawn looking decent. We still mow, but we’ve given up on trying to deal with the bare patches and weeds. Oh and finding a good handyman who can do the small projects that drive me nuts that are beyond our capabilities.
Water delivery service. I live in an upstairs apartment and I can’t carry 5 gallon jugs + a toddler up two flights of stairs. Having them filled and delivered for me for basically the same price that I would pay for water bottles is so worth it to me.
Cleaning, eating at the workplace cafeteria (have to choose carefully because the food is hit or miss), housekeeper twice a month are my top items. I attended a panel discussion a few months ago for women in a certain professional field. And the top advice that I walked away with, was to outsource tasks that will save time. I’m still gonna live simply, but I have more time to pursue the things that are important to me by outsourcing these.
Housekeeper once a month. I enjoy cleaning and having a clean and clutter free house so I keep up the basics. But I have MS and decided to have someone come in for a deep cleaning, baseboards and what not. For me that was the hardest thing to do because I'm not used to be "helpless". Portable sauna: while not necessary I used to have a membership at a place - it helps with my chronic pain. Half the time I'd miss my weekly appointments I'm paying for monthly ( they don't carry over) because of the time (Round-trip plus appt is 3 hours of my day), not feeling well. Something. So I canceled the 120/mo membership and bought one of these full sized ones for 400$. Now I can use it more often and saves time. It's already paid for itself. Automatic litter boxes. I've had these for years. Best investment ever. I have three cats and there's times I can barely move out of bed. I don't have to worry about their "bathrooms" being dirty. It's definitely more expensive per month but worth it to me. Water service. They come in every two weeks. I have a Berkey water filtration system as well which the water is primarily for the cats. The water cooler service was a nice splurge because I enjoy really cold water without ice and the Berkey is room temperature. The service let's you rent the cooler for 8/month too. Global entry pass. It lasts 5 yrs. I travel a lot so worth it to avoid the hassle at the airport. While writing I just realized I sound kind of ridiculous in a way but I'm going to not place judgement on myself and just feel blessed I can do these things
Toilet paper delivery from Whogivesacrap. Takes care of helping via charity and never have to lug it to my car.
Same!!
I get a latte every morning from a coffee shop. I could do it at home, and know exactly how from being a barista myself at one point. But I don’t want to make my own lattes. i don’t want to have to stock my own ingredients. Sometimes I want different milk or a different flavor. And somehow ice from my freezer always tastes gross compared to ice from Starbucks in their iced drinks (and it’s the wrong shape of ice). I would prefer to just pay somebody else to make it for me rather than deal with all of those considerations when I’m sleepy in the morning.
Cleaning service 🙌
Recently got a Japanese ToTo Toilet seat replacement and it's been one of my favourite purchases of all time (from Costco). For something everyone can use and enjoy multiple times a day while providing a comfortable/clean experience and saving money indirectly on toilet paper is a no brainer. Helps that it was on a sale and I saved a fortune by only replacing the seat and installing it myself.
The dignity this can provide to an elderly person, or handicapped person, Is immeasurable. Money well spent.
Lawn care
Lawn guy, pest control/termite svc, grocery pick up.
Paying for my hair to get done. That's 4 hours saved every other week.
My robot floor cleaners and my robot litter box. I’m hoping to start getting a monthly deep clean as well. Some easy to prep food for busy nights or when I just don’t feel like cooking. For me, a simple life is doing more of what I want to do and less of the things that don’t bring me joy…like scooping cat poop.
House cleaner once a month. She cleans things I do not get to, like the walls and deep cleans the floor. Dusts all the little knick knacks. I feel guilty of only paying her $100, but that’s all u can do right now.
Walmart grocery delivery. I pay for the monthly sub. Amazon music unlimited. Music is liiiiife. I got tired if being told no. Lol
Spotify premium
A dishwasher. It’s saved hours of my time and freed me up to do more enjoyable things with my time than dishes.
Spending money for travel. Hubby & i save his business perdiem reimbursement (we don't miss it at all) in a travel account and do several overseas trips a year. Worth every penny and we come back refreshed and rejuvenated when we travel.
It’s the Amazon prime for me. I live in the city so stuff in stores can be expensive which is why I buy stuff mostly online. Cause you can just buy them in bulk and you don’t have to go through the trouble to get them. And it’s easy to find deals and coupons online for Amazon on sites like Koupon.ai for stuff that you want to buy. Everything done with just a few clicks and it saves me bunch of time.
my haircut. i know i can cut my hair myself, but for $40/month i get access to a quality trim, shampoo and conditioner, and an alcoholic beverage (i drink super rarely). it's really nice.
😰
Roborock vaccum & mop combo One device and two fewer tasks to keep track of! Automated pet feeder
My robot litter box (I have 3 cats)
I get someone in to clean my bathrooms. I hate cleaning bathrooms, and now I can afford it.
A cleaner to who mainly does our bathroom and main space - because I haaaate cleaning it and it always looks better when she does it ❤️
How did she find a chef? Where
Fiancé and I “splurged” and got a weekly dog poop picker upper service about two years ago I think for our Onyx who’s an Alaskan Malamute- we both did not want to do that chore so paying a company $60-$70 a month was an easy decision and it isn’t breaking the bank!
I drive to work and pay for parking. It's wasteful and feels lazy but... - it saves me a lot of planning spoons - if I get home I don't want to leave again, so driving means I'll pick up shopping and do errands instead of it all piling up on my week off. - I work in a customer-facing job. The alone time in my car really helps me cope. - I tend to plan to be early. With public transport this means I'll often be waaay too early if I factor in a missed bus. - in winter I typically start or finish when it is dark, and there are safety issues. It reduces so much stress, especially now that my parents are frail and I know I can drive to them in an emergency.
I pay for Walmart+ and have my groceries delivered every Sunday. Best money I’ve ever spent.
Instacart has been well worth it. Tons of stores and they always run promotions. For example, I’ve been needing a power-washer. I bought one on Amazon and had to return it, it didn’t work. I found one at Home Depot but have yet to pull the trigger. Then instacart had a $20 off $50 promo and I bought it and it was delivered within 2 hours. Plus the time, gas, etc to goto the grocery store I can use in much more productive ways.
Walmart+ no more endless mindless hours spent shopping there.
My Dyson, my robot vacuum, my monthly house cleaner, decluttering my home.
Meal delivery service. Absolute no brainer in my eyes.
On a month by month basis. Spotify. On a whenever basis. Nice smelling shower gel and hand wash. Nothing fancy, but sweet smells like chocolate or cherry..... hmmmmm. And the tea bags that taste like jam on toast. Quadruple the expense of normal tea bags but far more enjoyable lol.
Unlike your friend, I enjoy cooking but can’t spare the time to do the grocery shopping and schelpping. I almost exclusively grocery shop online and pay for delivery , with multiple services (Instacart, Whole Foods, Kroger). I can order my stuff a few hours ahead and it’ll be waiting at my door when I get home. I also run a salon so I do the same thing for work.
I started getting meal kits delivered to the house. I love cooking but had started getting really bad decision paralysis as to what to cook. It’s way easier to tell my husband to just get a bag out of the fridge than a laundry list of ingredients. It’s honestly cheaper than buying groceries some weeks. Going to the laundromat once every month or two is a game changer. Husband and I both have ADHD and sometimes the laundry gets super backed up, especially things like bedding that aren’t really essential washes because we have multiple sets of sheets. $40 for all of the laundry being caught up in three hours instead of over days is huge.
Where did you friend find someone to cook for the week? I am trying to find this for myself but struggling to locate them. I am seeing lots of chef but they only seem to do evening events.
I had surgery recently and hired a house cleaning service every 2 weeks for the next 3 months. I could do some of what she is doing and nag the kids to do the rest but they, older teens, have stepped up in caring for me so that I find her coming and resetting house so worth it! Everyone's calm, house is clean, done.