1) Butter
Honestly I could just list groceries in general. I get the fancy butter made from the milk of cows that eat grass. What a concept. It costs more than the “normal” stuff, but I use butter in like half the things I cook so to me it’s always seemed a cost-effective way to up the quality of my cooking. Here’s one of my favorite butter-heavy recipes:
- Melt a lot of good butter in a cast iron pan.
- Pour in a bag of frozen brussels sprouts.
- Sprinkle on some brown sugar.
- Leave ’em until they burn a bit on one side. Shake it up. Cook a little more.
- Eat.
2) Underwear
I used to balk at $20 butt covers, but not anymore. I’m nude, what, 30 minutes a day? Tops. That means I’m wearing boxer briefs for the other 1,410 minutes of the day, every day. So! I want undies that hold up, and fit well, and feel good. Every time I’ve bought inexpensive junk trunks just because they were on sale, I’ve ended up being disappointed and gotten rid of them in short order.
ExOfficio is a nice brand, especially if you travel, and I’ve got some good pairs from Under Armour, too.
(I’ve tried merino wool package protectors, which were cozy, but I think they were designed for guys whose legs don’t touch and/or sit still all day because I wore holes in mine in about two weeks.)
3) Web services
The older I get the less fun it is to be my own IT department. Sure, I use the free version of lots of stuff—sending this newsletter doesn’t cost me anything, for instance. But I also don’t mind paying a bit for services that work well and do the job with less hassle.
4) Blades of all sorts
I don’t have claws nor particularly sharp teeth. Without tools, I’m pretty bad at cutting things. Even in my relatively comfortable, urban life, I use blades of various sorts throughout the day. Seven examples:
- Chopping vegetables (chef’s knife)
- Shaving (safety razor)
- Opening those horrible clamshell packages (utility knife)
- Opening Amazon boxes and other mail (utility knife or Leatherman)
- Opening food packages like bacon (kitchen scissors)
- Trimming my nails (nail clippers, or Leatherman scissors, in a pinch)
- Turning worn-out jeans into cut-offs for biking (fabric scissors)
Of those, the only thing I use something cheap for are my kitchen scissors for opening food packages. For the rest, the work is so much more enjoyable—and safer—when I use a nice blade. I don’t have the most expensive chef’s knife nor the fanciest Leatherman, but I’ve happily spent a bit more money than the average Joe seems to on most of these tools.
5) Merch from touring bands
If a small touring band I liked has a cool cassette/patch/sticker/album for $5 to $15, I usually pick it up. I can’t think of many better places for my money to go than filling the tank on vans full of interesting, independent people. Bonus: if I buy it at the show, I don’t have to get 38 emails from their crowdfunding campaign.
6) Tips
If there’s a chance to tip, I tip. Delivery drivers, baristas, bartenders, counter-service folks, whatever. A popular refrain I agree with: if you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford it.
Vinnie: I tip everybody. That’s my philosophy.
7) Books
While I’m choosy about which physical books I add to my life, it’s money I never mind spending. Having my favorite books at hand, already marked up, is really nice when I’m working on projects and conference talks and even just writing personal notes. People like quotes!
I tend to pick up books at antique malls and from the used section of places like Magers and Quinn. I rarely look through the books at thrift shops because they are poorly organized and I’m not much of a Tom Clancy fan, anyway.
*** Originally published as List No. 22 of the 7x77 newsletter project.