Can buying things really improve your Quality of Life Yes.

It might sound strange to say that life got significantly better by purchasing something. I mean, I realise in today’s environment it probably actually sounds kinda counter-culture. Because, aren’t we all trying to move away from the idea of material things? Isn’t being material so cliché Kardashian circa 2013?

Well, yes.

But truth be told, spending your money where it matters actually can make a huge difference in your life. It’s all about finding the sweet spot where investment meets values. That is where things find real meaning.

Scott Pape’s take on it

The Barefoot investor, Scott Pape, talks a lot about this idea in his book, aptly named “Barefoot Investor.” This fantastic read is, in my opinion, one of these very types of meaningful purchases. There are so many great books out there. But this one, if followed, will truly change your life. It’s doable, understandable, shareable financial advice for the layman.

But I digress, what I wanted to say about Pape’s book was actually that part of his solid financial advice is that you should save on absolutely everything – EXCEPT – the things that really matter to you. And then you should absolutely SPEND. This doesn’t mean buying hugely expensive items. It just means committing to buying the things that matter. Scott uses the example of his pillow. After all, what could be more important than sleep? Bear in mind, this is the one item that the Australian cricket team never fails to take with them when they travel the globe – for exactly this reason, they simply cannot afford to miss out on sleep.

So, what exactly is the right thing to buy?

How do we take this idea and simply apply it to our own lives? What exactly is the right thing to be spending your money on? As I mentioned initially, it’s all about your values. Or, more simply put, it’s all about what truly matters to you.

If this is all still sounding a little aloof and intangible, let me break it out for you with examples from our own lives. Below, I’ve outlined 3 items that we’ve purchased in the last 5 years that have more than just upped our home-life game – they’ve truly

impacted our Quality of Life. So much so, that you can still find us back-slapping one another for these purchasing decisions today.

3 of our top Quality of Life purchases

Outdoor armchairs

If you’ve been following along with us for a while, you will absolutely have heard us say that we eat breakfast out on our veranda every single day, no matter the weather. It is an incredibly important ritual to us because we spend quality time together, grounding ourselves around nature (views to the gumtrees), and getting attuned to each other before the hecticness of the day kicks off.

And to make this experience as comfortable as possible, we purchased two outdoor rattan armchairs. These were not very expensive chairs; in fact, they are both from Ikea. But when we bought them, we did think we didn’t really need armchairs on top of the other outdoor furniture we already had.

In fact, armchairs were EXACTLY what we needed!

Our other furniture, which was comfortable enough, didn’t invite us to stick around. The armchairs however, encouraged us to settle into the space and really embrace the time we have there. They make us want to come back every single day. And, over the four years we’ve been sitting in them to talk, the conversations we’ve had have significantly impacted the direction of our lives.

Air Fryer

This one will probably garner a few laughs. After all, isn’t an air fryer just a work-around for people wanting to eat chips every day? Well, that might be true for some (more power to them), but for us, deciding to purchase the air fryer was about helping us to stick to eating in a way that supports our health needs. In particular, my rheumatoid arthritis.

For us, this means using a lot of foods that are whole (unprocessed) and preparing these with good fats. The air fryer makes that so simple. You literally wash, chop, oil, and turn it on. And voila, you have crispy delicious chicken thigh, sweet potato chips, broccolini and brussels sprout melody – whatever your jam is.

Our air fryer has kept us on the straight and narrow because it saves time and encourages the behaviours that are consistent with our health goals – which we really value.

And let me tell you, minimizing my arthritis pain DEFINITELY improves my Quality of Life.

Pop-up Cabana

This one is going to sound a little quirky – what are we doing, planning a swap-meet in our backyard? Actually, this purchase was all about getting outside in the sunny weather safely. Four years ago, when we returned from Japan with our daughter, she was faced with her first-ever summer in Perth. We quickly realized her lily-white skin was no match for a Perth backyard with no shade. So we did what all Aussies do and ducked to Bunnings for a solution.

We just needed some shade, so we grabbed ourselves a pop-up Cabana.

And now, every summer since, we roll out the Cabana bag and set that bad-boy up again for another 5 months of play. Not only does our girl safely wade around in a paddling pool under the shade doing endless water bomb activities with dad, but we’ve also managed to fit in more outdoor summer workouts under the protection of the Cabana.

In short, the Cabana helps us maintain our connection to nature when the sun makes it feel all too harsh – and we all know what nature does for our mental health. Another purchase that has way more below the surface, than might first meet the eye.

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