I’m a minimalist.

To me, things are things.

I like spending my money on experiences and, once in a while, a thing that significantly improves the quality of my life over time (investments).

I recommend taking the same approach.

Of the recent purchases aI’ve made, here’s what I don’t regret (and do).

Purchases I do not regret

• Vitamix Pro 750: Use it daily for much more than smoothies. Has also become a decent source of revenue and terrific partnership (that you can get, too, if you want.). (See current price)
• MacBook Pro: Got mine like new from a guy on eBay. Came with a bunch of extras and three years of Apple Care. I presume it was from a college kid who realized he could sell it for $2,500, buy a PC for $700, and have $1,800 leftover for beer. Understandable. If you ever considered getting a mac, check eBay during the beginning of the semester.
• This water bottle: Literally the perfect water bottle. It never leaves my side. (See current price)
• My condo: Not to say you should buy instead of rent. But overall, no regrets.
• My scooter: Few things bring me (and my fiancé) more joy in the warm-weather months. If only it had a sidecar for my dog.
• Electric toothbrush: Total game changer. Enough said.
• Plane tickets: The streak continues. No regrets on any trip I’ve made. Minimoons, bachelor parties, family visits, weddings, etc. It doesn’t matter.
• New web hosting: In the last year I moved to a new web host for a few of my websites (lifeisnoyoke, to name one. Pretty fast, huh?).  I will tell you who I moved to, if you ask. But to avoid overcrowding (like that at my last web host), I’m not gonna just leave a link for the world. How elitist of me. But really, if you want the best, fastest managed webhost, email me and I’ll get you a referral link.
• Motorcycle school: Certification and testing behind the wheel of a motorcycle (not scooter). Fun experience.
• Engagement ring: Duh. Good experience buying online and getting a free in-store preview (AKA assurance from a jeweler that I made a good pick). (See the Ritani site)
• Huge monitor: Got a 27 inch monitor for the home office. Helps keep posture and avoid squinting. (This one)
• Power drill: I’ve been gifting Dewalt drills for weddings for a while. Finally got one for myself. Incredible feeling to be able to fix / assemble a million things by yourself. (This Dewalt)

Pretty good list, eh?

Let’s get negative and discuss the stuff I regret.

Purchases I regret

• A crappy router: This was the second router for the house, so I didn’t think it needed to be as nice as the first one. Boy was I wrong. Never buy a slow, crappy, old technology-laden router. Ever.
• Cable TV: I’ve cut cable in the past. All I had was Netflix, MLB.tv, and an over-the-air HD antenna for broadcast TV. It was one of the most productive years of my life. But in the last year, I resubscribed to Comcast for a few reasons. Live sports. Award shows (for the newly anointed fiancé / roommate). Baby sitters and guests (gotta have easy-to-use TV for them). But the results have been quite disappointing. Live sports unavailable for view (outages). More TV time (instead of other more engaging activities). An extra $80 per month. It really sucked to not have reliable TV during football season. But maybe billion dollar NFL will figure out a way to get me their product a la cart via Apple TV like the rest of progressive networks.
• Too much Chinese food: There’s a lot of leftovers. Now I will either eat it to avoid wasting it. Or, I will throw it away and be upset about wasting food and money. Next time I’ll opt for the Small size instead of Large on all available options.

Things I did not purchase (because they’re free) and certainly am glad they’re in my life

• Next Draft: The news curated by a witty dude. Daily. (See the site)
• Focus Booster: 15 minutes on, 5 minutes off. Game changer. (Free)
• Positivity: Yup.
• Gratitude: Thank you.
• Honesty: Welcome.

That’s it. I’m going to stare at my Chinese leftovers and mull over a tough decision.