In the spirit of #ballinonabudget, I thought it would be helpful to tell you a few things I own that are NOT #ballinonabudget, but if they were to break tomorrow you better believe I would be ordering a new one. I am not saying that you necessarily need all of these items (far from it!) but I have found that these have held their value and worked well over the years. 

 

(These are in no particular order. I love them all so very much.)

 

THE DYSON

COST: $250-600

WHY I LOVE IT: if you have followed for a while, you know my love of the dyson runs deep. I love how light it is. It works super well and since we bought it two years ago, I have never (not once) plugged in my old vacuum. In fact, last year I gave it away completely. Some wish that the dyson would hold a better charge. For me, I kind of love that it lasts around 30 minutes. I just vacuum until it dies then go plug it back in. It makes vacuuming so manageable. Again, it is so lightweight!

CONS: the battery doesn’t last more than a half hour and there is no indicator to when it will die (no low battery light)

YEARS I HAVE HAD IT: 4

LINK: Dyson V7, which is the one I have

Here is a link to a newer dyson 10 (at the time of this post it was on great sale!!)

Here is a link to the newest, dyson 11

 

THE VITAMIX

COST: ~$400

WHY I LOVE IT: I have yet to find a blender that compares. It truly is the gold standard. I actually tried the Ninja first because it was much less expensive and I absolutely hated it. It was harder to clean and frankly left my smoothies super gritty. We use our vitamix multiple times a week and sometimes 2-3 times a day. Hot cocoa, green smoothies, soups, you name it. It gets anything silky smooth and once you use one it is hard to go back. I wrote a whole blog post about why I love mine and why I suggest getting a 64 ounce container HERE. 

CONS: It is very loud

YEARS I HAVE HAD IT: 8 

LINK: Vitamix 5200 Series is the one I’ve had since we got married. This year I upgraded to the 750 Series and it is AWESOME.

 

AIRPODS

COST: $150-200

WHY I LOVE THEM: My dad gave us all airpods for Christmas last year and not to sound dramatic, but they are LIFE CHANGING! Who knew how amazing the cord free life is! I have listened to so many more audiobooks this year because of them and love how well they stay put when I am working out. I also love that you can just have one in to listen.

CONS: Not great for airplane travel; Hard to hear music/TV over the engines

YEARS I HAVE HAD THEM: 2

LINK: Apple airpods

LINK: The Airpods Pro block noise better than the original

 

 THE APPLE WATCH

COST: $300-500, depending on the series you purchase

WHY I LOVE IT: I was hesitant to get an apple watch, thinking it would make me feel more connected all the time, but it has actually been the opposite! I feel so much more freedom to put my phone away (and am therefore way less tempted by all the distractions) knowing that if someone needed me I would be able to see the call on my watch. I also love being able to operate my music/books/podcasts from the watch. I can pause them, start them, or adjust the volume all without picking up my phone. I also love the workout app. It gives a very accurate heart rate and is wonderful when I want to track distance on a walk. But hands down best feature? PING YOUR PHONE. I lose my phone multiple times a day and sometimes we get in the car and I tap the ping button and just pray my phone is somewhere in there and starts to ding.

CONS: Requires nightly charging (I see this as a pro as well since I keep mine on the bedside table and when plugged in it acts as an alarm clock. It displays the time and will show what time your alarm is set for if you have one set.)

YEARS I HAVE HAD IT: 3

LINK: Here is a link to mine, which is a series 3. Here is a link to a newer, series 8.

 

GOOD KITCHEN KNIVES

THE COST: $100-$1000 (depending on the knife size and if you buy one or a set)

WHY I LOVE THEM: I cannot stress enough how important good kitchen knives are, and that you take care of them! For me, this means using my knife honer about once weekly, and hand washing my knives. I use Cutco and Wusthoff. Both are extremely good quality and I have loved both. If you are registering for a wedding, register for good knives! If you get good ones, they should last you a lifetime. You could also just ask for one or two a year and slowly build your collection. Lastly, some knives more useful than others. I would start by replacing your chef’s knife (or whatever knife you personally use the most) and go from there. 

I actually actually think having good knives is much more important than good pans. I have pans that are All-clad, Calphalon, Cuisinart, and Le Creuset. Some came from high end kitchen stores, some from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and others from TJ Maxx. They are all great. 

CONS: I can’t think of any cons to good knives!

YEARS I HAVE HAD THEM: 8+

LINK: Wusthoff 8″ Chef’s Knife

 

 

That’s it! 5 items I own that I think are worth the high price tag and hold up in value. Hope you found this helpful. Please let me know if there’s one that you especially love or a high price item you can’t live without!

 

 

*THE LINKS IN THIS POST ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU CLICK THROUGH AND MAKE A PURCHASE. SO IF YOU DO HAPPEN TO PURCHASE AN ITEM, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!