Hi, guys, I'm Chelsea.
And I'm Lauren.
And we are.
The Financial Diet.
And this video is brought to you by Squarespace.
And we are coming to you live from Vidcon 2017,
which was so fun.
And today we're going to be talking to you guys
about purchases you make that end up saving you money.
One of the sort of big life hacks of being an adult
is getting used to the idea of spending more money up
front sometimes so that you save money in the long run
because you don't have to replace things all the time
or buy duplicates, and they don't wear out so quickly.
And this is everything from your health
to your home to your basic day to day activities.
So without further ado, here's our list of 15 items
that you can invest in up front that will save you
money over the long term.
Number one, SodaStream.
Cost, $69 plus cartridges.
Now, I should put a caveat on this one
that it's really only useful to you and a money saver
if you drink a lot of carbonated beverages,
sparkling water, cocktails with those mixers, whatever.
But I am one of those people, and it is a huge money saver.
Basically, any time that you are drinking something
very frequently, there is no reason
that you should be paying per individual bottle.
Not only does it take the cost of these bottled beverages from
like $2 a bottle to like $0.10 a bottle,
it also prevents you from having to frequently run out
to the store, which leads you to buy other unnecessary things.
Number two is a slow cooker and freezer storage units.
Cost, about $40 and $10 to $15 respectively.
So slow cookers are really awesome.
Chelsea and I both have them.
They're really versatile, and they
use a lot less energy than ovens do,
which saves you money over the long term.
Slow cookers also encourage you to cook
in bulk more, which saves you money on takeout and Seamless,
which is a natural bonus.
And it's also important that you buy quality freezer storage
units so that you can store that food for the long term
in your freezer.
Pro tip, get the individual sized storage units that
have the little sections for each part,
and you can make your very own adult
Kids Cuisine that you keep in your freezer.
Number three is a cook ready pantry.
Cost, it varies.
So I actually made a video called
"19 Ingredients Every Home Cook Should Have In Their Kitchen,"
which we'll link in the description,
and it's a really good breakdown of all the various things
that you'll want to keep on hand so that you can not only
cook basically anything in a pinch,
but you can also make what you already have more appetizing
and therefore less tempting to go out or order in more.
These ingredients get you over the biggest hurdle
of adult kitchen having, which is always
having enough supplies on hand to make something out
of really basic, simple ingredients,
such as rice, potatoes, a protein, vegetables, et cetera.
It's the difference between feeling
like you have nothing in your kitchen
and feeling like you can always make something.
Number four, smart storage for off season clothes.
Cost, around $14.
So taking care of your clothes the right way
is key to making sure that they last multiple seasons.
So a smart storage solution that I personally use
is I have these big clear plastic bins from Ikea
that I keep under the bed, and then I have those vacuum sealed
bags that I'll use to condense all my clothes
and make sure that they're really easy to put away
and store for the season.
And another added bonus is that it opens up
a lot of closet space for you, which
means that your home or apartment search is going
to be a lot more flexible.
Number five, a desk emergency kit
that will keep you from spending at the office.
Cost, it varies.
One of the biggest spending traps of working at an office
is that you constantly feel the temptation to go out and spend
a little money on a lunch or a snack or a coffee,
and you're also constantly finding yourself
without basic necessities that you then have to run out for.
Keeping yourself a little emergency
kit with things that you might need,
such as Band-Aids and aloe and a little sewing kit
and all that stuff means that you won't be randomly running
to Walgreens all the time.
And also keeping things like Sriracha, salt, pepper, a fork
and knife, some of your favorite snacks
will mean that you're not feeling
like you have to leave the office in order
to enjoy your food.
And this emergency kit should be tailored
to the stuff you're really tempted to spend on.
For example, I recently invested in a two pound
bag of Thai iced tea bags from Amazon
because I used to love ordering it at the Thai place
where it was $4 a cup.
So whatever spending needs or temptations you have,
keep them around you.
We made a cool infographic about how to build out your office
emergency kit, and we'll link that in the description below.
Number six is a smart power strip.
Cost, about $15.
Smart power strips are an awesome energy
efficient investment, and we'll link
to a couple of articles in the description
below where you can read more about them.
So as opposed to regular power strips,
smart power strips cut off power to products that
go into energy saving mode.
This can save you roughly 5% to 10%
of your household's overall energy consumption, which means
more money in your pocket.
Number seven is a good flash drive.
Cost, around $10.
Basically, a flash drive is one of those things
that you don't need until you absolutely freaking need it.
And yeah, a flash drive may not save you money on a day
to day basis, but the day anything
happens to your computer, it is invaluable to you.
Basically, anytime you are doing or making
something that you would be upset
if it disappeared forever, it should go on a flash drive.
It's not just an investment in terms of money.
It's also an investment in terms of your work
and your personal stuff.
Long story short, it's one of the world's cheapest insurance
plans for all of the stuff that's important to you.
Number eight is energy efficient light bulbs.
Cost, around $15.
So these light bulbs actually use anywhere
from 25% to 80% less energy than regular incandescents,
and they last about three to 25 times longer.
And yes, these light bulbs do seem expensive up front,
but when you consider how much you save over
the long term by having such a lower energy bill,
they're well worth it.
Number nine is a basic tool kit.
Cost, somewhere between $50 and $150.
We've gone over this many times on the channel,
so we won't bore you with the details.
But as we've been over before, the more access
you have to making minor repairs and upgrades in your home,
the less money you will be spending to have someone else
do it.
If you're a grown ass adult, you need
to have a grown ass adult tool kit in your home, period.
We'll link you to more information on what you need
and how to get it in the description below.
Number 10 is a budget programmable thermostat.
Cost, anywhere from $75 to $125.
So if you use these correctly, you
have the potential to save a ton of money.
These are meant to heat and cool spaces on a set schedule
depending on whether or not you're home.
And we'll link out to an article in the description below which
walks you through exactly how to use a programmable thermostat.
Number 11 is a good road bike.
Cost, anywhere from $200 to $500.
The average American spends up to 20%
of their income on transportation costs,
and most of that goes into cars, gas, and insurance.
Long story short, if there is any part of your day
where you can be using a bike instead of a car,
you should do it.
Not only is it way better for your health
and for the environment, it also means
that those car associated costs are immediately reduced.
If you can get to a place where you're just
using a combination of public transport and bikes,
wow, you're doing really well, but that's obviously not
realistic for everyone.
But everyone could probably stand
to integrate a bike at least into part of their routine,
and that's already a huge step.
And as an added bonus, you may not even
have to pay to go to the gym anymore,
because you'll be getting all that free, natural exercise.
Number 12 is a yoga mat and a basic set of free weights.
Cost, $20 and $25 respectively.
Investing in a mat and a simple set of weights
is a great way to get the exercise
that you need without paying a lot for a pricey gym
membership.
And we'll link out to articles in the description below,
which will help you pick out the perfect mat and weight set.
If you're an average, non-athlete person looking
for just an appropriate amount of exercise,
there's really nothing you can't accomplish with those items
and maybe a chair.
Combine it with that bike you just bought,
and you're basically The Rock.
Number 13 is changing your car's air filter.
Cost, anywhere between $15 and $25.
Changing your car's air filter regularly
means saving around 14% on gas costs every year.
Not only does this pay for itself basically immediately,
it's also really good for the long term health of your car.
And your goal should be to make your car
as efficient and durable for as long a time as possible,
because frequently replacing a car
is really, really expensive.
Number 14 is an Amazon Prime membership.
Cost, $99, or you can try a free 30 day trial.
If you order stuff on Amazon frequently,
the Amazon Prime membership is a natural choice.
You get tons of discounts and also free two day
shipping, which is awesome.
So Chelsea and I both have it, and we
use it to order our basics online,
which are a lot cheaper than what you'd find in stores.
What you can save on shipping alone,
it makes membership worth it, in my opinion.
And not only do I love it for buying things like paper towels
and squeegees, I also love watching
all the free movies and TV that come with your membership.
Number 15 is a heavy duty phone case.
Cost, around $50.
Take it from someone who once burned
a hole in their laptop screen by putting it in front of a candle
while watching a movie, protect your electronics.
Not only is this super useful if you're
someone who does a lot of outdoorsy
and/or physically demanding things,
it's also just good practice, because even the most cautious
of us can just drop our phone on the ground at any time.
If you're going to make the up front investment
for a nice smartphone, you should also
make the up front investment to protect it.
We also recommend getting the phone insurance, just in case.
We're not saying that these items are
going to make you rich overnight,
but we are saying that investing in them
will mean fewer and fewer times in your life when you think,
oh shit, I should have bought that.
So as always, thank you for watching,
and don't forget to hit the Subscribe button
and to come back every Tuesday for new and awesome videos.
Bye!
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