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People reveal their 'stupidly expensive' purchases that were worth every penny

Some things are genuinely worth paying good money for.

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People share things they're happy they splurged on.

"You get what you pay for" may be a popular saying, but it's not always true. Sometimes a bargain-priced item turns out to be a quality purchase and sometimes supposedly "high end" items turn out to be no better than their cheaper equivalents. Figuring out what's worth paying extra money for and what's not is an ongoing dilemma in this age of having everything under the sun available at our fingertips.

However, some people feel strongly about certain items being 100% worth every penny, even when they cost a whole lot of pennies. So, when someone asked, "What's a stupidly expensive adult purchase that you now swear by that you would buy again in a heartbeat?" thousands of people weighed in with their favorite splurges, from the practical to the sentimental.

Here are some of the top responses people agreed were worth spending a little extra of their hard-earned money on.

socks, expensive socks, darn tough socks, cozy, clothingIf you think socks are socks, think again.Photo credit: Canva

$20-$30 socks

"I paid 80 dollars for three pairs of socks because I didn't look at the price. I just comfortably assumed I could happily afford it. That was about 6 years ago and I've just had to get rid of the first pair. Worth every penny. (Big thick merino wool ones that I wear with my work boots.)"

"I never realized how much difference there is between average socks and good socks until I discovered Darn Tough. $25+ is a lot of money for a pair of socks, and they're worth every penny. The unconditional lifetime warranty seals the deal for me. I realize this sounds like I'm trying to sell some socks, but I'm really not."

"If the word socks is ever uttered around my mother she WILL proceed to give the full sales pitch for darn tough socks and their lifetime warranty. I have these socks. I am still informed of the warranty at least 2-3 times a year by her."

"My dad was a mail carrier and would buy these special socks from their supplier. I swear the bottoms were almost an inch thick. They felt like wearing slippers and were so soft. He swore they were like 20 bucks a pair, which was crazy in the early 2000’s. He bought me a few pairs one year and I wore them for like 5 years and was devastated when they eventually ripped or got lost."


mattress, good mattress, good night's sleep, quality bed. restYou spend a third of your life on a mattress, so you want it to be a good one.Photo credit: Canva

A good mattress

"A high-end mattress Like, borderline 'do I need to finance this?' expensive. I used to think any mattress would do, but once I got one that actually supported my back and kept me cool at night? Life changing. I sleep like a pampered cat now. No regrets."

"Yes!!! In 2012, I bought a Stearns & Foster mattress set that I could barely pay for. I think it ran me around $1200? And it still feels wonderful 13 years later. It also has a 25-year warranty."

"As someone about to replace their mattress, this is a sign from the universe to splurge. There’s the old saying: spend money on the things between you and the ground (mattress, shoes, etc)."

"For folks that want this kind luxury: The Kirkland Signature mattresses at Costco are made by Stearns and Foster and they usually go on sale around once per year. Got a queen in 2024 for ~925 bucks."

bra, expensive bra, bra fitting, getting a bra that fits, bra sizeA good quality bra that fits is priceless.Photo credit: Canva

A decent bra (that fits well)

"As a woman, decent bras. The outlay is painful up front but the whole point is, nothing afterwards is. No digging in. No weird cup spills. No loosening throughout the day until it's pointless. No exposed wires after a week. No torn hooks after a couple of washes. Buy a good bra. You deserve it. Your girls deserve it. Your back deserves it."

"I used to go to a place that went as far as tailoring your bras. They closed. All the bra shops closed. The knowledge of fitting bras is disappearing. It is Very sad for all of our breasts. If you get the right fit you feel like you're not wearing anything."

"Good bras are sooooo worth it. Changing from an ill-fitting bra to a properly-fitted one makes most women look like they lost 10-20 pounds!

My favorite gift for a new college grad, a special birthday, to celebrate a new job or a divorce is a trip to Nordstrom (or a specialty lingerie store) for a fitting. I buy them at least 2 perfectly fitted bras.

"Before the Nordstrom visit, many friends poo-poo the idea as unnecessary saying ' my bras are fine.' But as soon as they're wearing the new bras regularly, they can't believe how much [more] comfortable they are, and how many people comment, asking them if they lost weight."

"I’m a horticulturalist, so I bend and move a lot for work. I finally ditched my old Target bras that were loose and itchy. I splurged on bras made for gardeners from Duluth Trading, and oh my lord, why didn’t I do that sooner!"

professional movers, moving, hiring movers, bras, good brasProfessional movers make moving so much less stressful, physically and mentally.Photo credit: Canva

Professional movers

"Professional movers. Greatest luxury item I’ve ever spent money on."

"I moved for work a few times and the company would come to my house and pack everything up. They would individually wrap every plate and cup, it was crazy."

"Even just having plenty of energy to direct what rooms to put boxes in, being able to unpack essentials as all your stuff is brought in is worth its weight in gold."

"Yes! We packed, but paid for movers. Planning on doing it again next time cause that was so freaking worth it! We moved to another apartment in the same city so it wasn’t a long trip, but even still they had that entire apartment packed, moved and unloaded in like 7 hours with an hour lunch break so really done in 6 hr. It would have taken me and my husband probably 6 hours to just move the sectional, some shelving & the washer and dryer."

cleaners, professional cleaning services, house cleaners, splurges, worth itCleaners save time, stress, and sometimes even relationships.Photo credit: Canva

Cleaning services

"Monthly cleaning service!!!! Best non-required use of my money to date."

"Same here! I do bi-monthly. I was killing myself working 9+ hour days and trying to keep a clean house. I haven’t cleaned a bathroom since."

"I didn’t realise the mental load that cleaning carried or the weight of resentment for having to do it until I outsourced it. Best decision I’ve made in a long time."

"Yard service for me. Instead of a couple sweaty hours followed by a couple days of bad allergies, I now send a couple texts, transfer some money, and it's done."

cat, pet, vet, vet bills, veterinarianVet bills can be painful, but are 100% worth it.Photo credit: Canva

Vet bills

"The vet bill for my rescue cat's teeth removal. $5,000 all told. Ended the agony of stomatitis and saved his life. That was about 7 years ago and he's sitting on my lap right now. 🥰"

"$750 for anti-venom in 2007. She finally passed in 2019. I was a teenager when I foot that bill, it was everything I'd saved. Never regretted it for a second."

"I had a cat with a dead kidney and paid around $7k throughout her extremely short life because of her congenital kidney disease. She passed at 19 months after her dead kidney was removed and the remaining kidney started failing. It took all of the money I had left from my divorce and was saving, plus any other savings I had, and I still had to put some on credit.

I would do it again to get those extra months with her when she was feeling really good. I don’t think she had actually ever felt good before her nephrectomy. I love her and she saved my life, so I did what I could for her."

"We spent about $900 for an at-home euthanasia for our cat. We didn’t want him to be stressed out and scared in his last moments. 1000% worth it. This was after spending about $9k trying to save his life. Kidney disease/cancer can just f__k right off."

"Ours was $350 when we REALLY couldn’t afford it. Never again any other way. I love the idea of the lighting of the candle in the vet’s office for those in need, but home is the way to go."

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How much money do you need to make to be considered 'middle class' in the U.S.?

The income thresholds vary widely, but it still feels like these figures just can't be right.

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For many, the American middle class doesn't feel like it used to.

The U.S. middle class has long been a symbol of American prosperity, a promise that freedom, opportunity and hard work will provide your family a reasonably comfortable life, even if you don't strike it rich. In the past, an average middle class family could presumably afford to buy a modest home and take the family on fun-but-not-extravagant vacations. Not living luxuriously, but easily affording the basics, building up some savings and enjoying a little wiggle room in the budget for occasional extras. A nice, secure life.

But the reality of the middle class has shifted over the decades. Not only is the middle class shrinking, according to government statistics analyzed by Pew Research, but many people who fall into the middle class income-wise aren't feeling any sense of financial security. Approximately half of Americans are classified as middle class, down from 61 percent in 1971, and those who fall within middle class income thresholds can often feel like they're barely making ends meet.

When a TikTok user asked middle class families to share how much money they have in savings, the responses were eye-opening. Many middle class Americans say they have nothing in savings, and not for lack of trying. There's always some expense that comes up. Especially for those on the lower end of the spectrum of middle-class incomes, it can feel like living one emergency away from financial doom.

So how much money do you need to actually make to be considered middle class in the U.S.?

To compare middle class household income ranges by state, SmartAsset analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data using Pew Research's definition of middle class, which defines the middle class salary range as two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary. New Jersey came in at the highest range at $64,224 to $192,692 and Mississippi came in the lowest at $35,142 to $105,438.

Here are the rankings in order:

There are even bigger variations between cities. The highest middle class income range in SmartAsset's list of 345 cities is Sunnyvale, California (near San Jose) at $113,176 to $339,562 and the lowest range is Detroit, Michigan at $24,300 to $72,906.

Cost of living varies a lot, as we all know, so it's understandable that middle class income in the Silicon Valley wouldn't be the same as middle class income in the Midwest.



But the differences from place to place are arguably easier to digest than the differences within the ranges themselves. There's an ocean of difference between a household income of $50,000 and a household income of $150,000, no matter where you live. For most families I know, the low end of the income range in my state would be a huge stretch to even live on while the upper end would mean complete financial security. How can the entire range be considered middle class?

Interestingly, the past decade or so has seen middle class income ranges rise dramatically. According to GoBankingRates' analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, the household income required to be considered middle class increased by 41.67% overall from 2012 to 2022, with Oregon, Washington and Colorado each seeing an increase of over 50% during that time frame. People are making more money, but people also feel like their dollar isn't going as far.

Is that true, though? According to Investopedia, Americans overall are making more money than ever and are wealthier than every by nearly ever measure, even accounting for inflation. But at the same time, more Americans feel poorer. There are several possible reasons for that. One is the surge in housing prices increasing homeowners' net worth without adding actual, spendable dollars to their bank accounts. Another, as Investopedia points out, is that broad averages mask greater disparities between people's wealth—in other words, the rich are getting richer at higher rates than the average American. People also may still feel shaken by the pandemic's economic fallout. That sense of insecurity from an unprecedented global event may still linger in people's minds, making them feel financially unstable even if that's not their actual reality on paper.

And then there's the lens of partisan politics that can color people's perceptions. Half the country tends to see the economy negatively when one party is in power and the other half sees it negatively when the other party is in power. We also shouldn't discount the role that aspirational social media plays, with feeds pushing plush vacations and perfectly curated luxury homes, altering people's expectations of what life should look like.

Of course, some middle class folks really are financially struggling, and again, those lower income thresholds do feel incredibly low for most households. Perhaps it's time to shift the definition of "middle class" to be more reflective of how those incomes are experienced by real families rather than simply a percentage calculation that feels way off from reality.

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Real estate broker breaks down why middle class millennials and Gen Z can't afford housing

"It's fine...we just have to stop getting our fancy coffees and we can afford it."

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Real estate broker explains why Millennials can't buy houses

There's a housing crisis in America. It's not that there aren't houses available. Thousands of houses and apartments sit empty across the country, but the price for housing has reached levels that seem unsustainable for the middle class and those classified as working poor. Some might argue that middle class is now the working poor, though their yearly salary says they should be able to fair just fine.

Unfortunately, what used to be considered a decent salary for a middle class family to live comfortably is now barely enough to scrape by given the cost of housing. But some people from the boomer generation still struggle to understand why millennials and Gen Z can't afford housing.

Freddie Smith, a real estate broker, took to social media to explain why younger generations are struggling to purchase a home when their parents didn't. The real estate finance lesson was prompted when a baby boomer pointed out, "Don't forget we had 13% interest rates in the 80s."

A 13% interest rate seems like insanity upon first glance, but after Smith breaks it down, it doesn't look so bad. "I wish we had 13% interest rates if we had your home prices," the broker says before breaking things down.

Smith quickly starts speaking in numbers, revealing that in 1980 even with their yearly salary being only $22K with the 13% interest rate, their monthly payment only equaled to 26% of their monthly income. If millennials had the same circumstances, their median yearly salary would be $80k, their median price of a home $170K, and with a 13% interest rate the monthly payment would be $1,790–only 26% of their monthly income.

But that's not the reality that Millennials and Gen Z live in. While the median salary is $80k, the median price of a home is $419K, and while the interest rate in 2024 is 7%, with the housing price so high it would make the monthly payment 42% of their monthly income.

Smith wraps up the video saying, "And here's the kicker. Someone making $80K in most cases can't even qualify for this."


@fmsmith319 1980 vs 2024 home prices and interest rates
♬ original sound - Freddie Smith


That certainly put things in perspective for people. The video was flooded with comments from exhausted and frustrated millennials.

"Oh and the wives got to stay home and care for the kids now we pay another $1600 a month for daycare for us both to work," one person laments.

"Imagine if we had 140K homes with 13% rates. The gaslighting from them is WILD. I’d take 14% rates if the average home was only 140K," another says.

"It’s fine.. we just have to stop getting our fancy coffees and we can afford it," someone writes.

"We’re facing a 5K payment with 10% down on the average home. Same house cost 3K a month in rent. So we’re renting indefinitely at the moment," a commenter shares.

But this isn't just an issue in America. There were people outside of the U.S. sharing their astronomical cost of an average family home.

"Same here in Oslo, Norway. By dad bought his house for $22,500 in 1972. He’s selling it now for $1.75 million. And of course he says just this. 'You just have to spend less and work more.' Lol," someone shares.

"It’s worse in Australia. Average salary $80k average house price $1m," another writes.

While Smith doesn't offer a solution, his breakdown may help older generations understand why their children and grandchildren aren't buying homes. One can only hope housing prices go down or wages significantly increase so the middle class can afford a little more than their basic needs on top of being able to buy a home.

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15 million Americans have medical debt crushing their credit scores but that's about to end

This is great news for the millions of us with outstanding medical bills.

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Millions of American families are trying to pay off medical bills that put them into debt.

A new proposed rule from the Biden administration could spell some relief for people with outstanding medical bills.

According to data collected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), 15 million Americans are carrying $49 billion in medical debt that shows up on their credit report, potentially having a negative impact on their credit score. A new rule banning medical debt from credit reports would change that.

In the U.S., people's ability to get approved for a car loan or a mortgage to purchase a house depends heavily on their credit score or FICO score. People with a strong credit history, who make payments on time and don't carry too much debt, will usually have a good credit score and an easier time being approved for loans with the best interest rates. A low credit score makes getting a loan more difficult or more expensive.

Unfortunately, circumstances out of people's control, like medical care that puts them thousands of dollars in debt, can negatively impact their credit score.

"Medical debt makes it more difficult for millions of Americans to be approved for a car loan, a home loan or small business loan, all of which in turn makes it more difficult to just get by, much less get ahead. And that is simply not fair," Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters via teleconference.

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra also shared that having medical debt is not a fair indicator of someone's true credit habits.

"Medical debt on a consumer credit report is a very different type of debt than a mortgage, an auto loan, or a credit card," Chopra explained. "Sometimes, as is the case with a visit to the emergency room, the debt is taken on unexpectedly and in a time of crisis. Medical bills are also frequently subject to coding errors, charity care mistakes, or complexities with insurance. A decade ago, the CFPB found that medical debts were overly penalizing consumer credit scores, and we have consistently found that medical billing data on a credit report is less predictive of future repayment than other debts."

Chopra also called out the predatory practices that have influenced credit reporting systems when it comes to medical debt, providing an unfair disadvantage to consumers.

"Some have seized on medical debts as a major moneymaking enterprise," he said. "These entities purchase medical debt, sometimes for pennies on the dollar, and they can cash out big by getting consumers to pay up on those debts. And one of the easiest ways they can do so is by threatening to park that medical debt on the credit report, where it might impede a consumer’s ability to get approved for a loan. In this way, the credit reporting system more closely resembles a weapon for debt collectors rather than a tool for lenders to assess someone’s likelihood to repay a loan."

Chopra also pointed out that the three big credit reporting agencies——Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—voluntarily removed some medical debt from credit reports, only certain kinds. CFPB research found that although the number of Americans with medical debts on their credit report had decreased, the numbers were still substantial and disproportionately impact low-income Americans. Additionally, the average medical debt on credit reports had increased from $2,000 to over $3,100.

Vice President Harris said that this change would result in millions of Americans seeing a 20-point increase in their credit score on average, allowing for 22,000 more approved mortgages to buy a home. She also called on states, cities and hospitals to join the Biden administration in forgiving medical debt.

According to ABC News, the rule has been in the works since September and could go into effect early next year.


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