My Best Purchases in NYC in 2023

An optimistic look on my 2023 spending - we'll save the negativity for next week ;)

In the spirit of a January monthly reset, and because it’s never too late for an annual reset, I’m reflecting on the best purchases I made in 2023. I’ll save the worst purchases for a different post, when I’m ready to come to terms with those.

A lot of personal finance content talks about what not to buy—how to cut down your budget, why you shouldn’t spend so much money on this or that so you can save or pay down debt. And, sure, that’s important, but I’m a firm believer in intentional spending—spending money on what will bring me joy or make me better in some way, rather than spending money on things that might make me sad or sick or otherwise feel worse. I think intentional spending is more important than how much you’re spending.

So, without further ado, here are my 5 best purchases of 2023:

1. Concert tickets (specifically boygenius) - ~$1,000

I went to quite a few concerts last year—boygenius (three times), Clairo, and Death Cab, just to name a few. None of these tickets were as expensive as a Taylor Swift ticket, but it adds up.

Concerts were the highlight of my 2023, and I already have quite a few concert tickets bought for 2024. I always leave a concert feeling energized, creative, and inspired—it’s a feeling I’ve only been able to get from a concert or a show. So I will keep going to concerts in 2024, probably spending around the same amount.

2. A vacation out of the city - Alaska - ~$3,000

I have some friends who go on trips every month, but honestly, I love New York, and I traveled a lot the past few years, and try to keep travel to a minimum now. While there’s lots more places on my list, it’s also hard to find a place better than New York, and I feel blessed to live in a place that others might vacation.

But going to Alaska wasn’t just a vacation for me. Alaska has been a place I’ve felt called to for as long as I can remember. My childhood bedroom is filled with notes I wrote growing up about how much I wanted to go to Alaska. I almost didn’t go, too. We were behind on planning everything, I was nervous about taking so much time off work—both very bad reasons to not go on the trip I’ve dreamed of forever.

The trip lived up to expectations, but obviously, it was expensive—Alaska isn’t a cheap place to visit. Between flights, hotels, food, and excursions (including landing on a glacier in a tiny airplane), the trip was around $3,000.

Fitness classes - ~$1,500

One of my resolutions for 2023 was to spend money on health and fitness, even if it’s more than I used to pay. I didn’t regularly do fitness classes until recently because of the cost—I always thought, oh, I’ll workout outside, or in the tiny gym in the basement—and then, of course, I didn’t. Fitness classes motivate me to workout and help me workout in ways that wouldn’t be possible by myself. And, honestly, I’m still paying less than Equinox (sorry, very New York, LOL).

4. My journal club, Silk and Sonder - ~$200

I’m part of a journal subscription where each month I get a new journal that I can use as a planner, too. The product is great (not sponsored), but the reason I’ve really kept with it is the community. I do it with my mom and my sister, and I’ve gotten to connect with others in the club through the online community and meetups. And a little bit like the fitness classes, I think that in spending money here, I’m prioritizing my mental health.

5. Crochet supplies - ~$300

I learned how to crochet in 2023. No, I’m not very good. I can make a scarf or a lopsided blanket.

I picked up crochet because I wanted a hobby that was more mobile than sewing, but still something I could do off screen. I picked crochet over knitting because I thought that with only one needle, I would have one hand free—I did not know how crochet worked. But learning to crochet has been amazing—I gave my mom a hand crocheted scarf for Christmas, joined a local knitting club where I got to know women of all ages, and found a hobby I could do to keep me off my phone.

Let me know in the comments what were your best purchases of 2023!

Last note - I think I’ll edit my posting schedule to 1x per week, plus a monthly reset, so 5-6 posts per month. Let me know any feedback on other posts you’d like to see about finance and NYC!