Five Things I’m Glad I Bought in 2018

January 4, 2019

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They say money can’t buy you happiness.

But money buys you a wave runner.

And have you ever seen someone sad on a wave runner?

Money is important. It can give us financial freedom or the ability to help others or pay for high-priced defense lawyers.

That being said, here are some things that made me happy I had some money.

-Tickets to Deadpool 2. I’ve been a fan of comic stories my whole life. I read comics as a child and have never again experienced the excitement I felt when the first Batman came out in 1989. So it comes as no surprise that I’ve pretty much seen every comic book movie that comes out. I’ve mostly liked them all. Until this year.

Earlier in 2018, a new superhero movie came out that received lots and lots of hype. So much hype. I was excited to see it. It did not go well.

While watching it at home, about 30 minutes in Jill said, “This is terrible.” Then she fell asleep. She woke up 25 minutes later, watched for a moment, and said, “This is still terrible.” I watched all of it and had a different opinion. I thought it was horrible.

We were incredulous. This movie broke records and received praise around the world. Meanwhile I was weighing thoughts of never watching a superhero movie again. Everything felt disjointed and sad.

Shortly thereafter another superhero movie came out. It also received a lot of hype. I thought we’d give superheros another chance. It did not go well.

After this one we were sure we were done with superhero movies.

And then, just a few days later, Deadpool 2 came out. We were deeply conflicted. We heard it was good but we couldn’t go through the pain again. We were fragile. Our movie-going futures were in jeopardy.

But we decided to give it one last chance. And it was glorious. Deadpool 2 was so good. It brought us back. It gave us hope. It was one of the best things I bought last year.

-An Instant Pot. I’m not 100% sure I bought my Instant Pot in 2018. But I am 100% sure that I love it. It’s fast and easy and inexpensive and makes delicious things. It’s made our lives better and is worth every penny.

-An acupuncture mat. Tim Ferriss tipped me off to this, and I’m glad he did. I sometimes get lower back pain and 5-10 minutes a day on the mat really makes a difference. I use it almost every day, it works, and it’s cheap.

-New Balance shoes. Sad story alert: my tennis career was ruined as a teenager due a botched heel surgery. Two more surgeries followed and finally my legs were fixed. But I couldn’t walk without pain for twenty years. After my last surgery, my doctor told me to only wear New Balance shoes. And he was right. I’ve only worn New Balance since and I’ve never had pain again. Sure, New Balance isn’t the most sporty brand out there. But I happily spend money on their shoes and will do so forever.

-Cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls aren’t good for you. Allegedly. But even if they are unhealthy, they provide a small moment of blissful nirvana between salads and protein balls. You can’t put a price on that (although some bakeries do sell them for a cost). HOWEVER, cinnamon rolls (and their cousins, the doughnuts), may actually be of benefit after all. Maybe, just maybe, coffee and cinnamon rolls are exactly what our brains need.

Happy New Year!

My book is called The Inevitability of Becoming Rich, and you can find that here.