The Best Ways to Spend 5 Bucks

A friend of mine just announced excitedly that she had won the lottery! She then went on to admit that she had won a grand total of $5. Another friend suggested that she could use it to get a fancy coffee drink, and that started me wondering: What are some of the most fun and satisfying ways to spend five bucks? Here are a few of my suggestions.

Paperback Books

Cicero said, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Fortunately, 5 bucks can buy you a soul in a paperback cover. Choose a classic like Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence ($4.05 from Amazon) or Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days ($3.60 from Amazon), or pick up one of your favorite bedtime stories from your childhood, like Syd Hoff’s Danny and the Dinosaur ($3.92 at Target) or Margret and H.A. Rey’s Curious George Visits a Toy Store ($3.95 at Target). 

 

Good Chocolate

Got a bit of a sweet tooth? Reward yourself by splurging on some better chocolate than your usual Hershey’s or Nestle. You could get a whole bag of Lindt Lindor Truffles ($3.78 at Walmart) or five (FIVE!!!) 3-packs of Ferrero Rocher Hazelnut Chocolates ($0.99/3-pack at Target).

A Cool Kitchen Gadget

How many times have you seen an informercial or been poking through a fancy kitchen store and thought, “Gee, a gadget like that would be handy,” but you never got it? Now’s the time to get yourself that weird gadget that you’ll only use 3 times a year but will feel really cool using. How about a corn stripper ($4.99 from Light In The Box) or that adorable penguin kitchen timer ($4.99 from Bed Bath and Beyond) – you know you want it!! Or maybe you’re sick of getting brine all over your fingers and need a pickle picker ($2.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond).

Toys

What could make you happier than a new toy? it brings you right back to the carefree exhilaration of being 5 years old with not a care in the world other than playing with a new toy. How about a whole bucket of Play-Doh and tools to go with it? A Play-Doh Sundae Sweet Treats Bucket will fill the bill nicely ($4.99 from Christmas Tree Shops). If Play-Doh doesn’t make you happy, how about bubbles? And not just bubbles, but Bubblin’ Blast Elmo ($3.98 Toys ‘R’ Us).

Girly Stuff

Sometimes feeling feminine is what makes you happy. Soaking in a sweet-smelling, hot, bubbly bathtub always works for me. Pick up some Calgon Lavender Vanilla bath beads ($2.99 from Bed Bath and Beyond) or some Oatmeal Silk bath salts ($3.00 from Walmart). Or how about a new shade of lipstick, like Revlon Super Lustrous Pearl lipstick in Champagne on Ice ($4.97 from Walmart)?

Accessories

There isn’t much in the way of clothes that you can get for under $5, but there are always accessories. Anything from a cowboy hat ($4 at Walmart) or a sweet fedora ($4 at Walmart) o maybe a a cute and colorful clutch purse ($3.99 at Walmart). 

Coffee and Pastries

To get back to the suggestion that kicked off this whole list, what kind of gooey coffee creations and buttery pastries can you splurge on with your five bucks? You could get a regular caramel latte or a medium iced chai tea latte (both $4.75 from Panera), or a bear claw, a pecan roll, or a cinnamon crumb coffee cake (each $3.16 from Panera), or a tall white chocolate mocha, caramel flan macchiato, or cinnamon dolce macchiato ($4.45 from Starbucks) , or a double chocolate chunk brownie ($2.75 from Starbucks) or an almond croissant blossom ($3.96 from Starbucks).

How can five bucks make YOU happy?