Why I Don’t Regret Buying These $100 Pants

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These pants cost me a little over $100 in 2012. I wonder how much they cost now! 😱

At the time, that was a lot of money for yoga pants for me!

I was a part time teacher with two little kids. My husband was a teacher too. We lived in a tiny starter home, lived simply, picked cheap happy hours with the kids over fancy dinners, and pieced together extra income through side gigs and night classes.

We were happy, but money was definitely something we thought very carefully about.

A few years earlier, we had taught abroad in Rome and absolutely loved it. We always dreamed of going back overseas once the kids were older.

Then our district stalled out. No raises for five years. We felt stuck.

So we took a leap earlier than planned and accepted jobs at Shanghai American School when the kids were just 4 and 6 years old.

That decision changed our lives.

Not just because I went back to full time work.

Not just because the salary was better.

But because housing was also paid for.

I don’t think people fully understand how life changing employer paid housing can be. It completely changes the math.

And while many people around us fell into what people call “golden handcuffs,” we made a very intentional decision not to. We wanted freedom more than appearances. We wanted options later.

So we stayed pretty frugal, even in Shanghai.

Yes, I loved my Monday massages 😂

But we did not live the luxury brunch every weekend lifestyle that was very easy to fall into there. Instead, I learned how to invest. We saved aggressively. We kept our lifestyle relatively simple even when our income jumped.

That decision quietly changed our entire future.

I was even able to make the leap and leave teaching because of these years of investing in the stock market and real estate and intentional living.

But this story is actually about the pants.

Right after we signed our contracts and spent thousands on visas and paperwork, I decided to celebrate. I bought my very first iPad… and these Lululemon yoga pants.

It felt HUGE to me at the time.

And apparently I got my money’s worth because I wore these pants for FOURTEEN YEARS until the bottoms literally shredded apart this week 😂

Honestly, I loved them.

They remind me of a season where our world expanded. A season where we took a risk. A big one! A season where we still stayed grounded even as our opportunities grew.

I do not think expensive automatically means better.

I also do not think every splurge is irresponsible.

Some purchases become symbols. Some become tools. Some become daily companions tied to memories, growth, and chapters of your life.

These pants were that for me.

So now I’m curious:

What’s something you spent more money on than usual that ended up being completely worth it? Or was it a regret?

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