Posted by Maria Dimitrova

Read this if: You’ve received an unexpected bonus or you’ve saved some money and you haven’t decided how to spend it

We are currently in a recession and most people in discussion forums think that the most reasonable way to spend a thousand dollars is to pay off a credit card debt or decide not to spend it at all and put it in a savings account instead. But let’s consider the situation that you don’t have a card credit debt. What would you spend this money on? [ed: or consider that your savings might be wiped out by the banking crisis. Spend it now and be happy!]

The best way to spend a thousand dollars is to meet the most urgent need you have at the moment – health and lifestyle improvement, fun, home improvement or enhancing your chances for professional realization. When you take your time to prioritize your current needs, you will find the best way to utilize this sum of money. In the mean time, take a look at these suggestions:

Health and lifestyle improvement

*  Spa weekend.

The de-stressing effect of this experience will be highly beneficial for your health. No wonder Hollywood stars like Jennifer Aniston are such big fans of it. They deserve a much-needed rest from the pressure of being constantly in the centre of attention. But we also deserve this healthy pleasure, don’t we? Here are two examples of such offers: You may book a package for any Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday sharing a Superior Twin, Double or Triple Room for just £389 per person at http://www.ragdalehall.co.uk/offer_detail.cfm/offer_ID/72/title/title=Weekend-Getaway-Offer

or enjoy a Kudos Luxury Spa Escape from $370 per person: http://www.hepburnbathhouse.com/package-details?pid=66.

*  Active healthy weekend

Where I live there are fitness instructors who organize such weekends that offer healthy food, a variety of sports and other activities you can choose from (aerobics, yoga, swimming, rowing in a lake, horse riding, a group walking in the mountains, etc), socializing and partying in the evening (only a glass of wine or beer is allowed as it’s considered a healthy weekend not an ordinary night out). The location they’ve chosen is near the city so almost no time is wasted in travel and at the same time it’s in a beautiful place near a lake. Check if there are similar offers in your area. You’ll get back at work refreshed, toned and positive!

*  Start training with a personal fitness instructor to get fit, be healthy and enhance your confidence

A personal fitness instructor will not only explain how to use the fitness machines but they will also keep your motivation up and push you harder than you feel like pushing yourself. It hurts for 45 minutes but you enjoy the benefits all week!

*  Parties

Facebook, MySpace, Skype can’t substitute real-life fun gathering with your friends. Why wait for your birthday or another occasion when you can invite any time them to celebrate your friendship? You can make parties once a month a tradition which you and your friends will be looking forward to with glowing anticipation.

*  Massages

In the US an average price of a massage is between 50 and 70$ according to this website: http://www.massage-therapy-benefits.net where you also can find ideas about how to find even more affordable offers.

*  Spice up your life with some adventure

It’s an alternative to the active healthy weekend suggested above as the focus here is on emotion from going out of your comfort zone a little bit by participating in family white water rafting tournament or some other kind of thrilling adventure. See why it was an unforgettable experience for a participant in this tournament:

“Can’t remember when I laughed so hard, so long.  Wonderful weekend.

Great bonding experience for my team.  I will recommend your tournament to all!  Thank you!”
– Paul Gannon / Washington Twisters

Get more details about this kind of weekends here: http://www.whitewaterchallengers.com/lehigh/lehigh-soccer-home.asp.

*  A course in something you’ll greatly enjoy

It can be anything from acting classes, horse riding, art classes, creative writing to dancing.

The famous actress Terry Hatcher is only one example of the trend to attend pole dancing as a fitness activity, for fun and becoming more self-confident. You can find offers for 35$ per class,  250$ for a monthly unlimited membership card or 100$ for a private lesson: http://bodyandpole.com/prices-and-packages/

Another idea is an art workshop weekend where you can draw pictures or make beautiful artifacts like pottery and souvenirs under the guidance of a professional artist. You will have wonderful memories and take pride in the beautiful things you’ve made. In addition, doing something unusual and crafty is a great way to boost your creativity (beneficial for your performance in all areas in life), release all the tension from mundane everyday activities and meet new people. The website www.artworkshops.com, you can get a 3 day workshop for 860$ (single occupancy).

*  Vacation

This is one of the first things that spring to mind when thinking how to spend extra money. Choose a location that suits your needs the most and is within your budget. To save money you can book a low cost flight several months ahead.

*  Buying a ticket for a concert

Attending a big concert isn’t an ordinary experience as you’ll absorb the exhilaration of the huge audience and feel part of something big.  Everybody needs some excitement in their lives to recharge the batteries.

*  Getting a temporary tattoo or removing a permanent one with laser

Tattoos have been fashionable for ages. Temporary tattoos work great for people who just want to have fun, experiment with their looks, without indulging in any kind of pain or regret of getting a permanent mark. According to http://bodyart.iloveindia.com the artists, who charge by the hour, generally charge between 75 and 150 dollars per hour. However, the leading artists may charge even more than that. Most of the tattoos cost a minimum of fifty dollars, but can cost up to thousands of dollars over numerous tattoo sessions, according to the tattoo design.

Don’t compromise on the quality! While selecting a tattoo parlor, check out the quality and safety (safe handling and sanitizing methods) rather than focusing on the cost.
Often tattoos signify an important change in someone’s life. They serve as landmarks but when a person enters a new period in their life, the tattoo may seem inappropriate and irrelevant. See information about the opposite procedure – getting rid of a tattoo you don’t want any more: http://www.tattoohealth.org/content/whatislaserremoval.asp#ixzz1YzcBXdBa

*  Beautifying procedures

It can be laser hair removal to save time and frustration from frequent waxing and shaving, skin re-hydrating procedures, skin pigmentation treatment or whatever you think you need the most.

Home improvement

*  Kitchen machine – to cook faster and easier

Look at a top-rated food processor and what a review says about it:

“I have been a Cuisinart lover for over 20 years. It is still an excellent machine, but the Braun is quiet, efficient, can be operated with one hand, grinds faster and better than the Cuisinart, and is easy to clean up. We have another appliance made by Braun, that has to be over 30 years old, and it still works beautifully! Definitely a terrific food processor, and really glad I bought it! ”

Braun Multiquick 3 K650 Kitchen Machine 600 Watt

*  Bread making machine – to eat warm, freshly-baked, healthy bread without preservatives and other substances which bread sold in supermarkets is often made with.

A top rated bread-making machine and an opinion of a reviewer:

” This machine works so great and makes such great bread you can’t keep it coming fast enough. It is extremely quiet and the yeast dispenser is I believe part of the secret for its accuracy in breadmaking. If you are thinking of getting a bread machine you can’t go wrong with this one. It is fantastic and so easy to use. Our first machine seemed such a challenge to get to work that I spent little time helping my wife with the breadmaking (unless it was to repair the machine when it was broke). With this one, we both love to use it.”

Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker

*  Food steamer – to preserve the nutrients in vegetables while cooking

A top-rated Amazon food steamer and what a reviewer shares:

“This is a great device to cook an entire meal or side in quick mindless ease. I can’t think of a feature I would change on this unit. A great device that actually has increased the amount of rice and vegetables I and my family consume.  This is a great product at a great price. Wonderful!”

Aroma ARC-838TC 8-Cup Digital Rice Cooker & Food Steamer

*  Make your home more eco-friendly and energy-efficient

You can buy energy-efficient windows, solar panels, more insulation for the attic, energy-efficient refrigerator and water-saving shower heads.

Obviously $1,000 may not cover all expenses for some of these things, especially at a large scale. But these are ideas for you to implement one by one over time and with a thousand dollars you can put the starting point of a home improvement project.

Courses to boost your professional realization

Depending on what your professional field is, you can look around and choose what skills to improve. New Horizons is one of the leading centers offering courses mainly in the IT area, English language and business and project management skills. Nowadays, more than ever, gaining a competitive edge by mastering new skills is highly beneficial.

Providing help

Last but not least, if you decide to help a person in need or give the money to an organization that raises funds for different causes, it will be an extremely fulfilling experience for you, especially if you track how the money was spent and see with your own eyes the improvement in somebody’s life you’ve contributed to. Giving happiness is one of the best ways to derive happiness.

[ed: My tip - take a balloon trip. I was given one for my birthday. What a fantastic experience]