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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask what your best investment in yourself has been?

604 replies

HeyItsPickleRick · 04/05/2025 23:08

Come on mumsnet, creep my lifestyle!

Inspired by the personal stylist post - I’m wondering what is the best thing you’ve bought for yourself?

Mine has 100% been my peloton and all the dumbbells. First exercise I’ve ever stuck to!

OP posts:
notadrift · 05/05/2025 09:46

Learning a couple of languages helped massively with work and in life. But it was free. But involved time.

Shizzlestix · 05/05/2025 09:46

Bariatric surgery 2 years ago. I’ve halved my weight. Wish I’d done it years ago. I feel great.

LoveWine123 · 05/05/2025 09:47

Hwi · 05/05/2025 09:43

Absolutely! Can't agree more! Only be honest and say 'the investment of the society into me', rather than 'my investment'. All degrees are subsidised by the state to such an extent, that a domestic student should forever bow to the ground every time they meet an international student or the said bus driver.

Oh go argue somewhere else. Stop turning this positive thread into an argument. You are one of those that actively seeks out people to put down on every thread, aren’t you? Pathetic.

Hedjwitch · 05/05/2025 09:47

Yoga. I hated it at first,still find it difficult but am stronger and more flexible now in my sixties than I have ever been.

takealettermsjones · 05/05/2025 09:49

Imbusytodaysorry · 05/05/2025 06:22

I have years of being unwell too. Where did you go privately. ? I am sick of being fobbed off.
Bloods are coming back with inflammation markers and they just ignore it .
What bloods did you ask to be done specifically?

I went to Bupa because of work insurance. My problem was getting them to repeat a previous test - I'd been under NHS rheumatology for years and they did bloods every now and again. I always had positive ANA but my CRP had been normal once when I was much younger and after that they wouldn't repeat it, even years later, despite me telling them that my symptoms were worsening. Part of the problem is that my symptom picture is missing one of the most common symptoms, it just doesn't present in me for some reason, but all the others are present. But because of that it's hard to get people to believe me. Anyway when I got the private CRP done and the specific tests (like anti ro and anti dsDNA and all those) it turned out I was right - it had worsened a lot and was now affecting my organs. Private HCP wrote to my rheumatologist and they finally referred me to a specialist, and it's now a lot better.

LeCygneNoir · 05/05/2025 09:49

hobbledyhoy · 05/05/2025 09:08

Students get loans from the government which they pay back and the likelihood of a better wage post degree means that they are likely to pay more tax, which in turn could benefit the bus driver who may need support further down the line from the benefits system or the work that the graduate does i.e. doctor

It’s about balance and benefiting all in society where possible to reach their potential and access opportunities and help when needed.

Well this - I pay more in tax every year now, than I ever borrowed as student loans - or indeed that I was ever subsidised by the state during my degree.

WendyWagon · 05/05/2025 09:49

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

SingtotheCat · 05/05/2025 09:52

Weight loss injections, breast reduction, varicose vein surgery.

Diydanny · 05/05/2025 09:52

Having Replacement Lens surgery in both eyes. Lifelong spectacle wearing done with and cataract development swerved at age 65. Fantastic!

notprincehamlet · 05/05/2025 09:53

Had LASIK which was amazing for a couple of years but then I was back to needing glasses.
Currently doing Invisalign - the change in function and appearance is huge but it also makes me sad that I've spent most of my life covering up wonky teeth when they could have been sorted for free as a kid!

Hwi · 05/05/2025 09:53

TUCKINGFYP0 · 05/05/2025 09:43

I think you will find that bus drivers like their kids to be taught by teachers with degrees , their teeth drilled by dentists who have been to university, their heart bypass / knee replacement surgery done by qualified surgeons and anaesthetists, their statins or beta blockers developed by pharmacologists and the planes they fly in to be built and maintained by aeronautical engineers.

You follow the wrong line of argument. All I am saying that people who benefited from higher education should never insult the generosity of those who have funded it (tax payers, the state via international students) and claim that it was 'their investment'.

hobbledyhoy · 05/05/2025 09:54

Hwi · 05/05/2025 09:38

Fact remains, degrees are heavily subsidised, students pay a fraction of what it really costs - ask any international student what they pay and then realise that the 'investment in myself' was a massive charity donation on the part of tax payers.

It’s still an investment of their own money as they pay much of it back over time. It’s in the government’s interest (and the tax payers) to have a skilled, educated workforce and enable people across all areas of society to access opportunities to progress and carve a career that can then benefit wider society.

It seems your point is that only those who can afford it themselves should have access to these opportunities otherwise the tax payer is paying out and getting nothing in return.

Aside from finances, they also invest their own time and energy.

We all benefit from subsidised services in one way or another. Social cohesion, community, economic growth and general progress comes from realising we all benefit from bringing people with us as opposed to trampling the people underneath.

Keepitrealnomists · 05/05/2025 09:55

Mounjaro has changed my life, I've lost 7st in 12 months, spend money on hair extensions, nails, new clothes. Reinvented myself, feel happier and healthier

Nomoreidea · 05/05/2025 09:56

It's an investment of time to go to university, time that you could be working full time and earning an income if you didn't make that choice. So also a loss of money - that you hope to make back in future income, but no guarantees it will be higher!

PestoPasto · 05/05/2025 10:02

Invisalign followed by whitening and composite edge bonding on all of my top teeth. Changed my life and my confidence.

Badbadbunny · 05/05/2025 10:02

myotheraccountsa · 05/05/2025 00:06

Wow that is mega interesting. I find standing really hurts my hips but if I started doing it more maybe it would help - did you find it uncomfortable to begin with?

Start slowly and build up. My desk is electric so I can raise and lower it when I want. At first, I just stood for the first hour of the morning and then another hour at the start of the afternoon. Then made sure that "hour" got longer and longer as the days and weeks passed.

What also helps is moving around rather than being stood still for hours. I'd previously been "saving" trips to other areas of the office, i.e. the filing room, copier, printer, loo, kitchen, etc., and heaving myself of my chair once every couple of hours to do loads of things before sitting down again. So very long periods of just sitting. When I was standing, as I was already "up", I'd just trot over to the copier, printer, filing room, etc., many times per hour, which made me more active in addition to standing rather than sitting.

My step counter previously showed just a few hundred steps per day walking occasionally around the office, but once I was standing for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the afternoon, my steps increased to a few thousand per day, without me even realising it.

Being more active throughout the day, on top of standing when working at the computer, certainly helped with hip pain. Nothing worse than standing still for a long term, but that's really not the whole point of the standing desk - yes, it improves your body "stationary" position, gets the blood pumping more, and builds muscle in the backs and legs, but more important than that is the way you're more likely to move around more in your workplace simply because you're already on your feet, so going to the copier isn't a big effort anymore and instead of returning/collecting several files at once, you go multiple times to put one back and take the next out.

Eagle2025 · 05/05/2025 10:05

Hwi · 05/05/2025 09:53

You follow the wrong line of argument. All I am saying that people who benefited from higher education should never insult the generosity of those who have funded it (tax payers, the state via international students) and claim that it was 'their investment'.

Investment in yourself doesnt have to mean literally money. You can also be investing your time and effort into something for a future benefit. Plus once they are working they will be tax payers too.

Badbadbunny · 05/05/2025 10:09

Nomoreidea · 05/05/2025 09:56

It's an investment of time to go to university, time that you could be working full time and earning an income if you didn't make that choice. So also a loss of money - that you hope to make back in future income, but no guarantees it will be higher!

Like any investment you have to do research and consider likely outcomes, including probability of completing the course, probability of the end grade, probability of employment, probability of employment sector/wages/pensions/promotions, etc.

If you choose the right course/right uni for your anticipated career, you're more likely to get the kind of job/wage/lifestyle you aspire to, but it may be harder if it's not a subject that interests you or the Uni isn't the right fit for you!

If you randomly choose a subject you like or a Uni you like, you're more likely to finish the course because you're enjoying it, but less likely to get the career you aspire you (assuming your course/uni is not a direct shoe-in to your chosen career!).

If you choose not to go to Uni, then you have to look at alternative options that will get you into the kind of career/job that you aspire to.

Lots of factors to build into the equation. Lots of probabilities as to outcomes. Lots of choices. The more you think, the more you plan, the more you research, the higher the likelihood of getting a job/career that suits how you see your adult life, whether it's Uni or not, whether the Uni/Course is chosen by head or by heart, etc.

Superhansrantowindsor · 05/05/2025 10:09

Hwi · 05/05/2025 09:53

You follow the wrong line of argument. All I am saying that people who benefited from higher education should never insult the generosity of those who have funded it (tax payers, the state via international students) and claim that it was 'their investment'.

Isn’t it both?

Natsku · 05/05/2025 10:10

Hwi · 05/05/2025 09:53

You follow the wrong line of argument. All I am saying that people who benefited from higher education should never insult the generosity of those who have funded it (tax payers, the state via international students) and claim that it was 'their investment'.

But they are still investing their money though even if it's not the full cost it is still a considerable investment. They also invest their time, 3 or 4 years (or more) when they are out of the workforce (beyond part time work) not earning. But if all goes well they will be paying more tax than the average person, or bus driver, and invest in the next generation of university students.

That said Uni wasn't a good investment for me, dropped out before my last year. Sorry tax payers.

Diydanny · 05/05/2025 10:10

I had my RLS 9 years ago, opting for tri focal lenses which means I don’t need glasses at all for short or long vision. I believe the options are even better now.

nomas · 05/05/2025 10:11

LillyPJ · 05/05/2025 07:33

Doing a degree at 40 and retraining to go into a job with a pension. Retired at 57 and so grateful to have invested time and energy into those years. Well worth it.

This is interesting. Was the 17 years enough time to build a pension?

Flamingoknees · 05/05/2025 10:12

notadrift · 05/05/2025 09:46

Learning a couple of languages helped massively with work and in life. But it was free. But involved time.

How did you do this please?

dnamummy · 05/05/2025 10:13

DouDouBob · 05/05/2025 07:41

For those recommending laser eye surgery or other types of eye surgeries, is there a surgical option for people whose vision has only deteriorated after the age of 40, particularly those who need separate glasses for both reading and driving? I’m really frustrated, as I don't get on with verifocals and am constantly switching between glasses, it is so limiting.

I had both lenses replaced, with one set to be long focus and the other to near focus. My brain learned to merge the info so I can drive and read without glasses, although I feel better using a low prescription pair of glasses at night.

twilightermummy · 05/05/2025 10:13

My yoga teacher training 😊