17 women reveal the most expensive thing they've ever bought and why

The INSIDER Summary

• Once you start working, making an expensive purchase becomes possible.
• For some millennial women, a big purchase includes a car or a house.
• For others, it's a iMac or a pair of designer shoes.
• The main takeaway is to get value for the money that you have, no matter what you're buying. 

Money is a feminist issue — and yet, women are still reluctant to talk about it. According to a recent Bustle survey of more than 1,000 millennial women, more than 50 percent of people said they never discuss personal finances with friends, even though 28 percent reported feeling stressed out about money every single day. That’s why Bustle launched Grown-A$$ Finances, a series that gets real about what millennial women are doing with their money, and why — because managing your money should feel empowering, not intimidating.  

Sometimes, making big purchases — i.e., expensive ones — is inevitable. Yet other times, it's frivolous. I spoke to 17 Millennial women on the most expensive thing they've bought and why, and the responses varied a lot, as you'll see in a moment. I also asked them how their purchases made them feel. "Avoiding big financially blunders is one of the main keys to financial success,"Canon Hickman, wealth manager at Equity Concepts, tells Bustle. "You can drink coffee from home every day instead of [buying it], but it won't really make a difference if you go out and buy a $60,000 car when you can't afford it."

So what should we do when considering a big purchase? 

"A helpful way to think about purchases is: Know what your hourly rate is," Hickman says. "If you take your salary and divide it by the number of hours you work, you get an idea of how much you make an hour. Then, when making a purchasing decision, you can think about it like, 'Am I willing to work 15 hours to buy this purse?' It's not just money coming out of your pocket, it's hours of your time."

Funny that Hickman says that, as I do the exact same thing. I think about how much I am paid for a freelance piece and then think: "OK, that shirt at a name-brand store is worth half an article from 'x' publication. However, I can get five shirts at Goodwill for the same price. Or, I can just buy none of them, put the money into savings instead, and go through my closet and see what I haven't worn in a while."

Curious what Millennial women spent the most money on and how they felt about it? Here's what I found out.

Stephanie, 28

"The most expensive thing I've ever bought was my car. I got it because, at the time, I felt it would be more affordable to buy a car than it would be continuing to get my current car fixed. I suppose I could have bought a cheaper car. Looking back now, I really wish I had just gotten my car fixed because I think that would've saved me more money long-term."

Sian, 33

"It's a toss-up between getting my teeth straightened and going to Zanzibar on holiday. Health and travel are two of my top priorities. A lot of people wouldn't have seen the need to get my teeth straightened, but it was important to me and something I felt self-conscious about for years. The Zanzibar trip — travel makes me happy, and I wanted to remind myself that I work hard for a reason. Life is for living and not simply working to pay rent! Everyone has their own priorities, and we should fulfill them."

Jackie, 27

"My iMac, LOL. I know — it's not a very expensive item when you think of other things I probably should have bought as a married 27-year-old (like a house or car). I was a freelancer working from home on my laptop. Ergonomically, it was horrible. I invested some cash on a bigger screen that would allow me to sit more upright at my desk. It truly did make me happy, as it made my life easier and more comfortable. As a contractor, I was able to write off part of that purchase on my taxes. So, no regrets there. :)"