I do think there is a secondary definition to the word investment, beyond "something that makes you money" and it's "something that saves you money." So, if you "invest" in a nicer, higher quality something, and that purchase results in lower future expenditures, that can be an "investment". For instance, LED light bulbs or more efficient X will, in the long run, save money. I look at certain clothing expenditures as an "investment" (with quotes) because those things will last a long time. I have two pairs of extremely nice dress shoes (brown and black), with a price tag that would give some people fits, but prior to buying them I was burning through cheapo $80 DSW dress shoes every 6 months or so. Given that the shoes I bought should last many years (the brown pair is on its 3rd year already with no visible wear), they will pay for themselves at some point. If you want to stretch that even further, you could argue that if you bought a $300 purse, it will be the be-all, end-all for purses for you, and you can stop buying $30 purses every other month for next 5 years, I guess you can call that an "investment" but in order for it to work you have to actually stop buying other shit. You can't "invest" in a new $300 purse every season, then it's just a purchase.