You know how they say a woman's frontal lobe develops once she hits 25? Well, I seem to have experienced that sensation twice in my life. Once in my mid-20s, and then again on my 30th birthday.

It's this strange feeling where, suddenly, you have so much more clarity. You start questioning things and looking back at decisions you made before becoming this wise, all-knowing being.

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When I turned the big 3-0, I had the sudden realisation that I was spending a lot of money on completely useless things.

Like a handbag so small, my phone sticks out of it like a piece of toast. Or a dress I came across on TikTok that was apparently the one item I absolutely needed to own, otherwise my entire life would crumble into smithereens.

Now that I'm almost a year into my 30s, there are certain things I simply refuse to spend money on anymore. And it's not because I've become frugal. If anything, I'm more willing to spend money now — just on things that are actually worth it.

I'd rather invest in one really good-quality item than buy 20 different versions of the same thing because they fall apart two weeks later.

1. Poor quality clothes.

I used to buy clothes for very specific versions of myself that didn't really exist.

The girl who somehow enjoys dry-clean-only fabrics. The girl who wears super trend-driven pieces before they inevitably disappear from the internet six months later, and we all collectively pretend we never wore them.

And so much of it was poor quality anyway. I ignored fabric composition completely if something looked good online, which is how I ended up with clothes that started pilling almost immediately or lost their shape after two washes.

Now, I care way more about whether something will still look good a year from now.

Also, I simply cannot keep pretending polyester should cost what some brands are charging for it.

2. Impractical shoes.

I look back fondly at the Basmah who would buy six-inch stilettos for absurd amounts of money with the promise that she would also wear them to the grocery store.

I used to buy heels that were objectively painful and still convince myself they were fine because they looked nice sitting down at dinner. Future me was always the one expected to deal with the blisters.

Now, if a shoe hurts when I first try it on, I already know exactly how the relationship ends. Those shoes will sit untouched in my wardrobe while I continue wearing the same comfortable pair every weekend.

3. Tiny handbags.

I understand tiny bags aesthetically. I really do. But if my phone only fits diagonally, and I have to choose between carrying my keys or lip balm, then it's not practical enough for my life.

At this point, my bag needs to hold sunglasses, receipts, snacks, random toddler things and all the other objects that mysteriously accumulate throughout the day.

I'm no longer interested in handbags that require strategic packing abilities.

4. 20 versions of the same makeup.

If you looked inside my makeup bag five years ago, you would've found 10 lipsticks in almost identical shades and about 15 blushes that each leaned ever so slightly warmer than the other.

I like to blame my overconsumption on beauty influencers who spent the late 2000s showing off their gigantic makeup collections online.

Little ol' me wanted nothing more than rows of IKEA Alex drawers packed to the brim with makeup that had probably expired a decade earlier.

Now, the thought of owning that much stuff just stresses me out, so I stick to a small rotation of products I genuinely love and actually use.

5. Unnecessary skincare.

Listen, once you turn 30, you can't just put anything on your face. Suddenly, you've got fine lines on your forehead, hyperpigmentation on your upper lip and skin that no longer recovers from bad decisions overnight. It's a completely different ball game.

While I've always had a solid skincare routine, I definitely used to waste money on random lotions and potions hoping they'd somehow give me the skin I had when I was four months old.

These days, I'd much rather spend my money on treatments like microneedling and laser, while sticking to tried-and-true ingredients like retinol and azelaic acid.

Plus, my skin behaves significantly better when I stop tampering with it every five business days.

6. The latest iPhone every year.

Would you believe me if I told you I'm still using the iPhone 13? Yes, the one from 2021. Is it slow? Absolutely. Does it constantly tell me I have zero storage? Every single day. But other than that, it works perfectly fine.

I can still call, text and doomscroll until 3am, so realistically, what more do I need from it?

I've realised the main thing tempting me to upgrade every year was wanting a better camera, so instead of buying a new iPhone every time Apple slightly moved the camera lens around, I invested in an actual good-quality camera instead.

Financially, it made way more sense, and the photos are better anyway.

7. Cheap furniture.

I used to think buying cheap furniture was sensible until I realised I was basically just paying for inconvenience.

There's a very specific kind of frustration that comes with spending hours assembling flatpack furniture only for it to start wobbling six months later every time you walk past it.

Now, I mostly look for antique and vintage furniture on Facebook Marketplace because it's often cheaper, better made and has way more character anyway. Some of those pieces have survived decades already.

Meanwhile, newer furniture arrives with 700 screws and instructions that somehow make the process feel even more confusing.

The biggest shift for me in my 30s hasn't been, "stop spending money altogether." It's been learning how to spend money properly, so I actually get more bang for my buck instead of constantly buying things that disappoint me.

So far, it's working. I'll report back in another 10 years when I turn 40.

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