s/o on other thread...things you probably spend too much money on but think it's worth it

[Anonymous]

Travel

Dining out at nice restaurants

Academics and sports for DC

[Anonymous]

Travel - lots of it. This year 3 trips to Europe, 1 to Asia, 2 long weekends in the Caribbean and one trip out west.

Activities for my kids - sleepaway camp, private sport and music lessons.

Food - whatever I want at the grocery store, plus fresh fish from an expensive fish market, meat from an organic farm, milk and eggs from South Mountain, fruit and veg from the farmers market

I don’t care about cars, jewelry, electronics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Produce and meats - I buy from WF because the quality of the produce is much better than at my local supermarket. I pay extra at WF for meat, eggs, and dairy that have a humane label.

Clothes and shoes - I rarely buy but when I do I spend $$$ on quality things that will last me 10, 20 years or longer.

Doctor - I go to an expensive internist who doesn't take insurance. Upside is I never wait for an appointment and the doctor takes their time to be thorough.

Hotels on vacation - I'll splurge.

I'm really frugal in other areas to the point where family members joke about it. Reusing ziplocs, anyone?

I reuse ziplocs because I want to cut down on plastic use - despite the fact that I know my efforts makes very little difference to the environment yet I will still reuse ziploc until there is a hole in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
- Workout clothes - I'll spend $50-$100 on nice Lululemon gear and the quality is awesome and looks great.
- Appliances/technology - I've paid a good amount for very highly rated blenders, food processors, TVs, headphones, etc. They work well and last a long time.

The only people who look good in workout gear are people with great bodies. But seriously, very few people look great with a huge dark sweat stain down their back. And if you don't have sweat stains, what is the point of the workout gear?
The only people I see in Lululemon are moms at school drop offs with makeup on. Don't think thet are hitting the gym with that styled hairdo.
As for appliances and tech - I have had my food processor since 1993. And still have original appliances since my renovation 18 years ago. If you have had to buy these every few years I would say your products don't work well nor last a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Workout clothes - I'll spend $50-$100 on nice Lululemon gear and the quality is awesome and looks great.
- Appliances/technology - I've paid a good amount for very highly rated blenders, food processors, TVs, headphones, etc. They work well and last a long time.

The only people who look good in workout gear are people with great bodies. But seriously, very few people look great with a huge dark sweat stain down their back. And if you don't have sweat stains, what is the point of the workout gear?
The only people I see in Lululemon are moms at school drop offs with makeup on. Don't think thet are hitting the gym with that styled hairdo.
As for appliances and tech - I have had my food processor since 1993. And still have original appliances since my renovation 18 years ago. If you have had to buy these every few years I would say your products don't work well nor last a long time.

Interesting logic. What do you work out in, a t-shirt? Or do you not work out? Maybe you should give Lululemons a shot sometime. I highly recommend their leggings

I was a child in 1993 but I hope the food processor (my first and only one) will last 30 years. But I won’t cry if it doesn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Smaller indulgences but I chalk it up to self-car

Outdoor wear. I have hiking boots, snow boots, rain gear, snow pants and a hooded waterproof coat and all manner of Patagonia vests and jackets. I splurge at REI.

Happy I am not the only person who splurges at REI. It makes me unreasonably happy to put myself and my family in cozy fleece pants and nice rain jackets for a stomp through muddy trails. I also get way too much camping gear.

Other splurges that are completely worth it to me:

2x mo massages
Takeout whenever I want it.
Weekly housekeeping
Monthly yard work
Private school (happy spouse, happy house)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol so what's the Swedish clog brand? I like my Birkenstocks, they are a splurge for me

+1 I want a happy back at whatever the price!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Travel - lots of it. This year 3 trips to Europe, 1 to Asia, 2 long weekends in the Caribbean and one trip out west.

Activities for my kids - sleepaway camp, private sport and music lessons.

Food - whatever I want at the grocery store, plus fresh fish from an expensive fish market, meat from an organic farm, milk and eggs from South Mountain, fruit and veg from the farmers market

I don’t care about cars, jewelry, electronics

Do you worry at all about your environmental impact with that much long haul travel?

[Anonymous]

It’s a bit silly for people with high HHIs to talk about splurging. It’s far more interesting to hear about splurges if you don’t make much money because it truly is a splurge then.

[Anonymous]

Groceries (lots of fruit and veggies mostly organic and grocery delivery)
Education/private school
Childcare (nanny as opposed to daycare)

We probably could have bought a bit more house before the pandemic (hindsight is 2020) when the market was decent and interest rates were low. Our house is fine, but a better layout, quieter street, and bigger backyard would have been nice. I can’t decide if it would have been worth it to have a bit of a higher mortgage/taxes, insurance, landscaping bills, heating etc. for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel - lots of it. This year 3 trips to Europe, 1 to Asia, 2 long weekends in the Caribbean and one trip out west.

Activities for my kids - sleepaway camp, private sport and music lessons.

Food - whatever I want at the grocery store, plus fresh fish from an expensive fish market, meat from an organic farm, milk and eggs from South Mountain, fruit and veg from the farmers market

I don’t care about cars, jewelry, electronics

Do you worry at all about your environmental impact with that much long haul travel?

Their environmental impact? Presumable they’re flying commercial. The flights are going whether they’re on them or not. Eye roll, from a moderate Democrat who is very much pro-environment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gel manicures. Pretty nails make me foolishly happy.

Nice VRBOs when we travel - we have three kids and want to be comfortable.

Fresh flowers, weekly.

Whenever I order from Wegmans on Instacart - I know I’m paying too much, but get slightly giddy from all the options.

Twins! Except I don't do my nails. No judgement.

But travel is my splurge. Usually VRBOs because the kids are very picky about food and I want to be able to cook for them.

Flowers are fresh all the time.

Something about that Wegmans order on Instacart. I know it adds up, but when I want to splurge that's where I go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nanny

+1000

Our FT nanny was worth every penny. Definitely don't cheap out on childcare.

That and travel for us. We don't really need anything else. Not into fancy cars or houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't spending money great sometimes? Here are some of my things:

- Groceries - I go to Costco like the rest of you but I also enjoy high quality produce and meat and organic stuff at Whole Foods that I know is probably overpriced but it feels nice to buy and eat. I honestly barely look at the prices unless it's ridiculous. $8 for milk from pasture raised cows? Works for me.
- Workout clothes - I'll spend $50-$100 on nice Lululemon gear and the quality is awesome and looks great.
- Appliances/technology - I've paid a good amount for very highly rated blenders, food processors, TVs, headphones, etc. They work well and last a long time.
- Baby gear when my kids were little. I bought that $1000 Uppbaby stroller and subscribed to Lovevery kits. I can afford it so why the heck not?
- Subscriptions. I subscribe to Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Apple TV - all of them! I love my shows and they bring me a lot of happiness.

All of these are dumb except for organic foods and good appliances. Materialistic snowplow parent + screen addict is not a great combo.

Private school + travel are the only luxuries worth spending $$$$ on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a bit silly for people with high HHIs to talk about splurging. It’s far more interesting to hear about splurges if you don’t make much money because it truly is a splurge then.

This. It's not a splurge when you're making millions. Along the same lines, I hate getting financial advise from the millionaires who come to theirs via generational wealth. Thanks but no thanks.