If you have more than enough money, but are frugal-minded, how do you decide how much to spend?

[Anonymous]

I also agree with PP who buys cheap airfare, but nice vacations. I don't want to spend extra $thousands on a place to sit for a few hours. I'd rather spend extra on the oceanfront view at the hotel where I'll be for a week.

[Anonymous]

We also do a lot of research but are willing to pay for things that will make an appreciable difference in our lives.

For example, we're living overseas right now and renting out our house. We are paying for a well-researched property manager so we don't need to think about the house. Does it hurt to see the 8% fee every month? Yes. But is it worth it when the hot water heater goes out just as it's getting cold and somebody else has to deal with it? Absolutely.

In terms of material things, I buy quality clothing for myself but choose things that aren't super trendy and will last forever. Honestly can't remember the last time I bought clothes. Maybe last year? It's not a priority for me. For my kids, I buy less expensive stuff because they stain it, rip holes in the knees and outgrow it. We probably pay more than most people for things like pots and pans and knives because we love to cook and know we'll use them.

Like other posters, we'll stay at the Homewood Suites and then eat dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town because we care more about food than fancy hotels.

[Anonymous]

My DH is pretty frugal (as is his whole family, including his 97 year old grandmother who still has enough saved to pay for her assisted living center); however, while I may give in to not staying at top of the line hotels (i.e., Hilton or Hyatt types places is where I generally book online) and occasionally fly out of BWI b/c of cheaper flights and park in long term parking etc.) now that I am in my mid-40s, I feel "too old" to try to save money every single time. Don't get me wrong, we have a 7 figure retirement socked away so far BUT my mom died before 60 and so I don't always think it's worth it to save everything away for old age, particularly since she never got to see any of her kids get married or meet a single grandkid.

1) vacuums: our cleaning ladies use a soft carrying type bag one so our Dyson upright rarely gets used. But before we had cleaning ladies (pre-kids) it worked great and still does when DH vacuums. Just got the cordless one after our cheaper one died from Costco on sale. Can't always trust Consumer Reports and other reviews. The price was better than what I saw online and Costco has replaced/refunded us for things that have broken, so DH can't complain about the Dyson. Although he did but would probably admit it's better than our cheaper older one. This one also detaches and he's used it to clean the dust out of vents. Came with dozens of attachments which we have yet to use, but seemed like a great deal when I did a quick google search on prices elsewhere.
2) cars: paid for our used Asian SUV with cashback (no joke. about 7 years ago, DH got a 6% cash back card (want to say it was like Bank of Omaha card of something like that), as in they sent you a check. We paid our mortgage and taxes (minus 2.5% charge) on it, and we literally got $16K back after 2 years of using it). 2nd car is literally 20 years old (another Asian car) but it will NOT die. So DH drives it for his less than 10 miles to work daily commute and back.
3) home appliances are now 17 years old. DH is handy, so he's fixed our washing machine, AC a few times, oven motherboard, and fridge. BUT, it's getting time to replace the appliances and upgrade our kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^accidentally hit submit. I'm having the same problem with washers - every washer has its detractors.

I wish everything was like a Bosch diswasher - almost universally adored and lives up to the hype. We've never regretted that purchase!

I think SpeedQueen is the clothes washer equivalent of the Bosch dishwasher.

Except that Speed Queen changed their design this year, and now the reviews are terrible like the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - when you have plenty of money, one of your budget categories can be for screw-ups. You made a mistake. This can be an item you shouldn't have purchased or a money-sucking event, you dinged the car and to be fixed it costs money. You're no less careful but things happen. It's nice to have the luxury to make things right-again when life's inevitable screw-ups happen. This is what has changed the most for us. We haven't, so much, upgraded our lifestyle as we have been able to decrease some of life's stresses.

I think this is the gist of it for me now that I don't have to pinch pennies. I first read about this in the book, Paradox of Choice. People can be maximizers (look and analyze all options) or satisficers (stop when they find something good enough). You have the luxury now of being a satistficer because the wrong choice isn't catastrophic.

[Anonymous]

I think you need to look at it in terms of value for you personally. If Fancy Vacuum costs twice as much as Regular Vacuum, will you get twice as much value added for it? Only you can answer that for yourself. If you will actually use Fancy Vacuum because it's easier to use or it cleans better or you enjoy (or don't mind) using it, and having clean floors is important to you, then it's probably worth it. But if Fancy Vacuum is only maybe 10% better than Regular Vacuum and you still hate vacuuming no matter which one you have, or you just don't care that much about clean floors, then Regular Vacuum is probably a better value for you.

[Anonymous]

I try to do a good amount of research so I can feel like I'm getting good if not great quality at a fair price. We always travel business class but search for the best price. We will stay at very nice hotels, but not the most expensive. Same holds true for restaurants, wine etc. We have plenty of money but being smart with it is why we have it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are late 30's, aggressive savers, live beneath our means, etc. and as such have a healthy amount of money.

I'll give a real life example, but my question is more broad: If you are making a household purchase and you can afford "anything" (and I obviously don't mean truly ANYTHING) how do you decide a reasonable budget?

Example: I clean my own house. I would like some kind of stick vacuum to do quick cleans of the bathroom floors when I'm not wanting to get out my big vacuum with attachments, etc. In the stick vac world, there is a $400 Dyson, a $160 shark, and lots of other options under $100. I can easily afford any of these options, however I don't want to spend $400 on a Dyson when a $50 Bissel will do. But I'll also be annoyed if I buy a less expensive one, and I end up replacing it because it sucks.

How do you make this everyday decisions when you are frugal minded, but not actually on a strict budget?

Look for things that free you up time wise. If you actually had enough money you would hire a maid.

Yep! Plus cleaning is a chore that gives you immediate results -- a reward for your efforts! Not to mention that cleaners -- if they are not meticulous-- can contaminate your kitchen with germs from other parts of the home like the bathrooms. You could end up worse off than if no one had cleaned at all.

NP: Not necessarily. I feel uncomfortable with a maid, like my kids to learn to do household chores, and find many aspects of cleaning meditative. We had housecleaners for awhile and I found myself spending more time cleaning, and feeling more pressure around it because I didn't like leaving a mess for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - when you have plenty of money, one of your budget categories can be for screw-ups. You made a mistake. This can be an item you shouldn't have purchased or a money-sucking event, you dinged the car and to be fixed it costs money. You're no less careful but things happen. It's nice to have the luxury to make things right-again when life's inevitable screw-ups happen. This is what has changed the most for us. We haven't, so much, upgraded our lifestyle as we have been able to decrease some of life's stresses.

+1 Sometimes it's nice to be able to say "It's only money" and make your problem disappear.

[Anonymous]

I'm very frugal so my decision is always based on that underlying theme. But I'm not cheap and we have a lot of money so we live well but not extravagantly.

[Anonymous]

We have enough money. For most of our marriage, we didn't really...got by well, took loans when we needed it, but we were both public servants. Pensions, savings, home appreciation, and some inheritance makes us fairly comfortable now, for which we are very grateful. All our purchases follow the same flow: Do we need it or will it improve our lives significantly? What is the best price for value? (Sometimes the higher cost item prevails, but not all the time.) Can we do without, or is it worth it? How can we help someone else?
Do whether it is a vacuum, or a trip, or a pair of shoes...same template.
Charity..same template.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I buy the highest quality, because I want something that will last and work well, and I wait until it's on sale.

We bought our Dyson on sale, and our mattress.

I would hate to be like Donald Trump - who should be tons richer than he is, but is horrible about decision-making and buys useless things.

I would hate to be like Obama - donating <2% of his 6 figure income before he had to donate more when he announced he was running for president and had to "look like he cared for poor people."

[Anonymous]

For household items I go to Wirecutter and see what they recommend. I look at the splurge option and ask myself if I would use the extra features and if it’s worth the difference to me.

I am having trouble coming up with a decorating and landscaping budget. I could spend $5k or $50k on each. For stuff like that, I try to think what is reasonably relative to the value of my house.