I save a ton. could spend much more.
I don't value "stuff"
I do value things that make my life easier and precious free time more enjoyable.
I do value experiences.

I spend on things I value, like cleaning lady, vacations, plays, etc.
I would buy the best vacuum that cleans the house to your full satisfaction.

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.

Anonymous wrote:
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?

I ask myself, is the $50 version acceptable? Will it get the job done? If so, the $400 version is 8x the cost. Is the Dyson 8 times better (as measured by ME for MY life) than the $50 Bissel?

Maybe it is. Maybe they Dyson will last 10 times as long as the Bissel, or lasts 5 times as long but is twice as fast to use, or is quieter and that's really important to me. But if I think it is really only about twice as good as the Bissel, I'd buy the Bissel.

Target something in the middle (not low, not high end) and then do your research to see what specific products last. For every item, you have to decide which features are most important... once you sort out which models have those features, then the reliability reviews are paramount.

But, I generally start with the assumption that I'm looking for something "in the middle."

I would read reviews on the product and go from there.

Some stick vacuums, for instance, perform better on carpeting than floors and vice versa. Since you intend to use the stick vacuum to clean bathroom floors, you would want a vacuum rated highly for bare floors.

I recently purchased a regularly priced $50 stick vacuum on sale and with a coupon that I had it wound up costing me $20. It does the job and I got a fantastic deal on it - score!

Anonymous wrote:Similar age and attitude toward money. We save a lot and max out retirement and 529.

For household, I tend to go for a reputable maker and I tend to go for the middle range. I read all the reviews and compare features. So in your stick vac world, I'd probably pick the best option based on research in that range around 100-200 bucks. My own vacuum is in that range.

Now, mind you, my house doesn't have tons of carpeted surface, and I do not have a pet. If I had a dog and 5,000 SF of carpet, I'd probably also look at heavy duty models in the higher price range.

This is what we do.

Not weighing in on the specifics of the vacuum debate because I do not clean my own house. But I think the way we handle things in our family is to prioritize certain things and agree with DH on what those priorities are. We try not to waste money but do spend a lot on things we prioritize. For us, for example, we love to travel and do big expensive trips (Japan with kids) sometimes but we are CHEAP on air fares. Flew coach to Japan because we could not feel that there was value in paying so much for airline tickets. Once in Japan, we spent tons on tour guides, food, hotels, etc. That's just our priorities. Neither one of us is a big spender on clothes, but we love art work so chose to drop thousands on a print we both loved but would never do that for a fancy purse or suit. Other families are just the opposite. We also both prioritize charitable giving so we choose to be major donors to various organizations and institutions rather than spending that money on something else. For routine day to day things like the vacuum, we usually go midrange in price and do read reviews. (Actually went more high end on some recent appliances and HATE my Viking oven and microwave so won't be likely to do that again soon). We always keep tabs generally on what we are spending total and make sure that we are staying at a level we are comfortable with, but that is not hard to do and allows us a lot of flexibility on individual decisions.

Anonymous wrote:Research.

+1

And when I buy, it is usually through Costco b/c it's tough to beat their price and their return policy is golden.


Having said that, I do have personal price thresholds that I stubbornly won't cave into.

I don't know about the other models, but every time I use my Dyson cord free stick vacuum I appreciate it and know if it ever breaks I'll run out and buy another. If the less $ brands work as well, I'd save the money and buy one.

Anonymous wrote:I hate my dyson and got the $100 one at Costco. Works great

Same! I hated the Dyson - didn't live up to the hype, and the housecleaners trashed it. Costco version is still going strong. Well worth the $125.

I just gave up my big dyson for American made simplicity for my main vacuum. MUch pricier but warranty and heavy and made from steel and can be fixed unlike the dyson the vacuum repair person said would be way too expensive to fix.

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?

#1- We dont have a budget. We have automatic deposit for retirement, investments, and cash savings. The rest gets spent however we want.
#2. I buy whichever has better reviews
#3 I'm not insane so I dont make a vacuum purchase a supreme court decision.

Yeah, lots and lots of research and judgments based on past life experience. I buy the high quality washer because it's worth it to me to have it last longer and not have to deal with fixing it. I buy high quality coats for my kids because they have to wear them everyday and I learned my lesson with fussing with a bad zipper on a cheap one all one winter. I buy cheap mittens because it's not that important that they be quality and it's too easy to lose one (the kids haven't actually lost a coat yet, knock on wood).

I splurge on unique experiences. I'm fine with staying in a courtyard hotel if we're going to a city to sightsee and we won't be there much. I splurge on ryokan in Japan because it's all part of the experience and you can't get that anywhere else.

Anonymous wrote:I never buy the top model. I check consumer reports and buy the "best value".

We are a consumer reports follower too.

We’re probably in a similar position to you. My dh gets annoyed Bc I overthink and over analyze to save little money. I usually try to go with the middle of the road option unless there’s something I really want (I have friends that love their stains but it’s just not something I care about). I do try to limit the analysis and save mental cycles.