Luxury stuff you can't get rid off?

[utrecht]

What kind did you get

I was looking to get a 70" HD... but now have been gravitating to a 4K.... still cannot pull the trigger since the cost is so high... I will have to be OK with the 48" Vizio.... that was a refurb...

I bought a 60" Vizio 4K. Its one of the cheaper ones and has a few less "smart TV" features but I dont care much about that. The specs may be slightly less than a Sony but to the naked human eye, the picture quality is the same on just about any of them.

In a few months you wont be able to buy anything but a 4K. Best Buy hardly has any regular HD models left now and I think when they are gone, they are gone for good. The picture on a 4K TV is amazing. However, its almost "too" realistic on some shows and movies. Sometimes it looks like the way a soap opera does. Like you are actually standing in the room with the actors which may sound cool but to me it almost looks fake. I like whatever filters they use in movies.

 

[YeahNo]

Some of you sound like you hang out at MMM too often Luxury in moderation is my motto! Got to live a bit. This is all of course under the assumption that your financial foundation is strong prior to engaging.

 

[Bamaman]

I hitch a ride on my sister's personal Learjet whenever they're going somewhere interesting.

 

[Cobra9777]

Mine is a McIntosh stereo system that I bought for $1500 in 1972. The replacement cost today would be closer to $25,000. It weighs a ton but nothing else I've listened to sounds as good.

Oh... just remembered that I have some great speakers... they are Legacy speakers...

I was coming up blank until I saw these two posts. I own a late 70s pair of Klipschorn (aka corner-horn) speakers. I bought the pair used for $1200 in the late 1980s. They retail today for $6000 each. They serve as the front left/right in my home theatre set up. The rears are two Acoustic Research AR90s that I bought new in 1979 for $1000. The center channel is two Klipsch Heresy's sitting on top of one another. I also use two Klipsch subs. It's not pretty, and it's probably not the most accurate sound reproduction. But to my ear, it is by far the most "musical" I have ever heard. As a teenager, I remember listening to a pair of Klipschorns in a high-end stereo shop in the mid 70s. The realism blew me away. It was impossible, like nothing I had ever heard. I promised myself that if I ever had the means one day, I would own a pair. So that's my luxury item.

 

[braumeister]

As a teenager, I remember listening to a pair of Klipschorns in a high-end stereo shop in the mid 70s. The realism blew me away.

Wow, what a memory that brought back.

In the 1960s, Acoustic Research had a "listening room" on the mezzanine of Grand Central Station in NYC. You could bring in your own record (vinyl, of course) and stand there for as long as you liked doing A-B tests of all their speakers.

I remember bringing in my record of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" which opens with AFAIK the lowest note in all recorded music.

As I recall it, I was so blown away by the AR-3a speakers (like most everyone else who ever heard them) that I resolved to buy a pair as soon as I could afford them. Eventually I got there and enjoyed them for many years.

Alas, they were destroyed by the movers during one of my many relocations during military service, but I still remember them fondly.

 

[travelover]

I only eat grey poupon mustard in the back seat of my Dodge Dart.

 

[Rick_Head]

Well, in our early years it seemed, sometimes, that DW was a luxury I couldn't afford. Now that I can afford her it seems it might be (as the old CW song says) "cheaper to keep her".

If you are reading this Ms. Head, that smiley means it's a joke.

 

[irishgal]

No judgement please!

When I was around mid career and had a lot of disposable income purses and watchers became my drug.
I have three Hermes Birkins which I could sell today for around 8k to 9k each.
Various Chanel purses probably valued 12k total.
Watches- various Cartier, Chanel and Rolex.

But before ya'll laugh at my stupidity to spend so much- I had a friend with a number of items similar to what I mentioned who was a SAHM. Her husband left, disappeared overseas and until lawyers could get to their account which was around a year, she survived and paid the mortgage with the money she got selling her high dollar items.

So I've kept my junk and will start to unload soon.


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[athena53]

My jewelry is definitely a luxury but I've never bought with the idea that it was an investment, and I still enjoy it all. Even when I'm in shorts and a T-shirt I wear earrings and a bracelet. The watches were probably the only bad deal. I have two that don't work, one being a Concord version of a Cartier tank watch, and the amount I'd get from a jeweler is pitiful. (I've asked there, and at the "We Buy Gold" places.) Another is a lovely 18k gold mesh bracelet and case, about one ounce, which I don't wear because it's too delicate. I'm sure the meltdown value is pretty good but I bought it on my first trip to Paris. How could I part with it? I wear my Rolex every day but my husband's Timex keeps better time!


DH and I actually chose a sterling pattern and bought our own. We use it when we have guests. Never went in for china- it's breakable.

 

[sailor]

It's all relative. For me it's piano lessons & sports for kids, international travel, books, tea and beer.

 

[TallTim]

We have too many ... each of DW and I have our own indulgences

Beachfront condo (for 2-3 more years only)
We eat out a lot (and DW likes nice food and wine)
Cultural experiences
Global travel (but usually on a discounted trip)
LA Kings season tickets
Kids' cars and college tuition (depends on who you ask if an indulgence or not)

 

[Danmar]

Too many to mention, and what would that accomplish anyway. But probably the biggest indulgences relate to 5 star Europen Hotels. They are outrageous even for us.

 

[Ronstar]

Too many to mention, and what would that accomplish anyway. But probably the biggest indulgences relate to 5 star Europen Hotels. They are outrageous even for us.

I bet it'll be tough to sell those hotels.





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[aja8888]

We have been slowly disposing of luxury items (except for DW's personal stuff like purses, jewelry, etc). So I guess I should say "I" have been slowly disposing of luxury items.....

But once the old stuff is gone, I have opened up the spot for a sports car for ME! (again)

Maybe a clean used 'Vette or some exotic high revving convertible?

On another note, we have given away the antiques, heirlooms, silver set(s), china set(s) to the kids. Better to let them have it now than to see them fight over it later (or who gets to sell it or trash it).

 

[unclemick]

My attitude toward 'fine stuff' was altered by Katrina when time to leave town came.

The corollary to 'you can't take it with you' was 'what do you choose to put in the back of a Chevy Silverado long bed with a camper shell.

heh heh heh - the dog and cat came first. Some underwear and stuff. And then two file cabinets of old tax returns. I've been working on my attitude ever since.

 

[braumeister]

We travel business class to Europe and we often go out for fine dining.

I guess I should modify my "no luxury items" answer based on this. I didn't think of it because it's not "stuff" as in the thread title, but business class travel for very long haul flights definitely counts as the height of luxury for me.

When I went to Germany in July, it was the first time I ever used one of the seats that turns into a flat bed, and it was incredible. I slept soundly the whole way over, and arrived feeling perfectly fine. Definitely a luxury and one I'll repeat on all future long haul flights.

 

[Danmar]

I bet it'll be tough to sell those hotels.





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Ron, I was thinking a little less literally, as in "can't do without"

 

[Bigdawg]

Our choice to live on the water is very expensive. Cost of house/lot is double what it would be if we were not on the water. Also pay flood insurance which is like paying home owners x 2. Is the used 2007 waverunner a luxury? Maybe. Got it for 4K 3 years ago. Use it about 10-15 times per summer. Prob keep it for 2-3 more years before upgrading. Gotta have toys for the frequent visitors.

 

[hnzw_rui]

Hard to give up the Cadillac cellphone plan ($300/mo for 4 smartphones and 4 iPads) while I'm still making decent money. Don't have cable TV which kinda offsets the cost partially. It's the first thing to go in case I need to cut costs, though.

 

[Ronstar]

Ron, I was thinking a little less literally, as in "can't do without"

Ah - that's good. Getting rid of stuff can be a problem, but getting rid of hotels would be a real PITA.

I'm just trying to get rid of a gas powered generator, and a front end loader bucket for my atv. Not really "luxury stuff", but stuff that I don't use that takes up too much space.

 

[devans0]

After losing a home and most of our belongings in 2008, our outlook had changed. A luxury was a roof over our head and a quiet generator, then a place with hot running water, AND utility fed electricity. Then insulation, drywall, then again, a furnace with air conditioning! Later yet, luxury was a kitchen, later yet, hardwood floors. We sold that house. Our splurge is a house with a high overlook view. If we flood now, our entire state is under water, literally.

After much adaptive resetting of our luxury, it is now a high end stove. DW longed for it but decided that it too costly. It had two separate ranges, both with broilers, and six burners. Family get togethers would be much easier to cook for. Turkey and ham at the same time! NY and deep dish pizza at the same time! It didn't take too much arm twisting to convince her that an appliance that is every day is an extravagance that is cheaper when factored in cost per use. It is worth the splurge.

Our four year old grandaughter was over, and when leaving, said in a wistful, sad voice that they didn't have any blueberries at her house. Guess who went home with blueberries. I'm beginning to see a trend.

It's DW.

 

[FreeBear]

Yep, still have big-name cell and cable plans, which are normally maligned here. Funny thing is that the rest of the world, I mean, the USA, considers this stuff as NECESSARY!

I love to eat out, especially ethnic food like Indian and Thai. Actually, the hidden cost here is that this type of dining is more common and the options far tastier in expensive urban areas. It's one of the reasons it would be difficult for us to move to the "middle of nowhere" for a low COL. So living in a high COL area, at least for the midwest, is our biggest luxury item.

On the other hand, I've lost the fascination with extensive travel and big toys (read boats & RV's) since ER 6 months ago. This stuff seemed to be too much w*rk and $$$ to deal with.