I'm in my third year of a lean FIRE
and finally relaxing a bit, not quite as afraid of outliving my modest stash. But I am still pretty frugal (it's how I got here at all) and probably watch my balance way too often. Through various nips and tucks, I have managed to keep my personal inflation rate at zero for the past two years.
Yet recently I have bought a few pieces of gallery art, framed photos, for about $60 each, plus one small original painting for $300.
Now I'm flirting with a large original painting that I love for $1,400. This seems exorbitant even though it's less than a month's rent and probably not even a weekend getaway for those of you who travel.
How do you decide what to BTD on? Was it always easy for you? Did you start small and work up? Do you use a formula, such as a percentage of your total spend? Do you count leisure spending with core expenses? Or do you simply buy what you love and enjoy it without worry or full calculation?
If I were still working, this would be a nonissue, but I did not include an art fetish in my FIRECalc scenario when I was deciding to pull the plug.
and finally relaxing a bit, not quite as afraid of outliving my modest stash. But I am still pretty frugal (it's how I got here at all) and probably watch my balance way too often. Through various nips and tucks, I have managed to keep my personal inflation rate at zero for the past two years.
Yet recently I have bought a few pieces of gallery art, framed photos, for about $60 each, plus one small original painting for $300.
Now I'm flirting with a large original painting that I love for $1,400. This seems exorbitant even though it's less than a month's rent and probably not even a weekend getaway for those of you who travel.
How do you decide what to BTD on? Was it always easy for you? Did you start small and work up? Do you use a formula, such as a percentage of your total spend? Do you count leisure spending with core expenses? Or do you simply buy what you love and enjoy it without worry or full calculation?
If I were still working, this would be a nonissue, but I did not include an art fetish in my FIRECalc scenario when I was deciding to pull the plug.