What do you splurge on

Amazed at the number for folks flying first and business...


Oh, we doubled our travel budget compared to our spend while w*rking, and we still went over budget last year. One of the best years of my life!


We eat out a lot, maybe 4 to 5 times weekly. Usually a substantial meal between lunch and dinner, in part to avoid the "crowds". Cooking something tasty seems too much of a bother for just the two of us. More specifically, I just hate the prep w*rk and cleaning. DW is an excellent and health cook, but I don't want to burden her most days. So I get stuck with the chopping and dishes.


Of course, while traveling, we eat out every day. We stay in midrange hotels so someone else does all the cleaning. It's not a vacation if we've got to cook or clean.


We replace appliances if they are older than 6-8 years and stuff starts to go wrong. It may be cheaper to repair, but we don't bother. We just buy low-mid end models from brands of known better reliability. Just throw-away junk...



I don't do my own auto repair or even maintenace anymore. No time when w*rking. No desire now that I'm retired. Got better things to do, like coffee on the deck and a bike ride with DW...
 
cathy63 said:
LOL, just got back from 2 weeks in Switzerland and 1 in Austria. I concur, Switzerland is a real splurge! It's probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen though.
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I remember being on the train in Switzerland and the homes whose back yards abut the railways are all neat as a pin vs in the US they are typically dumps.
 
W2R said:
Like you, I like working on a really nice laptop computer, not just a crummy minimal one. And I especially love for it to be NEW. :D I just simply adore getting and setting up a brand new slick and shiny laptop, so I probably do that more often than anybody could ever justify. I average about 20 months between laptops. What can I say? Some people hate setting up a new computer but I get a huge kick out of it and I love that they have become so cheap in recent years. :D

As for steak, I love it and eat it quite often. :D

I buy gasoline at the nearest Exxon station, instead of no-name gas that is cheaper.

We eat a light lunch out every day, although not any place very expensive. That's usually either a cup of soup, or a small green side salad, for weight loss reasons. So, no daily over-the-top feasts and I regard the menu as totally a giant fable of "in your dreams" choices, not as choices a normal human could make. Average cost of lunch so far this year has been $8.34, including tax and tip. But the luxury of not having to ever do cooking or cleanup for lunch, is priceless.

I set the thermostat for whatever temperature is most comfortable for me, and save energy in other ways instead.

I love doing jigsaw puzzles on my iPad, and the program that I use (which is free) offers packages of maybe 30-60 jigsaw puzzles for prices ranging from $0.99 - $3.99 or so. Every month or two I order another. I actually *COULD* just do the same jigsaw puzzles over and over but I enjoy doing new ones.

Hoping to get more ideas from this thread!
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I love doing jigsaw puzzles on my iPad. Got the idea from you, W2R, and have gotten hours of free enjoyment! Thank you!!
 
Our biggest splurge was pre-ER. We gutted our entire condo and remodeled it completely. Bought everything we wanted, including high-end finishes, new furniture, and custom made artwork with no regard to costs. We decided since we plan to stay in it forever, we wanted to make it exactly as we wanted. Our two years of w@rking paid for that!

Since ER, our big splurge is traveling. Just finishing 6 weeks in Greece, and also spent time in the Virgin Islands this year. Planning several weeks in Australia next year.

Small day-to-day splurges include several Nespresso coffees per day and eating out several times per week at casual but nice restaurants with an ocean view. All clothes requiring pressing are dry cleaned. We also enjoy spending money on our adult niece & nephew and funding charities that support our local university.

We have reduced our spending on wine. We have developed a love for rose wine, which is generally cheaper than other wines, and our consumption is much less than it used to be.

A tech splurge is coming soon. We both have iPhone 6’s and I’m also thinking about an Apple Watch, inspired by another thread on this website.
 
After scrimping our whole married life (and spending what we did have on our kids), we have moved into “If you want it, you get it” mode.
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I wouldn't say we had to scrimp, but we did save a lot and so could have spent more. Now in RE, we can be pretty comfortable at a 1.5% WR, so are finding we can be what feels rather wild at 2%. We bought 1st class tickets for the first time for an upcoming trip, although it was only 1/3 more than coach. To London, BC would be 5X coach, and I just can't do that. Otherwise, I buy new photo gear fairly often, and we are looking at remodeling the family room and redoing the deck.
 
Eating out I guess. I could stay home and cook up something to save a few bucks, but that wouldn't be any fun. But I don't have $100 dinners so my splurging has more to do with how often I eat out. Oh yes....having a vacation condo is not a must so that could be considered splurging I suppose.
 
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kgtest said:
Lol, is there a good NA beer? Been sober for about a decade and have yet to find one. Maybe I just liked the buzz and not the taste lol. :D
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The best locally available is a German Lager Clausthaler that is currently on sale for $5 for 8. It tastes like the real thing.
 
kcowan said:
The best locally available is a German Lager Clausthaler that is currently on sale for $5 for 8. It tastes like the real thing.
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Thanks for that recommendation I'm gonna try and find some! Knowing you are from CN, and realizing NA probably means "North American" instead of Non-Alcoholic...in the sense of the term SPLURGE that makes total sense.



Grr this interpersonal communication.



Unless you truly meant non-alcoholic.



I splurge on skiing. It's my thing. With kids it's been tough to get out west, but when I do, I am willing to pay the piper to get to the best resorts. Vail, Beaver Creek, Breceknridge, Keystone, Steamboat, Big Sky etc. I try to hookup with guides or random skiers who know the mountains well. It lends itself to some excellent experiences! A few years back I hiked back country up a 14,500 on A-basin...man the air was thin up there.
 
Bestwifeever said:
Brand?
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I got the Merrell Moab 2 waterproof hiking shoe (low top). My wife chose the Merrell Moab 2 mid top waterproof hiking boot. Hers actually cost a bit more than mine. We probably could have saved a little by buying them online, but we were going on vacation the next week so we got ours from a local sporting good store. I liked that the Merrell's were comfortable to wear right out of the box, no break in period like most hiking shoes.
 
Ski trips & ski equipment. Camera bodies and lenses. First Class (or business) for ALL air travel now.
So, to combine all those we are taking a two week ski trip to St Anton Austria (the cradle of skiing) next year. I telemark ski only, so I will be right at home where it originated :)
 
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An apartment in Pittsburgh. And trips there for Argentine Tango classes.
 
mountainsoft said:
I got the Merrell Moab 2 waterproof hiking shoe (low top). My wife chose the Merrell Moab 2 mid top waterproof hiking boot. Hers actually cost a bit more than mine. We probably could have saved a little by buying them online, but we were going on vacation the next week so we got ours from a local sporting good store. I liked that the Merrell's were comfortable to wear right out of the box, no break in period like most hiking shoes.
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Thanks—love Merrells. Will keep an eye out for these.
 
mountainsoft said:
I got the Merrell Moab 2 waterproof hiking shoe (low top). My wife chose the Merrell Moab 2 mid top waterproof hiking boot. Hers actually cost a bit more than mine. We probably could have saved a little by buying them online, but we were going on vacation the next week so we got ours from a local sporting good store. I liked that the Merrell's were comfortable to wear right out of the box, no break in period like most hiking shoes.
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I bought the same shoe (low top) a couple of months ago and it has been very comfortable for my 1-3 mile day hikes. The Merrell Moab was one of the few shoes that came in wide to fit my big feet so I did not have a lot of choices but I have been pleased with the shoe.
 
Two Tesla's. Model 3 and an X
About 25,000 on upgrading the former rental home that I moved into a year and a half ago. 8000 of it was on hardwood floors that weren't a requirement.
400 for a google home max recently.
Things I don't splurge on: clothes (have some garments 37 years old), utilities, green tea, and pretty much everything else.
 
Souschef said:
15 Day cruise to Hawaii in Club Class Mini suite. for our anniversary. Renting a plane in Maui to fly to Hana.
Ship leaves and arrives in LA NO airports!
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Just had fun at BevMos 5c sale picking up 2 bottles each for next cruise: Chateau St Michelle Pinot Grecio, Chardonnay, and Merlot = $36 total / $40+ each on Princess ....are you bringing wine on the cruise? Corkage?
 
cnocmmz said:
Is it expensive there in comparison to other places?
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Yes, Switzerland is much more expensive than neighboring countries. Hotels and restaurant meals were about double what we paid in Austria for similar quality.
 
cnocmmz said:
Is it expensive there in comparison to other places?
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I spent the same amount of money there for two weeks as I spent a whole month in Barcelona, France, and Italy. I didn’t have the most luxurious Airbnb either. I’ve been warned by the two Swiss ladies in my bridge club, I thought it’s the same as Austria, but they told me it’s worse. I now believe them.
 
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FreeBear said:
Amazed at the number for folks flying first and business...


Oh, we doubled our travel budget compared to our spend while w*rking, and we still went over budget last year. One of the best years of my life!


We eat out a lot, maybe 4 to 5 times weekly. Usually a substantial meal between lunch and dinner, in part to avoid the "crowds". Cooking something tasty seems too much of a bother for just the two of us. More specifically, I just hate the prep w*rk and cleaning. DW is an excellent and health cook, but I don't want to burden her most days. So I get stuck with the chopping and dishes.

Of course, while traveling, we eat out every day. We stay in midrange hotels so someone else does all the cleaning. It's not a vacation if we've got to cook or clean.


We replace appliances if they are older than 6-8 years and stuff starts to go wrong. It may be cheaper to repair, but we don't bother. We just buy low-mid end models from brands of known better reliability. Just throw-away junk...

I don't do my own auto repair or even maintenace anymore. No time when w*rking. No desire now that I'm retired. Got better things to do, like coffee on the deck and a bike ride with DW...
Click to expand...

Funny how we're all wired so differently. DW & I just finished 3 weeks in Europe. We ate breakfast and dinner almost everyday in our Airbnb apartments. It wasn't about the money. We're too lazy to go out for breakfast. Nor do we want to eat dinner at / after 7 PM. We divvy up the tasks and enjoy the results. Also, most of our places were equipped with riverfront balconies/terraces, so our views while dining were spectacular.
 
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