Do you have "luxuries" you treat yourself to?

[Calico]

Once or twice a month I buy my lunch, instead of bringing it to w$rk.

Once a month(ish) I order a jigsaw puzzle on Amazon without looking at the price.

Heat is at 73-74 when awake, and only drop it down to 71 when sleeping. At my age, I am done wearing layers of clothes in order to save a few bucks.

(Roasty-Toasty) Calico

[Bestwifeever]

I buy the occasional app for $2.99 or so rather than the free limited version.

[l8_apex]

Just this month I finally got my garage heater fixed. So now it's always 54 degrees in there, even if it's below zero outside (Montana gets cold...) That combined with a vehicle with remote start and heated seats seems like quite the luxury to me!

[robnplunder]

For me ... top restaurant once in awhile, SF Symphony season tickets, and high end golf club annual membership.

[brewer12345]

For me this is still a game of trying to live high on the hog at the lowest possible price. So I drink better coffee than you can find in almost any store, but I only pay $6 or $7 a pound for it (I buy green and roast it myself). I realized my everyday coat was in deplorable shape after 6 years of beat-down wear and did not like the prices I saw for high end natural fabric coats, so I found a beautiful, vintage wool Woolrich on Ebay for $65. I am too cheap to keep the thermostat over 65 and DW has a sensitivity to the cold, so I generally manage to scrounge enough free firewood every year to mostly heat the house with it at whatever temp we like. Are these luxuries? They sure feel like it, but what they require that is previous is not cash, it is my time.

[skipro33]

For me, I deny myself nothing. I can't think of a single thing that I would really want to have that I don't just go get. Not to say I'm loaded and have a ton of stuff, I don't. Just that if I want it, I just get it.
Some examples;
Decided to forego putting up the Christmas lights around the house, so I bought a few of those laser light things that project lights on the house.
Got chewed out by my dental hygienist last week during my teeth cleaning, so I bought a water pic thingy. It's kinda fun actually.
Wanted to see Disneyland just once all decorated for Christmas, so took DW for a few days. We decided to forego restaurants and only at at Disneyland. That restaurant at the Pirates Of The Caribbean was the best.
I don't have expensive tastes and I don't really want a lot of 'things'. I wouldn't have retired if I couldn't have afforded to enjoy my retirement and resented no being able to do stuff because of a lack of money.

[6miths]

Thorlo socks!

[robnplunder]

Treat yourself. Knock yourself out. The money is there for you.

[whatnot]

Massages on a 4-6 week schedule. I used to get a massage 1-2x a year. But I have found a really good massage therapist and it is my little luxury!

[Bigdawg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover New car every 10 years whether I need it or not. Fly instead of taking the Greyhound bus. Crank the heat all the way up to 68° F in the winter.

Wholly Smokes Travelover! With all of that high end spending are you even qualified to be a member here? Lol

[misshathaway]

For me it's good coffee to brew at home and an occasional gourmet cheese.

[Rambler]

We don't eat as much beef as we used to, but now, if we do have a steak, it's prime grade ribeye capsteak, instead of Safeway Select. Melts in your mouth!

Also, we've determined that it's ok to eat out a little more often. Sometimes it actually is cheaper when it's just the two of us, because sometimes when we decide to splurge and eat something nice at home, we have to buy enough to feed 4-6 instead of just the 2 of us. Then, we aren't necessarily interested in eating the leftovers, particularly if it's an item best served fresh off the grill, etc. So, for example, when the two of us want Chinese, we go out, pay $17 or less, and each have what we want.

[GravitySucks]

Bought 10 pairs of black Gold Toe socks and 6 pairs of white Adidas socks and threw out all my old and unmatched socks. Never have unmatched socks now.
When DW passed I found two trash bags of unmatched socks she always thought she'd get around too. There were baby socks in there.

[ShokWaveRider]

I must confess I have a few and the reasoning behind them. All these Post being FIREd

1) The only steak we buy to cook at home is Choice Filet mignon from Costco. - We do not have Steak much but when we do it may as well be the good stuff. (I cannot tell the difference between Prime and Choice, so Choice wins)

2) Only drink good Whiskey now. - I cannot seem to drink as much as I used to, I hate the headaches the next day, so may as well get the good stuff.

3) Lease a Car Every 3 years whether I need it or not. - I like new cars, no maintenance and the new Tech.

4) Try to only Fly Business Class or better. - I flew once a week every week during w*rking life and cannot fly "grunt" class any more. Now I do not travel that frequently now and still have a Gazillion FF Miles to Tap From.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShokWaveRider I must confess I have a few and the reasoning behind them. All these Post being FIREd 1) The only steak we buy to cook at home is Choice Filet mignon from Costco. - We do not have Steak much but when we do it may as well be the good stuff. (I cannot tell the difference between Prime and Choice, so Choice wins) .

Actually - I prefer choice steaks, because for me they have a lot more flavor than prime. I remember once cooking a prime ribeye and being so disappointed wondering where all the flavor went when I finally realized I'd accidentally bought prime.

[NW-Bound]

One can get good steaks in Choice grade, but from Safeway the tenderness is like crapshoot. So, I am thinking the Prime cut at Costco may be more consistent.

I have not bought beef from Costco in a long time, because their packs are family-oriented and just too large for two. I wonder if the Choice at Costco is more consistent.

[ShokWaveRider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound One can get good steaks in Choice grade, but from Safeway the tenderness is like crapshoot. So, I am thinking the Prime cut at Costco may be more consistent. I have not bought beef from Costco in a long time, because their packs are family-oriented and just too large for two. I wonder if the Choice at Costco is more consistent.

We buy the whole Choice File Mignon Rack and cut it to our liking 1.5 - 2 inches thick at about 8 - 10 oz each. it is cheaper to buy the pre-cut, but they are as you say too big, but too small to cut in half.

[NW-Bound]

Filet is tender, but too lean and does not have the same flavor as other cuts though.

I try not to eat steak too often, so when I do I can stand a bit more fat.

PS. By the way, I can get filet in smaller packages from another grocery store for a very good price. Again, it does not taste as good as a ribeye to me.

[kgtest]

I'll occasionally treat myself to something that improves my health. Bought some new roller blades for $120, and some new ski's for $300. Still cheaper than a years gym membership.

I bought myself a massage once. Felt good but was still temporary satisfaction.

Splurging usually comes on vacation, during that time I for some reason seem to not worry as much about what I spend. This means tickets to shows like Cirque or events like the Kennedy Space Center. Educational and entertaining.

For DW it's unexpected flowers (outside bday, mothers day, argument make-ups lol). We both splurged and together bought a treadmill. initially i thought I would never use it but I've ran quite a bit on it.

Compare this above poor working sap to the below...

Now my in-laws, they splurge on First Class airfare every trip they go on and just bought a Yukon Denali XL for any road trips they take. They like to travel for months, not weeks, renting very nicely appointed homes with more rooms than they need so they can invite guests to visit.

I suppose this might be the difference between a working engineer and a retired doctor lol.

Oh wait, come to think of it FIL did put all four kids through private schools and paid for college. Damn why did I become an engineer?

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound One can get good steaks in Choice grade, but from Safeway the tenderness is like crapshoot. So, I am thinking the Prime cut at Costco may be more consistent. I have not bought beef from Costco in a long time, because their packs are family-oriented and just too large for two. I wonder if the Choice at Costco is more consistent.

Choice at Costco has been good. We usually vacuum pack and freeze half of what we buy.