Do you have "luxuries" you treat yourself to?

[gcgang]

I was talking to a friend about sometimes I feel unnecessarily frugal. Being a "millionaire" but still adding water to the shampoo bottle once it's "empty" because I know I still get a couple more shampoos out of it, for example.

He said he does the "Jerry Lewis" thing, of always wearing new socks. Heck, I've got socks and tee shirts from the Reagan administration.

But I've gone through a lifetime of frugality. Don't I deserve a break? So, I resolved to get rid of a lot but of the really old, discolored stuff. But I'm not going so far as to wear only new.

I decided my indulgence will be to replace my toothbrush every week (they were 20% off at Costco this month). Ok, maybe every month, rather than using it until it is so frayed it looks like Brillo.

Do you have any small luxuries you treat yourself to?

 

[Walt34]

Filet mignon instead of chicken at a restaurant sometimes with DW.

 

[RunningBum]

You might take a look at http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/indicators-of-wealth-82835.html, it pretty much covered this ground, I think.

 

[Spudd]

Toothbrush recommended replacement frequency is every 3 months, I think.

I like to buy a nice looseleaf tea from the local specialty tea shop from time to time. That's what I consider a luxury purchase.

My vice is buying lunch on days when I work. I am retired from my main career but have a part time gig, and I waste about half an hour's pay from a 6-hour day on buying my lunch. But it's worth it!

 

[rodi]

For us it's buying better quality, often organic, ingredients for the food we cook.

 

[Koogie]

Good, high quality spirits (and sometimes wine). High quality, not necessarily high price.

Life's to short to drink cheap booze.

 

[DrRoy]

Camera accessories.

 

[Nemo2]

Sprung for a pair of shoelaces once.

 

[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.

 

[audreyh1]

I think our frugality went out the window a few years ago.......

Our spending has been well underneath our income for a while now. So what's the point?

Knocking on wood now of course!!!

 

[W2R]

My little luxury is changing my clothes several times during the day, just because I CAN.

Every day I have nightclothes, comfy/sloppy at-home "retiree clothes", nicer retiree clothes to wear out of the house, fresh comfy/sloppy at-home "retiree clothes" when I get home, and if I go to the gym I also have gym clothes. The reason I don't wear my nightclothes until I go out, is what if somebody rang the doorbell? I need to at least be decent. OK, this adds up to a lot of clothes. My laundry is probably as much as most people would have for a family of four.

When I was working, I just wore the same clothes all day long.

 

[Walt34]

Camera accessories.

That too. I just emailed a guy about a used Nikon SB-900 strobe on Craigslist. DW loves the family photos I get, Christmas gathering coming up, and a fourth strobe will get used. Ooof! That camera bag is gonna be pretty heavy.

I like those because I can put them up on a bookcase, mantel, etc. out of the reach of curious little fingers and bounce the light off the ceiling and light the room evenly and brightly.

 

[FIREmenow]

Boats.

 

[RobbieB]

I just ordered up another half dozen 14 oz Maine lobster tails -

 

[Sojourner]

Since OP specifically said "small luxuries you treat yourself to", I wouldn't include the new car I'm about to purchase or the fairly high-end cable TV package I subscribe to. Both are definitely luxuries, but not what I'd consider small.

On the small side, I like good wine and tend to spend around $15 per bottle for the higher quality stuff. I'll probably increase this a bit as my NW climbs (hopefully) over the years. Along the same lines, I also buy expensive coffee. And once every 18 months or so I buy the top-of-the-line water filter replacement for my fridge. I figure, why skimp on something I use multiple times per day that's so vital to my basic well being?

 

[W2R]

Do you have any small luxuries you treat yourself to?

Boats.

Oh... OK....

 

[Beldar]

I purchased dental insurance for DW & I through the ACA exchange this next year. Didn't have it before, but since we are saving approximately $1000 / month over our expiring COBRA coverage I figured why continue being one of the hoi polloi anymore

Other than that life goes on.


_B

 

[LakeRat1]

Surf and Turf ..... 20-24 oz Australian lobster tail .... Three of Four times per year

 

[RE2Boys]

And once every 18 months or so I buy the top-of-the-line water filter replacement for my fridge.

You mean they don't last the life of the fridge? Maybe I should consider replacing my 9 yr old filter?

Fortunately in our area, to filter or not doesn't make any noticeable difference....start with good Great Lake's water source.

I do splurge with the heat in the family room, have gas logs and like to crank heat to 71 vs 68 in rest of house.

And little concern with the gas mileage of my vehicles, just buy what fits my needs.

 

[Milton]

Boats.

+1. Feel good about it, too.

The trick is to observe the KISS principle. I've seen quite a lot of people experience significant emotional and financial stress caused by owning boats that are bigger and more complicated than they can cope with.

 

[MRG]

Good grass fed beef and some elk.

 

[nwsteve]

Upgrade air travel to Premium Economy when trip is 4 hours

 

[COcheesehead]

Good wine and nice bicycles.

 

[audreyh1]

Upgrade air travel to Premium Economy when trip is 4 hours

We bought an economy plus subscription this year and ended up using the heck out of it.

Haven't bought general first class tickets yet*, but when they provide inexpensive upgrades to first class on certain legs we usually take it.

*Well, OK, once on a domestic flight, but for once it cost little more than main cabin extra.

 

[VaCollector]

I have only recently (30 days or so) convinced myself that it's OK to spend 50c on a cup of coffee and instead of making my own "dirt cups"* as my DW calls them, I now use an actual new K-cup every time I enjoy a cup of coffee! For several years, I brought home the used ones from the office

And for the record, I personally think that many of indulgences mentioned here are lifetime habits that many of us will actually NEVER change ~ I have always added water to the empty shampoo bottle/hand soap to get more use out of it!....and I just replaced my toothbrush today thank you very much but I honestly can't remember the last time I did....

*dirt cups are where I actually save the USED K-cups, wash them and refill them my own bulk coffee