Your biggest splurge of all time

[bank5]

This is sort of like a confessional thread for all of us LBYMer's What's something that you bought that even spenders would think you were crazy for buying?

My biggest splurge ever was $2,400 for a mountain bike. My bike is worth more than my car. It get's better gas mileage through and many more smiles though

[freebird5825]

Not crazy spending, since I had the cash in the bank. It was going to be my 50th birthday present to myself.
I just bought it 3 years earlier than planned.
.

[ziggy29]

In terms of the largest amount of money spent that was totally wasted, probably the $1200 I spent on a dating service about 20 years ago.

I've certainly spent a lot more money than that on "stuff" I didn't really need, but for the most part I've received value in return. Not on this one.

[bbbamI]

A three carat diamond ring.

[CuppaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 In terms of the largest amount of money spent that was totally wasted, probably the $1200 I spent on a dating service about 20 years ago....

Could you say that it clarified what you wanted?

[REWahoo]

The $1.98 I blew on a pair of mail order X-ray glasses when I was 12.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuppaJoe Could you say that it clarified what you wanted?

Nope. Not even close.

In my age range, plus or minus a little, there were like 4 men in the dating service for every one woman. (Dating services tend to suck for men who are younger and women who are older in terms of ratios and competition.)

And I was short and bald, and in your 20s that matters a lot more than it does in your 30s and 40s. If you're close to 40 and you are successful and stable with a good personality, short and bald doesn't matter so much. At 25, it really does.

For a one-year membership I got three dates. (Yes, that's $400 per date, and I never even got more than a handshake in any.) I could tell none of them saw any potential in me from the get-go, especially with the odds I mentioned above. I was a sucker for a pretty, well-dressed face in Sales who was selling me on how (ha!) desirable I was.

Still, it does make me more grateful for what I have now and reminds me of how lucky I ultimately became...

[CuppaJoe]

This is a difficult question, Bank5. Probably the thing an LBYMer should do is look at ways to reduce monthly expenses like cable, gym memberships, phone, cell phone, etc. I do that sometimes but the splurge part would be that I wait too long.

I don’t bother researching stuff too much so might overpay or buy the wrong thing. Had a $25.00 certificate from Amazon and decided to buy this rice cooker. Deleted my order for the rice cooker recipe book because I see lots of recipes from that book on the internet. The machine seems okay for my purposes, don’t know if it’s the best deal. I’ve been thinking about replacing my hard-to-clean 3-cup rice cooker from the ‘70s and I’m convinced I’m the sort who will use all the features on this little baby.

Amazon.com: Sanyo ECJ-D55S 5.5-Cup Micro-Computerized Rice Cooker/Steamer: Home & Garden

[SarahW]

My Cadillac.

[Ronstar]

My mid-life crisismobile - bought in 2001

[SarahW]

Now you're talkin'.

[crazy connie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW My Cadillac.

DITTO

And I am starting to get the fever again! Sparkle has almost 50,000 miles on her now and she is a bit dusty!

[Sue J]

When we were first married DH spotted a used Leica M3 camera in a camera store. We had been into photography for a while and had collected a few older cameras. He really wanted the Leica, it was a 35mm so the film was still current, unlike some of our other cameras.

I think it was $310, a completely uneeded and expensive item for the time, maybe 1977 or 78.

It turned out to be a good purchase, the photos are stunning and we used it for many years, until digital became the norm. We still have it, the body is not in the best shape but it still works and it turns out the lens is worth quite a bit.

His most recent splurge is a new bike, about $500. He's been pretty miserable in his job and he needed a new toy. His old bike needed work and he needed a distraction from the crap he has to deal with. And it's good exercise.

I'm too thrifty to splurge very often, but last year I bought an EEE PC for $350. DH had sold some old electronics on eBay in order to buy some new electronics and he ended up with a surplus which he offered toward the EEE PC. He knows it's hard for me to spend on myself so it was very nice of him to share.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo The $1.98 I blew on a pair of mail order X-ray glasses when I was 12.

Remember "white cloverine salve" in the same comic book ad? You could sell a few boxes of it (cured just about everything) and become a millionaire in a week.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

This 6 weeks ago:

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa This 6 weeks ago:

Now tell us how much you've spent on after-purchase "accessories"...

[Notmuchlonger]

Hey does that thing got a hemi?

[W2R]

Rich, nice treat for yourself!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bank5 This is sort of like a confessional thread for all of us LBYMer's What's something that you bought that even spenders would think you were crazy for buying?

Confessional? OK, my turn... (drawing a deep breath)

Last August I bought a wireless color laser printer, when I had a perfectly good black and white laser printer and a perfectly good cheap color photo printer.

I bought it, a new desktop computer, and a new wireless router at the same time, just as Hurricane Gustav approached, perhaps as a form of therapy for a bad case of hurricane anxiety. I didn't even have everything hooked up and working yet when we evacuated. The computer and router were just replacements for older broken equipment, but the color laser printer was a completely unnecessary splurge.

(love having it, though!)

[aaronc879]

I bought a $30,000 new SUV, that I had to finance, when I already had one worth about $5K that worked just fine. When I was 19, I spent $2000 on chrome wheels and low-profile tires for my car. I put it on my credit card

[Sarah in SC]

Doggone Rich, that is a big ole step up from the van you brought to Charleston just a few short years ago. Now you are too fancy for me to even park next to! Good one!

I think the most expensive thing that others would think was crazy was our trip to Mongolia last summer, mostly because who else would want to go there but us? But it was a trip of a lifetime, and I try not to think about the fact that it cost more than all three of our cars plus the truck!