What are you not willing to scrimp on?

[Rustic23]

Someone on another thread that they were not willing to scrimp on Heat. They keep their house at 78 or so in the winter.

For me it is long hot showers in the winter.

I'm sure there might be others, for DW I would say it is Scrapbooking stuff.

 

[Khan]

Good food.
-Spent $40 today for meat from local farm.

High speed DSL

Hot water for most laundry

 

[Rambler]

I agree with Khan...good food, fast internet cannot be gone without... In my US home, I have a woodstove that keeps things toasty, in my Asian home I scrimp a little on heat.

DW would agree with Rustic23's DW, scrapbooking materials are necessities. Hot baths are also on her mandatory list. On the other hand, we always do laundry in cold water.

R

 

[W2R]

High quality shoes for my problem feet. Food. High speed internet. My health (so, heat when I have a winter cold). My gym.

Looking at those, all except the high speed internet are needed for my good health. Don't do scrapbooking.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Uh oh. Let me count the ways. Agree with a fast internet connection and good food.

Then there's decent wine. Not really expensive stuff often, but maybe $10-$15 range a couple times a week. Vacations, too. Infrequent but we save cheap stuff for 3-4 day getaways and tend to use the long ones for cruises or foreign travel. Our RV has made the getaways fun and pretty cheap except for gasoline. Kid visits are a must and will increase greatly with ESR.

That's about it. We're not into jewelry, luxury cars, mansions, or similar material self-indulgences.

 

[bbbamI]

Food, air conditioning and sheets.

 

[Jake46]

Good food, good wine, air conditioning in summer and heat in winter, high speed internet.

 

[Gumby]

..

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I scrimp much less now that I am safely retired.

I no longer compromise on :
-eating out, once every week or two, only at nice places (I won't eat at places
where the food is not as good as I can cook)
-wine ($20 - $40/bottle, sometimes more)
-short vacations (2-3 days long, every few weeks)
-high speed internet

 

[bbbamI]

After reading these replies so far, I think I need some food stock.

Oh yeah, and about the wine....I found a great inexpensive wine by the name of Smoking Loon. Just love the Pinot Noir and the Chardonney is tasty too.

 

[Zoocat]

For me, I would be sad if I had to cut back and not travel anywhere. I really dislike staying in one place for long. Setting down roots means that I need to travel somewhere different a couple times/year or feel stifled.

 

[Enuff2Eat]

1 driving around
2 gifts
3 vacations

 

[template]

I don't scrimp on liability, auto, and homeowner insurance.

 

[Martha]

Real fresh water pearls and turquoise for my beading projects.

Supima cotton flannel sheets for the bed in winter.

Good shoes. Warm coat. Quality underwear.

High speed internet.

 

[NotSoonEnough]

Beer, food, Internet connection, bicycle parts, hiking boots

 

[youbet]

Indulging my grandkids, outdoorsy activities, live music, booze, food.

 

[AltaRed]

While working.. good food (including dining out 2-3 times per week), high speed internet connection, good shoes, heat, A/C.

Now that I am retired.... good food (including dining out 2-3 times per week), high speed Internet connection, HDTV, luxury car, good shoes, heat, A/C and good hiking gear.

 

[Goonie]

High quality shoes...... Food. High speed internet.

I learned a looong time ago that since you only get one pair of feet in a lifetime, take very good care of them and treat them well. So shoes are definitely #1 on my list!

Also, I won't scrimp on food, DSL, heat in the winter, and A/C in the summer. Heck, I scrimped on a lot of things to reach this point in my life, and I determined that when I reached FIRE, I wouldn't scrimp on things that I needed OR wanted! So I plan not to scrimp on anything! I'll shop around for good prices on what I want/need, but I won't settle for low quality, or buy things just because they're cheaper.

A sticker that I had on my locker at w*rk stated it well:

"The Bitter Taste of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Low Price is Forgotten"

 

[Puzzley]

Along with some things that others have mentioned, (food, heat and air, beer, sheets) we don't scrimp on pet food. Our dog and two cats get the best we can buy, as they contribute so much to our lives we want them around as long as it's possible to maintain their health, and quality food helps to achieve that.....

 

[Rustic23]

Guess I would have to add High Speed Internet. We had satellite before DSL. DSL cut the price in half.

 

[grumpy]

I guess I have simple tastes. That lets me not feel that I skimp on anything. We have relaxed our spending discipline substantially since we retired and are still well below a 4% withdrawal rate. We eat dinner out 3 to 4 times a week. We travel when we feel like it. I would like to replace my 10 year old Lexus but we bought DW a new car this year and our son will be getting married in 2008. We plan to give them a substantial wedding gift so I am holding off on the car for another year.

Grumpy

 

[Moemg]

If I had to I'd scrimp on everything but since I have a choice I will not scrimp on clothes ,hair cuts & color ,heating and cooling and vacations .

 

[VaCollector]

....I can't think of anything that we DO scrimp on....having won the "born in the USA" lottery, I am constantly reminding those around me that "even the poorest of us in the US live better than 99.99% of ALL of the people that have ever existed on this planet!"....and then I remind them that even the Kings and Queens of olde could not walk in to a HEATED (or AC'd), LIGHTED bathroom and never have to worry about what might be left behind !!.....and I can add that they use to stop and think about it, but now all I get is this !

 

[UncleHoney]

Things we don't scrimp on are items for the house and landscaping. Although we do all the work ourselves we always buy top quality materials. We may scrimp on the phone bill (minimal service for $21) but we might spend $200-$300 on an unusual plant for the yard.

 

[tightasadrum]

I'm still pretty cheap about everything, but I've notice that DW has moved on without me in her purchases, so I need to catch up. Here are the biggies:

1. A/C
2. "Stuff" for the house she's always wanted and now has (I guess that was a really big one)
3. Gifts at Christmas
4. College football tickets for us and two more
5. Decent wine
6. Good food (DW is a wonderful cook)
7. Toys for me (just got a tractor...but it's to save my back oh course)
8. The next big one will be travel, starting in 2008 (Scotland & a Med cruise)