Blow That Dough 2025

[braumeister]

My 18 year old Icelandic sweater (Lopapeysa) is starting to get a little raggedy, so I ordered a new one. Nearly $300 with the shipping cost, but well worth it to me.

I've read that most of the sweaters sold in tourist shops there are actually made in China. They send the wool to China, sweaters are made there and sent back to Iceland. The real thing, that I have always bought, is all hand knit by Icelandic locals from Icelandic sheep wool. Back in my youth, I could get one made from wool that hadn't been washed. They don't do that anymore. The wool was so full of lanolin that you could wear it right next to your skin and it felt wonderful.

 

[Sunset]

$33k on my midlife crisis BTD. If all goes well I have a platform to build off, but in all reality this is an extremely performant car. Spent a little bit on some aftermarket items to get her where she needs to be.

The stock exhaust leaves much to be desired for a small coupe.
View attachment 54193

Our new neighbors have a little car like this.
They must change changed the exhaust, as now when it starts up it sounds louder than a Harley Motor cycle which used to be across the street. Loud like crazy and more of a bark rather than the soft pulse of a Harley !!

I can only hope they crash so the sound stops.

 

[jollystomper]

I finally bit the bullet and added a 3rd car, in place of the one that was totaled the end of 2021. After a lot of analysis, and perhaps procrastination, I finally decided on a "newly used" (<20k miles) 2023 Highlander. That model was my first choice, but mentally I could not wrap my head around paying an additional $15K for brand new right now, with other BTD activities in the works. I drove it, I liked it, I pulled the purchase plug .

 

[Luvtoride]

Does this qualify as BTD? We’re leaving Saturday on a vacation trip with our married daughters and 4 grandkids to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico. It’s Presidents week so the older granddaughters are off from school so it’s a good time to leave the NY/NJ area. Airfares are over $1,500/ PP, but we were able to get a much lower price for the 10 of us through one of those discount flight websites (I’ll let you know once we’re on the JetBlue flight that it was legit LOL). We have 3 Preferred Club suites with access to dedicated lounges, pools, dining areas and bars. The kids (ages 2 thru 13) are sooo excited to get there and take advantage of all day food, room service and activities. If it all works out as anticipated it will be the best money we’ve spent in retirement to make great memories with our family!

 

[street]

I really like all your BTD purchases. I'm trying hard to get some land purchases made but haven't happened, YET.

 

[Surewhitey]

Heading south with friends to Port Aransas to escape the cold for a long weekend. Looking forward to the massive gulf shrimp down there.

 

[athena53]

Dental implant #2 placed today. Not my idea of fun BTD, but BTD nonetheless!

I've got 8 (and my oral surgeon has a patient who has 16). Definitely not a glamorous way to spend money but a joy to be able to afford what I see as the best solution when a tooth goes bad and can't be repaired.

 

[simple girl]

I've got 8 (and my oral surgeon has a patient who has 16). Definitely not a glamorous way to spend money but a joy to be able to afford what I see as the best solution when a tooth goes bad and can't be repaired.

So very true!!!

 

[audreyh1]

Heading south with friends to Port Aransas to escape the cold for a long weekend. Looking forward to the massive gulf shrimp down there.

It’s chilly up there (compared to here)!

Definitely awesome gulf shrimp.

 

[folivier]

Happy Valentines day. Today we'll drive to town to get DW's crown re-glued. In the snow. This particular crown has fallen out twice before so I'm thinking it will be a BTD for a new one.

 

[FIYes]

We are definitely blowing that dough. DH needs 3, yes 3, dental implants! Major blow the blow! Also, not a fun expenditure! I’m just grateful that we can do this. Nothing is more important than good health, but it does greatly impact this year’s expenses.

 

[folivier]

Update, our dentist who lives in our community just called and cancelled. She wants to get back to her cabin before the roads are too bad. No problem, we'll enjoy watching the snow fall from inside.

 

[sengsational]

Bought an Insta360 camera. Something I certainly didn't need, but I haven't had a new "toy" in a long time.

 

[street]

Bought an Insta360 camera. Something I certainly didn't need, but I haven't had a new "toy" in a long time.

Good for You. We are just like kids. Lol

 

[Rocky mtn high]

$33k on my midlife crisis BTD. If all goes well I have a platform to build off, but in all reality this is an extremely performant car. Spent a little bit on some aftermarket items to get her where she needs to be.

The stock exhaust leaves much to be desired for a small coupe.
View attachment 54193

What car is that? Looks great

 

[Palmtree]

Bought an Insta360 camera. Something I certainly didn't need, but I haven't had a new "toy" in a long time.

I've never heard of an Insta360, but after looking it up now I want one too!

 

[ElizabethT]

After taking one DD and her family (our GD's included ) on Mediterranean cruise last year, we just decided, with the input of our other DD, to take her and her guy to India via our favorite tour company. She/they are so excited, my heart is warm. This 'Giving with a warm hand' stuff (term first read here) is pretty awesome.

Otherwise, I would love to buy a brand new Toyota Rav4 hybrid, but the ridiculously awful sales process continues to put me off. Hey, Toyota, are you listening??

 

[sengsational]

I've never heard of an Insta360, but after looking it up now I want one too!

Now I need to BTD on travel to places where I can get some cool footage.

 

[jollystomper]

I cannot directly upgrade my Windows 10 system to Windows 11 due to CPU and motherboard restrictions. So I BTD to build a windows 11 test platform to migrate to before the October 2025 support deadline. The cost was a little more than $250 (after $70 savings from Amazon gift cards from various sources) for motherboard, power supply, cpu, 32GB memory, mSATA SSD boot drive, and PC test bench rack. I already have spare HDs to source a second hard drive from.

Windows 11 is installed but I have not yet BTD on a Windows 11 license. I did not realize until recently
that Windows 11 without activation does not "expire" and stop working after X number of days. The activation reminder message will remain on the screen,, and there are some customization limitations, but programs function normally and updates can applied. So I will BTD on that once I finish
testing my desired applications.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Big BTD year for us:

Week in Portugal
18 day cruise (March)
16 days in Africa (July)
$10k budgeted to ensure we see our kids frequently in the other cities they are in

New sliding door/window combo on beach house

Gotta live while you have the chance

 

[Dtail]

Big BTD year for us:

Week in Portugal
18 day cruise (March)
16 days in Africa (July)
$10k budgeted to ensure we see our kids frequently in the other cities they are in

New sliding door/window combo on beach house

Gotta live while you have the chance

Nice

 

[Koolau]

What car is that? Looks great

I'm calling "shotgun." No way I'd ever get in the back seat!

 

[DrRoy]

Just back from a trip to Egypt and Jordan. Biggest BTD beyond the trip itself was that DW bought a plant stand with a hand made, detailed, stone mosaic top of a tree of life for $2000.

 

[equakesfan]

Bought season tickets for the San Jose Earthquakes (~$2300). My son wants to see Messi play and some other games. Single game tickets for the Messi game are more than season tickets for the season. We won't go to all the games but we will go to at least 6, give some away, and sell what we can.

 

[Kings over Queens]

Love this thread and everyone's BTD contributions. Impossible to comment on each one, but they are all great in their own way.