LBYMs what do you splurge on?

[Khan]

Had been extremely frugal.
But five round trips to Florida in last 18 months.

 

[NW-Bound]

Most of LBYMs spend money on experience and not on things.....

... although some experiences require "things".

Examples include my cool high-country 2nd home (temperature of 74F, humidity of 16%, wind of 25mph as I am writing this), and my small motorhome that let me park and sleep under the huge redwood and sequoia trees of the National Parks.

 

[Moemg]

Travel & grandkids !

 

[jkern]

Golf and cars. I only buy one car every 15 years or so, but I like luxury sports cars.

 

[NW-Bound]

Driving a fancy sports car is an experience too, but one that I lost interest in perhaps 2 decades ago.

The difference between experiences and things can be blurry sometimes.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Housing.
Not for the luxury, but for the space between neighbors. DW and I are currently renting a 3,800sf house (way more than we need) in an upper-end, low density subdivision for the relative peace. As a concession to LBYM, we do pay below market price for rent.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Money Spent On Life Experiences, Not Material Things, Brings Happiness

Most of LBYMs spend money on experience and not on things.....

What is interesting is that many lovely experiences are also free or low cost - a picnic lunch, a walk in the forest, visiting a tide pool, riding bikes, a day at the beach, sipping wine on the patio, visiting a museum or garden, going to a cook out, taking an art class, reading a mystery novel or a nice visit with friends.

I do like to go out for interesting ethnic food I don't know how to cook at home - like Thai or Indian. We also plan to splurge on more travel in the future.

 

[pjm-7]

Chocolate, preferably European.

 

[gerntz]

Gifts to our kid & grandkids. Then travel.

 

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

Because I LBYM for so many years, I don't splurge anymore, I just get to buy whatever I want....definately wine, and eating out and travel and even possibly a ...gulp...boat

 

[Major Tom]

My hobbies - photography, and building ham and shortwave radio gear.

I just spent close to $700 getting my favorite lens repaired, and also just had a spending binge of a few $100 on radio parts, including some really cool vintage parts coming from a guy in Ohio with ~200,000 of them.

My total hobby spending will be somewhere between $1K and $2K this year which, considering that I normally live on ~17K/year, is a fairly significant sum. I do enjoy my hobbies though.

 

[brewer12345]

Good whiskey, groceries/ingredients for home cooked meals, and gasoline for camping and hunting trips.

 

[Finder]

Travel.

+1

Travel, dining out, computers

 

[RetireAge50]

Unknown but they add up to about $1,000/mo (for 4 people).

 

[gcgang]

Because I LBYM for so many years, I don't splurge anymore, I just get to buy whatever I want....definately wine, and eating out and travel and even possibly a ...gulp...boat

+1

After LBYM for so many years, I splurge on ... RETIREMENT!!!

 

[Meadbh]

Travel.

 

[ikubak]

Travel - although I make every attempt to travel frugally

Wine

 

[eta2020]

What is interesting is that many lovely experiences are also free or low cost - a picnic lunch, a walk in the forest, visiting a tide pool, riding bikes, a day at the beach, sipping wine on the patio, visiting a museum or garden, going to a cook out, taking an art class, reading a mystery novel or a nice visit with friends.

I do like to go out for interesting ethnic food I don't know how to cook at home - like Thai or Indian. We also plan to splurge on more travel in the future.

What you describe is my idea of fun as well. Best things in life cost nothing and include other people.....

But when splurging things like wine, food, travel, second house in mountains look like primarily spending on experience.

Some ultra fancy car would look like things. And there is nothing wrong with that as well

 

[diehard1997]

Travel, vehicles and kids!

 

[jollystomper]

One other area we splurge on - cash gifts to nieces, nephews, and other young people we are close friends with for graduations and weddings. We give well above the "average" amounts.

 

[Tadpole]

I sold my soul to the Amazon store.

 

[easysurfer]

LED light bulbs. Got most of my light bulbs changed from CFL to LED

 

[Koolau]

I suppose it depends on the definition of "splurge", but I don't think we really splurge on much of anything. I think of "splurging" as doing something "crazy" or reckless with money - something you hadn't planned on - more spur of the moment. Clearly, we could live on much less (and have) but everything is pretty much "in the plan" (not the budget - we don't have one.)

We have 3 cars, but could live with only one or even none (good bus system). But we buy inexpensive used cars. So is that splurging?

We live in a high cost state (single most expensive part of living in HI is RE). Again, we planned the move for 30 years - and it works, so is that splurging?

We give our kids and charities a significant portion of our yearly "draw". We plan each gift carefully and don't do it on a whim. So, is that splurging?

Not trying to quibble with OP's thread, but just doing a personal sanity check. If I ever fly "first class", I'll consider that a splurge (to me). If I ever buy a "new" car, that will be a splurge (to me). Even though I could afford these things, I consider them a "splurge". So, I'm still unsure whether we ever splurge - even though we could spend much less. Baaahhhh! Is a puzzlement!" YMMV

 

[athena53]

Travel. I've been really good at getting maximum value from loyalty (frequent flyer and hotel points) programs but as they get stingier and I no longer have business travel to help accumulate points, that will be less of a factor in the future.

I've also had a love of real jewelry my whole life and I have a lot of it. I never had a fantasy that it was an investment; I just like sparkly stuff.

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

Is anything a splurge if one is living within one's budget?

I've recently purchased the highest quality camera lens I've ever used. I think it may be a gateway drug because there are another half dozen lenses for different purposes and of markedly better quality available at double and triple the price. That's OK. I can stop spending if and when my cost of living reaches the budgeted level.