What is your "latte" ?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Used to be drinking. I enjoy going out to a bar, not so much but when I do go out and am not pregnant I do have a drink still.

[FrugalTexan75]

Junkfood - namely chocolate is my latte. I don't drink coffee or alcohol, smoke, gamble, play the lottery ... but I do have a nearly insatiable sweet tooth. When I have a handle on the sweet cravings, my grocery bill goes down by at least 20%. When I don't ....

Books also used to be a huge latte factor for me, but now I mainly get them free (ebooks from Amazon, or borrow from the school's library), or use gift cards to buy them. (Although most of the books I buy with gift cards are ones I'm buying for the school's library ...)

[bennkar]

Toy trains for me, though in the past 6 months I think my sales of trains has equaled my purchases, though if not its been maybe $25 (not bad for 6 months!). I used to spend $500 - $1000 per year, but the last few years I've cut that down as I am thinking I need to be more selective in what I have.

[seen]

If I've been judgmental about a particular expense to someone who was saving adequately and living below their means, I apologize. Now if someone comes here looking for help or buried in debt or not saving for retirement, that's a different story. Then I'll certainly point out where they are spending frivolously. Heck, if I came here and said we gamble a couple hundred/month and we have 10K in credit card debt and 2 car loans, I'd expect to get nailed on that.

Don't get me wrong Steve, I enjoy your posts. I just found it interesting that you justify your escapes to the casino rather than to just call it what it is, a guilty pleasure. That's what this thread is about afterall.

I do however find it somewhat hypocritical that you justify this indulgence, yet criticize others for indulging in something you yourself might not see any point in. So this is a savings advice forum offering frugal tips, but according to your philosophy, hey if they can afford it why not right? In other words if they have the money and it makes them happy, they shouldn't have to 'need' it to justify its purchase, whatever 'it' may be.

There is a big difference between someone that is worth over a half million dollars going to the casino here and there and someone drowning in debt going to the casino here and there.

Agreed. Yet for some reason affordability is often overlooked in the equation. I'm not referring to the people asking for help, I mean in general.

[disneysteve]

In other words if they have the money and it makes them happy, they shouldn't have to 'need' it to justify its purchase, whatever 'it' may be.

I agree. That's why we often talk about the 50/30/20 budget - 50% for needs, 30% for wants, 20% for savings. As long as the 50 and the 20 are taken care of, how you choose to spend the 30 is entirely up to you.

Agreed. Yet for some reason affordability is often overlooked in the equation. I'm not referring to the people asking for help, I mean in general.

I think I have an idea what you mean. There are some things that we consistently speak out against, like leasing your personal vehicle (not business leases). Certainly, there are some people who can do it and afford it and not particularly impact their overall financial situation, but for the vast majority of people, it is a horrible idea. So we spout off against leasing for everyone. For that matter, most of us speak against buying brand new cars. I will always put in the rule of thumb to borrow for no more than 3 years with a payment of no more than 10% of monthly income. Now some people can buy new and still fall within those guidelines. That's fine, but I still don't recommend buying new most of the time.

Of course, buying a brand new car might be a better deal than dropping a few thousand dollars at the casino.

[bjl584]

Agreed. Yet for some reason affordability is often overlooked in the equation. I'm not referring to the people asking for help, I mean in general.

Yes, most people on this board will probably rail against going gambling. But yet, some of us do it. I do not, but I have my own vises that aren't particularily frugal in nature. I guess the difference is that I have my finances in order. A lot of people don't. And the ones that don't shouldn't be engaging in expensive activities and hobbies. I think that's the difference. You can essentially "earn" the right to do certain things and spend your money as you please once you have your persoanl finances in order.

[Redraidernurse]

My "latte" is kitchen utensils/gadgets. We are big into home cooking so they get used all the time. For Christmas I got my first stand mixer ($250). I've used it for cinnamon rolls, cookies, different breads, bagels, ice cream/frozen yogurt, etc. About a year before that we purchased a large Excalibur Dehydrator for making jerky and dried fruit (around $200).

[nick__45]

Titty bars are my latte and physical as well as mental and spiritual therapies.

[nick__45]

Yes, most people on this board will probably rail against going gambling. But yet, some of us do it. I do not, but I have my own vises that aren't particularily frugal in nature. I guess the difference is that I have my finances in order. A lot of people don't. And the ones that don't shouldn't be engaging in expensive activities and hobbies. I think that's the difference. You can essentially "earn" the right to do certain things and spend your money as you please once you have your persoanl finances in order.

Completely agree with you.

[kork13]

I have broad interests, so my 'latte' rotates over time.... sometimes it's cycling and running gear, sometimes it's photography gear, or SCUBA equipment/trips, fresh fruit or bread (weird?), electronics, books, cars, snowboarding, aaaaaaaannnnndddd...... so on. hahaha

[NuggetBrain]

Books. Without a doubt. I've got them stashed away so many different places (because our bookcase is full up). They're in dresser drawers, they're in the closet, they're in my car....I sold at least seven huge boxes worth when we moved into our new apartment and still had way too many. The people down at Half-Price Books and B&N knew me by name. My mom and husband finally had enough and bought me a Kindle last year. It's awesome, but I still miss the smell of a bookstore.

Although I think my husband did it more because my guilty guilty pleasure is romance novels and he was tired of looking at half naked men scattered around our house.

[seen]

You can essentially "earn" the right to do certain things and spend your money as you please once you have your persoanl finances in order.

In principle I agree with you, but taking Steve's last example, in practice if I made a blanket statement "Leasing is a waste of money" under the guise that most can't afford to, I wouldn't expect to receive any nods of approval for leasing myself, just because I can.

I just realized that besides the lottery, I also splurge on buying lunch every day at work.

[ea1776]

thai massage, once a month or so.
Cost ~$65.00, and worth every penny.

[skruggie]

Music - I'm heavily into physical media and I haunt the local second hand music shops in Los Angeles for used CDs and vinyl. I find that I have to pay very close attention on how much I'm spending ona monthly basis to keep it under control.

[dawnwes]

hmmmm.......not really sure. We do have some hobbies that I am sure people think we spend too much on. DH golfs, but he was a former pro-golfer and still loves to play. We go on vacations at least once per year, often Disney. We ski in the winter.

I do drink good quality coffee and bought myself a very over-priced (to most) latte/cappuccino machine several years ago. I use it daily. Compared to going and buying a latte every day I have saved thousands.

But we have budgeted for all of the above so I don't find them frivolous.

Dawn