Do You Have The Right To Buy Luxury Items?

[Like2Plan]

I see nothing at all wrong with that °o°

That wasn't you, was it? LOL

[ua_guy]

This reminds me of a discussion I saw on a Disney board several years ago.
Apparently the family had been saving for a Disney vacation when their kitchen stove broke and couldn't be repaired. So, they decided to use a camp stove to cook outside instead. Another poster on the thread said they were glad it was the stove that went out and not the toilet....

I just spit diet coke everywhere, sipping while reading this. Thanks for the laugh!!

[Like2Plan]

Seriously though, I get making sacrifices in order to have something you want more. But, now that I am retired, I might have mellowed a little bit.
For example, we bought a new set of calphalon pans a few months ago. I would have had a real hard time spending the money to replace our old pans a few years ago. But, now I think--we have the money, what are we waiting for? And, I feel so lucky to have them every time I cook with them. They are light years better than our old pans. The heat is evenly dispersed, nothing sticks to them (so i don't spend hours scouring the pans) and it's much more difficult to burn the food and waste food that way. So, I'm still thanking DH every time I cook with these pans!

[disneysteve]

That wasn't you, was it? LOL

Umm... nope. Trust me, though. If it was up to me, we wouldn't spend money on half the crap we do. Much more of it would go to travel.

Seriously though, I get making sacrifices in order to have something you want more. But, now that I am retired, I might have mellowed a little bit.
For example, we bought a new set of calphalon pans a few months ago. I would have had a real hard time spending the money to replace our old pans a few years ago. But, now I think--we have the money, what are we waiting for? And, I feel so lucky to have them every time I cook with them. They are light years better than our old pans. The heat is evenly dispersed, nothing sticks to them (so i don't spend hours scouring the pans) and it's much more difficult to burn the food and waste food that way. So, I'm still thanking DH every time I cook with these pans!

Glad you're enjoying your Calphalon. We got fed up with cheap cookware a number of years ago and ponied up and bought a set of Calphalon. It was one of the best purchases we've ever made. We both love to cook and, as you say, this stuff is light years better. We've had our set for 7 or 8 years and they still look brand new. I'm sure we will never have to buy cookware again, after going through 3 or 4 cheaper sets before them.

[rennigade]

I don't enjoy spending large sums on experiences. All of the best things in life are free, or don't cost that much.

I dont know of anything that is actually free? Walking in a park isnt free...your taxes are used for the upkeep. I would even argue that the air you breath isnt exactly free. Your tax dollars are used to fund projects/research of finding better ways to keep industrial pollutants out of the air.

I dont spend large sums of money on experiences. I havent paid for a flight since 2009 and we fly at least twice a year. You just have to know where to look and what to do.

[97guns]

I just spit diet coke everywhere, sipping while reading this. Thanks for the laugh!!

I just had generic sprite come out of my nose reading this

[FLA]

for me, half the fun of travel was seeing how much you could get for so little. Because I like nice accommodations but do not want to pay for them. Like subscribing to sites that told you about deals at boutique hotels in NYC. Ex-BF and I did tons of weekends away because those opportunities arose. The best one being a lavish all-suite hotel on the Museum Mile in NY for 7 nights that cost less than a Best Western in our home town.

Or finding a lavish house for 8, a mile from Disney for $89 a night. $9 a night each! And it was much nicer than the $89 hotels in Disney, of which we would've needed 4. And would've meant 5 people would not have gone because they would never have stayed in kid infested hotels like that. I spent copious amounts of time studying the photos of the houses, searching for perfection; highest end for lowest price . I did not have to do that, they were probably tons that were equally nice but I enjoyed the hunt.

I would check over and over for the best rental car deal in the months leading up to the trip, whereas my brother would get off the plane, go to Hertz and ask for a Mustang. We are fiscally at the opposite ends of the pole. Which in a way is good, I'd save him money somewhere painlessly and he would encourage me to spend a bit more for an experience the family would remember. Like Blue Man Group, I had seen it, I expected my father a pretty serious, gruff man to hate every second most especially the ginormous waste of a product those who have gone know about at the end. I would've expected him to gather armfuls of it to bring home in his suitcase, he was the cheapest man on the planet for decades. Instead he laughed hysterically the entire time, thanked me profusely and that was the best part for me, watching his reaction. They run random people's names saying silly things in LEDS, they had my name and said I had mapped the human genome. DD was young enough to believe this, my brother strung her along how we were moving to Boston so I could work beside him at MIT with Sir Tim Berners-Lee and I would be knighted as well. Her eyes were saucers. My brother, lives in Boston where they started, and gets dragged by tourist friends, said now the LED has my name saying she "cracked the human genome, didn't write it down and now no longer knows what the word 'genome' even means". Jerk.

hey, I remembered all that!

[MattNY]

I completely agree with the experiences over things. A luxury experience is much more satisfying. "Things," even if luxury, inevitably age and fail.

And I think luxuries should be reserved for AFTER short term debt is paid off, retirement contributions are made, investments in passive income sources (if interested) are made, and contributions to charitable giving are made. Then I can truly enjoy a luxury!

-Matt

[bjl584]

It's your money. Theoretically, you have the right to do whatever you want with it.

Some people may scoff at a guy cruising past in a Ferrari, but no one really knows what his situation is. He might be drowning in debt, but he might be very wealthy. We just don't know.

For me, I've always been a fairly simple efficient person. I don't think an expensive sports car or a big mansion would do anything for me. But then again, I'm not a multi-millionaire. If I had the means to indulge in luxury items my view point may change.

[disneysteve]

If I had the means to indulge in luxury items my view point may change.

I often wonder about this. How would our habits change if our means changed? I'm sure we'd upgrade/upscale some things. Who wouldn't? What's the point of having a bunch of money if you don't get to enjoy any of it?

There are definitely things we do because they are cheaper, not because we like them or prefer them. Those kinds of things we'd probably upgrade. There are other things we do partly to save money but partly because we actually like them better. Even if we had more money, we probably wouldn't change those things.

[97guns]

You ever try cutting dryer sheets into quarters or fifths?

[MattNY]

I've found it's important to "lock in" a quality of life at a certain salary early in your career. So as you advance and earn promotions or raises your cost of living it's rising at the same rate.

If not locked-in perfectly, I like the cost of living to grow at a much slower rate than promotions and raises.

Every time I receive an earnings increase my family first allocates more to investing (kids 529s, IRAs, etc), pays the difference in our paycheck to our church once as thanks, then go from there.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

The disney replies were the best. I almost peed laughing. Sigh. Only on this board. I too love my Calphalon but I bought them very young and they are 10 years in and worth every penny. Thank you to my aunt who told me to take all my gift cards and stuff from the wedding and return everything and buy pots and pans of the best quality. I did and everyday I smile.

So as to right to buy luxury item? Yes everyone does. Should everyone? Only those who aren't drowning in debt. But otherwise priorities.

If you want a big house or nice car why not? And yes I would have a lavish lifestyle if money was no object. I have no desire to live frugally now or really ever. I like going to the store and buying what I want (mostly groceries).

To each his own. But I would definitely consider a stove being repaired higher than Disney. Of course i would put the stove on Best Buy 0% credit card and still go to disney!

[FLA]

You ever try cutting dryer sheets into quarters or fifths?

or not using one at all? shudder

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Maybe not washing clothes until they are worn at least a week. You know buy some febreeze and cover the odor.