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i think things that are worth splurging on are things i use every day -- a good mattress and pillow, a good car, good shampoo and cosmetics.
we doubled our salary within the last few years. i love the fact i don't have to stress about little purchases for my kids. before i always had to say no when they wanted something. now i can buy them that shirt, book, or headband, or whatever it is without having to stress out about it. it's a great feeling.
Without reading all the responses and maybe going off topic. Be prepared to have money or insurance to cover the illnesses that may come when you reach age 65 and beyond. If your lucky you may only need a few meds to support your health. It’s recommended to talk a brisk 30 minute walk every other day. Excessive indulgence in certain foods and alcohol can impact your health.
IMO you may instinctively know what to do to keep expenses in line with income. Associate yourself with positive and upbeat people helps moderate the stress that you can encounter in life.
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I don't skimp on coffee - it's the way I've started each day for more than 40 years. I have an expensive European drip machine - it boils the water not just heat it like the US machines do - & grind good beans with a burr grinder just before brewing. I couldn't believe the jump in taste the burr grinder made & the sturdy drip machine has lasted for over 20 years now so there is value here.
Would you like to share the brand of the coffee maker? Sounds wonderful if it boils the water and drips through metal or glass parts. Every coffee maker I have ever looked at online or in stores is brewed in plastic. What I have now is a 1 cup stainless drip-thru with a separate kettle to heat the water.
I love clothes. I never buy anything at Costco, Target or Kohl’s. I have nice jewelry, but don’’t want any more than I have now. I like good perfume, and nice shoes. I take care of my clothes, and don’t put them in the dryer. I have a nice luxury car, but is 2009 low mileage. I love it, all the bells and whistles. DH has new SUV for longer trips. We have four to five vacations a year, two international usually. Never fly business class, waste of money. We like nice hotels. We like wine and beer - mostly $12 bottles approx. We have lawn obsession, and spend to keep our zoysia looking good, and lots of flowers and plants. I spent $50 on a German paring knife, and DH almost fainted. He is more of a buy cheap, by twice type of person. He realizes this, bit can’t seem to change.
The older I get the less Madison Avenue has an ability to influence my buying habits.
And most of the time i spring for something expensive, like linen sheets, I regret the purchase. Linen sheets are like sleeping on a loofa pad. Even 200$ ones.
I find I like the feel of 100% cotton percale best. I just got set for 79 from Costco and love it.
Would you like to share the brand of the coffee maker? Sounds wonderful if it boils the water and drips through metal or glass parts. Every coffee maker I have ever looked at online or in stores is brewed in plastic. What I have now is a 1 cup stainless drip-thru with a separate kettle to heat the water.
It's a Technivorm Moccamaster, expensive at first glance, but as I said mine has lasted 20 years & my brother has gone through about 4 cheaper ones in that time which in the end almost equal what I paid. Plus they can be repaired, haven't needed that yet.
Gas...that was the first milestone. When I realized I no longer knew the cheapest places in town to get gas and would fill up when/wherever I needed it.
Checkbook...I haven't balanced it in a long time. I have a general idea where my balance is, and everything is on autopay. I look at it when the paper statement comes and see if anything looks funny. It's nice to have all review be on the backend and casual instead of knowing to the penny and attempting to maximize cash working for me.
Clothing - This has huge help from my wife who works with clothes, but she's great at finding what designers look good on me and then hunting for the deals. There's nicer things than Target, but my wife still prefers some things from Forever 21....but get what fits and looks good on you.
Beds - Go get an awesome bed.
I have not seen improvement in nicer:
- Haircuts...I'm convinced there's no skill correlation whatsoever.
- Fragrances...once you're above old spice...your good.
- Restaurants - obviously with exceptions, but aside from specific ambiance...I don't see much of a difference in food.
- Yard care/Plumbers/Electricians - I actually think there's an inverse correlation here. Go get a hungry guy building a business. The big companies are terrible.
I believe a lot of us that worked hard to get where we are now feel that way...there was a point in our lives when hubby was A/D AF and the house was full of kiddos that we had to rob Peter to pay Paul. Kids are all grown now and we are the most "successful" (for lack of a better term) of both of our families. We were able to assist both my mom and MIL when they were alive, which was a blessing as both NEEDED financial assistance. We have saved, and it is funny, talking to our financial advisor, he tells us we can take XXXX out of our retirement every year without concern, but we are still in the "damn, we saved all this time, and now your telling us we can SPEND it???" mode. LOL Hard once you have conditioned yourself to sock it away to "justify" splurging. We do love our travel, but even when deciding to go out for dinner, I always consider what night of the week it is and which of our favorites has a "special" for that day of the week!
i think things that are worth splurging on are things i use every day -- a good mattress and pillow, a good car, good shampoo and cosmetics.
we doubled our salary within the last few years. i love the fact i don't have to stress about little purchases for my kids. before i always had to say no when they wanted something. now i can buy them that shirt, book, or headband, or whatever it is without having to stress out about it. it's a great feeling.
Actually this was one of the best lessons my very frugal mom gave me. On these boards I see a lot of "hate" (not actually hate but in the urban dictionary way. lol) for people with luxury cars.
I drive over 100 miles a day in all seasons for work, I don't have a luxury car to impress anyone. I purchase the best most reliable car that I could for my budget. if you spend 70 mins each way to work, comfort is not a luxury it's a necessity.
I also think a lot of things in life are cyclical. When I was a stay at home mom and my dh and I were just starting our careers, sure we lived paycheck to paycheck. hard to save money when every thing is going out. then as we got older, raises came along, we were able to save for retirement, kids college etc. Some things we sacrificed, others we never gave up (family vacations)
After a few life lessons now I have more of a "money is a tool" attitude. my vacations have gotten a bit nicer
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