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My husband has been laughing at me lately. This Christmas, I brought things that my frugal self would have winced at before. I purchased four - 12 inch cookie that looks like St. Nick as a bishop. Each cookie was $12.95 and with shipping, it was $75...None of this is going to break the bank - but it's out of character for me.
I did the same. No real big-ticket items, but I found myself "treating myself" an awful lot. Like, every day. I figure I don't have many others to buy for, so I might as well. Also, it's been a rough year, so - hey - I deserve it. Finally, I haven't taken any trips forever, so I've obviously saved money there and can afford to splurge a little. I certainly don't expect to continue this uncharacteristic spending in the new year, as it's not my usual practice. On the other hand, I earn 3x rewards points on credit card expenditures through December 31, so it's actually being frugal!
I did the same. No real big-ticket items, but I found myself "treating myself" an awful lot. Like, every day. I figure I don't have many others to buy for, so might as well.
After reading this thread, I tallied up our spending in the last 3 years and calculated the ratio of our discretionary spending over total spending. It came out on the average about 67%. If we had maintained the previous ratios of around 30%, we would have saved quite a bit of money instead of spending almost every dime of our receivable income. However, I have no regrets.
I focused on our spending in the last 3 years because our spending habit and attitude about spending/saving changed drastically when we made a big cross country move to be with our only daughter. Even though our daughter has been healthy since completed her breast cancer treatment 3 years ago, we are still crossing fingers hoping that she would continue to do well in the next 2 years. The odd of cancer recurrence reduces significantly after 5 years.
So we have been trying to live our life to the fullest. I treasure every single wonderful moment of traveling, boating, flying, sharing good foods and wines with our daughter, SIL and our grand puppies (her menagerie of rescued dogs has recently increased from 3 to 4).
There is no way that I can change from being a frugal person to a spendthrift but I no longer wince when purchasing some expensive items as long as they are of high quality. Our daughter and SIL are doing well on their own. If anything, she has encouraged us to spend her inheritance on ourselves.
In contrast to some retirees who think that they should down size or being a minimalist in retirement, I think it's great to acquire things which can enrich your life. New acquisition does not necessarily lead to cluttering when you get rid of things which are not needed or no longer bring you joy.
Sometimes, it costs very little to get something very nice. I bought a beautiful bronze/stone lamp with silk shade at a thrift store few days ago for $12.99. I was disappointed to find that it had a broken switch. I was thinking of returning it then accidentally broke a small ceramic lamp (which I had planned to donate to the thrift store). It took me about 15 minutes to salvage the lamp socket with a good switch to repair the new-to-me bronze lamp.
It's fun to spend money and it is more fun when you spend it wisely ;-)
I vote for the Sub Zero refrigerator/freezers, the ice dispensers, even the built-in espresso machines. Truly high-end appliances will probably outlive most of us, as long as they get regular maintenance.
I made the mistake of buying a low-end washer/dryer pair. It was not cheap but it was cheaply made. The handle came off the dryer door in the first week.
From another thread I started in this forum, you know I'm in the market for a new W&D set - so can I ask what brand you had such bad luck with?
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reneeh63
From another thread I started in this forum, you know I'm in the market for a new W&D set - so can I ask what brand you had such bad luck with?
AFAIK..
Speed Queen is the only new set you can get that allows distinctly chosen water levels and a traditional agitator.
Several friends have thrown away their modern "energy / water saving models and bought a Speed queen.
With several rental homes on rural well and water treatment systems I get a pretty good idea of what different W&D cost to operate. Thus I still use older / traditional models. We had a brand new LG 'ecological / energy and water saving' set left behind by tenants moving overseas. We used it for a yr and ended up donating the set to charity. It used over 3x the water and power of a conventional set, and took 3x as long per cycle. (Machine was 'Self sensing' for water levels and cycle time). Local repair guy says all homeowner W&D are all 'smart' (impractical) now.
I am retired, married and 66 wife 65. We have more than substantial savings, a great pension, holding off for 70 on SS and no debt. Four kids all college grads with no student loan debt thanks to dear old Dad. All this yet I have a “ yellow light” when it comes to spending. I think I inherited my parents depression mentality or I am basically cheap. At what savings amount do you blow the dust off the wallet and spend?
How many years of savings do you have left to fund your lifestyle? I needed to have enough to fund the rest of my life twice before I stopped thinking twice about it. The first half I keep relatively conservatively invested. The second half is less conservatively invested and I feel comfortable enough spending. This way if my net worth was cut in half I’d still be covered. The problem now is I don’t really need anything. And I still second guess my approach. I don’t deprive myself or think of myself as cheap, just practical and I value my own financial security.
It doesn’t matter how much money you have available (thinking a million plus saved), during the covid pandemic it’s hard to spend it on “experiences” unless you have lucky genetics.
It’s a shame that people in their early and most physically fit retirement years can’t successfully do much today to enjoy themselves. In fact the lack of reward is creating depression for those with savings, versus anxiety for those who failed to save. Several articles have been written about it.
So bottom line might be to make sure you spend some (wisely) on enjoying yourself on the way toward those retirement years. You never know what will happen that you cannot really prepare for.
Last edited by luv4horses; 12-29-2021 at 09:00 AM..
There is no way that I can change from being a frugal person to a spendthrift but I no longer wince when purchasing some expensive items as long as they are of high quality...I bought a beautiful bronze/stone lamp with silk shade at a thrift store few days ago for $12.99. I was disappointed to find that it had a broken switch. I was thinking of returning it then accidentally broke a small ceramic lamp (which I had planned to donate to the thrift store). It took me about 15 minutes to salvage the lamp socket with a good switch to repair the new-to-me bronze lamp.
I'm not sure you're doing this "spendthrift" thing right; keep working on it!
It’s a shame that people in their early and most physically fit retirement years can’t successfully do much today to enjoy themselves. In fact the lack of reward is creating depression for those with savings, versus anxiety for those who failed to save. Several articles have been written about it.
This. Also, I'm going to be afraid to fly going forward with all the experienced pilots being let go for refusing the vaccine!
Links? I'd be interested in reading those articles!
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