Things you are willing to splurge on

[wellheeled]

Saving money is all good and well (and important), but everyone has areas he/she is willing to put the big bucks on.

Mine is food. One of the best meals I've had is at Spago - DELICIOUS. But that's not to say expensive food is always better. I've had wonderful 50 cent empanadas in Latin America.

What are your splurge areas?

[simpleyme]

motorcycles- we spend lots on our bikes but are very frugal on everything else ;-)

[pearlieq]

Travel. I like to travel often and well!

[JanH]

Books. I know that I should use the library more. And I especially love hardbacks.

[Cassandra]

Like JanH, books. But I would also like to include purses. It's just so hard to turn down thrift-store priced purses!

[LuxLiving]

Travel - but that's not to say I travel on an unlimited expense account. I'm willing to spend money in this area, but try to do it frugally and stretch my travel dollars to their furthest.

Air Conditioning - in my part of the world it's H.O.T. in the summer time, and by cracky I'm gonna be cool no matter other circumstances!

I also love Books - but have resigned myself currently to a very small percentage of income these days for them. I'm talking miniscule. Perhaps one day my book budget will increase again, but for now, I'm deacquisitioning many of my old books and relying on the library and gifts. I got three new requested books for Mother's Day - The Story of B and Beyond Civilization both by Daniel Quinn and The Baron Son by Davis, Patterson & Patton. I've read two and am on the last one. Will have to hit the library again soon. So far all three appear to be Keepers.

[tinapbeana]

without doubt, the AC. DH and i are both hot natured people, so we keep it cranked at a level that is unimagineable to most... as i've said before, we offset it by barely having a heating bill in the winter, so i guess it all works out in the end.

[cschin4]

Heat and AC. I am not turning the thermostat down to 50 degrees in the winter. I am going to be comfortable in my own home.

[Broken Arrow]

Food. It's too quiet at home sometimes, and other times, I'm just too tired from work.

[momof1in150]

AC is not a splurge because my kids are asthmatic and it is a necessity in my house.

My splurge is my hairdresser. I get my haircut every 6 weeks and it costs $43.00. I also splurge on one specific product. Everytime I think I can get away without using it or using something else I am very disappointed/frustrated with my hair. I did find the product at the Navy Exchange for $11.99 where at the salon it cost $18.99.

[disneysteve]

Travel, although we still go with budget in mind and stay at less expensive accomodations, travel off season, etc. So though we spend a lot on travel, we don't travel in luxury.

Dining out - I would much rather spend $50 for a quality meal at a fine restaurant than spend $15 for a crappy meal at a national chain like Applebee's or Friday's or similar place. If I'm going to eat out, I want something as good or better than what I can make myself at home.

Cookware - We both love to cook and are quite good at it. We've had a succession of cheap cookware over the years and it never does a good job and never lasts. We finally splurged a couple of years ago for high end cookware (Calphalon tri-ply stainless) and love it. It makes such a difference in how things turn out and how easy clean-up is. Worth every penny. Same for cooking utensils - spatulas, tongs, etc. As our cheap ones wear out or break, we replace them with top quality versions that are so much better.

[JanH]

I forgot about haircare! I splurge on a wizard of a gal that does amazing things to what I was born with.

[disneysteve]

Fresh produce - We eat a mainly vegetarian diet at home so lots of fresh vegetables. Rarely canned or frozen stuff. When we go to the store, we buy what we need pretty much regardless of price. Sometimes, peppers are 99 cents/lb. Other times they are $2.99/lb. We buy them either way if we are out of peppers. Our health is more important.

[rob62521]

I would have to say food as well. We are trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and we especially like fresh fruits.

We do eat out at a nice place. It's not the most expensive, but it isn't cheap, but we get excellent food, the service is divine, and it's a relaxing experience to us. We figure it's worth every penny!

[thekid]

For us, it would be travel....albeit we have cut back in the last 2 years after going on a worldwide tear for the previous 5 years. We were always pretty budget minded in our accomodations (when students, we would say at youth hostels and super cheap hotels / later at reasonably priced mid-range hotels).

Another item is furniture. We both really enjoy fine furniture and shop it quite a bit. Don't necessarily go for the most expensive stuff as we usually find some great deals, but it isn't inexpensive either. We keep our stuff very long and don't bore with it. Considering how much we enjoy it and budget money aside for it, I have no qualms with it.