Luxuries that are worth it to you

[shaggy]

I like to splurge on nice ingredients to cook with.

Love to buy nice cheese - gorgonzola, gouda, chevere, asiago, etc. We buy them at Sam's club so they are still a cheaper option than some high class one, but much more expensive than the standard off brand cheddar.

A frugal friend of mine who was into cheese started making his own. It turned into a fun, money-saving hobby for him. He gave homemade cheese for gifts, which was nice.

I have another friend who did the same thing with wine.

[disneysteve]

As we were cooking dinner tonight, I realized I should expand my response about knives and cookware to include other kitchenware. I was using the bowl from our KitchenAid mixer, a MicroPlane to zest limes and grate cheese, Oxo tongs and other assorted accessories. There are cheap versions of all of those things, and we've had them in the past, but over the years we've come to appreciate the difference with the higher end versions.

[moneybags]

College education for my kids. They can go wherever they want (if they can get in).

[disneysteve]

College education for my kids. They can go wherever they want (if they can get in).

Will you be able to pay 100%? That's great if you can.

Personally, I also want my daughter to go wherever she wants but that doesn't mean we can foot the whole bill. We will probably cover about 2 years worth and she'll need to take care of the other 2.

[txex86]

Ditto Moneybags' sentiment. Paying for my daughter's college education will help her immensely since she will not graduate with any student loan debt.

[humandraydel]

We also have Wusthoff knives and Calphalon cookware. In some ways, though, I really don't consider those to be splurges. Before we bought our Calphalon, we had cheap cookware and we found we were replacing it every 2-3 years because it broke or wore out. After going through 4 sets, we decided it was time to stop being penny wise and pound foolish and actually buy a set that would last a lifetime.

I agree, expensive cookware is not necessarily anti-frugal. I have several pieces of Le Creuset which will last the rest of my life - $150 for a piece of cookware that literally lasts my entire life is not that bad. Plus, I ENJOY cooking with Le Creuset. Granted I bought these 10 years ago when there were no knock-offs, so maybe Le Creuset isn't worth it these days?

How do people feel about sheets? I've always bought $40-50 sets of (queen) sheets and I need a new set. I now realize there are sheets up to $200 per set which always seemed ridiculous, but now I wonder if a more expensive set ($100) are worth it?

[disneysteve]

How do people feel about sheets?

The same way I generally feel about clothes. More expensive might feel nicer and wear a little better but isn't worth the cost difference. We have cheap sheets that we got when we got our king mattress 18 years ago that we still use regularly. They're fine. Would $200 sheets be a little softer? Probably but we're comfortable on what we've got.

[bigdaddybus]

We are an outside family, so alot our luxury spending is stuff that the family all loves.
1. Lawn irrigation system and lots of fertilizer. Which I mow, rather than using a lawn service like most my neighbors. Its nice to have a barefoot soft lawn.
2. Grilling/smoking on my big green egg. Pricey grill and cuts of meat but oh so good.
3. Camping and ATVS
4. Vehicles are more wants than needs for me. Along with grilling I consider them a hobby.

Sell it all of in a sec if needed.

[imarunner]

i splurge on cameras, i currently have 6. (4 digital and 2 film). i may sell 2 very soon.

[FrugalAspie]

My big splurge is travel. I do not like to spend money on stuff, but I am happy to spend it on wonderful experiences.

[Liopleurodon]

I splurge on power tools, a good power tool will last the average homeowner forever. For me its generally Milwaukee or similar. I've got friends with cheap Ryobi or DeWalt stuff and it just doesn't work the same.

* MY COMPUTER. I have a souped-up Sony Vaio with 8 GB RAM and a 256 MB SSD.

In what way is a Sony laptop "souped-up"? Have you overclocked it or something. IMHO you've well overpaid for the Sony name, you can buy a superior machine with better hardware for less.

* KITCHENWARE. I have Wusthoff knives and All Clad or Calphalon cookware.

Quality cookware isn't splurging, its sound financial advice. In the end its cheaper to buy quality. I have a mix of brands I buy for certain pieces of cookware. However for baking, I use pyrex cuz stuff just tastes better baked in glass.

How do people feel about sheets? I've always bought $40-50 sets of (queen) sheets and I need a new set. I now realize there are sheets up to $200 per set which always seemed ridiculous, but now I wonder if a more expensive set ($100) are worth it?

If you like to change your sheets for a new color/look every so often don't buy expensive sheets, they'll last longer than you'll have use for them.

[EconoMutt]

We spend extra on one car. We own two, but it's nice owning one late model low mileage car.

[cschin4]

My point on luxuries is buy what YOU like and don't worry about "justifying" it to someone else. One person's "waste of money" is another person's fun. So who cares what people think?

[~bs]

In the end its cheaper to buy quality.

This was my opinion in the other thread in the frugal Q&A section. I've tried the cheap route, and you end up buying the same thing over and over again without the performance of the more expensive product.

[Like2Plan]

My big splurge is travel.

That is what I like to splurge on as well.