levels of spending

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Okay so steve's thread got me thinking $200 for a pair of jeans is a lot. But then i think more than $70/night expensive for a hotel. I use priceline or shop for deals. It's really hard for me to swallow most of our friends asking us to go on "vacation" with them and pay $200/night and that to them is a deal.

Or $15/day car rental. Or I usually get great deals on airline tickets. Car insurance I know we have a good rate and have shared with friends. But the funny thing? It takes too much effort to switch they say and call.

Can you tell me what you think is expensive for clothes, hotel, dinner out?

[cardtrick]

Vacation is a big expense for us, but we usually spend that money on flight tickets, doing things. We never go to resorts or spend money on luxury. We like to explore the place on our own. I try to keep it under $40 per night. Usually that means staying at hostels, which is fine with us.

[ktmarvels]

It's interesting because we are currently planning a trip with another couple. I'm a cheaper is better I just need to lay my head at night person, while the other woman seems to put more stock into the experience of the hotel and what ammenities they provide. At one of our stops she basically ruled out hotels because they didn't have room service. I don't think I've ever ordered room service of my own volition...I'd rather go out and explore the city we are in. So for me just about anything over $100/night gets to be a lot, but my set point used to be even lower. $200/ night is still crazy for me.

[shaggy]

I'm the wrong person to ask, because I like my luxuries. I don't have anything to contribute to the Frugal forum.

IMO $300 is expensive for a pair of shoes. $50,000 is expensive for a car. $300 is expensive for a hotel room (though I've spent that much). Any liquor is way too expensive (I don't drink). Beyond that, I haven't given it much thought.

Sure, I could be saving more. But my business is a cash cow (for now at least), I don't plan to retire, I have only myself (and my alimony payments) to worry about, and I'm saving 30% of my income. I spend with impunity as long as I'm saving that 30%

[snafu]

When we travel we want to use money for experiences; visit the places, festival, shows, markets, museums, hot air ballon ride, famous venues etc. We'll generally go to local restaurants we've read about for lunch rather than dinner, same menu, possibly smaller portion and moderate cost. We don't spend a lot of time at the hotel so we're not interested in the $ 200. - $ 400. accommodation. Clean and safe area is good enough using any of the on-line sellers that offer deals. If breakfast isn't included we stop at a grocery for fruit and rolls. We rent a cheapo sub compact, so long as it has a key fob but they never have it so we get upgraded to what's available and use the rider on our insurance to skip those ridiculous daily rates. If we're in an English speaking location we try to get to as tourist office as they make suggestions we'd never think of. I take my own GPS so I don't have to learn to operate something different.

[moneybags]

Car insurance I know we have a good rate and have shared with friends. But the funny thing? It takes too much effort to switch they say and call.

Can you let me know the name of the provider you went with? I'm looking into new insurance. Thanks.

[disneysteve]

We enjoy travel but I've definitely found in recent years that hotel prices have skyrocketed. I was just commenting on this the other day as I tried to book a stay in Rochester, NY (hardly a hotbed of tourism) next month. Relatively low-end hotels (Fairfield Inn, Holiday Inn Express, etc.) that used to be $79 or $89/night are now routinely coming up at $149 or more. I've actually started looking at Hotwire and Priceline to try and find a better deal. So I'd say $100 is about my tipping point. Personally if it were just me traveling alone, I'd go lower end but my wife is more particular and doesn't feel safe or comfortable in places with exterior corridors and sketchy clientele.

The most I have ever paid for a pair of shoes by far is the $140 running shoes I bought 3 months ago. Other than that, I think $60 is the most I've ever paid. Same for my wife.

I think $30,000 is too much for a car. We're actually shopping now and I'm having trouble because everything we're finding that we like is $23,000 and I don't want to spend that much but I think that's where we are going to end up.

Restaurants are a mixed bag. When we're on vacation, we try and keep costs down since there are so many other related expenses. We typically average less than $25/person/day for food and drink when we are traveling. At home, however, my wife and I enjoy fine dining. We don't do it often but at least a few times a year we will drop $100-150 for a nice dinner.

[elessar78]

Okay so steve's thread got me thinking $200 for a pair of jeans is a lot. But then i think more than $70/night expensive for a hotel. I use priceline or shop for deals. It's really hard for me to swallow most of our friends asking us to go on "vacation" with them and pay $200/night and that to them is a deal.

Or $15/day car rental. Or I usually get great deals on airline tickets. Car insurance I know we have a good rate and have shared with friends. But the funny thing? It takes too much effort to switch they say and call.

Can you tell me what you think is expensive for clothes, hotel, dinner out?

Clothes: I struggle to pay over $20 for any unit of clothing (pants, shirts, etc). Although shoes not for style but comfort and durability I feel comfortable going up to $100, but I usually keep it around $70 or $40. I do have "specialized" clothing for hobbies such as hiking/camping and soccer that can inch up to $100+ but the longevity of these things makes it worth it, for me. It's more of a value proposition for me: if you're hiking and your feet hurt or your jacket or tent is leaky was it really worth "saving" the, say, $50?

Hotel: $70/night is a bargain. That's usually what I shoot for on priceline.

Dinner: We don't go out often to pricey diners, so I don't balk if the bill is around $100 for a FANTASTIC meal. But I've found many fantastic meals for half that, so we don't really seek out high priced meals.

[bigdaddybus]

Humm....

Well for clothes we usually go to the outlet malls and buy in bulk once or twice a yr.
My wife also buys/gets alot of clothes from friends/coworkers for our 4 kids. There is a woman that my my wife works with that gives us TONS of clothes for my 11 yr old son that are like new. (underarmor, northface, etc) He looks GOOD, and we spend less on clothes for him than anyone in the family. My wife and I also run (15-25 miles a week) so we tend to spend a bit on running shoes ($100-120 a pr)

As far as dinner. Well, last week my wife and I took my dad and mom out for my moms birthday. They shared 2 bottles of wine and I had 2 mixed drinks, plus meals at a nice place (for the Midwest) and the total bill was $210 including tip. I might spend over $150 twice a yr and I think that is fine, usually I bring my lunch to work, dont use vending machines, etc. I'm not scared to spend, but I dont let myself get nickeled and dimed to death with the small stuff.

For hotels. I always get two ajoining rooms (one for the 4 kids, one for us) and we tend to go middle of the line. Though we have splurged, like at the Hard Rock hotel and Disneys Animal Kingdom lodge and I think both of those were around $350-450 a night with discounts.

[elessar78]

For hotels. I always get two ajoining rooms (one for the 4 kids, one for us) and we tend to go middle of the line. Though we have splurged, like at the Hard Rock hotel and Disneys Animal Kingdom lodge and I think both of those were around $350-450 a night with discounts.

Our kids are young and we have gone with the suite route instead of the adjacent double rooms. They stay in the living area of the suite and we go in the bedroom. It's just another option, if one does not want to pay for two hotel rooms. On average, the suite is only $20 more per night than a standard room.

[MonkeyMama]

I think it just depends. All the things mentioned are things we wouldn't particularly spend money on. Doesn't mean we don't spend money on other things.

**Hotels - generally when we travel is to see family/friends so stay with them or happy to just find the cheapest hotel for a quiet place to sleep (don't spend a lot of time at the hotel). We mostly tend to be homebodies and rather put money into having a nice home (where we spend most our time).

I am snorting right now because I looked up the hotel we stayed at in January (free - relative's timeshare). $850/night!?! Good Grief!!!! IT was definitely a higher-end hotel, but we were feeling very "meh" about the whole thing. The bed was better than most, but no comparison to our own bed (nothing is). The furniture was really uncomfortable and the TVs were very small. I just kind of laughed that they were selling all this "luxury." I'd rather stay home - much more luxurious. IT was pretty, but kind of cheap/fake. Almost anything is too much for me to spend on a hotel. {I can't imagine anyone spending this much at the hotel, they most mostly cater to their timeshare owners. The $850 price is a joke. They could maybe sell their suites for $500/night because it was Napa}.

**Dining out - we don't particularly enjoy dining out - our home cooking tends to be better. Again, rather just eat better food at home. Almost anything is too much.

**Clothes - Not a lot of money spent in this area. Coupons/sales/thrift/gift cards from credit card rewards. Us adults don't need to buy a lot of clothes - we wear our clothes "forever." Growing kids are another story, but there's clearance sales and hand-me-downs for them, so I don't really spend much money on clothing. I think living in a mild climate also means we don't have a lot of clothing needs. For example, my kids wear shorts 10 months out of the year, and they can swing those for longer because they don't get "too short" as quickly as pants do. Likewise, we have no need for any real "cold weather" clothing.

Of course, I have to pinch pennies on things that I don't care about or the things that we don't find that good of a value on as we prioritize other things that we'd rather spend money on. So the things mentioned in this thread tend to be of very low financial priority, to us.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I find priceline a good option for hotels. No we go out to a nice dinner maybe 2x year usually our wedding anniversary and one other time. I find we indulge in just going out maybe 1-2x a year to a movie. Indulge being blowing $50 on movie tickets and snack. Tickets are pricey now.

Costco auto and home insurance they are with IDS casualty and we've had a lot of accidents and they are great! I can't say enough about the customer support. We've turned my BIL, and two friends. Rest of the friends are too lazy to call.

Like renting a house for a week I think $1400/week expensive, and $2k too much for my share. I have friends who want to go skiing and $300/night is too much for us to justify spending. We can get something for $100 probably.

I just find it hard to travel with other people except family where I know my family is looking for the best deals. Not luxury.

I do spend on shoes but they are worn daily and well used. Clothing? I find it hard to justify $300 on a dress to be worn once. But I have a lot of friends who buy a dress for a special occasion like a party or graduation.

[Blessed]

Okay so steve's thread got me thinking $200 for a pair of jeans is a lot. But then i think more than $70/night expensive for a hotel. I use priceline or shop for deals. It's really hard for me to swallow most of our friends asking us to go on "vacation" with them and pay $200/night and that to them is a deal.

Or $15/day car rental. Or I usually get great deals on airline tickets. Car insurance I know we have a good rate and have shared with friends. But the funny thing? It takes too much effort to switch they say and call.

Can you tell me what you think is expensive for clothes, hotel, dinner out?

I'm a contrast in contradictions with spending. I have only paid $50 for a pair of jeans once in my life. $200 would make me hyperventilate!!! I shop a lot of resale for myself and brand name clearance for the kids. My kids are also very up for expensive brands on cheap resale prices.

I have paid $175 a night for a luxury suite at a resort. That was with a great discount. I have paid quite a bit for travel and adventure for our family. I think I get a lot for the $ but a 2 week vacation for 4 is still pricey even if I did get some great deals. I'm totally willing to splurge on experiences.

Unless it is a special occasion I can generally book a nice hotel for under $75

Out car insurance is very high with two boys but it is the best price we can get until they are grown.


We generally eat out at places with great food but we are not paying for the name. Our favorite place for delicious steaks is about $15 for prime rib.