What are your biggest splurges?

[MillauFr]

Seahawks and Mariners season tickets. Love me some Seattle sports even more than Disney.

No Sounders? That is where the real action is.

 

[Klayfish]

I am very much cheap when it comes to myself. Won't buy anything for myself. I don't drink, hunt, smoke cigars, none of that "man cave" stuff, so no expenses there. But my one hobby is quite expensive. I am an amateur race car driver. I run about 4 races per year, sometimes 5. They last all weekend and I often have to fly to the location. So including flight, hotel, rental car, race expenses, etc...a weekend is a solid $1200, give or take.

Our family (though it's mostly me) is really into Christmas displays, both outdoor and indoor. I won't even hazard a guess how much money we have invested in that stuff, but it's a lot. We raid every store we can think of on Dec 26th...we spend all day going store to store.

 

[wenrob]

Family vacations are worked into the budget. Occasionally I go on a "girls trip" which would be a splurge. DH goes to a music event every year. That's part splurge, part worked into the budget. It's his one hobby so we make it work whenever we can.

iPhone/iPad. I'm a fan girl, I admit it. Have owned an iPhone since the beginning. Not needed at all but it makes me happy. I usually wait the full two year cycle but not this year, so definitely a splurge.

Camera/camera gear. Have some top of the line glass that's probably overkill for a hobbyist but again, it makes me happy and no one is starving because I own it.

Maurice's Silver Jeans-yeah, that's a problem.

Clothes for my kids. Not designer or fancy but they certainly have more than they need. Part of that is selfish, I only want to do laundry once a week and part of it is mental on my part. I never had decent clothes as a kid so I want mine walking out the door looking neat and untattered.

 

[TabbyShabby]

No Sounders? That is where the real action is.

Wish we could, but that's a little bit too much of a splurge! I've had my Seahawks tix since I was in diapers. I actually have charter seats, but I sell them and use the money to buy our nosebleed seats for both the Seahawks and the Mariners. We can't make all the Mariners games, especially the day games, so I sell those through our broker and then use that money to either buy Sounders tickets or save it up for Broadway tickets when we hit up New York every few years. Still hoping I'll be saving for Sonics tickets again soon and we really try to make it to as many Reign games as we can too.

Seattle sports give me life. And a lot of heartache, usually.

 

[scard192]

Not giving up cable, have to have my sports and the DVR.

 

[HarperLeigh]

Travel
College tuition
High quality whiskey and bourbon for DH
Retiring in our early 50's will be a splurge

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

When DH and I got married, we got a large, unexpected monetary gift from my parents. We splurged and bought a DVC contract.

We budget for all of our expenses, so most things are well planned out. We do set aside a bit of funds that are more "flexible", so that we can do a bit of splurging if we want. DH and I each get a personal allowance, we have a family fun money fund and a vacation fund. DH often spends much of his personal allowance on shoes and clothes or geeky toys/gadgets that he wants. I spend a decent amount of my personal allowance on my sewing hobby. We plan local excursions and such with the family fun money. Labor day weekend we will be attending a local air show with a splurge on premium seating. And the vacation fund lets us plan at least one great trip each year, though that feels more like a necessity than a splurge.

But even when we splurge, we look for the best deals. For example, I bought base tickets + parking to the air show for just $10 on Groupon and then upgraded to premium seats for $50 more. DH buys most of his clothes/shoes on sale. I bought a class demo sewing machine instead of a brand new model to save some extra money. We are always price conscience, which I think allows us to indulge more than we normally could.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Horses. DH and I (and our families) are lifelong horse owners and competitors- it's how we met. Our monthly bill on horses would be staggering to most people. We could easily afford to travel frequently without our horse bill. However, we love them and it truly is a lifestyle and not just a hobby. Fortunately, our current horse is very talented and has managed to win some money to occasionally pay his bills

Also, Disney-wise, we "splurge" on the Disney Dining Plan. I use splurge loosely though because we have actually come out ahead using the plan. We enjoy eating well on vacation and I'm not going to Disney World to try to scrimp and save.

 

[22Tink]

Travel is our biggest splurge. We like to go on at least one or two bigger trips per year, with maybe a few smaller 'long weekend' ones as well.
I enjoy getting my hair and gel nails done once a month so I suppose that's a splurge, too.
Groceries, I spend more for higher quality or organic when I can.
As mentioned by pp, my kids!!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Travel
College tuition
High quality whiskey and bourbon for DH
Retiring in our early 50's will be a splurge

Wow, retiring in your early 50s, must be nice!

How did you do that? You guys must have saved very carefully during your working years?

 

[kymom99]

Wow, retiring in your early 50s, must be nice!

How did you do that? You guys must have saved very carefully during your working years?

I'm retired at 51. Good pension. Makes up for low pay and few increases

 

[prprincess]

I haven't been in the mood to cook lately, so I'm going to have to say eating out. I'm hoping to get back into the habit of cooking dinner at home every night, but I'm just so tired of it and making the same things over and over. I also have a picky DS, so that doesn't help.

 

[jen7233]

Our yearly summer vacation somewhere for a week.
Trade school tuition and car payment for my DD in school.
Cell phone bill.
Christmas gifts.

 

[laudawso]

Our dog has become our biggest splurge lately, averaging about $1000/month over the past few months in medical expenses Who am I kidding though, I splurge on him every chance I get. He gets toys left and right, plus expensive food and treats, and recently an expensive booster seat for the car. Meanwhile my fav pair of work shoes is looking pretty sad...

 

[HarperLeigh]

Wow, retiring in your early 50s, must be nice!

How did you do that? You guys must have saved very carefully during your working years?

Yes, it will be nice.

 

[HarperLeigh]

I'm retired at 51. Good pension. Makes up for low pay and few increases

High pay and living below our means is how we'll do it in about ten years.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

I think the two things DS and I splurge on are first class airfare and our own hotel rooms. Flying cross country from Portland to Orlando is a long, tiring day of travel. After our first trip to WDW in coach, we decided never again. Granted, we never pay full price for our seats. For four of our trips we were able to use the Alaska Airlines Visa companion fare benefit towards first class fares, which was an amazing deal. Sadly, they now limit the companion fare to coach seats so we've had to get creative. Our last trip we used airline miles to cover our round trip airfare. For our next trip in January 2018, we've booked airfare via the Chase travel portal using our UR points. When we fly shorter distances, like to Disneyland, we usually fly JetBlue. DS likes the window seat and I like the aisle seat and neither of us wants someone between us, so we splurge and purchase all three seats in the row. We basically create our own first class seats and it makes for a very comfortable flight.

We also don't want to have share a hotel room with anyone. We like our own space and a chance to decompress after a long day. If we're staying in a Disney hotel, we pay with discounted Disney gift cards. If not, then we just budget for it and save until we have enough. We usually visit WDW every three years and then we'll buy AP's and get two trips in about 11 to 11-1/2 months apart. On the off years, we'll do Disneyland. We live pretty frugally the rest of the year, so we're fine with spending the extra money to be comfortable.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yes, it will be nice.

It will. That's great that you guys saved your earnings so diligently

 

[Macprincess]

My teenagers sport. I have two children who are on different travel teams. This eats up a good portion of our expendable budget. Yet, they love it, my husband and I adore watching them play and their teen years only last for so long. To us this is well worth the money but my family and friend think we're crazy.

 

[dex08]

Cable tv is our biggest splurge.