What do you own (or do or eat/drink) that others would consider extravagant?

My kids are young so we figure we'd hit Disney as many times as we can while they're still interested. They love it and I figure there will be plenty of time to take them to national monuments when they're older.

I understand that Disney isn't for everyone, but my kids have so much fun there and so do my wife and I, so why not?

 

The last two times we went were for Halloween and Christmas. It is awesome there that time of year.

 

We belong to the fish co-op of the North Shore Fishermens' Wives Association. It's like a CSA for fish. Once every two weeks, we go by a local farmstand store and pick up the fish from one of the women in the group. It's a little more expensive than going to the store, but the fish is beyond fresh, hauled from the water that morning. That's a regular indulgence. The last few years, we've also tried to take a good travel experience each year, too. Easier when kids are grown.

 

That deal with the fish seems more like a no-brainer than an extravagance...

 

We actually considered joining a very similar North Shore based CSA for fish last year, but we're more Metrowest so it wasn't very convenient, unfortunately. Even still, during the warmer months we buy a lot of our proteins from the farmer's market a couple of towns over. I'm not sure it's that much more expensive, plus the quality is better, and I like knowing where my food comes from. Food really is probably our only extravagance. And, it's not from eating out. We just like to cook a lot at home.

 

For me, it's live experiences. A play, a musical, opera, a good concert. Art shows, but they're usually pretty cheap. Used to be pretty high-end meals, but I got tired of it.

And golf. Golf is escape, reflection, and communion for me. I think it is for more and more men, in part because, in some of the places you go, there's shitty-to-no cell service.

 

I don't have a great deal of room (financially or otherwise) in my life for extravagance. I do try to take one vacation a year that is far away from where I'm living. Some years it's easier than others.

 

Golf reflective and communal - LOL.
Dude, if you want a meditative outdoors experience, try a national park or preserve.
The kinds that haven't yet been exterminated by the proliferation of golf courses.

 

Mortgage and tuition payments generally keep me from being extravagant but I tend to be more willing than most folks to pay for services that provide time and convenience -- gardener, housekeeper, tax prep, contractors, restaurants, cabs, valet parking, that sort of thing.

I don't want or have much stuff, except for a decent set of golf clubs. And while I know guys who will hunt down every stray golf ball, I give up the search pretty quickly for fear of snakes and ticks.

Also, mom always told me not to scrimp on the three things that come between you and the ground -- your bed, your tires and your shoes. I follow that advice.

 

We just recently got a housekeeper and, at $100/wk, it's worth the time she saves us. We used to spend a good four hours every weekend giving the house a good cleaning. She does it in 2 hours and cleans it better than we do.

Freeing up the first half of our Saturday or Sunday to play with our son is worth every penny.

 

Another thing we get a lot now is sushi...but we only go when it's 50% off (Tuesdays)...so it only looks like we are dropping a Benny on dinner. We also love seafood and lobster is actually pretty easy to cook and cheaper than going out.

I would love to get a housekeeper, and $100/wk seems like a good deal, but I think about what else I would do with that extra time not cleaning and can't come up with anything productive, so I think I'll stick to cleaning.

 

$100 a week? That's insane unless you're in NYC.

We had one for $50 and our house is 3600 square feet and she did our laundry. We even decided that was too much of an expense.