We like to travel and fly about 4+ trips/year. We like economy plus, especially for the extra leg room.
We do like to have recent model smartphones as we use them daily.
We are fine with helping support our kids as we are able—giving funds toward Roth IRA or paying living expenses when they are unable to have a job (they will get whatever we haven’t spent after we are gone anyway).
I’m unwilling to spend money on mid-range restaurants… we either eat very cheaply, or splurge majorly usually to celebrate a birthday. The in-between seems like a waste of money to me.
I’m pretty staunchly in the quality over quantity camp. I don’t mind spending a little extra on carefully planned home furnishings, clothing, shoes, cars, as long as it will be coveted and enjoyed throughout its usable life.
won’t pay for: cable tv, pricey clothes, shoes, purses, cars, make up
will pay for: very good insurance, occasional very $$$ restaurants, hobbies (gardening, art, techno gadgets for dh) lawn care and recently bi weekly cleaning lady has my health makes it difficult to clean. If I’ve haven’t been able to give the dog enough attention I’ll also splurge for doggie day care.
I love hunting for a deal and used to be an extreme coupon shopper and have just recently gone back to CVS extra care bucks deal shopping. Travel is on points (Amtrak Guest Rewards and Hilton Honors). DD will be have her wedding at a Hilton property out of town near a train station so that works for me;-)
Now that we have less expenses with the kids (no more music lessons, summer camps…) we have been able to give more to local charities and our church. I would also spend more on expensive produce at stores like Central Market if they had one closer.
@katliamom I’m the same way. I’m a good cook so when we go out to eat, it is usually affordable cuisine from different cultures or high end stuff - both outside my culinary repertoire.
After years of careful spending and investments, we are now more able to pay for comfort and convenience and service.
Education: We didn’t skimp on this. Both kids had private education from K through college and we paid full freight.
Travel: Economy plus for domestic and prefer Business class over First for international travel because of the hassle factor of asking attendents to make up the sleepers.
Will pay for very nice centrally located hotels with good service.
Restaurants: Willing to pay for high quality food, ambience is not as important. Have done Michelin restaurants to outdoor food stalls. Not a fan of high end restaurants that leave me hungry after appetizer and entrée.
Purchases: I shop mainly online and search for lowest prices on items I wish to purchase. For clothing, I shop at smaller boutique stores and Nordstroms because I use their shopping services. I am petite and don’t enjoy hunting for my size among racks and racks of clothes.
I am willing to pay for good skincare treatments and products.
I save a boatload because I don’t drink alcohol. 
I am a bargain hunter—travel, clothing, cars, home furnishings, etc I do my research and make sure I am getting good value. That applies to colleges as well.
We travel 2-3 times a year for fun, more for business so we have points to use and various reward programs to participate in/benefit from. I much prefer a VRBO to most hotels. We live in a modest house in a nice neighborhood but not on the most expensive side of town. We keep cars, phones, TVs, computers, etc far past their advertised useful life or until they break/are unreliable. My library card has always been my friend. I give a fair amount of time to causes I care about, and a fair amount of money, but you won’t see me at the big gala, because I have no need to dress up to give money away.
I do not spend regularly on $$$ meals, purses, or clothing but my feet get whatever shoes feel best. My athletic past was not great for knees or feet so I have to take better care, or suffer the consequences, now.
I have absolutely no need to travel to this year’s hottest travel destination. Why follow the crowd and therefore be stuck in it?
“I see an average or 2 to 3 plays a week” - That’s good that you have a splurge that suits your preferences. It’s fun to read all the variations in the different posts.
Now that the kids (and college payments) are long gone, we like to travel more. We still do the normal trip back East to visit family, which is nice since they live in Cape Cod. But we do other trips too. (We just saw Paris for the first time in Oct… stayed near Notre Dame. DH are watching the Fire footage on the news, so glad we did that trip… but heartbroken for France). This week we booked the Many Glaciers Hotel for 2 nights during our Glacier National Park trip in June. When we went to Yellowstone years ago we stayed in a cheapo motel outside the park … but did have a meal at Old Faithful Inn. This trip we want to spurge to stay in the park, plus 2 nights in another location.
I spend money on wine, shoes, face care products.
I’d rather stay home then stay in a mediocre hotel. That being said we have hotel points and airline miles out the wazoo so I usually only pay tax.
I buy fresh food for my dogs and they each get bark box each month.
I won’t lie, I enjoy nice things and good service and experiences most of all.
Right now I’m post surgical and pretty much on house arrest so I’m dreaming of all the things I’ll be doing once I’m recovered.
I buy relatively expensive clothes, shoes, coats - but I don’t buy a lot or even shop often. Twice a year usually (spring and fall.)
I will only stay in “nice” hotels.
We spend a lot on dining out - especially on vacation.
I also won’t scrimp on house renovations. I’d rather not do something than do something I don’t like or do it cheaply.
All these things are much easier to justify now that years of paying tuition are over.
I like very nice clothes, but I rarely pay the inflated full price – I only buy certain brands that fit me well (mostly online) and I buy as soon as it goes on sale. Almost everything goes on sale eventually.
I won’t scrimp on an architect when doing a home renovation, and like @emilybee I will put in quality materials.
Now that my kids are through school, I have started spending a little more. Of course “nice”or “expensive” mean different things to different people.
I spend a lot to get my hair cut. BUT, I color my hair myself.
I have a very expensive espresso machine. BUT, I hardly ever buy coffee out (unless on vacation, for example).
I have had less than 3 manicures ever, and I’ve never had a pedicure.
We spend a fair amount on wine, but we don’t buy high end wine (we don’t appreciate it enough to warrant the price difference).
We eat out more than we should.
We take nice vacations. When our kids were young, they went on many trips to visit family, and other than that our vacation would be 4 or 5 days at the beach. Then we treated the beach as our “pre-vacation” and usually took a “flying” vacation also. Now we take multiple “nice” vacations each year.
I have only flown first class twice, and unless I’m going on points, so far it hasn’t been important enough for me to pay for it.
We stay in nice places, but not 5 star. Some of the niceties or whatever associated with very expensive places just aren’t that important to me.
I do buy fairly expensive shoes (not by bunsenburner’s standards), and nice work clothes, but I pay less for casual clothes.
I drive a 10 yr car with 170,000 miles on it and don’t even care. I’m doing much needed improvements to my home and have decided I will get whatever I want, but still be economical about it. I don’t care about the $1,000 toilets or extremely expensive appliances.
Don’t spend much on new clothes or shoes. Don’t think I’ve ever owned a purse anyone would recognize, mostly because I’ve had to use cross body purses for my work before there was even the term cross body. They used to be heavy wieldy messenger bags?
BUT, I love travel and want to travel more. I travel to faraway destinations flying coach. Do not stay in hotels because I don’t like them. If I do stay somewhere for a short visit, it will be a heavily researched boutique hotel or BnB. Most are of the time I will stay in a beautiful rental, usually from a rental agency, not Airbnb. I want to feel comfortable in my surroundings and have beautiful views of whatever there is to look at. Part of the vacation is enjoying my new surroundings.
Do not eat out much, except when I travel. I do entertain a lot so spend money on housecleaning and window washing to keep the house in ready state for guests. I am entertaining at least once a week for one reason or another.
My splurge is my house/property and my horse.
No fancy clothes, shoes, cars, manicures, expensive dinners, etc. No cable, no housekeeper, no lawn maintenance service. Not much travel, beyond lots of camping. My furniture is 30 years old, my master bathroom is a 1981 time capsule, and I have 20 year old truck.
But when my horse needs dental work? She gets it.
I am super frugal (penny-pinching, cheap, miserly…) in just about everything. But I will pay a little more for the premium toilet paper, real Oreos, and above-average cat food/cat litter.
I have a weakness for designer handbags but I usually buy those at a high-end consignment shop near my office. Since I’ve given up refined wheat products and sugar, I’m more willing to spend money on high quality substitutes such as monk fruit sweetener and organic whole-grain bread. And I almost always go to the shop next door to my office for coffee rather than drink the sludge in the break room.
I am one of those people who don’t care about designer handbags or shoes. The handbag should be a comfortable, practical cross body bag. The shoes should be comfortable and durable. My car is 11 years old and has 130,000 miles on it but runs fine. I don’t need a fancy car. I just want to get around reliably and in comfort.
We did just do a kitchen reno but that’s an investment toward the eventual sale of the house.
I love, love traveling. I don’t need to stay in Four Seasons or Ritz Carltons though. As long as a hotel is clean and centrally located, it is okay with me. I don’t spend much time in a hotel when I travel. I’m out all day long seeing things.
I’ll spend money on groceries, including whole bean coffee at my local roastery. And I make my own bread, cook most of our own meals at home, and am a wicked leftover-user-upper. We love to entertain but do it “pizza night” style.
We drive (the 2012 minivan with 120,000 miles on it) to vacation at the family house in Vermont.
I’d rather spend money on new dishes and other kitchen equipment than shoes or clothes. But I hate shopping at Goodwill.
@LoveTheBard - I am totally opposite you, I love to travel and that is where I do spend my money. I don’t fly first class but I will not fly economy on a vacation. I stay at 4+ star or up resorts/hotels or rentals. I will spend money to make memories with my family - I just love being around us on vacation and I know the boys will be gone all too soon.
I don’t spend $$$ on shoes or purses…I’d rather my money go in my purse rather than on it or my feet.