Good food (not necessarily expensive, but worth paying for), good wine, and a gym membership. A good mattress. Vet bills, to keep my kitties healthy. Wellesley College. Oberlin College. 
Shoes for sure. I just realized I have a pair of Doc Martens that I bought in 1998!
Good seats at a play or concert. Hard to go back after you get those. I figure I spent a lot of time in the nosebleeds in my younger days. Great memories, but I like being closer!
Strange but I like really nice soap. Nice to me is something made with 100% plant extracts for scent. A little bar of aromatherapy in the shower! I get them at TJ Maxx so they’re only $3.99 or so per bar but that’s probably way more than Dove or Ivory.
Best splurge ever for us was taking a chance the US Women’s soccer team would make it to the finals last year at the World Cup in Vancouver. Bought the tickets months in advance and ended up with a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as those who saw that game will agree!
So glad we have a good CPA do our taxes–would really be a source of marital discord if we tried doing it ourselves.
The trip to Germany/Eastern France/Amsterdam for a big anniversary. Well worth the money and the time.
My car. When I bought it last year, I had a 20 minute (each way) commute and wonders if it was worth it. It’s now at least an hour each way (and not on any sort of bus line) and I’m much happier I’m in a comfortable car with bells and whistles.
The vacation place. While it was H’s dream to have a place on “real water,” it’s been so nice to have a place to decompress. I only wish I could spend more time there.
Last extended family vacation, two of our seven days were a private guided tour. We went where the guide drove us, did the things she picked, and had a wonderful time.
The rest of the days, we had two rules: no touching anyone else’s body without their prior agreement and no commenting on anything the driver does unless the driver says your name and asks for input. I swear I spent half the trip saying, “we have a rule.”
@TheStig2, I do not recommend using the delay cycle on your dishwasher. Fires are much more common than you may realize. I didn’t worry about being around when running appliances until our dishwasher caught on fire. Fortunately there wasn’t a lot of damage (other than the mess cleanup and a new dishwasher), but we are more cautious about when we run appliances. Didn’t meal to derail… But a worthy public service note.
We splurged on top of the line Maytag washer and dryer nearly 3 decades also. They’re still going strong with very little maintenance. Paid $1000 apiece for them, but divided by the nearly 30 years of service, a bargain!
Airline tickets with as few connections as possible…
A customized 29+ mountain bike with belt drive and Rohloff hub, for the Great Divide. It was perfect and flawless for every inch of the 2300 miles I rode. No chain to oil, no derailleur cage to break off, great traction, smoothed-out bumps. I loved that bike every day.
Fresh flowers every week from the CSA, delivered right to us. For the longest time we just got the vegetables, but then I realized I should splurge and get the flowers too.
Yes, I also tend to splurge on nonstop flights whenever possible. It sure beats being stranded or diverted multiple times.
We went on an AmTrak and then car trip with our kids–reserved the sleeper for the 4 of us and had a blast! Created a lot of priceless memories!
Airline tickets that don’t require getting up any earlier than 6 am. It seems like a good idea to book that cheaper early flight until you have to get up at 4 am. Finally stopped doing it.
Probably my biggest splurge: A lamp with a Tiffany-style shade and a Tiffany-style figural supporting column. At second glance, you see that Kermit the Frog is on the shade and the column is a Kermit the Frog figure. Totally worth it! Works as a reading lamp.
Eye cream - must be the best after a certain age
I splurge on Crabtree & Evelyn Jojoba Oil soap. I love the scent.
But I buy the 300 gram bars instead of the 100 gram because they are disproportionately cheaper. We cut them in half with a saw.
http://www.thesoapopera.com/cgi-bin/scart.cgi/CE-38474.php3?scartid=7598987
@HarvestMoon1 : “Breakfast in the garden or back room of the Soho branch of Laduree’. Really, you would never imagine that something as simple as eggs, coffee or breakfast pastry could taste that good.”
Oooh.
Single malt Scotch. Really good brandy. Aged prime beef cooked at 1200 degrees. Quarter-sawn oak. Big-ass TV. Kick-ass surround sound.
And I agree about really good breakfast. Hollandaise sauce on eggs sounds absurd, but gosh it’s good.
sounds wonderful!