What are you splurging on in the year 2025?

[Telecaster]

My kid had invisialign, and I've realized I should do it too. I had braces as a kids and they've slipped back somewhat. It causes rubbing and enamel damage, so it's not just aesthetic (which I don't care about at my age). I could sign up for insurance, and I think get it for $2k - 2.5k. I've been to cheap to do it for a couple years now, but maybe this year? Or next.. (thought it also kinda a PIA to deal with for a while).

I did it as a late middle-age adult and I'm really glad I did.   My lower teeth were crowded which made me self-concious of my smile and it made it hard to floss.  My wife's insurance paid for most of it, but it still would have been worth it.   One downside is that you have to brush after every meal before you put your trays back in, so that means you need to bring a toothbrush when eating out.   However, I did it mostly during COVID, so no eating out.   I have to wear a retainer at night.   But I sometimes grind my teeth, so this is mostly a benefit. 

While you are wearing your trays, you need to be really diligent about brushing and flossing, which I was, but I could also really floss for the first time ever.  These good habits carried over and just the other day my hygienist said my gums look fantastic.   

In short, it took a while and it was a pain, but I'm very glad I did it. 

[comicguy]

Mostly splurging on Travel and Personal Fitness, and of course my beagles! :)

[Metalcat]

I've just decided to splurge on a full sleeve tattoo for my DH. He's been wanting another tattoo for a long time, but he already has one and I very much dislike the look of multiple, unrelated tattoos. However, one very large, integrated design would look great to my eye, so that's what we're going to do.

[Dr. Pepper]

Ordered a roll down storm shutter for our home. We live on the beach and every year during hurricane season we have trouble with water intrusion, hopefully this will help mitigate it some.

[FIREin2018]

$30 all you can eat sushi for lunch. (monthly)

I recently discovered salmon sashimi and I love it.
the quality of this isn't the same as a real sushi place but with wasabi and soy sauce, it tastes the same to me.

$30 for lunch is alot for me. (I wrote about driving to the McD closest to my house to save 10 cents instead of eating at the McD closest to where i was at that time)
heck, i suspect $30 is alot for many people.

But for some reason, salmon sashimi has become my new crack cocaine.
(Note, i still have $60/lb A5 Wagyu ribeye in the freezer)

[neo von retorch]

Digital Camera / Lens Upgrade ($3920)

Definitely haven't fully convinced myself of this yet. Price above includes 6% sales tax. It's just for the camera body and one extra nifty telephoto lens. Would probably spend a bit more on a spare battery before long.

Current stuff
I've got a Pentax K3-II 24MP DSLR, and 55-300 4.5-6.3 lens. I've taken just under 16,000 photos on it since I bought it in October 2017. It was just under $900 for the camera, and $350 for the lens (including sales tax.) I've also got a spare battery, 18-135mm lens, 50mm lens, and 35mm lens. The vast majority of the time, I use the 55-300 lens. I have 2 huge, fast memory cards, only one that gets any regular use, and they will be re-usable by the new system.

Fujfilm X-T5
I want this because I want to step into a new ecosystem with mirrorless cameras and modern lenses. Pentax gave up on mirrorless, and maybe / sort of gave up on developing anything new at all. (They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh Imaging.)

The Fujifilm model I'm looking at is their best APS-C model for photography. (Arguably the more expensive X-H2S is better all around for video and with slight advantages for photography, but overall the advantages it has aren't relevant to my needs!)

40MP, in-body image stabilization, great (and fast) autofocus technology (a major advantage of mirrorless over previous DSLR technology.) And just look at it!

But it's not just cool looking - those knobs are functional. Easy access to ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation, and you can readily assign aperture and something else to the other two knobs!

Fujifilm works a bit like Pentax - in that they care about you using your equipment out in the real world. So you get rugged, weather-sealed equipment!

XF150-600mm F5.6-8 R LM OIS WR
So there's a bit of a mixed bag. Fujifilm cameras work with third-party lenses, and I know I should be cross-shopping those, but for starters, I want Fujifilm's top telephoto lens (for consumers.) They have some "faster" lenses (let more light in at full zoom) but this is a very flexible range for the kind of photography I do (wildlife, especially birds.)

Overall the biggest downside to Fujifilm is why I like them... they are a lot like Pentax. But that means they don't have the best selection of (first party) high zoom telephoto lenses. Still I really just need one great lens as that's how I use my camera. And this is a great lens.

I've debated spending similar money on a Sony a6700 and their 200-600 lens, which is a half stop faster/brighter. But the camera itself is very limited as far as manual / physical controls, and looks largely like a simple square box. (Well that's what these cameras are, but it wouldn't hurt to look nice, too.) Overall the Sony is a bit better on paper, but this is a passion hobby for me, and I feel zero passion towards the Sony.

[GuitarStv]

That last one is a pretty cool model spaceship.

[FIREin2018]

That last one is a pretty cool model spaceship.

I was going to say Star Wars auto-targeting shoulder mounted pulse rifle

[FIREin2018]

Seeing that DSLR upgrade reminded me of wanting a new Android phone that has optical zoom.

Been wanting one for a while but my pics go on facebook so can't justify an early upgrade to my current phone.
Then something happened a few weeks ago.

I was overseas and my international sim that i've been using since pre-covid did not have coverage yet their website said it does.
Found out only sims made after covid had coverage in that area. Their support offered to give me an e-Sim and xfer the balance.
But my current phone ($40) does not have e-Sim.

Pre-loaded maps of the area using hotel wifi was a work-around.

That inconvenience got me looking into an early phone upgrade to have e-Sim.
And while i'm at it, optical zoom.
Leaning towards a Samsung 24FE (cheaper brother of the samsung 24).

[neo von retorch]

Seeing that DSLR upgrade reminded me of wanting a new Android phone that has optical zoom.

...

Leaning towards a Samsung 24FE (cheaper brother of the samsung 24).

So OnePlus and Samsung both do a thing at certain zoom levels where they utilizing machine-learning to "figure out" your photo intentions. This is most obvious when you look at moon photos. I think they are equal offenders here.

But Samsung, in my opinion also does some nasty overzealous photo processing in general. This is fine if you never "zoom in" to your photos aka "pixel peep" but it still kind of affects the sharpness and clarity of the end result photo.

In my opinion, OnePlus does a much better job of delivering high quality photos.

My point of comparison were the S21 Ultra, with 10x optical zoom, and my OnePlus 12 with 3x optical zoom. I still vastly, vastly prefer photos coming out of the OnePlus and enjoy it as a camera much more than I ever enjoyed the S21 Ultra. Yes, the optical zoom was neat, but the photos were so wiggly / watercolor painting if you would pinch/zoom at all to look at them.

In your area, how does the OnePlus 13R compare to the Samsung 24FE?

[FIREin2018]

Seeing that DSLR upgrade reminded me of wanting a new Android phone that has optical zoom.
...
Leaning towards a Samsung 24FE (cheaper brother of the samsung 24).

So OnePlus and Samsung both do a thing at certain zoom levels where they utilizing machine-learning to "figure out" your photo intentions. This is most obvious when you look at moon photos. I think they are equal offenders here.

But Samsung, in my opinion also does some nasty overzealous photo processing in general. This is fine if you never "zoom in" to your photos aka "pixel peep" but it still kind of affects the sharpness and clarity of the end result photo.

In my opinion, OnePlus does a much better job of delivering high quality photos.

My point of comparison were the S21 Ultra, with 10x optical zoom, and my OnePlus 12 with 3x optical zoom. I still vastly, vastly prefer photos coming out of the OnePlus and enjoy it as a camera much more than I ever enjoyed the S21 Ultra. Yes, the optical zoom was neat, but the photos were so wiggly / watercolor painting if you would pinch/zoom at all to look at them.

In your area, how does the OnePlus 13R compare to the Samsung 24FE?

24FE vs 13R: https://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-S24-FE,OnePlus-13R/phones/12417,12429

It doesn't list optical zoom for 13R?
Also, 13R has dual physical sims. It has e-Sim too for 3 sims?

[neo von retorch]

https://www.oneplus.com/us/13r/specs

Yes it's only 2X Optical zoom (my OnePlus 12 has 3X) so I understand if you have reservations. I still massively prefer my OnePlus 12 with 3X optical over the S21 Ultra with 10X optical. Though to be fair, I use my Pentax K3-II with a 300mm lens when I want to zoom :)

Seems like it supports eSIM - https://esim.sm/en/compatible-devices/oneplus/oneplus-13r

[aloevera1]

What are you doing to treat yourself this year? What are some things you're doing that might be considered excessive to others, but is essential to you? This is an anti-scarcity mindset thread.

Therapy. :)

[GilesMM]

Just finished reading “Die With Zero”. Great book I wish I had read a couple decades ago. We are way behind on spending so will ramp up the next few years on experiences and whatnot. Still shopping for the funnest to drive supercar I can find and also a sim racing setup for the attic.

[Turtle]

The epic trip I mentioned earlier in the thread is coming up later this month.  When it came time to book tickets and I realized the flights were connecting through Heathrow, I decided to add a few days to the front of the trip and am staying in London for a couple of days to adjust to the time change.

Currently checking on the web for free things to do in London, but if anyone has any recommendations, please do share.  I’ll be taking public transit around.

[reeshau]

The epic trip I mentioned earlier in the thread is coming up later this month.  When it came time to book tickets and I realized the flights were connecting through Heathrow, I decided to add a few days to the front of the trip and am staying in London for a couple of days to adjust to the time change.

Currently checking on the web for free things to do in London, but if anyone has any recommendations, please do share.  I’ll be taking public transit around.

Go hear Big Ben.  If you've ever heard other clocks play the same tune, you will realize there is no equal.

Also, the British Museum is free, but you will still want to book advance entry tickets.  Same with the Natural History Museum.

St. Paul's Cathedral isn't free, but the whispering gallery is a dun science experiment if you are travelling with someone.  And going to the top of the dome is an interesting architectural experience, if a bit cramped.

Hang out in Hyde Park if it's a nice day.

See the changing od the guard at Buckingham Palace.

[Spiffy]

I just got a Hoselink to water my garden and I wish I had not waited so long. It is expensive for a watering hose, but the automatic retractable reel is fantastic and as smooth as butter. I hate the look of hoses coiled up on the ground, but I am also lazy, so usually don't bother putting them up neatly. Problem solved!

[FIREin2018]

https://www.oneplus.com/us/13r/specs

Yes it's only 2X Optical zoom (my OnePlus 12 has 3X) so I understand if you have reservations. I still massively prefer my OnePlus 12 with 3X optical over the S21 Ultra with 10X optical. Though to be fair, I use my Pentax K3-II with a 300mm lens when I want to zoom :)

Seems like it supports eSIM - https://esim.sm/en/compatible-devices/oneplus/oneplus-13r

Thx

My current phone (Motorola) has 8x digital using an imperfect gCam port.
 but at max zoom, if i don't hold perfectly still, the pic comes out blurry.
the 13r is 2x with 10x digital.
how are pics on your onePlus 12 with 2x and 10x digital?

[neo von retorch]

the 13r is 2x with 10x digital.
how are pics on your onePlus 12 with 2x and 10x digital?

Here are 4 samples at 1 and 2x, plus a crop from a 2x zoom. Hard to tell how much digital zoom as it only gives me 6mm (1x) and 13mm info in the EXIF, but digital zoom == cropping :)

The cool thing is that it does a nice job of handling minor hand movements and keeping photos clear. The night photography is really neat on it, too!

(Exempting the moon photos which look pretty good "for a phone" but are also fake ;) )

[Arbitrage]

Maybe a heat pump.  We've been waiting for the stupid IRA rebates to get defined, 3 damn years after the law was passed.  Still saying "late Spring" in our state, which is supposedly one of the earliest states to get the program up and running. 

We're probably not going to be eligible for the rebates this year unless one or both of the (currently half-time) wage earners in the household loses our job, but the job loss is a distinct possibility.  It's been irritating to have to keep waiting while they kick the IRA rebate can down the road by a few months, every few months.  We were really hoping to have it by this summer for the A/C, but it's feeling less and less likely.  Where we live in northwest WA, summer is mild and A/C is uncommon, but that's changing as the world warms and heat waves become more frequent and severe.

Anyhow, it could end up being more of a splurge than anticipated if we can't wrangle rebates.  Or it might just have to wait another year, when it will be even more likely that our income will drop.

Well, we bought the heat pump, and gave up on the rebates (which of course have been pushed off from spring to summer).  I became pretty well assured that we wouldn't qualify for the IRS rebates this year, and there's a distinct possibility that we won't qualify next year either, as we might be pulling a bunch of money out (with some capital gains) to pay down our mortgage for ACA and college student aid purposes. 

Certainly was a damn expensive splurge, but the old furnace was end-of-life and I'm happy to go greener. 

Next up is the end-of-life roof.  We may follow that up shortly with rooftop solar.  We were going to wait on the solar, but given Republican efforts to kill all things solar, electric, and/or efficient (including the solar tax credit in the currently proposed legislation), we might accelerate that purchase to this year. 

[Beardog]

Student massages at a nearby massage therapy school.

[Cassie]

My Condo is 48 years old and the window in each bedroom are original. They are extremely difficult to open and close and I actually have to leave it slightly cracked because otherwise I can’t get them open. Our HOA does not wash the windows from the outside so you can imagine how they look.

I found out about Tilt in  windows that you can easily clean from the inside. I went to three different companies to look at them in showrooms to see how they operate and got three bids. They are pricey at 1K each, but I only have two windows total so I am buying them. I absolutely detest not being able to wash the outside of my windows and I hate the fact that if I close them completely, I cannot open them.

[partgypsy]

My mental health. Lol only part kidding.
Totally unnecessary. I offered to buy out the 2 siblings to get the family silver. If I do not, when Mom dies it will be split 3 ways which will make it unusable. Pleasantly surprised other than the large serving pieces is largely intact, considering when oldest brother lived with Mom, other items of sentimental value (in addition to lots of cash) went missing.

New car for DD. Car is over 20 years old and over 300K miles (also needs a 600 part plus labor to run).
I am glad it got her through college. But realize I want her in a safer car.
I have the money and will contribute to the cost, but I don't want to bankroll the entire amount. Can you get a car loan for a car purchased from a private owner or do I need to be bank of Mom and have her pay me back over time? 

[reeshau]

I have the money, but I don't want to bankroll it. Can you get a car loan for a car that is purchased from a private owner? Or do I need to be bank of Mom?

If you go through a bank or credit union, you can.  But they won't have those incentivized low rates that dealers advertise.

[Turtle]

Europe with friends from late April into May. 

Great Northeastern USA road trip during my sabbatical in October/November.  Some of that will be staying with friends which will keep the average cost per night down somewhat.

There will also be some shorter weekends away with friends.  Already did one of those, in fact.

Somewhat tempted to update the phone in order to have a better camera prior to Europe, but I haven’t totally decided on that yet.

Europe trip was awesome.  Did in fact upgrade the phone for a better camera because I didn’t want to carry another camera separately.  Both were absolutely worth it.

[2sk22]

We have a $60k travel budget for 20205 - that ought to do it :-)

I just checked - as of today we have spent about $47k on travel. Air fare accounts for about $23k of this. We flew business class to Greece in April and have business class tickets booked to Thailand later this year. But apart from air fare, both Greece and Thailand have turned out to be relatively inexpensive destinations with respect to hotels and food. We have also done a fair bit of domestic travel - those fares have really gone up a lot, way more than international.

[FIREin2018]

We have a $60k travel budget for 20205 - that ought to do it :-)

I just checked - as of today we have spent about $47k on travel. Air fare accounts for about $23k of this.

 We flew business class to Greece in April and have business class tickets booked to Thailand later this year.

But apart from air fare, both Greece and Thailand have turned out to be relatively inexpensive destinations with respect to hotels and food. We have also done a fair bit of domestic travel - those fares have really gone up a lot, way more than international.

Last year 1/2 of my measley annual spend was travel related.
I looked at business class but it's 10x the cost of economy.
Ie. Delta $700 Sweden, $7k for business class

so This year I just got the chase Sapphire Preferred credit card (100k miles bonus).  My plan is to use those miles for cheap upgrade to business class.

No idea if that will work. Didn't research it. Just saw 100k limited time bonus (tied for best Sapphire offer ever) and applied.

How much are your business class tix?
Tips on getting it cheap?

[Freedomin5]

We splurged on brand new furniture for our new-to-us house.

[Dicey]

We're going to Aspen twice this spring/summer, then spending almost a month in Ireland + another European destination TBD. After that, October is Magical Moab Meetup time

When we bought our five-year-old house, five of the low-e windows were blown. The manufacturer wouldn't honor their "lifetime" warranty, because we weren't the original owners, WTF? It was going to be a huge cost to replace them, until DH figured out he could order the glass from a local glass shop and do the replacement himself. Even accounting for the fact that he made an error on two of the windows and had to re-order the glass, the total cost for the new panes was ~ $650, plus a few random materials, so under $700, all in. That's going to cover a nice chunk of our planned travel.

[2sk22]

Last year 1/2 of my measley annual spend was travel related.
I looked at business class but it's 10x the cost of economy.
Ie. Delta $700 Sweden, $7k for business class

so This year I just got the chase Sapphire Preferred credit card (100k miles bonus).  My plan is to use those miles for cheap upgrade to business class.

No idea if that will work. Didn't research it. Just saw 100k limited time bonus (tied for best Sapphire offer ever) and applied.

How much are your business class tix?
Tips on getting it cheap?

Not only do the US carriers (United, Delta and American) have the most expensive business class fares, the quality of service tends to be really bad. So I never travel on them.

I have to say that $7K to Sweden is ridiculous! To give you an idea of just how overpriced that Delta fare is:
- We flew British Airways business class to Greece for just $3k round trip!
- Our business class tickets to Thailand on Cathay Pacific are just $5.5k

Keep looking for fare sales on FlyerTalk - that's how I found the good fares to Greece.

Added: For points redemption, consider getting a subscription to https://seats.aero - they make it easy to search for award travel.

[Turtle]

My return flight for my YOLO European  trip was via Helsinki.  American Airlines points on Finnair.  Helsinki airport was having labor related issues which cancelled the Helsinki to O’Hare leg of my trip.  Finnair was absolutely wonderful about it, put me up in a nice breakfast included room at the airport hotel, covered dinner the first night, and covered a second night when American Airlines was a pain to deal with as far as rebooking a new flight.  (Bonus day to explore Helsinki was nice, even though the weather was not.)

Definitely more impressed with Finnair than American Airlines.  Plus blueberry juice is delicious!

Also unimpressed with American Airlines tight time schedule for getting through customs and onto my connecting flight in Dallas.  If I hadn’t been running between terminals, I wouldn’t have made it.