Dumbest Luxury Purchase - Share Your Experience

[jeromedawg]

This thread is making me feel less isolated, because as a not very early retiree (58) I see lots of friends of a similar age buying motorhomes, holiday homes and boats. I'm not a watergoing person and don't want the responsibility of owning two houses so a boat and a holiday cottage were never in the frame, but so many smart middle aged couples we know have become motorhome owners and insist that they're saving a fortune and have much more freedom that my husband and I sat down and did the sums and concluded that even if the motorhome retained its entire value on resale we would still be better off renting a holiday cottage for six weeks every year and the occasional chain hotel room for weekend trips.

(I voted boat, because a boat is the option most likely to become a white elephant after the initial novelty wears off.)

They are saving a small fortune by having spent a large fortune…

New Term: Ego Assets - an asset with little or no return. Usually only owned by rich people to tell other slightly less rich people that they own one. Examples included beach houses, and airplanes.

LOL this is great. I have a friend who is big into ego assets. He got a boat in the past several years. Doesn't use it much. I guess it's 'nice' in that it has appreciated in value, except all that is probably being offset by the cost of gas, maintenance (even though he doesn't use it much) and slip fees. He likes buying all sorts of toys, from camera gear to fishing gear to guns to cars... you name it he probably has it lol. Of course, he and his wife are at a place where they can enjoy these 'luxuries' - they just bought a lake cabin not long ago mid-COVID, although it seems like those might be better 'luxury investments' than beach homes. He probably has multiple pre-orders in for EVs as well (at least two Rivians and who knows what else). I just bought a cheap pellet gun and was asking him if he had one, and just earlier he told me that he's looking now for some in the $200-$500 range (the one I bought was $50 lol) hahahaha. I think it makes him feel good that he can buy (and often does) the higher priced items that I wouldn't dare ever buy (another example is fishing reels - he'll easily buy $300-400 fishing reels where my cap is maybe $150~ at the highest... there are exceptions but for the most part that's my rule of thumb). I think the only place I have him beat is with guitars - in the past few months he purchased like 3-4 guitars but none of them are more than a few hundred bucks at most whereas all but one my acoustics at least at $2k and higher lol. His justification though is that he's not good enough to warrant purchasing a super expensive instrument... I guess I should question my own ability to play in that case lol. My 'cheapest' guitars are my electric, bass and my very first acoustic (Takamine) that was gifted to me from my grandmother... I don't think I'd ever want to sell that guitar even though it doesn't sound very good.

Half-jokingly, one 'lesson' I've learned is to try to be really good friends with people who have ego assets because they may invite you to join in partaking the use of one or more of those assets once in a while
e.g. my friend with the boat would have me go out with him on a regular basis for a while... then he started asking me to chip in more for gas and things like that, even on local inshore trips where we only went a couple miles - once he started asking for money for every trip, I started declining and backing out (originally he told me not to worry about chipping in on those short trips but kind of backtracked on it a bit). It was all good - I don't need to go out that often lol. He actually invited me out a few times recently but I declined because my wrist has been jacked up and I don't want to risk making it worse - riding in small boats can be tough on the hands per all the 'auxiliary' things you have to help with: pulling anchor, climbing on and off the boat and over things, grabbing and closing hatches, bags, tackle boxes, stabilizing yourself when there are swells, etc. It has been a while since we've gone out on his tandem kayak so I may ask him about that though as I think I can probably handle that now...
Another buddy of mine recently delved head-first into some pretty hardcore fishing and got big into fishing for bluefin tuna. This is a total black hole as far as chasing fish - you can very easily spend thousands of dollars on gear, tackle, trips, etc just to target these fish. Admittedly, I would probably be there if not for my wrist... anyway, he has gone full force and has probably caught several hundreds of lbs of bluefin tuna in the past several months. His biggest being a 150lber (I know, this is small for you East Coast/Nova Scotia guys but for the Pacific side this is a very good size). Anyway, I don't see him too often but whenever I do he'll offer me a few pieces of his bluefin. He had to buy a new freezer just so he could store the 150lb catch. I have no idea how he is storing the other fish he caught after that. I think he has probably given a good amount of it away.
So... be nice/good to your friends with ego assets! LOL

[nereo]

One should not fish for bluefin tuna - they are heavily overfished and the Pacific stocks have completely collapsed .  A rich guy spending many thousands of dollars to exploit an important and ecologically threatened species is indeed a dumb luxury purpose.

[jeromedawg]

One should not fish for bluefin tuna - they are heavily overfished and the Pacific stocks have completely collapsed .  A rich guy spending many thousands of dollars to exploit an important and ecologically threatened species is indeed a dumb luxury purpose.

Really? I didn't know this... what's your source? I know they have bluefin pens down in Mexico. And yes there are frenzies from the sportfishing fleet but it sounds like there are quite a large number of them out there. When you say overfished, is that in context of the commercial fishery?

EDIT: nm I found the reference here - https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/pacific-bluefin-tuna

"Commercial fishery:
The average annual bluefin landings by U.S. commercial vessels fishing in the eastern Pacific Ocean represent only 2 percent of the average annual landings from all fleets fishing there.
U.S.-caught Pacific bluefin tuna are commonly landed in California by fishermen who sell to local restaurants."

The assumption is that it's the recreational sportfishing fleet that's causing these fish to be overfished?

The daily bag count for these fish is 2 per passenger and I *rarely* ever see boats coming back with limits or even close. It would be interesting to see more of the actual data and stats (e.g. the actual fish population estimate beginning of 2021 vs the population end of 2021 and line that up against the sportfishing boat counts and commercial boat counts. I mean there are also private boaters too, which would be unaccounted for but at least you get a better idea of how things *might* line up EDIT #2 - https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stocksmart?stockname=Pacific%20bluefin%20tuna%20-%20Pacific&stockid=11687 seems to show some data but, unless I'm missing something, I don't see it broken down between recreational and commercial.

[nereo]

The bottom line is that they are overfished, and the most recent stock assessment puts the spawning stock biomass (i.e the number of reproductive females) at about 20% of where it would be. This is actually a modest recovery from the low point in 2009
https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stocksmart?stockname=Pacific%20bluefin%20tuna%20-%20Pacific&stockid=11687

No, the recreational fishery is not the exclusive cause of overfishing. These have been a heavily exploited species which migrate thousands of miles, crossing international boundaries and outside EEZs, complicating management. The real damage was done by the rise of offshore international fishing fleets which hammered the stock starting in the 1960s. 

The current role of the recreational fishery is that they are hampering recovery of an already overfished stock. They didn’t cause the collapse, but they aren’t helping its future. Frankly, I don’t have much sympathy for wealthy recreational fishermen who want to go target an overfished species “because it’s fun”. There’s plenty of things to do out on the ocean without directly limiting a species’ recovery.

[Michael in ABQ]

"A boat is a hole in the water you pour money into."


We have six kids on a single income, so luxury purchases have never been on the table. No desire to own a boat, RV, ATV, etc. A vacation property is the only thing that interests me, but we need to buy our first house before thinking of a second. My brother-in-law has a cabin about 1.5 hours away up in the mountains and it was nice for a weekend when we used it. But not nice enough to want to spend $100k + multiple weekends doing repairs or getting it ready for winter and thousands of dollars of annual maintenance, etc. He's got a paid off house and good income so he can certainly afford it.

My dad had a sailboat when we were growing up that he had partially built himself. We'd go out on it maybe 5-8 times a year, usually just for the day. He finally sold it 10-15 years ago so he could put the money towards a pair of classic cars he had - including the first car he bought back in the 1960s. I have some memories of the sailboat but never enjoyed it that much. The cars are probably worth $100k between the pair but he can still drive them even though he's getting older. They still have a fair amount of upkeep and even an oil change on a car like that ends up costing hundreds of dollars since he has to have a mechanic do it since he's not physically able to anymore.

[Jon Bon]

I always felt the "Ego Asset" was something you buy just to talk about. Its considered crass to disclose what your 401k balance is and or what stock you recently made 100k on.  However it is somewhat acceptable to casually work your ego assets into a typical conversation.

"Hey Joe, got any big plans this summer?"
"Yeah probably head down to the beach house for 2 weeks"

This generally leads to follow up questions that you can then disclose more about your ego asset and how wealthy you are with out sounding classless. You just throw it in there casually that you have a house/boat etc. It lets you disguise your wealth as a hobby/interest/vacation when talked about. If your a watch guy, or musical instrument guy really most people don't know you spent a crazy amount of money on said luxury good unless they are a fellow watch/instrument enthusiast. But an ego asset everyone understands you are rich when you tell them you have an airplane that you don't have to share with the other commoners!

[JGS1980]

I've paid for some $400 meals for a couple. Some were totally worth it, some weren't even close. I appreciate a professionally served, cooked, and presented meal in a nice ambience. Sometimes all you get is the ambience, ha!

My wedding and reception was probably our best luxury purchase as a couple (although I went into the luxury part with some [quiet] foreboding). The after-wedding party was even better!

As for dumbest luxury purchase. I once spent >$700 for two tickets to a singer songwriter concern in a huge arena... and I wasn't even close to the action! Tickets sold and resold many times, and I guess I was the last sucker. If I even spend that money on a concert again, I better be pretty damn near the front row.

JGS

[Dicey]

I've paid for some $400 meals for a couple. Some were totally worth it, some weren't even close. I appreciate a professionally served, cooked, and presented meal in a nice ambience. Sometimes all you get is the ambience, ha!

My wedding and reception was probably our best luxury purchase as a couple (although I went into the luxury part with some [quiet] foreboding). The after-wedding party was even better!

As for dumbest luxury purchase. I once spent >$700 for two tickets to a singer songwriter concern in a huge arena... and I wasn't even close to the action! Tickets sold and resold many times, and I guess I was the last sucker. If I even spend that money on a concert again, I better be pretty damn near the front row.

JGS

LOL, this post inspired me to see where my husband's favorite singer is going to be. Surprise! She'll be in Vegas in Aug/Sept. Third row center seats are gonna cost about $750/pair. Hmmm, I might just do it...

[jeromedawg]

I've paid for some $400 meals for a couple. Some were totally worth it, some weren't even close. I appreciate a professionally served, cooked, and presented meal in a nice ambience. Sometimes all you get is the ambience, ha!

My wedding and reception was probably our best luxury purchase as a couple (although I went into the luxury part with some [quiet] foreboding). The after-wedding party was even better!

As for dumbest luxury purchase. I once spent >$700 for two tickets to a singer songwriter concern in a huge arena... and I wasn't even close to the action! Tickets sold and resold many times, and I guess I was the last sucker. If I even spend that money on a concert again, I better be pretty damn near the front row.

JGS

LOL, this post inspired me to see where my husband's favorite singer is going to be. Surprise! She'll be in Vegas in Aug/Sept. Third row center seats are gonna cost about $750/pair. Hmmm, I might just do it...

This kind of reminds me of when Hamilton was all the craze and people were spending ridiculous amounts of money on tickets, and multiple times over. I still haven't seen it hahahahaha.

[jeromedawg]

The bottom line is that they are overfished, and the most recent stock assessment puts the spawning stock biomass (i.e the number of reproductive females) at about 20% of where it would be. This is actually a modest recovery from the low point in 2009
https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stocksmart?stockname=Pacific%20bluefin%20tuna%20-%20Pacific&stockid=11687

No, the recreational fishery is not the exclusive cause of overfishing. These have been a heavily exploited species which migrate thousands of miles, crossing international boundaries and outside EEZs, complicating management. The real damage was done by the rise of offshore international fishing fleets which hammered the stock starting in the 1960s. 

The current role of the recreational fishery is that they are hampering recovery of an already overfished stock. They didn’t cause the collapse, but they aren’t helping its future. Frankly, I don’t have much sympathy for wealthy recreational fishermen who want to go target an overfished species “because it’s fun”. There’s plenty of things to do out on the ocean without directly limiting a species’ recovery.

Speaking of which, my friend just came back from a trip and got another one. I really don't understand the obsession especially after the first big one - practically, aside from the whole issue of the overfishing, it just seems highly wasteful. As if you need any more reason to go back out for these fish and if you catch another one you now have to figure out what to do with all of it in addition to what you caught from previous trips.
He must be giving a lot of it away, but I'm sure much of it ends up in his freezer and slowly loses its quality. Quite excessive...
I experienced this myself with a friend I went with several years ago and we caught limits or near limits of yellowfin tuna - we probably came back with well over 100lbs (probably closer to 200lbs) of fish between the two of us... I still have multiple loins in the bottom of our freezer from that trip :T I have had very little desire to go back out on a tuna trip and especially now for bluefin (after it being pointed out that they are overfished)

[Dicey]

I've paid for some $400 meals for a couple. Some were totally worth it, some weren't even close. I appreciate a professionally served, cooked, and presented meal in a nice ambience. Sometimes all you get is the ambience, ha!

My wedding and reception was probably our best luxury purchase as a couple (although I went into the luxury part with some [quiet] foreboding). The after-wedding party was even better!

As for dumbest luxury purchase. I once spent >$700 for two tickets to a singer songwriter concern in a huge arena... and I wasn't even close to the action! Tickets sold and resold many times, and I guess I was the last sucker. If I even spend that money on a concert again, I better be pretty damn near the front row.

JGS

LOL, this post inspired me to see where my husband's favorite singer is going to be. Surprise! She'll be in Vegas in Aug/Sept. Third row center seats are gonna cost about $750/pair. Hmmm, I might just do it...

This kind of reminds me of when Hamilton was all the craze and people were spending ridiculous amounts of money on tickets, and multiple times over. I still haven't seen it hahahahaha.

We've seen it twice. Paid face value.  Worth every penny.

[Adventine]

I've paid for some $400 meals for a couple. Some were totally worth it, some weren't even close. I appreciate a professionally served, cooked, and presented meal in a nice ambience. Sometimes all you get is the ambience, ha!

My wedding and reception was probably our best luxury purchase as a couple (although I went into the luxury part with some [quiet] foreboding). The after-wedding party was even better!

As for dumbest luxury purchase. I once spent >$700 for two tickets to a singer songwriter concern in a huge arena... and I wasn't even close to the action! Tickets sold and resold many times, and I guess I was the last sucker. If I even spend that money on a concert again, I better be pretty damn near the front row.

JGS

LOL, this post inspired me to see where my husband's favorite singer is going to be. Surprise! She'll be in Vegas in Aug/Sept. Third row center seats are gonna cost about $750/pair. Hmmm, I might just do it...

This kind of reminds me of when Hamilton was all the craze and people were spending ridiculous amounts of money on tickets, and multiple times over. I still haven't seen it hahahahaha.

I remember posts on the Bogleheads forum about watching Hamilton multiple times! I waited, because I knew a show that successful would eventually end up on a streaming service. My patience paid off. I I watched Hamilton on Disney+ some time ago. The full soundtrack is also free on Spotify.

[sonofsven]

The bottom line is that they are overfished, and the most recent stock assessment puts the spawning stock biomass (i.e the number of reproductive females) at about 20% of where it would be. This is actually a modest recovery from the low point in 2009
https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stocksmart?stockname=Pacific%20bluefin%20tuna%20-%20Pacific&stockid=11687

No, the recreational fishery is not the exclusive cause of overfishing. These have been a heavily exploited species which migrate thousands of miles, crossing international boundaries and outside EEZs, complicating management. The real damage was done by the rise of offshore international fishing fleets which hammered the stock starting in the 1960s. 

The current role of the recreational fishery is that they are hampering recovery of an already overfished stock. They didn’t cause the collapse, but they aren’t helping its future. Frankly, I don’t have much sympathy for wealthy recreational fishermen who want to go target an overfished species “because it’s fun”. There’s plenty of things to do out on the ocean without directly limiting a species’ recovery.

Speaking of which, my friend just came back from a trip and got another one. I really don't understand the obsession especially after the first big one - practically, aside from the whole issue of the overfishing, it just seems highly wasteful. As if you need any more reason to go back out for these fish and if you catch another one you now have to figure out what to do with all of it in addition to what you caught from previous trips.
He must be giving a lot of it away, but I'm sure much of it ends up in his freezer and slowly loses its quality. Quite excessive...
I experienced this myself with a friend I went with several years ago and we caught limits or near limits of yellowfin tuna - we probably came back with well over 100lbs (probably closer to 200lbs) of fish between the two of us... I still have multiple loins in the bottom of our freezer from that trip :T I have had very little desire to go back out on a tuna trip and especially now for bluefin (after it being pointed out that they are overfished)

You and your friend need to eat more fish!
Seriously, I eat salmon at least once a week until I run out (from my freezer, usually early winter) and up to 3-4 times per week when it's fresh. I had fresh salmon cycling through my fridge from early March til early June, now it's all frozen. I'll probably catch a few more in early September for the smoker; I give away most of the smoked salmon.
Eat that fish!

[Dicey]

I've paid for some $400 meals for a couple. Some were totally worth it, some weren't even close. I appreciate a professionally served, cooked, and presented meal in a nice ambience. Sometimes all you get is the ambience, ha!

My wedding and reception was probably our best luxury purchase as a couple (although I went into the luxury part with some [quiet] foreboding). The after-wedding party was even better!

As for dumbest luxury purchase. I once spent >$700 for two tickets to a singer songwriter concern in a huge arena... and I wasn't even close to the action! Tickets sold and resold many times, and I guess I was the last sucker. If I even spend that money on a concert again, I better be pretty damn near the front row.

JGS

LOL, this post inspired me to see where my husband's favorite singer is going to be. Surprise! She'll be in Vegas in Aug/Sept. Third row center seats are gonna cost about $750/pair. Hmmm, I might just do it...

This kind of reminds me of when Hamilton was all the craze and people were spending ridiculous amounts of money on tickets, and multiple times over. I still haven't seen it hahahahaha.

I remember posts on the Bogleheads forum about watching Hamilton multiple times! I waited, because I knew a show that successful would eventually end up on a streaming service. My patience paid off. I I watched Hamilton on Disney+ some time ago. The full soundtrack is also free on Spotify.

Bonus Kid gave us D+ for Christmas, just so we could watch Hamilton. It's also downloaded on my phone, so we listen to it on every road trip. You can be sure we'll listen to it on the way to Moab!

BTW, we have enjoyed the heck out of it, it is definitely NOT on my dumb purchases list. If you enjoyed the movie version, the stage show is a whole other level of performance magic.

[jeromedawg]

The bottom line is that they are overfished, and the most recent stock assessment puts the spawning stock biomass (i.e the number of reproductive females) at about 20% of where it would be. This is actually a modest recovery from the low point in 2009
https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stocksmart?stockname=Pacific%20bluefin%20tuna%20-%20Pacific&stockid=11687

No, the recreational fishery is not the exclusive cause of overfishing. These have been a heavily exploited species which migrate thousands of miles, crossing international boundaries and outside EEZs, complicating management. The real damage was done by the rise of offshore international fishing fleets which hammered the stock starting in the 1960s. 

The current role of the recreational fishery is that they are hampering recovery of an already overfished stock. They didn’t cause the collapse, but they aren’t helping its future. Frankly, I don’t have much sympathy for wealthy recreational fishermen who want to go target an overfished species “because it’s fun”. There’s plenty of things to do out on the ocean without directly limiting a species’ recovery.

Speaking of which, my friend just came back from a trip and got another one. I really don't understand the obsession especially after the first big one - practically, aside from the whole issue of the overfishing, it just seems highly wasteful. As if you need any more reason to go back out for these fish and if you catch another one you now have to figure out what to do with all of it in addition to what you caught from previous trips.
He must be giving a lot of it away, but I'm sure much of it ends up in his freezer and slowly loses its quality. Quite excessive...
I experienced this myself with a friend I went with several years ago and we caught limits or near limits of yellowfin tuna - we probably came back with well over 100lbs (probably closer to 200lbs) of fish between the two of us... I still have multiple loins in the bottom of our freezer from that trip :T I have had very little desire to go back out on a tuna trip and especially now for bluefin (after it being pointed out that they are overfished)

You and your friend need to eat more fish!
Seriously, I eat salmon at least once a week until I run out (from my freezer, usually early winter) and up to 3-4 times per week when it's fresh. I had fresh salmon cycling through my fridge from early March til early June, now it's all frozen. I'll probably catch a few more in early September for the smoker; I give away most of the smoked salmon.
Eat that fish!

Salmon I honestly wouldn't mind eating more of if we had that resource here. Tuna though, for whatever reason, is harder to consume (in the context of eating lots of it ASAP and before the quality goes downhill). I ate a couple of the bluefin loins my friend gave and they were extremely rich - it's hard to want/crave tuna anytime soon after that. I do think salmon is a bit more versatile as far as how it can be consumed too. Tuna you typically either need to eat lightly seared, raw or canned. The former two typically 'demand' the freshest quality so if you have more than several pounds of the stuff sitting in your freezer or fridge, there's no way you're going to go through that much of it raw/lightly seared unless you're a fanatic or you bring it to a party and/or share with family and friends. I guess that leaves canning, which would be viable if I had the equipment for it lol. I guess you could smoke it too but that's never going to be the absolute first choice.

Salmon on the other hand, especially fresh wild salmon (with no parasites) you can prepare all of above ways and then some. And there's something about the taste of salmon that doesn't wear on you as quickly as tuna does IMO. I take it you're in the PNW or Bay Area? That's the one fish I wish we had around here in SoCal. Occasionally the stray shows up and supposedly there was a small population of them at one point in time.

[lutorm]

Beach houses and airplanes serve A LOT of purpose, I think better examples would be watches, designer clothes, and in many cases but certainly not all, private schools for children.

I am most certain *not* saying this because I am currently writing this with a view of the ocean, or because I seriously considered buying a plane in 2020. Not at all...I'm being completely objective :P

Oh, an airplane CAN be a utilitarian, purposeful purchase. Elon gets a lot of mileage out of his. But most general aviation airplanes are used for the proverbial $100 hamburger on a saturday every month or so, or for flying around just for fun. You can do that relatively economically (as far as airplanes go) but that's not to say they're not still luxuries.

[Metalcat]

Beach houses and airplanes serve A LOT of purpose, I think better examples would be watches, designer clothes, and in many cases but certainly not all, private schools for children.

I am most certain *not* saying this because I am currently writing this with a view of the ocean, or because I seriously considered buying a plane in 2020. Not at all...I'm being completely objective :P

Oh, an airplane CAN be a utilitarian, purposeful purchase. Elon gets a lot of mileage out of his. But most general aviation airplanes are used for the proverbial $100 hamburger on a saturday every month or so, or for flying around just for fun. You can do that relatively economically (as far as airplanes go) but that's not to say they're not still luxuries.

I never said they weren't luxuries, it would be insane to say that owning a plane isn't a luxury. Nor did I say they were primarily utilitarian. Someone used planes as an example of "ego assets" meaning they primarily own them just to demonstrate their wealth.

I know a lot of people who own planes and helicopters and none of them would buy one primarily to demonstrate wealth, largely because they're an obscenely inefficient way to display wealth, only other plane owners and pilots really understand the cost, and they aren't impressed by someone who buys a plane and doesn't use it, lol.

[nereo]

Beach houses and airplanes serve A LOT of purpose, I think better examples would be watches, designer clothes, and in many cases but certainly not all, private schools for children.

I am most certain *not* saying this because I am currently writing this with a view of the ocean, or because I seriously considered buying a plane in 2020. Not at all...I'm being completely objective :P

Oh, an airplane CAN be a utilitarian, purposeful purchase. Elon gets a lot of mileage out of his. But most general aviation airplanes are used for the proverbial $100 hamburger on a saturday every month or so, or for flying around just for fun. You can do that relatively economically (as far as airplanes go) but that's not to say they're not still luxuries.

I never said they weren't luxuries, it would be insane to say that owning a plane isn't a luxury. Nor did I say they were primarily utilitarian. Someone used planes as an example of "ego assets" meaning they primarily own them just to demonstrate their wealth.

I know a lot of people who own planes and helicopters and none of them would buy one primarily to demonstrate wealth, largely because they're an obscenely inefficient way to display wealth, only other plane owners and pilots really understand the cost, and they aren't impressed by someone who buys a plane and doesn't use it, lol.

I have a few family members who own (or co-own) small aircraft, and what's surprising to me is that the purchase price isn't that much - used twin engine planes can be found for about what a luxury car costs.  But the maintenance and certification costs are constant and cumulatively can be astronomical. Just obtaining and staying current on a pilots license is a huge cost. 

But I absolutely agree that only other plane owners really understand the cost, and unless you are buying a gulf-stream (in which case you probably also have the pilot on your payroll) it's not a very effective way of flaunting your wealth to non-pilots.  A six-seater twin engine that's 20 years old doesn't scream "I'm rich" to the average person because it looks like crap to all non-pilots, but can cost tens of thousands annually.

[Metalcat]

Beach houses and airplanes serve A LOT of purpose, I think better examples would be watches, designer clothes, and in many cases but certainly not all, private schools for children.

I am most certain *not* saying this because I am currently writing this with a view of the ocean, or because I seriously considered buying a plane in 2020. Not at all...I'm being completely objective :P

Oh, an airplane CAN be a utilitarian, purposeful purchase. Elon gets a lot of mileage out of his. But most general aviation airplanes are used for the proverbial $100 hamburger on a saturday every month or so, or for flying around just for fun. You can do that relatively economically (as far as airplanes go) but that's not to say they're not still luxuries.

I never said they weren't luxuries, it would be insane to say that owning a plane isn't a luxury. Nor did I say they were primarily utilitarian. Someone used planes as an example of "ego assets" meaning they primarily own them just to demonstrate their wealth.

I know a lot of people who own planes and helicopters and none of them would buy one primarily to demonstrate wealth, largely because they're an obscenely inefficient way to display wealth, only other plane owners and pilots really understand the cost, and they aren't impressed by someone who buys a plane and doesn't use it, lol.

I have a few family members who own (or co-own) small aircraft, and what's surprising to me is that the purchase price isn't that much - used twin engine planes can be found for about what a luxury car costs.  But the maintenance and certification costs are constant and cumulatively can be astronomical. Just obtaining and staying current on a pilots license is a huge cost. 

But I absolutely agree that only other plane owners really understand the cost, and unless you are buying a gulf-stream (in which case you probably also have the pilot on your payroll) it's not a very effective way of flaunting your wealth to non-pilots.  A six-seater twin engine that's 20 years old doesn't scream "I'm rich" to the average person because it looks like crap to all non-pilots, but can cost tens of thousands annually.

Exactly. And when it comes to people who own jets, it's usually because there's enormous demand on them to be in many far flung places on short notice. They're so insanely expensive that either the person really needs the jet for business, or the person is so unfathomably rich that a jet is not even impressive, it's just a matter of basic security.

There aren't a lot of people out there buying jets they don't need because they're trying to impress people. Islands? Maybe. Jets? Doubtful.

I can think of a lot of ego assets, but I can't think of a way that owning a plane, either a cessna or a jet, is something someone would do primarily just to appear wealthy.

People renting jets just to impress people??? ABSOLUTELY

[Uturn]

The answer is a Kolb MKIII.  Cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, can be stored in a trailer, and just as much fun to fly as any other plane.  Well, as long as you are not in a hurry.

[tyrannostache]

It's not quite an RV, but when our oldest kid was 3 months old we looked at each other and said "how are we going to get out into the mountains and desert?", and purchased a VW Eurovan. From a dealer, who wasn't negotiating. I still think it was a good purchase:

We paid cash (which we had)

...
All in all, I'm pretty sure it was $ well spent.

Dangit, friend, you're not helping me avoid doing something stupid.

Every coupla years, either my spouse or I gets the itch to buy a campervan. We came really close to going for it 4 years ago, but then the deal fell through (phew--spouse's job situation got rough for a while right after that). We're both now in great jobs with more income than we have ever had, and I looked over his shoulder the other day to see him browsing used vans. Thankfully (or regretfully?) the prices are outrageous right now. No way are we paying $50K for someone's janky self-converted Ford Transit.

I see my neighbor's shiny new Transit campervan and I get a little envious of how he could just run off to Glacier or Yellowstone even in September/October when it's cold and the bears are in hyperphagy.  But then I take another look and notice how it is parked on the brand new asphalt he had poured so he would have a place to park it 354 days out of the year. Then I remember that you can rent the dang things for a nice long weekend. And now the desire has passed. Phew.

[RWD]

But then I take another look and notice how it is parked on the brand new asphalt he had poured so he would have a place to park it 354 days out of the year.

There's someone in our neighborhood that custom-built their home to include a giant garage bay big enough for their Class A RV! This isn't a particularly ritzy neighborhood either (~2000 sq ft houses on small lots). Their house is ~3200 sq ft. I think I've seen their RV outside of the garage maybe once or twice in the 6 years we've lived here.

[tyrannostache]

But then I take another look and notice how it is parked on the brand new asphalt he had poured so he would have a place to park it 354 days out of the year.

There's someone in our neighborhood that custom-built their home to include a giant garage bay big enough for their Class A RV! This isn't a particularly ritzy neighborhood either (~2000 sq ft houses on small lots). Their house is ~3200 sq ft. I think I've seen their RV outside of the garage maybe once or twice in the 6 years we've lived here.

Sounds about right. There's a trend in the new subdivisions outside of my old town: all of the homes have 2-car attached garages PLUS a separate 2- or 3-stall shop. The shop is for storing your RV, fifth-wheel, boat, snowmobiles, etc. I shudder to imagine the monthly payments.

[ender]

But then I take another look and notice how it is parked on the brand new asphalt he had poured so he would have a place to park it 354 days out of the year.

There's someone in our neighborhood that custom-built their home to include a giant garage bay big enough for their Class A RV! This isn't a particularly ritzy neighborhood either (~2000 sq ft houses on small lots). Their house is ~3200 sq ft. I think I've seen their RV outside of the garage maybe once or twice in the 6 years we've lived here.

oooooh that'd be an amazing garage to buy :D

and not put a Class A into. hah

[Dicey]

But then I take another look and notice how it is parked on the brand new asphalt he had poured so he would have a place to park it 354 days out of the year.

There's someone in our neighborhood that custom-built their home to include a giant garage bay big enough for their Class A RV! This isn't a particularly ritzy neighborhood either (~2000 sq ft houses on small lots). Their house is ~3200 sq ft. I think I've seen their RV outside of the garage maybe once or twice in the 6 years we've lived here.

oooooh that'd be an amazing garage to buy :D

and not put a Class A into. hah

HaHaHa! We have a 1050 sf garage with three car bays. Our cars, and the RV, live in the driveway. It's not a Class A, though. It's "only" 25', so we can get into all the National Parks with size restrictions. Last year, I visited my brother in Northern Phoenix. On a walk, we discovered a new neighborhood that was designed with RV garages. We saw plenty of RVs parked in front of those garages.

[getsorted]

But then I take another look and notice how it is parked on the brand new asphalt he had poured so he would have a place to park it 354 days out of the year.

There's someone in our neighborhood that custom-built their home to include a giant garage bay big enough for their Class A RV! This isn't a particularly ritzy neighborhood either (~2000 sq ft houses on small lots). Their house is ~3200 sq ft. I think I've seen their RV outside of the garage maybe once or twice in the 6 years we've lived here.

Sounds about right. There's a trend in the new subdivisions outside of my old town: all of the homes have 2-car attached garages PLUS a separate 2- or 3-stall shop. The shop is for storing your RV, fifth-wheel, boat, snowmobiles, etc. I shudder to imagine the monthly payments.

Is your old town my town? Seeing a lot of these. Even in older neighborhoods, it's common to see a garage plus an extra-large carport for the RV (sometimes just plunked down somewhere on the front lawn).

The trendiest thing is building a barndominium or a "shouse" (shop/house) so you have a little room for yourself and a whole lot of room for your hobby vehicles.

[YttriumNitrate]

Oh, an airplane CAN be a utilitarian, purposeful purchase. Elon gets a lot of mileage out of his. But most general aviation airplanes are used for the proverbial $100 hamburger on a saturday every month or so, or for flying around just for fun. You can do that relatively economically (as far as airplanes go) but that's not to say they're not still luxuries.

That saying really needs to be updated to the $300-500 hamburger as the saying was quite old 20 years ago when I was flying.

[Just Joe]

We, so far, have loved owing a small travel trailer (~$20K brand new).  Time will tell if it turns out to be a "dumb luxury purchase", but for now it's the perfect family vacation with yougins.

We've enjoyed owning a small camper (sarcasm). We've used it ONCE in three years b/c about half our crew doesn't like to camp it turns out. Just liked the idea of camping. Fortunately I have less than $2K invested in it.

And I'm still planning a few trips when the heat relents. Might only be me and the offspring #1 that likes to camp but we'll have fun. DW is a good sport about it all but offspring #2 wants nothing to do with camping so DW would need to stay home with that one. I put in alot of sweat equity before offspring #2 decided camping was off the table. OS #2 doesn't adapt to change well.

Additional problem: crowds. Everyone decided they want to go own a camper so some destinations are just maxed out. Reservations are required many months in advance. We aren't crowd people. Sometimes that isn't camping, that's hanging out in a dusty "parking lot" with strangers.

Do this folks - buy a low cost example of whatever you want. Maybe it won't be flashy but test the waters for a while before you dive in too deep. Once you like the toy or the destination, then get serious about upgrading.

[Just Joe]

My dad had a sailboat when we were growing up that he had partially built himself. We'd go out on it maybe 5-8 times a year, usually just for the day. He finally sold it 10-15 years ago so he could put the money towards a pair of classic cars he had - including the first car he bought back in the 1960s. I have some memories of the sailboat but never enjoyed it that much. The cars are probably worth $100k between the pair but he can still drive them even though he's getting older. They still have a fair amount of upkeep and even an oil change on a car like that ends up costing hundreds of dollars since he has to have a mechanic do it since he's not physically able to anymore.

I listened to a story over the weekend of a fellow who has all the big toys - but never uses them. Like owns several high price collector cars but has never even driven them. These are not Duesenbergs or Rolls-Royce, just domestic grocery getter level cars that he sunk huge amounts of money into having them restored or buying them already restored. How would you feel about a $160,000 domestic economy car from the 1960s? Or paying someone $6K to detail the car top to bottom? There is also a big RV. A new big touring motorcycle he has ridden once, and isn't comfortable with.

Then there is another Boomer we know of indirectly. Has a lake boat he pays to rent a slip for. He's frustrated about the ongoing costs - fuel, insurance, maintenance, electricity, etc. Its a nice thing I hear but he knows exactly what it costs to operate per minute. I think I heard $5 per minute of operation on marina gas. Two big-block V8 engines, generator, etc. He is tired of the cost but can't sell for what he has invested and feel frustrated about it - so he keeps paying.

We're really fond of our family boats. They are plastic or aluminum depending on which one you choose. 10ft for one, a little longer for the other.

[RWD]

How would you feel about a $160,000 domestic economy car from the 1960s?

Is that better or worse than spending $100k on a brand new Civic?

[Just Joe]

Nice... Probably will be desirable in the distant future. However I don't have the slightest itch to own it.

Would you pay $160K for this?

https://www.familydeal.com/inventory/used-1966-chevrolet-nova-ii-ss-rwd-2d-coupe-0000118376w176844

Not the exact car in my story but similar.

[RWD]

Nice... Probably will be desirable in the distant future. However I don't have the slightest itch to own it.

Would you pay $160K for this?

https://www.familydeal.com/inventory/used-1966-chevrolet-nova-ii-ss-rwd-2d-coupe-0000118376w176844

Not the exact car in my story but similar.

Absolutely not, but I also have no nostalgia for cars built before the 80s.