Dumbest Luxury Purchase - Share Your Experience

[Jon Bon]

To be completely fair with the pandemic I have given some thought to buying many of these items. Me and everyone else right? The demand for these massive luxury items has never been higher, and often the supply and quality has never been worse! I never got really serious, but I entertained it more then I should have. I would love to get some real world feedback on why buying some of these items is really really dumb. Something that we all want to ignore when buying is how much recurring and operating costs come with these items. So please include all the crazy unexpected costs that come with it. And if you must yes you can tell us why buying it was good too!

[Jon Bon]

My vote is for Camper/RV. I just read an article about a new one and basically the summery was "Like a house but much worse"

Expensive as hell (50k++)
HORRIBLE quality (particle board, staples and glue)
Require massive tow vehicle
Spend all your time fixing it and not using it.
RV grounds are like 100 a night (just get a hotel?!)

[RWD]

My vote is for Camper/RV. I just read an article about a new one and basically the summery was "Like a house but much worse"

Expensive as hell (50k++)
HORRIBLE quality (particle board, staples and glue)
Require massive tow vehicle
Spend all your time fixing it and not using it.
RV grounds are like 100 a night (just get a hotel?!)

Consumer protections are much weaker on RVs than on normal cars. You can end up with warranties from a bunch of different companies for individual components and not the product as a whole.
https://www.google.com/search?q=don't+buy+an+rv+steve+lehto

[Bartlebooth]

Bought a 37 foot sailboat for $42,000.  Paid something like $7,000 in the first month for various maintenance done by the boat yard workers--bottom paint and engine engine maintenance maintly IIRC.  In this same month I ordered and installed $25,000 worth of other equipment: solar panels, lithium batteries, inverter, windlass, dinghy and outboard (I should have voted for boat twice since there were technically two boats!), dinghy davits.

$6,000 for new standing rigging.
$3,000 for autopilot equipment.
Thousands for supplies to sew our own cockpit cushions.
Thousands for supplies to sew our own spray dodger / bimini.
$3,500 watermaker.
On and on...until we headed home.
Then still on and on as we foolishly stored the boat instead of selling it in the last month or so that we lived on it.  $1,500 to haul it out and get a couple things fixed.  $1000 for a year of insurance.  $6,000 to have the yard fix some things and relaunch the boat so it could be sold.  $7,000 in significant work done to the engine to make sure it runs and doesn't look like garbage for the selling inspection, after two other offers fall through over the course of eight months of selling it.  But it sold!  For $35,000...don't forget $3,500 for the yacht broker (real estate agent for boats...at 10%).  Sold the dinghy to some friends for a reasonable amount too; that felt good.

It was the most expensive time of our lives living aboard that dang boat for 18 months (~$160,000 including all living expenses for the two of us plus a dog).  And some of the hardest work and fastest learning I have ever done (paying for the pleasure of it the whole time).  And even with some of the luxurious stuff we had (compared to 95% other sailboats), there's no getting around the drag of essentially crapping in a bucket, taking pathetic showers, blowing around at anchor for multiple days, hauling laundry and groceries, and always either shivering or sweating.

Of course it was also the greatest adventure of our lives (so far!) and I would absolutely do it again.

To do it better:
Spend a longer time boat shopping.
Pay more to buy something more closely equipped to how I want it rather than doing so much dang work myself.
Sell it while still with the boat in person, and before everything falls apart.
Still expect to wave bye bye to an absolute pile of cash!

[ATtiny85]

All three choices to me exert pressure to use them. I like freedom, and those would all feel like a very heavy weight to me.

[Dicey]

We bought a 2012 luxury Sprinter based RV with 12k miles on it right before the pandemic started. We paid about $66k for it. We had the cash readily available after a very successful flip. We'd done our research for years and waited for the model we wanted to surface on the used market. When it finally did, it was about a mile from our house. Under normal circumstances, I'd say it was a crazy expenditure, but here's what's really crazy: several the same or very similar rig, with far more miles are listed and selling on RV Trader for twice what we paid for it. Who'da thunk?

And yes, DH made several modifications before we ever used it, but he's mostly a DIY guy. Well, except for the custom springs he had fabricated after our first big trip...

[FLBiker]

I have no direct experience with any of these, and the only one that remotely tempts me is a secondhand travel trailer.  We recently moved to Canada, and I could see buying one and road tripping for a couple of years before selling it again.  That said, I'm perfectly happy with a tent, especially if RV spots are $100 a night.

Personally, the idea of having a second house sounds terrible.  I don't enjoy home ownership particularly much -- I mean, I like my house, but it's also a lot of responsibility.  I don't like the idea of being responsible for a place I'm not in.  And I couldn't care less about any boat other than a kayak, canoe, or Sunfish.

[big_owl]

I spend thousands of dollars on dinosaur teeth and skulls.   They actually seem like a good investment - they're not making that shit anymore so by definition they're very rare.  There's something about holding the tooth or skull of a Tylosaurus or Carcharodontosaurus in your hand and feeling the gravity of what that tooth killed in it's lifetime.  It's very humbling. Back then life on earth was at its most spectacular.   Like I said, they ain't making that shit anymore. 

[FLBiker]

I spend thousands of dollars on dinosaur teeth and skulls.   They actually seem like a good investment - they're not making that shit anymore so by definition they're very rare.  There's something about holding the tooth or skull of a Tylosaurus or Carcharodontosaurus in your hand and feeling the gravity of what that tooth killed in it's lifetime.  It's very humbling. Back then life on earth was at its most spectacular.   Like I said, they ain't making that shit anymore.

Woah.  I literally did not know you could buy that kind of stuff.  This is dangerous knowledge! :)

[Dreamer40]

Those options are all pretty terrible. Sister-in-law is always coming up with new schemes like shopping for an RV that she thinks we should share with her. Or a beach cabin we can take turns using. I keep telling her that it would be cheaper and more fun to go to Europe every year. If I’m going to blow that much money, I want a real bed and nice restaurants. Not camping-quality accommodations. And not all the work of maintaining and cleaning an RV or cabin, which I have zero interest in doing.

[patchyfacialhair]

We seriously considered an RV when the pandemic hit.

But wow. After educating myself, we probably won't ever do it. Every part of it is an inefficient way of doing whatever it is trying to do. And, unless you pay like a million dollars for a luxury class A diesel, they're all mediocre at best.

If you're doing it for the comfort of knowing it's your germs in your own toilet, by all means. But as far as costs are concerned, I don't see how it pencils out.

[Malossi792]

Second motorcycle:
Double the tax. Double the maintenance. Double the insurance. Double the buy/sell 'frictions'.
Still a single butt. Still less then half the year is 'season'.
I'm glad I came to my senses...

[jeninco]

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)

They had just increased the engine to a V6, and since we both had jobs with limited vacation time, the V4 "you can just push it uphill" version didn't make sense if we actually wanted to get places. This one easily does 70 uphill over the mountains. So used wasn't really an option.

it allowed us to easily keep camping with babies, small kids, and medium-sized kids, and then mostly became a vehicle that we use to go skiing, both backcountry and at small areas where we could just go back to the (nearby) car and spread out at the table for lunch. It's really nice to all be able to put on ski boots (comfortably) inside the vehicle! So transportation for 16 years of 2X/year backcountry hut trips.

We got to take many trips with the kids to the wild canyon country in Eastern Utah: having the van meant we could get there (it's not 4wd or especially high clearance, but we got it down many a not-too-crazy 4wd road, and carried shovels and jacks and such), head way out into the unimproved protected area, have a place to hang out if it rained, or got horrifically buggy. I know people CAN do these kinds of trips without the van setup, but it hit the sweet spot for us between being able to just ... get up and go on fairly short notice. We know how everything got packed, if the weather was iffy for a few hours we could just all read inside, and it was a way to clean up small kids before meals and expect them to stay clean for 5 minutes.

One of our kids didn't ride well in cars: on this it was really easy to pop the top and set up the beds if we'd started driving after dinner (have dinner, put on his PJs, put him in the car seat, go) and were just too tired to continue (there's a great stopping point about 5 hours form our house).

As the kids got older, we stuck a bike rack on the back to increase our hiking range on sketchy roads.

The thing is now 21, and mostly sitting in the driveway while we think about what to do next: the transmission is coming up on needing replacing, so we're considering our options. The thing is, it's not particularly high-profile (which means it's fairly easy to drive in heavy cross-winds, unlike sprinters and such), it gets 20 MPG (which we consider embarrassingly bad, but it's better than almost any current equivalents out there) and it's pretty low-mileage at this point, and we know all the maintenance history.

If we decide to sell it, we can probably get back a significant fraction of the initial cost, which is crazy!

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

[StarBright]

Following to hear experiences on beach houses and sailboats.

We put an offer at asking price on a lot located on a small island in the Great Lakes last year. We lost and noticed that lot prices seemed to double after that. A lot that we can build on later seems affordable, a house on the island currently does not.

Since we got married we've been setting aside a little every month for a sailboat. The plan is to dock it in our town and sail/motor it upriver to the lake and the island when we hit retirement years/kids are more grown.

[Villanelle]

I've half (okay, maybe only like 1/8th) considered living in either an RV (or maybe a Sprinter Van, travel trailer, or smaller RV type set up) or sailboat for a year at the beginning of FIRE.  We will likely be in a position where when DH retires fully and for good, we will be moving across country.  So we'd sell anything that wasn't super sentimental and store it, then set off an an adventure for about a year. 

I'm a very, very, very novice sailor at best.  Like, I can sloppily maneuver a Hobie Cat around off the beach.  DH has some sailing experience, but would need to brush up and expand his skills, for sure.  On the RV front, driving one seems terrifying to me.  So I'm not sure either of these would be practical choices. 

For the RV, we have friends and family all over the country, so stops would like be a mix of RV parks and crashing a few nights with people as we visit our way around the US. 

We would of course buy used, do a ton of research, and brush up on skills (especially in the case of the boat).  We wouldn't be paying rent, so I'm not sure how entirely dumb it would be. 

But as toys instead of homes?  extra terrible idea.  I've never understood vacation houses.  So many costs and so much extra work, for limited use, and locking you in to visiting only one place. 

[Jon Bon]

  I've never understood vacation houses.  So many costs and so much extra work, for limited use, and locking you in to visiting only one place.

Yeah the lie we (I) tell ourselves its that its an investment you see? Its going to make us money and we can expensive the 3x a year we use it as a business expense!

I mean they can make money, but they take a ton of capital and is probably risky as hell. I guess if you wanted to have a VK home for your personal use well then we would be on bogleheads.

[ender]

I've never understood vacation houses.  So many costs and so much extra work, for limited use, and locking you in to visiting only one place.

Depends a lot on whether you enjoy vacationing to the same place regularly.

Some people love that. Some people hate it.

For people who love it? It's a great value. For people who dread vacationing in the same spot? Terrible value.

[RWD]

[...] and purchased a VW Eurovan.

They had just increased the engine to a V6, and since we both had jobs with limited vacation time, the V4 "you can just push it uphill" version didn't make sense if we actually wanted to get places. This one easily does 70 uphill over the mountains. So used wasn't really an option.

I don't think the EuroVan was ever offered with a 4-cylinder in North America (and to be pedantic almost all 4-cylinders are inline-4 not V4 configuration). Looks like just an inline-5 (1993-1997) or the VR6 V6 (1997-2003). But there was a very significant power bump in 2001 when they went from a 12-valve to 24 valve VR6 (140 -> 201 horsepower).

[getsorted]

The nature of my work brings me up close and personal into the financial lives of many retirees. I cannot believe how often clients buy the RV, the boat, or the beach/lake house, and are selling it 2-5 years later. Maybe those five years are amazing; I don't know, but it seems like the RV always ends in tears, whereas the boat/lake house always end in family drama.

I think people vastly underestimate how much they will want to be near family, friends, and a stable community in their old age. Early retirees are a different story, but even those often end up moving back to their "home" communities or near adult children more often than I would have guessed.

Where I live, the jacked-up truck is the dumb luxury purchase of choice, but then, expending a lot of resources to attract mates is a stupid thing nature itself tends to favor!

[HPstache]

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.

[Jon Bon]

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.

Yup its a fine line.

Like if I ended up spending 30k on a boat and 5k annually to keep it going BUT it created awesome memories with my kids I would take that deal. Unfortunately there are no guarantees in life and likely I would be spending hours towing that boat in my massive truck that I have to buy, and yelling at my spouse when we are trying to launch the boat at the ramp (its the worst!)

[jeninco]

[...] and purchased a VW Eurovan.

They had just increased the engine to a V6, and since we both had jobs with limited vacation time, the V4 "you can just push it uphill" version didn't make sense if we actually wanted to get places. This one easily does 70 uphill over the mountains. So used wasn't really an option.

I don't think the EuroVan was ever offered with a 4-cylinder in North America (and to be pedantic almost all 4-cylinders are inline-4 not V4 configuration). Looks like just an inline-5 (1993-1997) or the VR6 V6 (1997-2003). But there was a very significant power bump in 2001 when they went from a 12-valve to 24 valve VR6 (140 -> 201 horsepower).

Yes, this -- thanks. From my perspective, it's the different between "I could bike uphill faster than that thing can drive" and passing trucks on I-70. Huge difference!

[Dicey]

The nature of my work brings me up close and personal into the financial lives of many retirees. I cannot believe how often clients buy the RV, the boat, or the beach/lake house, and are selling it 2-5 years later. Maybe those five years are amazing; I don't know, but it seems like the RV always ends in tears, whereas the boat/lake house always end in family drama.

I think people vastly underestimate how much they will want to be near family, friends, and a stable community in their old age. Early retirees are a different story, but even those often end up moving back to their "home" communities or near adult children more often than I would have guessed.

Where I live, the jacked-up truck is the dumb luxury purchase of choice, but then, expending a lot of resources to attract mates is a stupid thing nature itself tends to favor!

Someone I know had a fancy Class A motorhome with her husband. Alas, he died suddenly and she was stuck with something too big to manage by herself, so she sold it, right in the middle of the Great Recession. She lost her ass on it.

[getsorted]

Someone I know had a fancy Class A motorhome with her husband. Alas, he died suddenly and she was stuck with something too big to manage by herself, so she sold it, right in the middle of the Great Recession. She lost her ass on it.

Can't tell you how often I hear versions of the same story. Or, the one that goes: nobody can bear to sell dad's boat, even though dad hasn't been well enough to take the boat out in seven years. After dad passes and it's time for mom to sell the boat, it's so far beyond repair that it's a total loss.

[Kris]

The only way I would ever even contemplate purchasing any of these would be as our only home.

All of them can be rented for short periods of time if need be. Much cheaper and much less hassle.

[Villanelle]

Someone I know had a fancy Class A motorhome with her husband. Alas, he died suddenly and she was stuck with something too big to manage by herself, so she sold it, right in the middle of the Great Recession. She lost her ass on it.

Can't tell you how often I hear versions of the same story. Or, the one that goes: nobody can bear to sell dad's boat, even though dad hasn't been well enough to take the boat out in seven years. After dad passes and it's time for mom to sell the boat, it's so far beyond repair that it's a total loss.

My MIL and her older husband had a smallish boat. It was docked in a SoCal marina that had to be very expensive.  For a while, they took it out fairly often (I'd guess 1-2x month, for a nice day on the water).  Even then, the cost per use had to be crazy.  As her husband's health declined, they started using it less and then eventually not at all.  But those marina fees kept coming.  And coming.   A quick google says that a 20' boat there is about $400 today.  (IDK the exact size, though DH and I did go out with them a few times.  I'm guessing 20', if not slightly larger.). 

They finally decided to list the boat and it took forever to sell.  They'd have been much better off financially if they'd literally given the boat away when they stopped using it.  Or listing it low and selling it cheap, when they finally decided to sell. 

[Jon Bon]

Someone I know had a fancy Class A motorhome with her husband. Alas, he died suddenly and she was stuck with something too big to manage by herself, so she sold it, right in the middle of the Great Recession. She lost her ass on it.

Can't tell you how often I hear versions of the same story. Or, the one that goes: nobody can bear to sell dad's boat, even though dad hasn't been well enough to take the boat out in seven years. After dad passes and it's time for mom to sell the boat, it's so far beyond repair that it's a total loss.

Right definitely sub optimal, but if all the kids have such great memories of said boat the fact that its a total loss a the end might be worth it?

[getsorted]

Someone I know had a fancy Class A motorhome with her husband. Alas, he died suddenly and she was stuck with something too big to manage by herself, so she sold it, right in the middle of the Great Recession. She lost her ass on it.

Can't tell you how often I hear versions of the same story. Or, the one that goes: nobody can bear to sell dad's boat, even though dad hasn't been well enough to take the boat out in seven years. After dad passes and it's time for mom to sell the boat, it's so far beyond repair that it's a total loss.

Right definitely sub optimal, but if all the kids have such great memories of said boat the fact that its a total loss a the end might be worth it?

I mean, you can't put a price on memories, but is it the boat providing the memories, or the family time? You can make great memories in a canoe, or swimming.

To my mind, it's just about getting comfortable with the fact that many of the things you buy and enjoy will no longer be usable to you at a certain point.

[Papa bear]

  I've never understood vacation houses.  So many costs and so much extra work, for limited use, and locking you in to visiting only one place.

Yeah the lie we (I) tell ourselves its that its an investment you see? Its going to make us money and we can expensive the 3x a year we use it as a business expense!

I mean they can make money, but they take a ton of capital and is probably risky as hell. I guess if you wanted to have a VK home for your personal use well then we would be on bogleheads.

Well, if you actually take the time to invest it, I think you can make a killing.  I’ve got a buddy that has not one, but 3! Vacation homes.  Airbnb’s them all out and quit just quit his job because he was netting 6 figures. 

And my dad used to own not one, but 2 RV’s.  Made a killing renting those things out. 

Makes me want to go by one or ten luxury items when the market gets cheaper.


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[Villanelle]

  I've never understood vacation houses.  So many costs and so much extra work, for limited use, and locking you in to visiting only one place.

Yeah the lie we (I) tell ourselves its that its an investment you see? Its going to make us money and we can expensive the 3x a year we use it as a business expense!

I mean they can make money, but they take a ton of capital and is probably risky as hell. I guess if you wanted to have a VK home for your personal use well then we would be on bogleheads.

Well, if you actually take the time to invest it, I think you can make a killing.  I’ve got a buddy that has not one, but 3! Vacation homes.  Airbnb’s them all out and quit just quit his job because he was netting 6 figures. 

And my dad used to own not one, but 2 RV’s.  Made a killing renting those things out. 

Makes me want to go by one or ten luxury items when the market gets cheaper.


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I guess I don't consider that a vacation home.  I consider that an investment property. 

Also, renting luxury items is a rough market to be in during an economic downturn, so it's not a basket into which I'd want to put all, or a majority, of my eggs, but I can see how it might something to consider for a portion of one's strategy. 

[Papa bear]

  I've never understood vacation houses.  So many costs and so much extra work, for limited use, and locking you in to visiting only one place.

Yeah the lie we (I) tell ourselves its that its an investment you see? Its going to make us money and we can expensive the 3x a year we use it as a business expense!

I mean they can make money, but they take a ton of capital and is probably risky as hell. I guess if you wanted to have a VK home for your personal use well then we would be on bogleheads.

Well, if you actually take the time to invest it, I think you can make a killing.  I’ve got a buddy that has not one, but 3! Vacation homes.  Airbnb’s them all out and quit just quit his job because he was netting 6 figures. 

And my dad used to own not one, but 2 RV’s.  Made a killing renting those things out. 

Makes me want to go by one or ten luxury items when the market gets cheaper.


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I guess I don't consider that a vacation home.  I consider that an investment property. 

Also, renting luxury items is a rough market to be in during an economic downturn, so it's not a basket into which I'd want to put all, or a majority, of my eggs, but I can see how it might something to consider for a portion of one's strategy.

Oh absolutely.  When it’s good, it’s really good. When it’s bad, it’s terrible. 

But you can still buy a vacation house, have it “available for rent” for 50 weeks, and you get 2 personal weeks of use while still keeping the property as a rental.  Plus, you can visit the property for work or repairs and not count it against that time.  In all, you can buy some vacation homes, rent the snot out of it, and still get personal use. 

I’m not out actively looking to buy now, but if we see a real estate correction, I’ll for sure look at vacation area rentals.


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[Gremlin]

Okay. I’ll bite.

Mrs G and I are sitting in our beach apartment right now. We have been mustachian all our lives and have been SWAMI’d for about five years. About twelve months ago we realised that we had more money than we could spend in several lifetimes. So we spent a bit of it on this place. It’s a “warm in winter, cool in summer” location.

It’s about an hour drive from home. We can both SWAMI from here if we choose to do so as we are not tied to a particular location for the work we do.

When we are not using it, my parents or Mrs G’s parents or our siblings and their families can use it. As can close family friends. When no one is using it, we simply lock it up and leave it. We can afford it. We can afford to let our families use it for free and it is part of us living our best lives.

[LD_TAndK]

Boat: A decade ago my family owned a small speed boat. It needed constant attention. We had limited time at the lake and the boat seemed to be out of commission way too often. Lots of days spent tinkering (some might enjoy this), or bringing it to the marina and shelling out. This year we're renting a boat over the 4th of July, $2460 for nine days. Split between six families, this is a steal. No headaches, no downtime, no need for a tow vehicle, no storage. Seems like a no brainer to me to rent.

Vacation House: My parents own a rental lake house. It's alot of work, and they barely make money overall. They do end up using the place themselves maybe five weeks of the year though. Overall I'd say if you're looking for something to do, and don't mind home maintenance, this can be a win (I wouldn't myself though).

RV: As primarily a backpacker, this one doesn't make sense to me. It seems inelegant to haul a massive home around just to go camping. Even car camping feels like we're bringing too much crap, and the process of packing, setting up our little tent village, then taking it all down is overshadowing the experience of getting out into nature.

My own dumbest luxury purchase: We bought a huge expensive house, with a big yard and a pool. We told ourselves stories about using it for entertaining and yada yada, I think subconsciously we just wanted to impress others. We wound up hating the amount of time and money we were pouring into it (along with the feeling that it wasn't aligned with our values). We sold it and happily bought a house half the size and price.

[mozar]

How can a place be “warm in winter, cool in summer?”

[sailinlight]

How can a place be “warm in winter, cool in summer?”

It's in Australia

[YttriumNitrate]

My dumb luxury purchase was five acres of land. One of my hobbies is growing fruit trees, and after filling up every square foot of space at my house I wanted to expand further. After several months of searching, a property finally became available that was within my price range and within 15 minutes of where I lived. In my excitement I overlooked the fact that half the property was in a floodplain and the other half was a steep hill (roughly a blue/black ski run) and promptly bought the property. Neither half turned out to be good for growing fruit trees and it was an endless time suck trying to keep them going in poor conditions. Adding on to the issues, a few years later I moved 90 miles away so I don't get out there often anymore.

On the positive side, thanks to a crazy real estate market, I probably can probably get back what I paid for the property (and then some).

[clarkfan1979]

Helicopter tour on Kauai. We got a local discount and it was only $250 per person. Were were hot and dizzy the whole time. We both focused on trying not to vomit.

We had a conversation afterwards and if someone paid us $250 each to take another tour in the next 30 minutes, we wouldn't do it. 

[clarkfan1979]

My vote is for Camper/RV. I just read an article about a new one and basically the summery was "Like a house but much worse"

Expensive as hell (50k++)
HORRIBLE quality (particle board, staples and glue)
Require massive tow vehicle
Spend all your time fixing it and not using it.
RV grounds are like 100 a night (just get a hotel?!)

The average RV purchase probably isn't great. However, I love my RV and I think I did pretty good on the purchase.

1974 Dodge Champion. 22 ft. and Class A. Bought it for $9,300 from Uncle. Uncle is a diesel mechanic. He gutted and renovated the entire thing in 2005 and swapped out the gas engine for a diesel engine. He probably put 20K into it and 500 hours of manual labor. It took him 2-3 years to renovate. It was a passion project for him.

We camp in the Rocky Mountains. We camp at Steamboat Lake for one week every summer. We pay $35/night for our spot. We really like the smaller 22' camper because we get smaller spots closest to the water. Staying in a hotel in town (Steamboat Springs) is 45-50 minutes away and the cheapest budget motel is $250/night. I also think that includes a discount for a full week stay. Most hotels are in the $300-$400/night.

Insurance is $20/month and registration is $90/year. We get a discount on registration with a collectors plate. Because its older than a 1975 and we drive it less than 4500 miles/year. It's a special rate for car collectors.

[YK-Phil]

Expensive watches. Omega, Rolex, Tudor, Breitling, etc. That was a long time ago during my clown years and I am now shaking my head at how much I blew on these things. I sold a few over the years but still have a half-dozen sitting in a box that I haven't opened in years.

[Dave1442397]

Expensive watches. Omega, Rolex, Tudor, Breitling, etc. That was a long time ago during my clown years and I am now shaking my head at how much I blew on these things. I sold a few over the years but still have a half-dozen sitting in a box that I haven't opened in years.

If you want to cash in, now's the time. Rolexes have dropped from the highs of a few months ago, but are still pulling four or five times retail price on the secondary market.

[Dave1442397]

I encourage my friends to buy vacation homes, RVs, boats, and swimming pools.

We have friends with a beach house who let us use it at discount rates during the off season. Another set of friends have a beautiful pool in their back yard and like to host parties pretty much every weekend during the summer.

One of my buddies bought a small boat a few years ago. It was maybe a 24-footer with an inboard motor. I went on it once. We went up the Delaware river and back. It was too noisy to have a conversation, and I was bored out of my mind after 20 minutes. He sold it because none of his family were interested in cruising the Delaware either.
It was a hot day, and when we arrived at the dock, most of the boats had people on them, just hanging out with coolers, etc. They weren't actually going anywhere. Seemed like one of the seven circles of hell to me.

I think if we retired to a Caribbean island I'd like to get a small catamaran to futz around in. Nothing crazy, just something I could use close to shore to visit different beaches and snorkel from.

[Askel]

Racecars. 

How dumb are racecars? 

So dumb that buying an RV to use when attending events is often considered a money saving move.

Glad I saw the light on that one long ago.  Bicycles are way more fun and a hell of a lot cheaper. 

[GuitarStv]

I have a friend who (I guess along with his wife) owns two horses.  He doesn't have a farm or anything . . . so he pays for a place for them to be stabled.  And pays for feed.  And vet bills.  And they need expensive shit like saddles.  And it's really far away, so it's more than an hour drive out of the city to get there.  And they need to pay for someone to pay attention to the horses when they can't make it up there.

All so that they can be ridden for an hour or so 30ish times a year.  That's gotta be up there on crazy expenses.

[Dicey]

I have a friend who (I guess along with his wife) owns two horses.  He doesn't have a farm or anything . . . so he pays for a place for them to be stabled.  And pays for feed.  And vet bills.  And they need expensive shit like saddles.  And it's really far away, so it's more than an hour drive out of the city to get there.  And they need to pay for someone to pay attention to the horses when they can't make it up there.

All so that they can be ridden for an hour or so 30ish times a year.  That's gotta be up there on crazy expenses.

There are some horsey people in my orbit. They are not mustachians. Whoops, in one case he tries to be, but she's the horse person: it's a losing battle.

Oh and you forgot Farrier bills, and probably lots of other things.

[lutorm]

Wait, no one's mentioned airplanes???

[iris lily]

Those options are all pretty terrible. Sister-in-law is always coming up with new schemes like shopping for an RV that she thinks we should share with her. Or a beach cabin we can take turns using. I keep telling her that it would be cheaper and more fun to go to Europe every year. If I’m going to blow that much money, I want a real bed and nice restaurants. Not camping-quality accommodations. And not all the work of maintaining and cleaning an RV or cabin, which I have zero interest in doing.

I agree wholeheartedly with this.

[nedwin]

I have a friend who (I guess along with his wife) owns two horses.  He doesn't have a farm or anything . . . so he pays for a place for them to be stabled.  And pays for feed.  And vet bills.  And they need expensive shit like saddles.  And it's really far away, so it's more than an hour drive out of the city to get there.  And they need to pay for someone to pay attention to the horses when they can't make it up there.

All so that they can be ridden for an hour or so 30ish times a year.  That's gotta be up there on crazy expenses.

There are some horsey people in my orbit. They are not mustachians. Whoops, in one case he tries to be, but she's the horse person: it's a losing battle.

Oh and you forgot Farrier bills, and probably lots of other things.

All reasons why a horse's shit is green

[GuitarStv]

I have a friend who (I guess along with his wife) owns two horses.  He doesn't have a farm or anything . . . so he pays for a place for them to be stabled.  And pays for feed.  And vet bills.  And they need expensive shit like saddles.  And it's really far away, so it's more than an hour drive out of the city to get there.  And they need to pay for someone to pay attention to the horses when they can't make it up there.

All so that they can be ridden for an hour or so 30ish times a year.  That's gotta be up there on crazy expenses.

There are some horsey people in my orbit. They are not mustachians. Whoops, in one case he tries to be, but she's the horse person: it's a losing battle.

Oh and you forgot Farrier bills, and probably lots of other things.

All reasons why a horse's shit is green

The horse itself is also not cheap.

[simonsez]

Helicopter tour on Kauai. We got a local discount and it was only $250 per person. Were were hot and dizzy the whole time. We both focused on trying not to vomit.

We had a conversation afterwards and if someone paid us $250 each to take another tour in the next 30 minutes, we wouldn't do it.

I had never been to Hawaii before and went earlier this year.  Did a modicum of research on the heli tours and reading that the locals didn't care much for it, ultimately decided I'd rather chill on a beach after hiking around Waimea Canyon all day.  I do not have the best stomach for vertical/horizontal dynamics so it sounds like I made the correct choice!

When hiking in Waimea Canyon and Koke'e, however, the heli people overhead were quite a nuisance.  I'm not used to hearing helis when hiking - or if I do on a rare occasion, I assume someone is in trouble and needs an airlift.  Five min after one peters out of earshot, another would come roaring back.  Still a great day, but man, that was obnoxious at times.  Satisfied sweat after working on the calves and the other major muscle groups getting stretched out going up and down, finally sitting on a rock slowly drinking in water overlooking the tranquil valley beyond Waipo'o Falls and then <insert screeching/whirring heli onomatopoeia>.  I had assumed those people up in the sky paying premium dinero for the Jurassic Park-esque views were having a good time!

Also, watching the multiple whale watching tour boats frantically chase whales around the south side of Maui (Maalaea Bay) while looking on (for free) from the slight peninsula that juts out from McGregor Point Lighthouse made me happy not to be on one of those, either.  I've done one whale watching tour while passing through Husavik (Skjalfandi Bay, northern Iceland) and admittedly thoroughly enjoyed that one and the captain was not aggressive at all in following the whales.  We went on a pre-planned route which we would come across wildlife including puffins/auks instead of directly following the cetaceans around the bay.  Excursions while visiting can be really hard to research ahead of time.  So much variability.  For my own embarrassment, Stingray City in Grand Cayman was interesting historically and biologically but couldn't help but feel like an asshole after one of the tour guides kept diving into the shallow bay to retrieve large shells with living crustaceans in them so that the tourists could have a souvenir shell (didn't do any stingray feeding personally but it was omnipresent). 

[ender]

Racecars. 

How dumb are racecars? 

I worked with someone once who was super frugal. He had great perspective on everything and as an engineer was making really good money for the CoL.

At some point I realized though he mostly was frugal so he could fund his hobby cars. The amount of his income percentage wise he spent on those was insane.