What's your ONE SPLURGE?

[samburger]

ketchup, is your splurge your dog?  Or is it the professional photographer for your dog?  ;)  Your dog is beautiful!

Two very similar-looking Australian shepherds, actually (everyone says they look exactly the same, but those two pictures are of two different dogs).  Photography by the girlfriend, grooming also by the girlfriend.  Professional photography costs us $0. :)

I looked a little closer, and I can tell the difference.  BOTH of your dogs are beautiful!  And your girlfriend did a great job with the grooming and pictures. 

Gorgeous beasties, ketchup!

[ketchup]

ketchup, is your splurge your dog?  Or is it the professional photographer for your dog?  ;)  Your dog is beautiful!

Two very similar-looking Australian shepherds, actually (everyone says they look exactly the same, but those two pictures are of two different dogs).  Photography by the girlfriend, grooming also by the girlfriend.  Professional photography costs us $0. :)

I looked a little closer, and I can tell the difference.  BOTH of your dogs are beautiful!  And your girlfriend did a great job with the grooming and pictures.

Thanks!  She worked in dog grooming for a while, and now is working hard to get her photography business off the ground!

Gorgeous beasties, ketchup!

Thanks!

[CommonCents]

Monthly massages. Started getting them during pregnancy for the stress relief, now I keep getting them as my "me time". It's $50/month and I tip $20 on top of that. This is the only beauty thing I pay for since I can cut my own hair, paint my own nails, wash my own face... but I can't give myself a backrub. It helps me get mentally centered too, I love it.

Whoa, why do you tip 40%?

[Annamal]

Sushi and audiobooks.

Sushi seems to be a common theme here=)

I've made my own sushi before and it isn't too bad (although a little messy and time intensive), this might be something to explore?

In my case there's a decent sushi place that halves their prices at the end of the day, meaning I can get a decent meal for less than the cost of a starbucks coffee

[Mortgage Free Mike]

Just catching up on this thread. Picked up on two themes: dogs and sushi.  Love that! To the critic, I didn't create this thread with the intent of upsetting anyone. Quite the opposite, actually.
I believe our splurges are a glimpse into what makes us HAPPY! There's always room for that in the budget.

P.S. - Meet Lucy.

[HappierAtHome]

Seeing photos of cute dogs sure makes me happy :D so keep those coming, everyone!

[travelbug]

Travel and organic food.

[Tacosrocket]

I have too many! Chocolate, beer, Chick-fa-le, and night clubs. And it was clothing (at places like ross and only good sales at the mall, not fresh out of the expense guzzler) until having enough in my closet to look beautiful everyday, so that one is eliminated for the time being (Yes MMM, and young ladies, you don't have to wear ripped jeans and baggy used t-shirts to save money on clothing!).

[mamagoose]

Monthly massages. Started getting them during pregnancy for the stress relief, now I keep getting them as my "me time". It's $50/month and I tip $20 on top of that. This is the only beauty thing I pay for since I can cut my own hair, paint my own nails, wash my own face... but I can't give myself a backrub. It helps me get mentally centered too, I love it.

Whoa, why do you tip 40%?

I came up with the $20 because I always like to tip generously for their time (not as generous with waiters but these girls work hard). The $50 rate is for members, normally it's like $80/hr so I wanted to tip them based on the full rate instead of the member discounted rate. Plus they remember me the next time I go in there and when I see them around town (happens a lot, small neighborhood). I've had bad massages before where I didn't tip at all, and so-so massages where I tipped 10%, but these girls are wonderful and it makes me happy to be generous.

[EK]

Well, since everyone else is doing it, these are my little "splurges".  Mustachians apparently have very adorable pets!

[Deev]

My splurge is restaurant food.

I know it costs a lot over time, and I try to be good and eat at home most of the time, but sometimes I want some good food... or sometimes some Taco Bell.

[sleepyguy]

One!?! LOL... I'm hoping to clean up my act in March :)

February has been pretty expensive... headphones, games, electronics, laundry room reno... plus got some repairs done on the car.  Spent something like $1500, and it's only 12 days in!!!

Bit tough as my SO is on parental leave effectively eliminating her 6fig salary, lol.

But good news I managed go get a side job setting up a small network for a dental office for a friends friend.  They get the friendly rate of $50/hr :)

[DTown]

Uhoh. You guys have caught me.

Mine is mountaineering, snowboard alpine touring, rock and ice climbing, and mountain biking trips. Almost all of my trips are within the state, but 2/3rds of my driving is for these almost weekly trips. Even with carpooling, the associated cost of gas and maintenance on my cheap old car probably adds up to $2k/year. $500/year for a season pass to the ski resorts isn't cheap. I probably spend another $1500/year on equipment for all these sports, since it DOES wear out when you use it all the time. Another $1500/year is spent on motels and food when it's 0F out and I don't want to sleep in a tent/car and when I don't want to cook. (I could probably cut down on food costs here...).

Having said that the $5000-$6000 I likely spend on it per year is absolutely worth it to me for the crazy adventures and memories. It is definitely worth retiring later for.

[SpinGeek]

Living in a "planned community". Truman show jokes aside, we love it here. But damn, it's expensive in comparison to the other subdivision a mile away.

And good yarn/spinning fiber. But that comes out of my $15 allowance and provides hours of entertainment. Not to mention warm clothes for our -4 degree F. mornings this winter.

[citrine]

We have a few....our cats, cable, tools, and travel.

[SAHD]

my kids, big time splurge

[wordygirl]

Flushable wipes.

Originally bought for the kids when they were learning how to use the toilet and didn't always do a very thorough job of wiping. But once I tried them, and it was so much nicer than dry paper...I just couldn't go back.

[Insanity]

Cable. And it is a splurge in two aspects --

1) Money (though we have cut out a bit)
2) Time

We watch way too much TV, but it makes the amount of money we spend on the cable seem like a small amount based on usage…

[jhartt3]

One splurge ... Man if i only had 1

1. We Vacation (alot) but most is free b/c i travel 40% for my job so our vacations total 4-5k/ year out of pocket
2. Boat - I own a boat
3. Dogs
4. She has cable.  It will be gone in 1 year again. B/c the discount she is getting will be gone.

Man look at all that waste in our budget. 

Vacation 5000
Boat     - dock 250 gas 500 maint 400 storage 350 cost of money that could be invested 20k*.055% - 1100 boat total 2600
Dogs 150/month = 1800
Cable 50/month = 600

Total budget increase for our pure pleasure .  10000 a year give or take. 

[ChrisM]

After eliminating most of my splurges, the one I can't seem to get rid of is my art education classes.  They cost me $100/month.  It's not a ton of money considering what it is, but I could probably do it all on my own and save that $100/month.  I'm starting to get really close to cancelling it and just working completely on my own.  Undecided still though.

[sheepstache]

I do Tae Kwon Do.  It's way too big a percentage of my budget.  But I figure I'm saving money down the road by maintaining good musco-skeletal health?  The "What you wish you knew when you were 30" thread has provided confirmation (bias) of this :)

[SweetLife]

Travel to Madeira, Portugal ... other side of the family visit :) Can't wait to go after the baby is born this year! We will be there for 6-8 months (and then won't be back for at least 2 years). 

I think that for us family is the most important part of our lives ... and I am willing to work longer in order to keep us all as close as possible.

[zolotiyeruki]

Five and a half kids.  And a big house to go with them.  Still trying to convince the bosses to move us an hour east into Indiana--it would mean a 10% raise straight off for me, thanks to the stupidly high tax rates in IL.

[Meggslynn]

Quality Food = all organic food and humanely raised/organic meat = $$$

Gourmet Food = nice cheeses, homemade pasta (not by us), wine, fresh herbs, etc.

[Cwadda]

Videogames - I'm such a sucker for nostalgia.

[Dee18]

My daughter's private school tuition

[Cassie]

3 very spoiled rescued Maltese dogs and eating out!!! The babies have been worth every penny I have spent on them.