Changing money habits that no longer serve you

[bluecollarmusician]

Anybody successfully change a particular money habit(s) that served you in the past, but doesn't really seem to serve you in the present?

It's hard changing long held habits or values, and this topic or variations of it have come up in many places over the last couple of years: I think partially driven by the amount of time that folks like MMM have been in the public eye, partially driven by the investment gains people have seen over the last few decades, partly driven social factors and changing perceptions about FIRE and how to best use resources available.

A good line to sum up my thoughts is the "what got you here, won't get you there."

I have recognized new "responsibility" with a financial situation that has changed somewhat faster than I have been able to change my "lens" through which I view it.  Spending $20 is still applied to the same rigorous consideration as it was 10 years ago, yet with the expansion of my "life" (business, responsibilities, and assets) there are a lot more $20 decisions.  It can be exhausting. Mostly, I have gotten a lot better at stuff like this- little things that bring us joy or that solve simple pita type problems are easily solved and are barely a blip on the accounting radar.  But my habit is still to analyze every single decision, especially ones that involve larger amounts of money- not Big money, but just larger amounts of money.

One old habit is on infrequent medium expense purchases like say a computer/phone/appliance- I can easily spend months or years deciding to acquire the item in question, when at this stage of our life I think I have already learned plenty the lessons of delayed gratification.  But as a man approaching ... ahem.... 50, the lesson is that I can do without indefinitely, and it doesn't really matter if I get the "deal" or not.

I still love the deal- and I think one of the habits I would like to change or at least evolve a bit is learn to enjoy the "thing" whatever it is without being stuck in the place where I only enjoy the "thing" if I feel I got good value or got the "Deal"-- this habit served me very well for a long time, but the amount of mental bandwidth it takes isn't worth it any more.  I think a lot of my identity has been tied up in being frugal- almost for frugal sake, and have allocated some sense of self worth to being able to get things done well and for not much money.

That's just an example for me... wondering if anyone has dealt with this in evolving their mindset?
Fwiw- it's not like we are about to fall into a life of wild hedonism- it's more a recognition that we have resources that need to be allocated appropriately.  Otherwise, it will all just go to charity and our nieces and nephews when we go.  And that's fine... but would prefer to see it used a little bit better while we are alive.

[bluecollarmusician]

Just to add- one thing I have noticed particularly: it's very difficult for me to spend money on something I view as a luxury item for myself. I recognize this is a deeply held belief that it is somehow "wrong."  For people I love, it is fairly easy.

We are very generous with our families- and it's easy for me to do.  For our parents specifically, there is no limit; anything they want or need it is easy to do/spend and also I would happily deprive myself to make sure they have whatever they need that I can provide.  Also I recognize that for my wife as well, it is much easier for me to spend $$ on certain things if I know it will make her really happy, but if it is something that I "want" it is much more difficult- as a matter of fact I am not sure that I can really spend money on (what I view) as an extravagant or unneeded purchase without justifying it to myself in some way. (That's how I end up with so many trumpets :-). It's a tax write-off, I use it to make money, it will pay for itself, I can sell for more than I paid for it, etc.)

I think that one habit I would like to change, is to allow myself to sometimes, on certain occasions do something nice just for me- just because I want to without justification.  But I find this really hard to do.

[2Birds1Stone]

Posting to follow mainly......it's a constant work in progress.

We've definitely stopped optimizing one off small purchases, but still avoid recurring expenses, no matter how small (example: sitting on my computer yesterday deleting useless photos/videos in my Google Photos account to avoid upgrading from the 100GB to 200GB plan for an extra $1/month lol!)

We also stopped worrying about spending inefficiently on things that we will use often/and or for a long time. When I bought my current laptop a few years ago, I spent 6 months researching and debating while trying to fix my old one........we just got an email from Google letting us know we're the lucky winners of defective Pixel 6A phones which are due to get an Android update on July 8th which will cut both their battery capacity AND charging performance.........we travel a lot and use our phones for MANY things......so we're going to be replacing them with newer Iphones and not even thinking twice about the cost.

I also used to get very worked up over perceived overspending at restaurants and cafes but now chalk off the spending as paying for the experience rather than the consumable item and gladly go out to eat or for a $4-5 coffee if it means spending some social time with friends/family for whom this is a normal occurance.

We're about to buy *gasp* a new or almost new car in the next few weeks......we could easily spend 1/3 on an old 10-15 year old beater, but we've driven those for 20 years to be able to afford a new one for just 2% of our net worth.........

Now that we've seemingly won the game, it makes little sense to try to be as efficient as possible.

[Pam]

Just to add- one thing I have noticed particularly: it's very difficult for me to spend money on something I view as a luxury item for myself. I recognize this is a deeply held belief that it is somehow "wrong."  For people I love, it is fairly easy.

So glad you posted this!  I thought I must be the only person who felt this way.  Even after being FIRE for about seven years, I am waffling over buy a pair of workout, bike shorts that will probably not cost $20! LOL

[bluecollarmusician]

We've definitely stopped optimizing one off small purchases, but still avoid recurring expenses, no matter how small (example: sitting on my computer yesterday deleting useless photos/videos in my Google Photos account to avoid upgrading from the 100GB to 200GB plan for an extra $1/month lol!) 

bro... fml. This is me.  Sometimes.  Still on the 100GB plan, still pissed about the $2 a month, or whatever it is. Absolutely hate the recurring monthly charges....

We also stopped worrying about spending inefficiently on things that we will use often/and or for a long time. When I bought my current laptop a few years ago, I spent 6 months researching and debating while trying to fix my old one........we just got an email from Google letting us know we're the lucky winners of defective Pixel 6A phones which are due to get an Android update on July 8th which will cut both their battery capacity AND charging performance.........we travel a lot and use our phones for MANY things......so we're going to be replacing them with newer Iphones and not even thinking twice about the cost. ....

We're about to buy *gasp* a new or almost new car in the next few weeks......we could easily spend 1/3 on an old 10-15 year old beater, but we've driven those for 20 years to be able to afford a new one for just 2% of our net worth.........

Now that we've seemingly won the game, it makes little sense to try to be as efficient as possible.

@2Birds1Stone ...These are great examples of changing mindset... did you do anything consciously, or did it happen gradually?  Old habits die hard.  I go back and forth hourly, daily.  Very good on the aspect you mentioned about spending money with for/friends family.  That one is easy for me.  I think nearly half of our spending last year on food/eating out (while on tour!!) was buying meals for family and friends and similar splurges. 

[Sandi_k]

I don't like recurring charges, either.

So one way we're easing into a lifestyle of non-optimizing-everything? Do one-time upgrades My favorite ones revolve around travel.

When we fly SWest, we sometimes pay extra to get in Group A1-15; on a recent trip, we paid to check a bag, rather than me dragging it through two large airports.

We will now sometimes order a cocktail when out with friends, something we hardly ever did for almost all of our adult lives.

I find these small upgrades really make me feel like I am splurging, but it's limited in its effects on the budget.

[Dicey]

Last year, I got Covid en route to visiting the grandkids. I didn't test positive until we got there. I isolated in the RV and decided to take Paxlovid. I called Kaiser for a scrip and was told it would not be covered. I was pretty sure they were wrong (they were). Then I discovered that no one local had it in stock. I literally had one hour to decide if I was willing to spend $1700 OOP. It was surprisingly difficult, but I pulled the trigger, because I didn't want the grandkids to get sick.

Currently, we're planning a trip to Ireland. Hotels are averaging $200/night with breakfast and VAT. We have 750k IHG points. We haven't had to pay cash for a hotel room in over a decade, maybe more. It's coming as quite a shock, but we're doing it anyway. We also just $125 each to upgrade to bulkhead seats, but only on the outbound leg.

The struggle is real, my friend.

[Smokystache]

I struggle with this. I'm still walking through the house turning off lights, turning up the thermostat a degree when DS is looking and hope she doesn't notice the change. But 2 things helps me sometimes.

1) If the transaction directly involves another person (waiter, trades, artist, etc), then I trick myself into thinking that I'm helping them out with a decent tip, etc. I cannot control Congress, but I can provide economic stimulus to my people in my corner of the world. I imagine patting myself on the back and saying, "Good job. You've earned/saved enough to give back ... just like one of those Italian princes who was a patron of the arts." So as long as I feel like I get good service and some acknowledgement as a human being (I'm not a patron of pricks), then I try to see it as my way of being part of the economic cycle/stimuls.

2) I am 50+, but love Lego sets. But they are "expensive" -- but I will easily spend the same amount on dinner once in a while without much thought and the Lego set will provide me with objectively more pleasure. So I try to compare new spending with old spending (in a favorable way): Lego set is $80, but wil provide me with 6 hours of pure bliss ... which is surely worth just as much as getting that takeout Mexican for the family last night.

Now if you excuse me, it's a *little* too cool in here and I need to adjust the thermostat....

[Dicey]

Related: DH and I were talking this morning. Our latest auto insurance bill sparked the convo. In five years, our bill has doubled. We've had zero claims, and we're driving the same vehicles. His 2002 truck has liability only, the rest is for my 2014 Toyota. We also pay low mileage rates, because we are not commuters.

In the 10-ish years we've owned this house, the electricity bill has doubled, with fewer people in the house. The water bill has increased by 50% and we've removed all the grass. Homeowner's insurance has nearly quadrupled.

And don't get me started on insurance on the rentals...

We have DH has rate shopped like [a] fiend and continue(s) to do so.

In the big picture, once we get over the sticker shock, none of these hikes have any effect on our day-to-day lives. That's a rare privilege.

[chasingthegoodlife]

When I was a DINK I enjoyed the challenge of optimising all our perks and rebates, including some credit card churning.

Now that I’m a parent, I would rather use that mental space for something else. Especially anything that requires me to remember future tasks and deadlines. I keep a list of financial tasks in our family spreadsheet and tackle them when I have time, focusing on the bigger pay offs first (eg refinancing our mortgage vs changing phone plans to save $5 a month)

I feel a little strange about leaving money on the table, but I don’t need any more commitments right now.

[bluecollarmusician]

I don't like recurring charges, either.

So one way we're easing into a lifestyle of non-optimizing-everything? Do one-time upgrades My favorite ones revolve around travel.

@Sandi_k  Yes!  This is a good one- although I have trouble finding the sweet-spot for what I am "willing to pay" for almost any kind of upgrade.

Flying business class is one I see talked about a lot in places these days where "rich people are trying to find out how to not be so cheap."  In my experience- our transatlantic flights cost 700-800/person for coach.  For "premium" economy, it's around $2000 (more than double) and for business class it would be usually $4k+.  For us, for a 7 hour flight, the premium economy perks aren't that much... maybe because we are both medium height  and size, and used to a smaller car...but premium economy is a little nicer... but we don't see a massive improvement in comfort until you get a lie flat seat... and while we COULD afford this, the practical side of me knows just how much good we can do for my parent's -in-law.  That 6-7 thousand extra feels a lot to spend a on a few hours on the plane ride when we could use the same money to help with their bill over the winter, take them out for meals, etc. 

Now of course this is a bit of a value call early on as assets are on the way up.  But now we are in a position where we could do BOTH of those things without any impact, but the KNOWLEDGE of how much more we can do with that money is a real hang up for me.

Anyway- I like the ideas that you mentioned, and I think it's great to be able to find places where you benefit where the cost/value ratio seems to make sense.  With travel I have a hard time doing that- in many cases the cost just seems out of whack to the benefit.

[bluecollarmusician]

Last year, I got Covid en route to visiting the grandkids. I didn't test positive until we got there. I isolated in the RV and decided to take Paxlovid. I called Kaiser for a scrip and was told it would not be covered. I was pretty sure they were wrong (they were). Then I discovered that no one local had it in stock. I literally had one hour to decide if I was willing to spend $1700 OOP. It was surprisingly difficult, but I pulled the trigger, because I didn't want the grandkids to get sick.

Currently, we're planning a trip to Ireland. Hotels are averaging $200/night with breakfast and VAT. We have 750k IHG points. We haven't had to pay cash for a hotel room in over a decade, maybe more. It's coming as quite a shock, but we're doing it anyway. We also just $125 each to upgrade to bulkhead seats, but only on the outbound leg.

The struggle is real, my friend.

@Dicey  I think the $1700OOP expense is a perfect example of when you face a difficult situation to just let money solve it. Obviously not ideal- but the backstop of all that money is perfect when life slaps you in the face. 
And I try not to take that feeling for granted- the freedom we feel and lack of worry generally over those kinds of things is the real gift we have given ourselves.

Also- as we have just booked some travel I also am facing serious sticker shock over hotels!! :-0

[bluecollarmusician]

I struggle with this. I'm still walking through the house turning off lights, turning up the thermostat a degree when DS is looking and hope she doesn't notice the change. But 2 things helps me sometimes.

1) If the transaction directly involves another person (waiter, trades, artist, etc), then I trick myself into thinking that I'm helping them out with a decent tip, etc. I cannot control Congress, but I can provide economic stimulus to my people in my corner of the world. I imagine patting myself on the back and saying, "Good job. You've earned/saved enough to give back ... just like one of those Italian princes who was a patron of the arts." So as long as I feel like I get good service and some acknowledgement as a human being (I'm not a patron of pricks), then I try to see it as my way of being part of the economic cycle/stimuls.

2) I am 50+, but love Lego sets. But they are "expensive" -- but I will easily spend the same amount on dinner once in a while without much thought and the Lego set will provide me with objectively more pleasure. So I try to compare new spending with old spending (in a favorable way): Lego set is $80, but wil provide me with 6 hours of pure bliss ... which is surely worth just as much as getting that takeout Mexican for the family last night.

Now if you excuse me, it's a *little* too cool in here and I need to adjust the thermostat....

@Smokystache Thank you!!! This is exactly the kinds of thing I was wondering about- it's so hard to "reprogram" certain habits- especially the ones tied to those deep-down values we hold dear.  It's like abandoning a core principle and you almost have to trick yourself- despite the fact that you can often recognize that what you are doing makes no sense at all...

[bluecollarmusician]

I feel a little strange about leaving money on the table, but I don’t need any more commitments right now.

@chasingthegoodlife that's a good point- how changing priorities can change where we optimize.

I've definitely gone through a lot of that over the last couple of years and we have crossed a couple of real tipping points. 

I have loosened a lot on relentless tracking, and have allowed several big "things" to slide which were huge financial "poor" choices, simply because it wasn't what BCW and I wanted to do, or the headache of dealing with it would have detracted from how awesome our current life is.

2 quick examples, both real estate related.

1) We have travelled a lot over the last 3 years.  We likely left over $100k go up in smoke, as our beach front condo is premium rental real estate and we could have easily rented to a top quality renter.  We just didn't want to get the place ready, and we just wanted to walk back in the door when we came back.

2) We have a condo in mexico that for a variety of reasons has turned into a dumpster fire.  TL, not interested in going into all the details but the shorter version is that while we love the area and the place- but it's going through a crisis.  Rather than deal with it, I have been an absent owner, and basically recognize that the value of the condo could easily disappear from our balance sheet and it would have been about the same as a bad in the markets back in April.  Bad, but not EOTW scenario.  I'll deal with it- eventually. 

So these are obvious places where I a not optimized at all :-/

I have thought a lot about this question: how to change money habits, and why I am struggling so much with making some changes...

For me, frugality, a strong sense of value, and a heavy work ethic were essential parts of how I got to FI. But for me, I am recognizing...they’re more than habits — they form a kind of web of thinking (much like the ERE “web of goals”), where each belief reinforces the others. That’s made them durable, but also stubborn.

Take value-seeking. I don’t just like a good deal — I get a sense of rightness and emotional satisfaction from finding one. There’s a moral weight to frugality that runs deep, probably rooted in farm values, Depression-era hand-me-down thinking, and just the general sense that wastefulness isn’t just inefficient — it’s wrong. 

Same with work. We crossed the financial threshold a while ago, but I still find myself driven to work hard. Some of that’s for artistic expression, connection, and fulfillment — all good stuff — but there’s also this buried belief that not working is irresponsible, lazy, or even immoral.

So when I try to shift — to not optimize every dollar, to not fill every hour with productivity — I don’t just feel resistance. I feel a kind of systemic backlash. These parts of my thinking aren’t just isolated thoughts — they’re actually pillars of a whole worldview that aren't immediately obvious. Loosening one shakes the whole structure.

I’m wondering if anyone else here has gone through this. If you’ve evolved beyond early-stage FIRE thinking or have tried to reprogram systems that used to serve you but don’t anymore:

How did you do it?

What helped you shift the internal reward mechanisms?

What replaced those old moral anchors when you let go of them?

This feels like one of the deeper challenges of “life after FIRE” — not financial at all, but philosophical.

[chasesfish]

April of 2019 FIREy cohort here.

This has been a signficiant challenge over our six plus years of not working.   The market / inflation did not help, 11 months in we had the 'rona market scare, 2022's market tanked with rapid inflation (along with my landlord terminating our lease), and got a little scare from market tariff tantrump part duex.

We've had a few occasions in there where it felt like the market / asset growth tossed us into the "far more than we ever need category", first at the end of 2021, then finally getting past some hurdles when in October of 2023.

A few things some FIREy people smarter than me have said that resonated with me:

- "Don't get upset at convienience prices.  It is the price if you want it immediately" - That was from Doug Nordman, talking about using the Safeway next to his house for quick purchases vs. Costco or the commisary, which is a much bigger time commitment for better prices.   We have to be careful as valuists not to start stomping around mad when we need/want something quick and pay a premium for it.

- "At a certain wealth level, it's basically free" - JL Collins on how much energy to give the sub $50 expenses.   Heard this on a recent interview and he said something similar over lunch to me one winter. 


This isn't about breaking habits that led to your success, but more about asking how can money make your life more enjoyable.   One small example this year is we've spent money on both our sprinkler and hvac control systems to conver them into wireless capability.   Small dollars, high quality of life improvement. 

[JupiterGreen]

April of 2019 FIREy cohort here.

This has been a signficiant challenge over our six plus years of not working.   The market / inflation did not help, 11 months in we had the 'rona market scare, 2022's market tanked with rapid inflation (along with my landlord terminating our lease), and got a little scare from market tariff tantrump part duex.

We've had a few occasions in there where it felt like the market / asset growth tossed us into the "far more than we ever need category", first at the end of 2021, then finally getting past some hurdles when in October of 2023.

A few things some FIREy people smarter than me have said that resonated with me:

- "Don't get upset at convienience prices.  It is the price if you want it immediately" - That was from Doug Nordman, talking about using the Safeway next to his house for quick purchases vs. Costco or the commisary, which is a much bigger time commitment for better prices.   We have to be careful as valuists not to start stomping around mad when we need/want something quick and pay a premium for it.

- "At a certain wealth level, it's basically free" - JL Collins on how much energy to give the sub $50 expenses.   Heard this on a recent interview and he said something similar over lunch to me one winter. 


This isn't about breaking habits that led to your success, but more about asking how can money make your life more enjoyable.   One small example this year is we've spent money on both our sprinkler and hvac control systems to conver them into wireless capability.   Small dollars, high quality of life improvement.

This is great and very helpful quotes. I would love to hear the JL Collins comment in context, do you remember what podcast it was? And did you get another rental or did you decide to buy? Just curious if you pivoted and how it impacted the 'stache.

[bluecollarmusician]

This isn't about breaking habits that led to your success, but more about asking how can money make your life more enjoyable.   One small example this year is we've spent money on both our sprinkler and hvac control systems to conver them into wireless capability.   Small dollars, high quality of life improvement.

Thanks for the quotes @chasesfish and for sharing your experience.  All valuable.  And a good reminder, that there is ebb and flow.

I like this idea that it's not about breaking those habits.  That might make it easier.  A real rub for me is the (seemingly) moral dilemma about taking the "easy" way out when some more front end loaded scheme would somehow (mathematically) be a "cheaper" solution.  Something that resonates there is the YMOYL bit about decoupling work and money- so that you value work ASIDE from the money.  In the same way, learning to value things - certain quality of life things separate from dollars and cents is what I am aiming for- thanks for the insights.

This is great and very helpful quotes. I would love to hear the JL Collins comment in context, do you remember what podcast it was? And did you get another rental or did you decide to buy? Just curious if you pivoted and how it impacted the 'stache.

@JupiterGreen don't mean to speak for @chasesfish but I am pretty sure they bought a TH in Florida- convenient for surfing :-)

BTW- chasesfish- nice job on the upgrades.  That sounds like an excellent splurge.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Like some previous posters have mentioned, we keep a close eye on recurring expenses.

But, I'm at a point where i'm considering abandoning our tracking of every purchase. It's just getting to be a PITA, and it's not really driving any change at this point. We generally know where we are spending, do a reasonable job aligning our spending to our values, and I'm asking myself if the value of the time invested is worth the results.

I'm going back to work after a yearish off, and got a job that paid more than I expected. DH is in the process of interviewing, and if he also gets a job (seems pretty likely), than we will have a lot of disposable income. We will continue to make sure we are spending it aligned with our values, although it seems pretty likely that some other small amount will go to convenience - someone to clean our house, more ready to heat & eat food, etc.

[Dicey]

I just realized that the trip we just took is a good example of this. We wanted to attend Aspen Food & Wine 2025, but we weren't about to drop $3k per person, especially because we don't drink, so we volunteered and got a free "play day." While we were there, we did a ton of DIY stuff at the kid's house, we had a blast sourcing materials at the dump.* Of course we could have easily paid retail for everything, but where's the fun in that?

*Excruciating detail in the last page or two of my journal.

[Sandi_k]

I don't like recurring charges, either.

So one way we're easing into a lifestyle of non-optimizing-everything? Do one-time upgrades My favorite ones revolve around travel.

@Sandi_k  Yes!  This is a good one- although I have trouble finding the sweet-spot for what I am "willing to pay" for almost any kind of upgrade.

Flying business class is one I see talked about a lot in places these days where "rich people are trying to find out how to not be so cheap." 

< snip > That 6-7 thousand extra feels a lot to spend a on a few hours on the plane ride when we could use the same money to help with their bill over the winter, take them out for meals, etc. 

Anyway- I like the ideas that you mentioned, and I think it's great to be able to find places where you benefit where the cost/value ratio seems to make sense.  With travel I have a hard time doing that- in many cases the cost just seems out of whack to the benefit.

Yeah, we have never upgraded to business class or first class - that is a huge hurdle for me as well. The only instances where I might consider it would be when we take our (eventual) trips to Australia or Thailand. And by then, I expect to have enough experience (and available cash) for it not to feel too indulgent.

I'm not there yet - but I plan to be!

[2sk22]

I don't like recurring charges, either.

So one way we're easing into a lifestyle of non-optimizing-everything? Do one-time upgrades My favorite ones revolve around travel.

@Sandi_k  Yes!  This is a good one- although I have trouble finding the sweet-spot for what I am "willing to pay" for almost any kind of upgrade.

Flying business class is one I see talked about a lot in places these days where "rich people are trying to find out how to not be so cheap." 

< snip > That 6-7 thousand extra feels a lot to spend a on a few hours on the plane ride when we could use the same money to help with their bill over the winter, take them out for meals, etc. 

Anyway- I like the ideas that you mentioned, and I think it's great to be able to find places where you benefit where the cost/value ratio seems to make sense.  With travel I have a hard time doing that- in many cases the cost just seems out of whack to the benefit.

Yeah, we have never upgraded to business class or first class - that is a huge hurdle for me as well. The only instances where I might consider it would be when we take our (eventual) trips to Australia or Thailand. And by then, I expect to have enough experience (and available cash) for it not to feel too indulgent.

I'm not there yet - but I plan to be!

My wife and I always wanted to travel but barely did much leisure travel for nearly ten years. We were both working in demanding fields. From about 2016, my parents started ailing so I had to spend pretty much all of my vacation time helping them out.

After my parents passed and I retired, my wife and I have resumed traveling in the past three years. As I've mentioned in other threads, we have over-saved for retirement by a ridiculous amount and I track our spending to the last cent. Looking at the numbers, it became clear to me that that we could afford to drastically increase our spending without any fear.

And yet, I had to consciously work get over my reluctance to spend on travel. I had nightmares the first time I paid over $4k for an airline ticket. But I have gotten over that fear as our savings have only grown. We now only travel by business class on international trips and in domestic first class on any flight longer than a couple of hours.

I actually look forward to plane trips now. I enjoy waiting in business class lounges, the champagne welcome drink and lie-flat beds. We are off to Thailand to attend a destination wedding next month. The flight cost $6k per person in business class but I bought the tickets without the slightest hesitation.

One fear that people have is that increasing spending in one area might lead to increased spending in other areas but that has not happened for us. Since I track our spending so closely I know that we haven't increased spending apart from travel.

[bluecollarmusician]

@2sk22

Major kudos to you!

I admire your recognition of the process and that that you are actually doing it!

That's great.

Maybe I will find this in other areas: I have gotten better about buying better tools for DIY projects, since I realize that I save so much by doing work myself I might as well have decent tools.

Travel is a tough nut for me because we have done soooo much of it.  Part of my hang up is that travel has been baked into work for so long- and always paid for so that when it comes time to foot the bill; it's a spicy meatball!

But we all pick and choose our battles.  I haven't done lots of big long hauls since my 20's so maybe I would change my tune if I was flying to Australia routinely.  These days we fly to england a couple times a year- the flight is 7-8 hours.  We already have lounge access, free checked bags, preferred boarding, so the only thing we "get " for our money is a nicer seat.  Now, don't get me wrong- I appreciate the nicer seat... and I may come around to it yet.

But I really respect not only the work that you did to get where you are (on the front end) but also the work on the back end to make travel a pleasure and something that you and your family can look forward to. That's awesome!

The problem with my rationale about " There are so many more effective ways to use that money" is that all it really does is get reinvested in the next drip....

[bluecollarmusician]

Might be worth mentioning I’m “working” on myself.

BCW and I had planned some big, epic, once-in-a-lifetime travel for January 2024. But because of one of the last bucket-list gigs that happened to come up, we ended up having to bail on that.

We had a couple of the best years of our lives—so no regrets—but we did defer some of the other things we wanted to do.

We’ve been making and booking a trip for October/November of this year. Not the same scope as what we’d originally planned, but it fits nicely between some gigs and holiday family plans. And it’s got a couple of quality bucket list items.

As part of it, I managed to get a “great deal” on a portion of the travel—something the value-hunter in me really loves. But then we decided to do an upgrade: some "better" accommodations that I know we’ll enjoy. The truth is, we would’ve loved the original plan and accommodations... they were great too and probably wouldn’t have missed the upgrade had we not chosen it. The upgrade added maybe 25–30% to the total cost.

I know we’ll love it—but I actually felt sick to my stomach. Money-wise, it was a significant amount—several thousand dollars. But when I did the math, it amounted to 0.05% of our net worth. That’s correct: the upgrade cost 0.0005 of NW

So this really makes me question my brain and where it’s at.

This multi-thousand-dollar decision to upgrade a bucket-list trip for my wife and me has about the same impact on our finances as buying a beer from a vending machine in Japan back in 1998 did at the time. And I can tell you—I had a lot less angst over buying the beer.

So, this is part of a quest to better understand myself—and maybe also to learn from my friends here…

[Dicey]

Might be worth mentioning I’m “working” on myself.

BCW and I had planned some big, epic, once-in-a-lifetime travel for January 2024. But because of one of the last bucket-list gigs that happened to come up, we ended up having to bail on that.

We had a couple of the best years of our lives—so no regrets—but we did defer some of the other things we wanted to do.

We’ve been making and booking a trip for October/November of this year. Not the same scope as what we’d originally planned, but it fits nicely between some gigs and holiday family plans. And it’s got a couple of quality bucket list items.

As part of it, I managed to get a “great deal” on a portion of the travel—something the value-hunter in me really loves. But then we decided to do an upgrade: some "better" accommodations that I know we’ll enjoy. The truth is, we would’ve loved the original plan and accommodations... they were great too and probably wouldn’t have missed the upgrade had we not chosen it. The upgrade added maybe 25–30% to the total cost.

I know we’ll love it—but I actually felt sick to my stomach. Money-wise, it was a significant amount—several thousand dollars. But when I did the math, it amounted to 0.05% of our net worth. That’s correct: the upgrade cost 0.0005 of NW

So this really makes me question my brain and where it’s at.

This multi-thousand-dollar decision to upgrade a bucket-list trip for my wife and me has about the same impact on our finances as buying a beer from a vending machine in Japan back in 1998 did at the time. And I can tell you—I had a lot less angst over buying the beer.

So, this is part of a quest to better understand myself—and maybe also to learn from my friends here…

Today's  MPP -  .0005 of your net worth is still nothing to sneeze at.

[chasesfish]

@JupiterGreen We bought half of a duplex.  400ft from the ocean and out of the coastal flood zone.   Various reasons, but mostly about control.

JL just went on a run of shows over the last two months.   This was on Motley Fool Money on June 7th, specifically around a discussion him and Pete were having over the cost of wine at a store in Ecuador.

[JupiterGreen]

@JupiterGreen We bought half of a duplex.  400ft from the ocean and out of the coastal flood zone.   Various reasons, but mostly about control.

JL just went on a run of shows over the last two months.   This was on Motley Fool Money on June 7th, specifically around a discussion him and Pete were having over the cost of wine at a store in Ecuador.

Wow that place must be amazing and it not being in a flood zone, what a find! Thank you, I will def. check out the podcast!