UNfrugal things and why you do them

[KevinW]

Back in my bachelor days I developed a taste for fast cars and audiophile-grade stereos, and I haven't been able to wean myself of either. I do what I can to contain costs, but nonetheless I'd spend less on 'generic' products. Ultimately I decided that I appreciate those things enough, that the daily enjoyment they provide is worth the premium I pay.

[gt0163c]

I like a couple of different comic books and buy them each month (or when they come out) at the local comic book store. It's more expensive than having a mail order subscription, but I like to support the local comic book store as it's also the only place locally that sells geeky board and card games. Plus, they're great at letting you try things out. My comic book habit costs me about $10/month.

I also wear expensive socks. Morino wool are my favorite. I try to pick them up on sale (thank goodness for Campmor), but I find them so much more comfortable and they've helped to cut down on the number of blisters and other little foot annoyances that I've dealt with most of my life. (I've got weird feet).

[tryingtobefrugal]

First, let me say that I personally think what being frugal is all about is not spending money on things that are not important so you have money for the important things - things that bring us the most joy, etc. Obviously important things include needs like food, shelter, etc other times they include safety and security, like retirement savings, an emergency fund. For me, being frugal is about not wasting money on something that doesn't bring me as much joy as something else I could be saving it for or spending it on. I don't see the point of just saving money if you never ever plan to use it. I save with a purpose.

Anyway, we have several, lots of things we could surely do without and just sock the money away, but we have savings and we have retirement set, so we forgo other things to make these happen.

We are sending DD to montessori school for 1st grade next year. This is important to us as M school fits her personality perfectly and we know she will excel there and probably flounder in a traditional school setting. We see the benefit of this all the time (she is there for Kindergarten now).

We pay through the nose for my husband to park in his office building in the city - he did the public transportation commute for 3 years and was miserable (his commute was literally 90 minutes + each way, nevermind the days when the subway caused him to miss the last train for 2 hours or stopped and trapped him on it for hours, etc) and having a parking spot brings that down to 45-60 min each way. We have tried to find him a job closer to home (and moving closer to the job would mean literally halving or more the size our house for the same money) - but now with the economy, we don't feel switching jobs is a good idea - even though the parking is expensive it makes a big difference in his quality of life.

Last, cable TV, we have the HDTV DVR, etc and it costs, but again, its generally our only entertainment and with DH working hard, he wants to be able to watch his sports when he gets home and I don't think its fair to take that away from him.

[amyschiff]

My fiance and I both enjoy playing MMORPG's (like world of warcraft) on our computers. It's actually something that we had an immediate bond over. We pay $14.99/month (each) for a subscription to play our MMORPG, Warhammer Online.

I do feel guilty sometimes because $30/month is a lot for entertainment, but compared to movie ticket prices it's not that bad--just going to see 2 movies per month would cost the same (or more) and we definitely get a lot more hours of enjoyment out of it.

That said, we have no problem with canceling our subscriptions if they no longer fit in our budget.

[lori63]

I get my hair colored, and during the summer I get a good perm.

[khorrell]

My husband is deployed with the military, and there is very little that I won't indulge him. Really nice sheets and a memory foam mattress pad, green tea that he likes, nice toilet paper, and a fortune on postage. It's the only way I can support him right now and so I'm glad to splurge.

[Delairen]

Electricity. My husband and I both have computers, which we leave on all the time, not to mention various electronics and chargers and lights and everything else that we should probably be turning off more or even better, unplugging.

But being able to walk up to my desk and immediately check my email or look something up is really essential to my day to day happiness. And it would drive me nuts to run around replugging things in if we were to do the right thing and go around unplugging them.

Del

[creditgoddess]

My unfrugal expenditures: Starbucks and Grain-Free Cat Food

It's doesn't matter how many people point out to me the costs of having my morning latte, I refuse to budge on this one. I believe that everyone is entitled to one guilty pleasure and Starbucks is mine. Now I am a Gold member so I get 10 percent off my Starbucks purchases which approximately saves me $170/year.

The grain-free cat food is a must in my household. My cat, Smokey, used to get urinary blockages when I had him on regular cat food. Note: those can be life threatening for a male cat. That used to cost me $700 per vet visit. So the $44 bag of cat food might look expensive but in the end it saves.

[starshard0]

Sometimes (like once every month or so) I go out with freinds to eat. I usually spend around $15. It's one of the few expenses that I have, but it's certainly not frugal.

[rabidpotatochip]

I buy cookbooks. Even though there are literally millions of recipes freely available on the Internet I just love flipping through a book, especially one with those pictures of the dishes that clearly aren't even real food but look so good you want to lick the page.