What do you ‘enjoy’ spending money on?

amother

Jade

Wed, Mar 17 2021, 12:43 am

amother [ Cerulean ] wrote:

I'm going with experiences (and they're not always about you). My best friend and I did a girls trip to Rhode Island for a week to see the gorgeous Newport mansions and roam around antique shops. My husband and I travel to gorgeous, exotic locations and have amazing, 5 star luxury experiences. I take my kids to Busch Gardens in Orlando or to Atlantis, in the Bahamas, because it makes us all happy. We don't buy fancy or trendy clothes (mainly because we don't really care) but we will spend to rent a private boat for a day to see different islands. Our experiences don't have to be expensive but when we choose to go all out, it's for all of us and the experience of it. For example, we have first class plane tickets to Israel for the five of us. That's part of the trip experience. Obviously this isn't for everyone but it works for us.

That sounds like the good life. Good for you!

LovesHashem

Wed, Mar 17 2021, 2:03 am

amother [ Lilac ] wrote:

I think one can create experiences without spending a lot (or anything). My family goes on road trips. We stay in a hotel using cc points. We do things that do not cost much. We go to parks. Go for bike rides. Walk around the neighborhood together. Those are all meaningful experiences for us. It doesn't become more meaningful to fly to Switzerland and stay in a 5 star resort. (That sounds very stressful to me honestly, though it would be a once in a lifetime kind of thing).

I would much rather spend my money on a few nice, luxury "things" to cherish and enjoy. I voted things.

I wish! We need to rent a car and there's no points here so staying somewhere costs money. Renting bikes costs money as well.

I voted expiriences but I love things as well. I really try to balance it. I'm very adventurous and have a bucket list of places I go. I also like to buy things and get artwork and unique things from other countries to remind me of my trips.

When money is tight its difficult to decide if I want to spend money having a really cool expirience for my birthday or get something that costs more money.

DVOM

Wed, Mar 17 2021, 7:37 am

Oh dear... I can't choose! Sometimes I think I have a very bizarre relationship with money.

In general, things. I'd rather work hard and clean my own home (and why can't that be an experience? Thursday nights is the big family clean-up for shabbos. We put on music, do it together, and it's kinda fun. I listen to music or a movie while I fold, iron. It is strangely an experience I look forward to) then pay someone to do it. Most of our best experiences have been free or close to free. The beach. National parks. Camping. Long drives to no wear, discovering hidden little shops and parks that feel like secrets, like they belong to us. We had a period of time last year when we were given almost unlimited funds to go out to eat (To make a long story short: I donated my liver to a family member. The National Donor Association provides funding for transportation, food and lodging for all appointments at your transplant hospital. For us, that meant almost weekly trips to Manhatten for about four months. That's a lot of restaurant meals!). We tried very fancy restaurants once, twice... but then stuck to cheaper options. Even when spending other people's money, the fancy-schmancy restaurant experience just didn't feel worth it to me. I thought about all the other donors the NDA could fund with my tiny, fancy-schmancy, one bite of whatever, and stuck from then on to big bowls of chili or pasta.

If I have extra money, I love spending on toys, especially Lego or outdoor toys. We spent good money on our trampoline, on a smallish above-ground pool, a zip line, balance beams. We're spending money right now to do some long-overdue renovations on our attic. Things that will last, that we'll use over and over again, those are the things I'm willing to spend on.

But! We're making our first bar mitzvah soon. I love making parties. I love gathering people I love and giving them a good time. I love using my creativity to make things really beautiful, to make people I love feel really special. So we are definitely spending on this bar mitzvah. But we're still being frugal about it. The bar mitzvah is happening in our yard. We're doing the cooking ourselves. I painted the invitations myself (they are stunners!).

I don't know. I guess I love spending money and I hate spending money. On everything. It's confusing. Perhaps therapy would help!

amother

Wed, Mar 17 2021, 8:37 am

DVOM wrote:

I’ve always admired how down to earth you are. I feel like I’d really want to be your friend if I lived in your community! And kol hakavod on your liver donation! You are incredible and frankly , Incredibly worthy of the meals out (fancy or not!)

Mazel tov on the bar mitzvah!