What are your luxuries?

mommmmmmmmmmy

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:36 am

allthingsblue wrote:

K cup coffee
Gym
Comfy slippers
Cleaning help - a little more than strictly needed
Therapy 😎
A luxury that I can't bring myself to buy but wish I could is precleaned, prechecked chicken soup vegetables and greens.

There are these bags I think leibers makes that you can put your greens in to. It has a hechsher

Bnei Berak 10

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:37 am

SuperWify wrote:

We’ve all have them. Because we all need them. You know what they say, happy Mommy, happy home. And on the flipside- if Mom’s not happy- ain’t nobody happy!

For some, it’s a weekly manicure or massage, for others, it’s a brisk daily walk. Some have full time cleaning help or an nanny while others prefer 15 minutes of just alone time. Some eat on plastic paper goods only and buy takeout for shabbos, others have a weekly date-night at a posh restaurant or a coffee break with friends.

For me it’s a second car- even though we’re in kollel- and full time babysitting for my LO- even though I work part-time. These things make my life manageable. Yes, I get many comments, “Your so spoiled you have two cars?!” “Whaaat, you send your baby out ALL day??” (Can’t do it any other way, DH learns OOT and I work in town. The other option would be staying home with the baby and not working which isn’t good for my sanity- or pocket- at all. Why I send him out all day- I have 3 hours in the morning to do my errands, clean the house and prep supper in peace. But hey, why am I excusing myself? This thread is all about being honest about the things we need that others feel are luxuries.)

When I want to feel good I go to the gym or get a manicure. If I make Shabbos, DH knows I expect the Ami!

What are yours?

I was always under the impression that having 2 cars in the US isn't considered a luxury at all.

squirrel

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:40 am

Free Time!
A calm time such as shabbos morning where I can sit on my reciiner with my coffee feels like such luxury to me.
Or a nice spring/summer afternoon with a bbq at the park where I am so relaxed is real luxury to me.
My daily treat is my coffee without any disturbances.

Stars

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:41 am

Luxury for me right now is a warm piece of toast and a hot coffee after my child goes off to school. I love him very much, but the stage he's in right now is kind of draining.
I don't manis, pedis, vacations, we never go out to eat, but we both don't need or want it.
I don't need or want cleaning help in my life right now either.
It's the tiny little breathers I give myself that keep me going.

keym

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:47 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

I was always under the impression that having 2 cars in the US isn't considered a luxury at all.

Depends. Some cities have reliable public transport- some dont. Depends how far the family lives from work/kollel etc.
When we first got married we lived in a one bedroom 4 blocks from yeshiva. We had one car and my husband walked. Just finding parking wouldnt have been worth it.
When I was pregnant with my 2nd we moved to a three bedroom (a luxury I guess but that was what we could find) a mile and a half a way. The second car became more of a necessity eventhough my husband could have hitched and schnorred rides.
4 years later, my husband started working also and a second car wasnt optional anymore for both of us to get to our places of work- closest bus stop a mile away from our house.

Ema of 5

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 9:56 am

Zehava wrote:

Beautiful vacation once a year. We travel at other times, with the kids, dh himself, but once a year dh and I go to an exotic place. It gives me a boost for the entire year.

I can’t even remember the last time my husband and I went away together just ourselves....

During winter break we try to take the kids away for a day or two. In the summer we do a road trip between camp and school. Two times I went by myself (or with my baby) to Miami for a few days to recharge. Truthfully though, for me that’s a necessity. I work full time and my kids start coming home before I even finish working, and they don’t go to sleep until 8:15/8:30. I also have a child who has severe adhd and a child who is not eating, so not growing and developing properly. So yea, I guess my luxuries would be the winter and summer trips, not the alone trip.

Kiwi13

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 10:41 am

Number one luxury: being a stay at home Mom and doing minimal work-from-home.

Other things: iPhone 7, MacBook Pro computer (it’s old and I bought it on eBay for around $450 but it’s still the best computer I’ve ever had!), world’s most comfortable bed and a thousand soft pillows and blankets, bed by a window (I always liked beds by windows, something very cababa-like about it), reliable easy-to-drive car, living out of town in a pleasant, friendly, low maintenance community... what else... I love my stroller, also I have high end car seats for my kids now, which means no more fussing with impossibly hard to adjust straps and harnesses. Pizza takeout sometimes. Quality therapy. Babysitting help/date nights. Inexpensive but fun equipment for my makeshift home recording “studio” aka software and stuff to plug into my laptop computer while I record music as I lounge around in my bed - and a husband who doesn’t object to my spending (some) money on my music hobby. Diet root beer.

tweety1

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 10:45 am

salt wrote:

This is going to get in to a philosophical discussion about a luxury for some being a necessity for others.
You say a second car is a luxury. About 50% of the people where I live don't have a car.
For me my one car is a luxury.
For some people live-in cleaning help is a necessity.
For some, a couch is a luxury - we lived without a couch for our first year of marriage. We sat on plastic chairs. When we moved and bought a couch, it was such a luxury.
Now I don't consider a couch a luxury - it's just a piece of furniture.

If you work, why do you consider a babysitter for you child a luxury? What's the other option. Taking him to work with you?

I just got my first couch. After one to 20 yrs of marriage!

Aylat

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 11:02 am

Mishpacha subscription, fun cheap nail varnish colours, buying books on kindle or from bookshop, hot chocolate (any chocolate!). Stopping in the national park that is on my route home from work, for an hr or even just to sit in the car for a few minutes and breathe in the green.

Last year I went away by myself for the first time in forever. One night, one day. Camped on the beach in tel aviv, hiked along the coast to netanya, took the train home after picnic supper. Planning to do it again this year in different location.
About once a yr DH and I try and go away for a day or 2 by ourselves/only with nursing baby.

33055

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 11:05 am

SuperWify wrote:

True, but that’s for older couples with more kids. We’re a young kollel couple with one baby.

I think BB is right. I always had my own car from before marriage. When we got married, we each had a vehicle. Teens usually get their first car from a parent.

Iymnok

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 11:08 am

A full free day to go shopping for myself, and find truly nice things that are flattering.
I’ve never had a vacation, mani or pedi, so I don’t know if I’d really enjoy them enough.
I
A full set of makeup in the perfect colors.
Comfortable shoes that match every outfit.
Really healthy yummy dinners that either someone else. Made or are easy.

Are you asking about what I actually do, or what I’d like?

eschaya

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 11:36 am

Michaels/ art supplies
I am one of the most frugal people I know. I cannot bring myself to spend money on luxuries (or even necessities) for myself (yes, I know this is not healthy, and DH has been working for many years - with moderate success - to teach me how).
And yet let me walk over the threshold to Michaels, or give me an excuse (no matter how weak) to "need" art supplies, and I just open my pocketbook without a second thought! Jewelry-making supplies and acrylic paint/canvas/paint media are my weakness and the one area where I let myself indulge. It makes me happy - I love to create things with my own hands. And then I get to enjoy the results for years after... I have lots of colorful fun jewelry and our home walls are constantly being redecorated with new artwork.

thunderstorm

Thu, Apr 12 2018, 11:56 am

eschaya wrote:

I relate to this so much! One year for my birthday my DH gave me a gift certificate to Michaels for $350 !!! It was my best gift ever! Even better than the diamond earrings he once bought me!
A different time he took a Michaels canvas shopping bag and had my kids fill it up with tons of goodies for me and they all gave that to me on a different Birthday. To me Michaels is almost becoming a necessity embarrassed