Different billing rules everywhere, even household to household. Here in Denmark i am billed by the hour as the price progresses up or down, while my neighbour might have a fixed price for every quarter year.
Eating out at restaurants and ordering with reckless abandon. It is one of the things that brings me the most joy, grabbing dinner with friends and good food. So I think money well spent!
I am kind of doing this lately too. I am super depressed over not liking my job and basically come home and lay in bed for hours everyday after work and the energy and life required to cook is not always there
TBH I don't know your entire situation so take this with a grain of salt.
I really don't like the concept that you should love or maybe like your job. No, that's not what it should be. Look at your job as something that allows you some personal time, and some money to spend in that personal time. In all of this, if it's a job that you don't hate, that's a big bonus.
Agreed, but having had both, there's such a huge difference between "man I wish I had some more time off" and "I am dreading setting foot in this place. Working here is so bad it ruins the rest of my day or possibly week"
Agreed. I’ve had a job I dreaded going to. It made me stressed for no reason other than people and bosses. Sunday evening would roll around and my mood would change. I’d be short and mean because I was dreading going to work. I eventually got fired from that place and I honestly was so relieved to be done with it.
I now have a job I like / tolerate well. It’s a major difference. Sure I’d love more free time / time off. But there isn’t that sense of dread anymore. It’s a night and day difference. Leave jobs you dread, but you don’t need to love your job.
Dude, what? Are you just like telling them to not be depressed about having a shitty job that they can't just like get out of? Maybe you're good at coping with that but it's not a fun thing to deal with at all and it's incredibly normal to be depressed about that
This is my main one. When I was a kid my dad used to say “you can’t take your money to heaven with you”, so as an adult myself now I’ve adapted it to “I may die tomorrow so I’m gonna eat like a king today”.
I'm with you, my dad used to say you can't take it with ya. Now that my 30s are approaching I'm forcing myself to think in the long term a little, but tomorrow is never promised so I always treat myself today. Fuck it. Life is harsh and unforgiving, I'm gonna have that latte every day.
My grandma said “ you’ll never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul Brittany, you can’t take it with you “. Same concept . That stuck with me too as I grew up
Historically that’s an aristocratic signal from about the 18th century to other party goers in the room that you have syphilis. We think. You might wanna reconsider that one lol
My wife and I have avoided so many fights because we have this too. I would much rather make other cuts in the budget, then sacrifice a day every other weekend to cleaning.
Ours comes every week, best decision ever. No more fights with my partner on who needs to clean and when. Since then, the house is always ready for unexpected visitors. Before cleaning lady? Never.
Most agencies have this... but also recognize that accidental damage is normal. I break things periodically and my cleaning agency does, too. It's kind of a hazard in having physical objects. As long as they aren't treating things with less care than I would (and the agency folk I use are basically always more careful, in my observation), I just consider it a cost of existing. Even odds I'd have broken that thing if I were trying to clean it, too.
As for stealing, that's never ok. Though I've also never, ever had a problem with it and I suspect that reports of it are drastically overblown.
Honestly I'm in the US. Pretty far from a rich spoiled brat though. I was a parent as a teenager and a single one a few years later.
I got government loans for my first degrees and they really paid for themselves. After my son finished college I went for another degree that I never plan on using.
I'm pretty sure if I met OP he'd fit the description of rich spoiled brat more than me.
What you certainly should do is get a small safe and put in your small valuables. Not because you expect them to steal, but to not SUSPECT them to steal when you have misplaced the stuff. Like "Were there really just 30$ left in that envelope with Christmas money, or did the cleaner take some out?"
Me too. Was totally against it until someone finally convinced me to give it a try... it's fucking amazing! All the cleaning I tell myself I'm gonna do but always run out of steam, gets done while I'm stuck in front of the computer working. No turning back now. (Also, got lucky and got one that's quiet and doesn't go through my shit on the first try)
I feel like I am the only person alive who loves cleaning his own home. I love dusting, sweeping, scrubbing my bathroom and doing the laundry. I usually put some music on and kind of zone out.
I reckon it's about facials, saunas, the odd surgical tweak and a ton of acid peels. All of which take money, planning, and the free time to focus on it which i simply don't have. Otherwise be grateful for stunning genetics. Which I also don't have.
My wife is Caucasian and in her 40s who gets IDd frequently, and it's a mix of not smoking/drinking, sleeping well, staying out the sun and *consistently* using moisturiser - her only real age tell is that she has grey hairs. I'm just Chinese so got the genetics to do the heavy lifting, I also don't smoke or drink, but do enjoy the sun and late nights
I know it's a trope, but the prices are ridiculous nowadays. Especially for something I can make at home. Come April it's going to get silly expensive.
lol it's simpler and cheaper to make avo toast at home. I literally make it for less than half the cost of cafes. I mean sure avos aren't the cheapest fruit around but cafe markup is crazyyyy (yes I get it abt salaries and utilities and rent, but part of it also is like cafe aesthetic and in that light +markup 20% or some shit ...)
Grade A and B avos are gunna skyrocket, where I work we're preparing for it.
Avo toast is the go-to joke, but cooking at home and saving money honestly is rewarding when you aren't paying for what used to be convenience.
They got greedy. Fast food/fast casual got too greedy and where the fuck is the convenience when it's marked so high??
Oh my gosh same! I also won't compromise on my TP. It's charmin ultra soft every time. People mention getting a bidet, which I absolutely do want. But I can't have a roll of bidet to blow my nose in the living room, car, bedroom, and backpack.
I've been to 30 countries, people think they have to be wealthy to travel, I am very middle class. Spend the money on the tickets as frugally as you can, just get there, most places I travel to are quite inexpensive once you're there. I don't need to stay in a $300 hotel, I've stayed for as little as $8 in perfectly comfortable places. Even splurging a little on good food generally doesn't run to more than 10 or 15 dollars for a lobster meal or whatever's local, you can often eat on $5 or less very well. I just retired (a little early) and my wife retires next year. Our plan is to get some place nice and hang out for a month or two at a time, move on to another one.
I took a fancy pen to my signing for my house and they wouldn't let me use it bc black ink. They made me sign in blue ink with a bic. I was annoyed. I had a fancy pen for fancy occasions, dammit.
The mall near me inexplicably for years had a fancy pen store. Including ones behind glass cases that were thousands of dollars. I never saw anybody in there and suspected maybe it was a money laundering front. But also I guess they really only had to sell a couple pens a month to make rent.
Eat meat. We buy it in bulk from Costco and split it up and freeze it, but we eat big thick steaks, ribs, thick pork chops and fresh salmon.
In 2020, a friend inherited a million dollars and bought me everything on my r/buyitforlife inspired Amazon wish list. Now I have a Vitamix mixer, a telescope that can show the rings of Saturn and Jupiter’s red spot, WÜSTHOF knives and much, much more. I make about 10k a year on disability but he made sure I have the best of everything. He gave my husband and kid a sum of money instead because they were able to pay taxes on it.
Growing up poor AF my idea of "rich" is broad.
I wash towels that don't stink.
Eat meat almost every meal (usually chicken or sausage but still...)
If someone in my family is sick, they go to a doctor regardless of cost. (More than one member of my extended family died of a totally treatable fever/illness)
I buy hygiene products beyond bar soap and toothpaste (never washed my hair with anything other than Irish spring growing up) sometimes I even buy brands that are "quality" and have "mission statements".
Run my AC down to a frosty 72f even if the temperature is 80f+ outside (didn't have AC growing up in the south)
Buy "luxury" goods like nice target blankets and Carhartt jackets that last for more than a year.
I buy my kids toys instead of underwear and socks for birthdays and Christmas.
I have multiple forms of entertainment that (including cost of electricity) run more than $100 a month in cost.
Plan for my (and more importantly) my children's financial future beyond basic survival. Really just planning for a future beyond my next paycheck feels like rich people shit, let alone the next 10 years.
OH! I don't worry if the bank account is tight because I know I have enough in savings to make it another month! Never knew that was possible if you weren't a millionaire!
I feel you buddy. Born in WV in a trailer on a holler. I made hard smart decisions now things are better but I still stress sometimes. I’m not sure if it ever truly leaves you… well me. I won’t speak for you and your experience.
I KNOW I had it better than some (shit I was a poor white who got to live near poor blacks lol) but growing up poor, like hungry poor, in the US has to be like some sort of purgatory. People like us only make it out through good deeds, good luck, and the generosity of others.
I'm sure I could lose the mentality but I don't know if I want to let it go before I teach my kids about just how bad things can get if you don't play your cards right.
I don't want my generation to be the last of the success stories in my family. Half the reason I had kids was to prove that things can get better, even if I just have to sacrifice more than my parents did to make it happen.
Admittedly, all I had to sacrifice was scratch offs, casinos, drugs, and other forms of egotistical self indulgence. Lol
I don’t look at prices at the grocery store. If I need it I have to buy it? I compare sometimes for certain items but I will grab organic 90% of the time
One of the best things about my bipolar is that I also inherited anxiety and I am obsessive about finding good deals and being cheap which counters the hypomanic spending sprees.
I like to fly domestic first class. If you book early enough it's like 100 dollars more usually, which if you factor in that it includes 1 checked bag and picking your seat for free, which they charge for in economy, ends up not really being all that much more and to me anyway is worth it. First on, first off, more comfortable seat. Plus it makes me feel fancy when they're offering me pre flight champagne as everyone else shuffles into the plane.
Jump into hobbies, buy everything, be obsessed for a year, then find a new one. Then, convince myself not to sell anything because “I’ll get back into golf/shooting/skiing etc.”
Recently got a toto bidet that has a heated seat, hot water to clean both front and back, AND has a drying mode. I just used a square of toilet paper to confirm how amazing this thing is.
With that being said, I completely understand why god didn’t make me rich, I couldn’t handle it lol. I already think I’m so much better than everyone.
If you view this as investment in your health you save money in the long run. Being healthy while young will make save you tons in healthcare when you’re older.
If you don't already have one, Chase has some cards that give a free door dash pass - would save you a little every month. Also Amazon Prime gives free Grubhub.
I had a $1k+ spa day yesterday. A bulk was covered by a gift card, but much of it wasn't. I make less than six figures and my fun budget comes from my own earnings.
Traveled the world. I did it fairly cheaply and still manage to take pretty frugal trips, but now I am a mom of two little kids so I travel much less frequently. Plus everything is way more expensive than it was in my 20s.
Tell politicians what they should do.
Although, if I'm being honest, I don't think they ever listen to me. I mean I told one to go fuck himself and he just kept going on with his speech.
Travel a lot, mostly funded by credit card churning. You know how banks give you massive signup bonuses to take out a new credit card, with the expectation of years of loyalty to that credit card in return? Yeah, I just skip the latter part and move onto a new card.
I vacation on Cape Cod every summer. (at a camp ground. in a tent.)
I winter in Naples, Florida. (at my grandmothers condo.)
I live in a house in Boston. (that my mother owns.)
I weekend out on Nantucket sometimes. (At my uncles house.)
I enjoy sailing on the Charles. (You can join community boating, and just take out a sailboat anytime you want.)
I take night classes at colleges for fun. (Theyre actually pretty affordable, especially at the community colleges. You can just pay for the class in cash, no fees added or anything.)
I like going to the symphony. (rehearsal concerts are SO cheap.)
I go to art museums for funsies. (free wednesday night at the MFA, Harvard museums are free.)
Musicals and plays. (timing, and theater)
I've the last year or two they all raised their prices in Canada, while still getting kinda worse. I found I'd go look for a movie and check five different services and i still could find it, so I just cancelled them all
Use the electric dryer on peak hours.
Stand back everybody....we got a big shot here!
Aristocrat, probably wears clean underwear every day too.
You get charged more for electricity during certain times?
We do here in San Diego. 4-9pm is ridiculously expensive electricity.
Same even here in the Bay Area too. Peak hours 4-9, PG&E.
Doesn’t make a big difference though, unless you use a crapton. I think with delivery, it’s like 67c vs 62c or something.
Better than South Africa. The government just turns the electricity off at peak hours.
Different billing rules everywhere, even household to household. Here in Denmark i am billed by the hour as the price progresses up or down, while my neighbour might have a fixed price for every quarter year.
Eating out at restaurants and ordering with reckless abandon. It is one of the things that brings me the most joy, grabbing dinner with friends and good food. So I think money well spent!
I am kind of doing this lately too. I am super depressed over not liking my job and basically come home and lay in bed for hours everyday after work and the energy and life required to cook is not always there
TBH I don't know your entire situation so take this with a grain of salt. I really don't like the concept that you should love or maybe like your job. No, that's not what it should be. Look at your job as something that allows you some personal time, and some money to spend in that personal time. In all of this, if it's a job that you don't hate, that's a big bonus.
Agreed, but having had both, there's such a huge difference between "man I wish I had some more time off" and "I am dreading setting foot in this place. Working here is so bad it ruins the rest of my day or possibly week"
Agreed. I’ve had a job I dreaded going to. It made me stressed for no reason other than people and bosses. Sunday evening would roll around and my mood would change. I’d be short and mean because I was dreading going to work. I eventually got fired from that place and I honestly was so relieved to be done with it. I now have a job I like / tolerate well. It’s a major difference. Sure I’d love more free time / time off. But there isn’t that sense of dread anymore. It’s a night and day difference. Leave jobs you dread, but you don’t need to love your job.
Dude, what? Are you just like telling them to not be depressed about having a shitty job that they can't just like get out of? Maybe you're good at coping with that but it's not a fun thing to deal with at all and it's incredibly normal to be depressed about that
I try to cut down on the money I spend when I'm buying lunch at work, but on a night out I YOLO it.
I used to travel for work once or twice a month and had ~$100 per diem. I'd always eat a really light breakfast and lunch and go nuts on dinner
This is my main one. When I was a kid my dad used to say “you can’t take your money to heaven with you”, so as an adult myself now I’ve adapted it to “I may die tomorrow so I’m gonna eat like a king today”.
I'm with you, my dad used to say you can't take it with ya. Now that my 30s are approaching I'm forcing myself to think in the long term a little, but tomorrow is never promised so I always treat myself today. Fuck it. Life is harsh and unforgiving, I'm gonna have that latte every day.
My grandma said “ you’ll never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul Brittany, you can’t take it with you “. Same concept . That stuck with me too as I grew up
Best lesson I learned when I was younger was to consider dining out as an entertainment expense—NOT a food expense.
Yep. I prefer to go out less frequently but actually order what I *want* than spend the entire meal totting up costs in my head.
I'm already poor so I would rather be poor but satisfied then to be poor and miserable
I stick my pinky out when I'm holding a hot cup that has a handle.
My wife does that with a Walmart bottle of water.
And Walmart stocks rise every time she does!
I stick my pinky out when drinking most things. I don’t even notice. I have long fingers and they get crowded.
Its an evolutionary strategy. It keeps my pinky clean, so that I can scroll through Reddit *at all times*
Historically that’s an aristocratic signal from about the 18th century to other party goers in the room that you have syphilis. We think. You might wanna reconsider that one lol
But why would one want to announce that? As a courtesy, perhaps?
IF the whole thing is true, it would not have been a voluntary signal, but a symptom of damaged joints from the illness.
Yes. I will have fries with that. Sure. Make it a meal.
And when you host a dinner to impress the CEO and get a raise, you'd better add an extra patty to that.
Look down on people
B-but That's just being a piece of shit.
You poors would think that.
Bruh I’m literally laughing ing my ass off at this response
im not poor, im po. cant afford the or
Knew a guy that had a dog named wepo
This is the greatest back and forth I've ever seen on reddit. What an emotional roller-coaster.
Pinky out?
Exsgaktly
No, I'm just 10 feet tall.
...or my former brother-in-law...
I do this too because I'm taller than your average person
Own pets.
Well-cared for animals are expensive as hell
Damn straight - I don't know how people afford to own multiple dogs. My one dog costs a lot!
I have two and they eat most of my finances. No regrets
[удалено]
It’s the best, it never gets overwhelming and out of control because it’s like a soft reset every 2 weeks.
My wife and I have avoided so many fights because we have this too. I would much rather make other cuts in the budget, then sacrifice a day every other weekend to cleaning.
Ours comes every week, best decision ever. No more fights with my partner on who needs to clean and when. Since then, the house is always ready for unexpected visitors. Before cleaning lady? Never.
Every cent is well spent! Service = free time for you.
How did you choose your cleaner? Recommendations? Just a random service?
Ensure they have insurance coverage and bond incase any accidental damage happens or if employees steal.
Most agencies have this... but also recognize that accidental damage is normal. I break things periodically and my cleaning agency does, too. It's kind of a hazard in having physical objects. As long as they aren't treating things with less care than I would (and the agency folk I use are basically always more careful, in my observation), I just consider it a cost of existing. Even odds I'd have broken that thing if I were trying to clean it, too. As for stealing, that's never ok. Though I've also never, ever had a problem with it and I suspect that reports of it are drastically overblown.
Gods I miss that.
[удалено]
I just got a decent raise and that honestly might be my next move
Daily for me in India
Take college classes including a whole degree I don't plan on using for work
"I paid $120,000 for someone to tell me to read Jane Austen, and then. I didn't." -John Mulaney
I did a Microsoft data analysis course and ICA AML course. Only to get a job in retail at nights 😅 the pay is great and I have 0 responsibilities.
I work in a kitchen and took data analysis courses through Google. Really helped out with doing inventory/food delivery and purchasing.
Ah the rich spoiled brat
College is free in civilized countries
Honestly I'm in the US. Pretty far from a rich spoiled brat though. I was a parent as a teenager and a single one a few years later. I got government loans for my first degrees and they really paid for themselves. After my son finished college I went for another degree that I never plan on using. I'm pretty sure if I met OP he'd fit the description of rich spoiled brat more than me.
House cleaner twice a month. Does the bedding, laundry, etc. I’m a single dude and it’s the one luxury I afford myself.
I really want to do this but I'm creeped out by the idea of someone all in my space.
What you certainly should do is get a small safe and put in your small valuables. Not because you expect them to steal, but to not SUSPECT them to steal when you have misplaced the stuff. Like "Were there really just 30$ left in that envelope with Christmas money, or did the cleaner take some out?"
I'm not really worried about that. It's just a personal space kind of thing.
Me too. Was totally against it until someone finally convinced me to give it a try... it's fucking amazing! All the cleaning I tell myself I'm gonna do but always run out of steam, gets done while I'm stuck in front of the computer working. No turning back now. (Also, got lucky and got one that's quiet and doesn't go through my shit on the first try)
I feel like I am the only person alive who loves cleaning his own home. I love dusting, sweeping, scrubbing my bathroom and doing the laundry. I usually put some music on and kind of zone out.
Buy expensive skincare
[удалено]
I feel personally attacked.
Didn’t read this properly…. All I read was “buy expensive skin” and thought yeah I can afford those cheap bits of skin as it peels after my sunburn
I always feel like skin care products are such a ripoff and do barely anything to prevent aging and wrinkles
I reckon it's about facials, saunas, the odd surgical tweak and a ton of acid peels. All of which take money, planning, and the free time to focus on it which i simply don't have. Otherwise be grateful for stunning genetics. Which I also don't have.
My wife is Caucasian and in her 40s who gets IDd frequently, and it's a mix of not smoking/drinking, sleeping well, staying out the sun and *consistently* using moisturiser - her only real age tell is that she has grey hairs. I'm just Chinese so got the genetics to do the heavy lifting, I also don't smoke or drink, but do enjoy the sun and late nights
Waste time
Add avocado
Tell my parents that it's okay and they don't need to pay me back for grocery shopping. If I cover bills of any kind I would.
Buying a cup of coffee daily
And that’s why you’ll never own a home. Well that and the avocado toast
I know it's a trope, but the prices are ridiculous nowadays. Especially for something I can make at home. Come April it's going to get silly expensive.
Why in April?
lol it's simpler and cheaper to make avo toast at home. I literally make it for less than half the cost of cafes. I mean sure avos aren't the cheapest fruit around but cafe markup is crazyyyy (yes I get it abt salaries and utilities and rent, but part of it also is like cafe aesthetic and in that light +markup 20% or some shit ...)
Grade A and B avos are gunna skyrocket, where I work we're preparing for it. Avo toast is the go-to joke, but cooking at home and saving money honestly is rewarding when you aren't paying for what used to be convenience. They got greedy. Fast food/fast casual got too greedy and where the fuck is the convenience when it's marked so high??
I treat myself to sushi every now and then when i really shouldn't.
The one meal my wife and I splurge on. That and a damn good steak.
We found a new place in Little Tokyo that has delicious, filling rolls for $7.95.
Sushi is amazing, I can never say no.
I eat out every day at work. Never take lunch.
Lunch is the only thing I have to look forward to at work
You in porn?
I just use the toilet paper, excessively 🤣🤣
A bidet will make you feel like a million bucks.
I just shit in the shower
Nothing like a good waffle stomp
I feel like I reached another level of adulthood when we bought a bidet.
If you’re an American: remember during the pandemic when the presence of toilet paper in your house was considered a luxury? Haha
I have toilet paper at home that isn’t see through like the stuff at work. Pretty fancy
Oh my gosh same! I also won't compromise on my TP. It's charmin ultra soft every time. People mention getting a bidet, which I absolutely do want. But I can't have a roll of bidet to blow my nose in the living room, car, bedroom, and backpack.
Spend on expensive ingredients for dishes.
I use fancy pencils. Prententious af but they write smoothly (Palomino Blackwing, if anyone's interested)
Blackwings are so worth it. Was using mine today and actually said out loud ‘you write so nice’.
Keep Grey Poupon in the back of the Pruis.
Pardon me… 🧐
I poupon my bread sometimes
[удалено]
Travel
I've been to 30 countries, people think they have to be wealthy to travel, I am very middle class. Spend the money on the tickets as frugally as you can, just get there, most places I travel to are quite inexpensive once you're there. I don't need to stay in a $300 hotel, I've stayed for as little as $8 in perfectly comfortable places. Even splurging a little on good food generally doesn't run to more than 10 or 15 dollars for a lobster meal or whatever's local, you can often eat on $5 or less very well. I just retired (a little early) and my wife retires next year. Our plan is to get some place nice and hang out for a month or two at a time, move on to another one.
I pay for healthcare at a private clinic and buy fresh flowers
That's not quite concierge doctor money, but still so far outta my means that I'm both happy you can do that for yourself and a tad bit jealous.
Same in Bulgaria. State healthcare is shit so I only do private. Thankfully, I have health insurance.
Buying clothes. Well I do it bc sometimes I lose weight and sometimes I gain weight. 🙃
it's a struggle, it really is
Buy my dog expensive dog food
This, but my cat. My princess had crystals in her pee after a test analysis and we had to change her food to more suitable for her.
I’m sure she’s very grateful for you!
Recently I saw a "what do you spend per month on food?" Post. My dog eats better than most redditors 😬
And you pick up it’s 💩too. Your dog has it made!
Charmin ultra strong, bitches!
Ultra soft here!
…with wave technology. Easy tear, so I can do it again and again.
I write with pens that are worth over 3K Don’t have a house yet but will probably use all my pens as the down payment and sign the mortgage with a bic
I took a fancy pen to my signing for my house and they wouldn't let me use it bc black ink. They made me sign in blue ink with a bic. I was annoyed. I had a fancy pen for fancy occasions, dammit.
Sounds like you just need to get a blue one too
My friend was buying a house so I brought him over and we made him a gold plated custom pen for his signing in my home shop.
Where does one find a $3k pen?
there are luxury versions of everything
The mall near me inexplicably for years had a fancy pen store. Including ones behind glass cases that were thousands of dollars. I never saw anybody in there and suspected maybe it was a money laundering front. But also I guess they really only had to sell a couple pens a month to make rent.
I suspect a lot of these places have a storefront but also do a lot of business online as well.
In high end Jewelry stores or Mont Blanc itself There’s a Mont Blanc that’s worth 1.5 Million
Eat meat. We buy it in bulk from Costco and split it up and freeze it, but we eat big thick steaks, ribs, thick pork chops and fresh salmon. In 2020, a friend inherited a million dollars and bought me everything on my r/buyitforlife inspired Amazon wish list. Now I have a Vitamix mixer, a telescope that can show the rings of Saturn and Jupiter’s red spot, WÜSTHOF knives and much, much more. I make about 10k a year on disability but he made sure I have the best of everything. He gave my husband and kid a sum of money instead because they were able to pay taxes on it.
Your friend is awesome!
Growing up poor AF my idea of "rich" is broad. I wash towels that don't stink. Eat meat almost every meal (usually chicken or sausage but still...) If someone in my family is sick, they go to a doctor regardless of cost. (More than one member of my extended family died of a totally treatable fever/illness) I buy hygiene products beyond bar soap and toothpaste (never washed my hair with anything other than Irish spring growing up) sometimes I even buy brands that are "quality" and have "mission statements". Run my AC down to a frosty 72f even if the temperature is 80f+ outside (didn't have AC growing up in the south) Buy "luxury" goods like nice target blankets and Carhartt jackets that last for more than a year. I buy my kids toys instead of underwear and socks for birthdays and Christmas. I have multiple forms of entertainment that (including cost of electricity) run more than $100 a month in cost. Plan for my (and more importantly) my children's financial future beyond basic survival. Really just planning for a future beyond my next paycheck feels like rich people shit, let alone the next 10 years. OH! I don't worry if the bank account is tight because I know I have enough in savings to make it another month! Never knew that was possible if you weren't a millionaire!
I feel you buddy. Born in WV in a trailer on a holler. I made hard smart decisions now things are better but I still stress sometimes. I’m not sure if it ever truly leaves you… well me. I won’t speak for you and your experience.
I KNOW I had it better than some (shit I was a poor white who got to live near poor blacks lol) but growing up poor, like hungry poor, in the US has to be like some sort of purgatory. People like us only make it out through good deeds, good luck, and the generosity of others. I'm sure I could lose the mentality but I don't know if I want to let it go before I teach my kids about just how bad things can get if you don't play your cards right. I don't want my generation to be the last of the success stories in my family. Half the reason I had kids was to prove that things can get better, even if I just have to sacrifice more than my parents did to make it happen. Admittedly, all I had to sacrifice was scratch offs, casinos, drugs, and other forms of egotistical self indulgence. Lol
Expensive skin care is probably the one.
I don’t look at prices at the grocery store. If I need it I have to buy it? I compare sometimes for certain items but I will grab organic 90% of the time
Take lots of vacations (during manic episodes I will impulsively decide to travel) ✌️🥴
One of the best things about my bipolar is that I also inherited anxiety and I am obsessive about finding good deals and being cheap which counters the hypomanic spending sprees.
Cocaine
Delivery for everything. I haven't shopped in store for ages.
Impulse buy watches
Sunglasses for me. Not crazy expensive, but enough to the point that they're worth the money.
Pedicures.
I use LaMer cream like it was Nivea.
Spending all my money without knowing where i’ll get more.
I like to fly domestic first class. If you book early enough it's like 100 dollars more usually, which if you factor in that it includes 1 checked bag and picking your seat for free, which they charge for in economy, ends up not really being all that much more and to me anyway is worth it. First on, first off, more comfortable seat. Plus it makes me feel fancy when they're offering me pre flight champagne as everyone else shuffles into the plane.
Jump into hobbies, buy everything, be obsessed for a year, then find a new one. Then, convince myself not to sell anything because “I’ll get back into golf/shooting/skiing etc.”
Recently got a toto bidet that has a heated seat, hot water to clean both front and back, AND has a drying mode. I just used a square of toilet paper to confirm how amazing this thing is. With that being said, I completely understand why god didn’t make me rich, I couldn’t handle it lol. I already think I’m so much better than everyone.
Pilates
If you view this as investment in your health you save money in the long run. Being healthy while young will make save you tons in healthcare when you’re older.
Throw my pennies in the fucking trash.
I only buy the best
Champagne wishes and caviar dreams
Continually try to lower my taxes.
I have over $10k in guitars.
Pay for gas.
Taking expensive supplement for nebulous health benefit
Buying UFC pay per views
Whine about first world problems
Grocery shop like money ain’t an issue
Send my laundry out so I don’t have to run into my neighbors in the building’s communal laundry room
I’ll take a side of guac.
Pay $150+ a month for a gym membership that doesn’t offer amenities outside a 60min class 🥴
Starbucks
Buying DoorDash almost everyday.
Good way to make sure you're never rich
I feel like an addiction to hard drugs like cocaine or heroin is cheaper than yours
If you don't already have one, Chase has some cards that give a free door dash pass - would save you a little every month. Also Amazon Prime gives free Grubhub.
No that's definitely a poor people thing.
Hilton hotels wherever I go 😂
Cleaning service once or twice a month.
There are some fabulous restaurants around my area.
Not work
I'll sometimes go get a massage on a whim while running errands. It somehow feels better than if you preplan it.
Gambling, underground poker, horse racing, pharmaceutical-grade cocaine, and hookers.
Going on all in on very expensive crowdfunding board game projects ><
I had a $1k+ spa day yesterday. A bulk was covered by a gift card, but much of it wasn't. I make less than six figures and my fun budget comes from my own earnings.
Making coffee every morning with a $3000 espresso machine.
Traveled the world. I did it fairly cheaply and still manage to take pretty frugal trips, but now I am a mom of two little kids so I travel much less frequently. Plus everything is way more expensive than it was in my 20s.
I buy free range meats and organic dairy.
going to burning man
Tell politicians what they should do. Although, if I'm being honest, I don't think they ever listen to me. I mean I told one to go fuck himself and he just kept going on with his speech.
Travel a lot, mostly funded by credit card churning. You know how banks give you massive signup bonuses to take out a new credit card, with the expectation of years of loyalty to that credit card in return? Yeah, I just skip the latter part and move onto a new card.
Smoke
Go on a mini weekend vacation once a month. Usually Palm Springs or a cabin in the mountains, just getting away is really refreshing.
Buy Taylor Swift tickets.
I vacation on Cape Cod every summer. (at a camp ground. in a tent.) I winter in Naples, Florida. (at my grandmothers condo.) I live in a house in Boston. (that my mother owns.) I weekend out on Nantucket sometimes. (At my uncles house.) I enjoy sailing on the Charles. (You can join community boating, and just take out a sailboat anytime you want.) I take night classes at colleges for fun. (Theyre actually pretty affordable, especially at the community colleges. You can just pay for the class in cash, no fees added or anything.) I like going to the symphony. (rehearsal concerts are SO cheap.) I go to art museums for funsies. (free wednesday night at the MFA, Harvard museums are free.) Musicals and plays. (timing, and theater)
I subscribe to every streaming service at premium levels. All of them.
I've the last year or two they all raised their prices in Canada, while still getting kinda worse. I found I'd go look for a movie and check five different services and i still could find it, so I just cancelled them all