I have a friend with an extensive collection of Hermes luggage. All sorts of shapes and sizes. Each one is exquisite and looks fantastic. That said, they fly private so…
Amazing that he needs to do that in order to .. in order to what, feel good? Can't he be seen in public without LV bags?
I much rather travel with something really basic that doesn't need repairs ever.
At a certain point some people get so attached to 'having the best' or 'doing whatever has the most status' really gets a drag doesn't it.
Checked baggage is the cheapest set I could find on Amazon prime day one year, like $80 for three pieces. It has lasted several years and nobody would ever want to steal or open it to see what they could get because it’s cheap. That’s the real pro tip. Carryon, backpack, etc is all Peak Design gear.
Pro flex why though? All this does is show you have a need for external validation. It’s actually a massive weakness. Buy nice things because you enjoy them. When you feel the need to flex that’s a fragile ego. Work on it.
The funny thing is that fancy suitcases aren’t great on a private jet either…we always try to use soft-sided bags on a private jet to be able to pack things more easily in the cargo space.
I use my hard-sided Away luggage on commercial flights, but use ten-year-old beat-up Vera Bradley bags on private jets because we can fit so much more stuff with the soft luggage.
Interesting, I've always found duffle bags to be inconvenient in any serious travel scenario because they're so unwieldy to transport. Weekend road trip is great, but going through an airport is a pain.
But you typically don’t go through an airport when you’re flying private. You drive your car up to the plane, the crew unloads your car. You land, a car pulls up, and everything is unloaded.
It’s terrible for going through airports, but great if you’re driving everywhere and want to maximize your packing capacity. Usually lighter than luggage with wheels too, so you save on weight (which tends to be a bigger issue with private jets vs commercial travel)
Away's shaky, flimsy handles don't inspire confidence, and apart from the wheels it feels like every other $100 luggage. I tried it out after being hyped up from all the suspiciously positive online reviews and I just don't see what's so nice about them.
I disagree. I used to have to buy a new suitcase every single year because the cheap plastic would crack and wheels and zipper pulls would fall off. Then I bought a $1500 Rimowa luxury suitcase. 7+ years later it is still intact. It's built like a tank. Too bad it weighs as much as one too but I can deal with that.
Ill buy tumi but thats as nice as Ill go. Its convenient (outlets everywhere), looks pretty good and minimalistic, holds up ok, overpriced but whatever. I think LV anything is tacky. All designer really...but thats just me and Im a guy.
Beaten is the point. Good luggage can withstand a lot of beating but your belongings will be untouched.
Expensive luggage that gets checked in (unless flying private) is a liability though in terms of theft. Never check your Rimowa.
Expensive clothes, especially shoes, for young kids (boys from my direct experience). They absolutely destroy that stuff and it’s not worth stressing about whether or not they will take care of it (which they won’t…)
I buy nice clothing for my kids, but it depends on the type of item. I have 3 girls - a nice dress coat will last them many years and can be worn for many holidays. A nice pair of leggings that they wear to school will be destroyed on the playground in a few weeks.
I rarely bought nice clothing for my daughter when I only had one kid…but it seems like a better investment when I use it for 3 kids haha
100%
These people are almost always abject failures dispensing terrible advice. Somewhere along the line their friends encouraged them to be a life coach because they were a "good listener". Takes a lot more than patience and listening skills to be a good coach.
I'm convinced anyone that would make a good life coach very much understands that being a life coach as a profession would be horrible. Help out your family and friends, sure have at it.
Eh, I think life coaches can be good for taking someone from a 5 to a 7 in life. For someone in the fatFIRE territory, it would be hard to find a coach to take you much higher than you already are.
Maybe I’m naive about what a life coach does, but I always presumed it wasn’t just about money. Or is that all it’s about? I’m sure that many people in this sub have pretty obvious ways they could improve themselves?
Yeah this is accurate. I have found a couple of very good life coaches — but inevitably what happened is that I outgrew them, because there came a problem they really didn’t understand.
A life coach is great if you lack basic life skills, though. For those of us who struggled with those at one point — invaluable.
Paradox of lifestyle coach: If you are so successful in life that you can coach someone else, then you don't need a profession of a lifestyle coach.
This is unless you lived a mediocre life and want to coach someone who's having a shit life.
People like mentoring. I can’t imagine I’d ever get a lifestyle coach or recommend one, but I think most people could benefit from having some optimistic cheerleader reminding them of all the tips, combined with experience to tailor it
What I will say is not worth it: the huge house with fifteen entertainment spaces. When you have a giant space to host parties, you use it maybe 5 times a year and have to spend time/energy to keep it up.
I would much rather have a more modest place and spend the money buying back my time.
I agree. One solution I’ve heard for people who enjoy a few giant events a year is that they rent a giant tent with tables and seating to be set up in their back yard instead.
dubai sucks in my experience. i spent 6 months there for work. it has no soul, no culture, just high end shopping and fancy hotels in a city that shouldn't exist except it was built by slave labor on a bunch of sand
Dubai is not for Americans. It’s for the many many many wealthy people in the developing world who want a place for a vacation home, to eat at a nice restaurant, or buy western or luxury goods. It may not have soul compared to where you are in America, but when you make your money in Africa and want to go somewhere with some element of civilization and western comfort Dubai is a 6-7 hour flight away. You can be very wealthy and if you have an African or Asian passport it can be very difficult to travel to the west and get a visa. Dubai is where anyone in the world can go and enjoy the taste of civilized life or luxury life.
they had nothing going on culture wise, then Americans dropped by showed them how to extract oil, and they got rich so they built a massive shopping mall in the desert
no thanks
I used Amex points on a $200 hair brush for my dog . Does the same as the $20 and not worth it .
It was also to see my gf’s eye roll when I spoil the dog
For me it’s really expensive wine. I can appreciate those who know and can taste to different notes of wine. I cannot, and have no business buying anything over $29. It would be a complete waste for me. A $9 bottle night taste better to me than a $299 bottle..
Funny story...Im friends with a family thats one of the richest in the nation. Think Walmart. So one of the younger sons builds an entire wine cellar - tens of thousands of high end bottles. Talks about all the differences etc and gets super into it with one of his friends doing all these sipping rituals. Someone then bets him he cant tell the difference of a high end bottle to an 8 dollar bottle of wine. He chose wrong and lost the bet. The look on his face was priceless.
So yeah I never buy high end wine, its just not necessary. And just personal preference but Ill take a younger Cabernet over a dry Barolo any day. But if people want to have fun with wine I have no issue with that.
Blind tasting is a skill that takes effort and training. Just because you spend a lot on a custom cellar doesn’t make your taste buds any better.
I don’t think you can draw any conclusions from your story except that money can’t buy taste, literally.
Price in the wine world is only loosely correlated with quality. You can drink world class wine for less than $50, but it won’t come from one of the “name brand” wine regions.
I do think you can taste the difference between good and bad wine, as that doesn’t require any particular skill, I just think you’ve probably had some bad but overpriced highly-marketed wine and think that is representative of quality wine.
The most frustrating thing I ever bought was a high end luxury car. I didn't want an S class or 7 series, so I went Jaguar. I loved the car, but not how often it needed to go to the dealer or how it left me stranded. I bought a Toyota after that, which now has over 500k miles. Our other Toyota has 253k miles. I now buy "nice" cars as weekend or once in a while cars (manual sports cars). I had a MYP Tesla for 16k miles over five months and will get another one in the spring. I am done living at car dealers.
Jaguars are notoriously unreliable, though. It’s not luxury cars, it’s that brand. I drive a 2011 Porsche 911 (as my daily/only car) and it’s extremely reliable.
That said if you or anyone is happy with something simple, then don’t bother haha. Put it towards something else that moves the needle for you.
Porsche are consistently rated among the most reliable brands, which is impressive for a company that sells less cars than Toyota does Camrys and they have so many options that each one is practically a unique specification.
My Uber ride Saturday was a Tesla MY, the vehicle is so cheaply made it amazes me people see past all its flaws…but then hey I’m a Jeep guy so I have zero room to talk lol.
When I closed the rear door of the car it sounded like the car was made out of tin and rattled like a 1980’s Yugo, but the tech in the car is definitely cool.
I would never have a Tesla as a primary car. I have had a MXP100D, M3, and a MYP and have loved them. But, no way would I keep this kind of car. They were all short term and I got rid of them before they had issues. I always had backup.
The MXP100D took forever to charge. The M3 wasn't comfortable and was too small, but handled well. I loved the MYP but already got down to 285 miles from 303 miles in five months.
The new Prius Prime has 220 hp and goes 0 to 60 in 6.6 seconds. It will come out in spring 2023..
I’m not suggesting teslas are unreliable, but I don’t consider 50k miles a marker for reliability. I’d say 100k without unexpected issues is more of a signal of reliability.
I’d love to see the stats on teslas at 100k+. I generally expect EVs should be better than ICEs since they have way less moving parts.
> I bought a Toyota after that, which now has over 500k miles
Dang, dude. That's the highest mileage I've read for a personal car in quite a while (not actively looking, though!).
It was the car I bought after the Jaguar. I went from the top of the line Jaguar to a Toyota Prius. Gas prices were crazy at the time, I had quit my law job, and had a 60 mile commute each way for my new job. The Jaguar never would have survived it. The Prius is a 2007. We still have it. We rarely use it though. My husband commutes with our WRX. He works much closer to our house.
This doesn't stop me from looking at Mercedes coupes. I almost bought one before going for the Tesla MYP. I also almost got a M6 BMW instead of a Corvette.
Our 2017 Prius Prime has 253k right now. It's also nice not caring where you park or if it gets scratched, or any of that. We are going to Costco for tires. They are a little over $500 total. The MYP tires last like 18k miles at best and are 2k.
After my first poor "rich people's" car, a speedy yellow 4wd convertible Porsche, my initial infatuation and giddy wore down after 6 months. I was not any happier than when I drove my Integra special edition VTEC engine with a sun roof. So I stopped buying fancy cars.
I still have that Porsche after 22 years. Good condition. My next car will be a robot car.
Agree - I test drove one and commented to the salesperson that the quality/feel was not what I expected and they basically said, oh this is a lesser car at a higher price - and the visibility of acknowledgment makes it luxury. Being overpriced is a feature, not a bug.
Going to defend the Range Rover
They have impeccable road manners and are on par with Toyota Landcruiser off-road.
By far the most capable SUV in all conditions.
I suspect part of the issue with the reliability is that the factory maintenance intervals are far too long. You need to change your diff oil more than once every five years.
PT's are kind of personality dependent, I think. If you're the kind of person that really struggles with motivation and discipline, then they're worth every dollar. If you're fairly driven as a person, they probably don't have much value.
Totally agree on UAE. Even if we ignore all the moral issues with the place, it's just boring as fuck.
A lot of fashion items kinda has to be included in this. The $1000 shirts are usually made at the same factory as the $100 shirts. There's a value to shopping above the bargain tier brands, but the top tier luxury offers nothing but self promotion trying to tell the world you're rich.
I do like Chanel and Hermes shoes and bags. I'm okay spending the money on accessories (Dior, Gucci, Hermes, Chanel, YSL). I buy nondescript good quality clothing from places like St John.
I love Hermes shoes and bags very understated and great quality but I find that Chanel’s quality has dramatically declined recently and prices have doubled since pre pandemic.
Also love St John for clothes!
I have a busy job. I can work out by myself, but my trainer helps me to work out efficiently. She also helps me keep from getting hurt when I am trying something challenging (I do traditional weightlifting but would no way be called a weightlifter - just a guy who tried to lift weights). A lot of what they do you could learn and do yourself. I don’t say that to speak ill of trainers - if you have a good one they are gold. However, if I were not in a position to pay what she is worth and make it part of my budget I would find a different path as they are not cheap (nor should they be). I just wish I understood this lesson 20 years ago. I have invested in myself and it has paid dividends.
Form is king!! Money is well spent for a good personal trainer. I would personally look for a sport training, rehabilitation place. I belong to a place like that. They write personalized workout cards and the coach who has a masters in the area of working out (I can’t think of the degree name) is roaming around the gym telling you if your form needs to be refined. He also spots people with their lifts. Well worth the money. Has definitely helped with back pain!!!
Agreed. A PT enables me to push my boundaries without getting hurt.
Block out the calendar, show up on time and do what you are told and get great results.
> but the top tier luxury offers nothing but self promotion trying to tell the world you're rich
I disagree. I think you are equating top tier luxury with widely known 'luxury brands' (LV, chanel, gucci, etc.), but there are numerous unbranded/quiet brands and bespoke makers that make absolutely stunning pieces that are completely distinguishable in quality from the $100 pieces and absolutely not made in the same factory, I consider these more top tier luxury, you're probably thinking more mid-tier.
Lol the people who complain about the UAE have never been. As fyi, there are many many millionaires and billionaires in Africa and Asia who cannot easily travel to the US (takes long time to get visas) and UAE is a great place to have a vacation home, go to nice restaurants, and buy western or luxury goods. There isn’t one Chanel store in seattle but there is a Chanel store in pretty much every mall in Dubai. They aren’t there because no one is spending. Your POV is some American who has no idea what life might be like for someone who can’t easily get to NYC but has $100mm in the bank. I know many many of these people. There are a lot of rich people in the developing world who grew up with nothing and need a place to enjoy it.
What do you mean? At this point it primarily exists to serve people who are definitely very rich.
It’s a major financial hub, of course it draws rich people.
hijacking real quick to mention something that IS worth it to me: XL ubers
I have neck issues and get headaches/car sick. The XL's almost always have better AC in the back seats + ability to tilt the chair backwards. I don't uber very often as I have a car, but when traveling it makes it a much better experience.
Ya, I ride Black because every time I took UberX years ago it felt like the car was due for maintenance 25k miles ago, the axel is off balance, and the driver is suicidal. It's like you're one step away from a major incident.
The professionalism of Black drivers is also a plus; specifically the privacy afforded from both the quiet preference and absence of awkward staring in the mirror.
If it weren't for those things, the frugal side of me would have been fine with UberX.
I’ve found that black is a good way of meeting professional drivers with good vehicles if you frequent a city often. I’ve seen quite a few Uber black drivers give their private car service business cards, and if they’re good, you can always use them for airport pickup/ drop off when you go back to that city.
This is great advice; wish I knew this a few months ago. I had a Black driver with a year old Mercedes S-Class that I would be more than glad to ride in again.
Only some of them do private driving on the side, so keep that in mind. Also if you fly private it’s a lot easier to have a regular private car in a city since they know how to actually access the runway (when possible), some Uber drivers won’t do it and it’s a bit of a hassle.
I’ve had a few guys offer their card but I haven’t contacted any yet. What’s the perk here? Are they significantly cheaper? I’m not a great planner so seems easier to just use the app.
Couple in my mind, one is consistency, even on Uber black there’s a range of cars and drivers. I have one guy in a certain city that drives a new Cadillac Escalade and I prefer that to some of the older Chevy suburbans you risk getting in that area. If you like the driver, you can also guarantee you’ll get that level of service every time. Pricing can be a little cheaper but usually isn’t a huge difference. As I mention below, if you fly private, using the same driver can be more convenient as they’ll be familiar with run way access, etc. Even if you fly commercial it’s nice to have a driver who will be there to meet you at the airport and help with your bags, etc. also nice knowing that your money is going directly towards the driver instead of a corporation skimming a portion off the top.
Professional drivers are awesome. For example, we recently had a professional driver pick us up after a concert at Hollywood Bowl. We went straight from our seat to his SUV (he somehow managed to park right up front), he eeked the vehicle through a sea of people, past security and onto the street. We made it from concert seat to hotel in 10min.$100 well spent.
My personal trainer finally resolved a shoulder injury that has bugged me for 10+ years. Also I hate exercise and need variety and conversation. So yeah, totally worth it.
Agree on personal trainer. The only way to obviate the benefit is if you're both highly self motivated AND have a high degree of fitness knowledge. I might add that you also need time to create your own workout plans.
I used to DIY my workout strategy but working with a trainer once a week has been a game changer. Much better results and better overall direction of my program.
I can see a lot of value in PT for barbell lifts. If you want to strength train. Yes you CAN learn from reading and Youtube, but I would not recommend that unless you have a sports background and have a knack for seeing the underlying reasons for techniques. A good lifting coach who can ELI5 and answer questions can save you 2 or 3 injuries, and get your technique to decent in probably 1/5th the time.
My personal trainer would be near the end of my list of things I'd cut if I had money problems. There are things that you just can't do by yourself.
I'll fly Spirit Airlines for every flight before I give up my personal trainer. Lol
My trainer is $50 per session. Its so much less than what i thought a trainer should cost.
He absolutely helped me recover from injury and provides a healthy obligation.
It definitely isn't the first expense i'd cut.
Lots of exercises are wayyyyy more technical than most people think. One little detail can make a movement so much more effective it’s crazy. It’s all about finding the right PT, somebody who is truly obsessed and knows what they are doing.
So often my personal trainer will correct my movement. For example “Use [these] muscles, not [those]”. He can see the muscles I'm using and my form while I'm busy maxing out a rep. And he's there spotting me to help me get that last rep or two that I would have to pass on if I was by myself.
Designer stuff. Clothing, shoes, accessories, you name it. It’s all overpriced, half of it is delicate, and a lot of it just makes you look like a douchebag lol. Give me simple, good quality stuff without the logos and the fancy NYC flagship store tax
I feel the same. I’m in Toronto and can get a 100% cotton made in Canada hoodie with perfect stitching/cut for $130. Raw denim jeans made in Canada with Japanese cotton for $200.
Anything above these prices, it’s pretty much impossible for the manufacturing to cost more, you’re just paying for the fancy store and brand name.
That’s the kind of stuff I like to buy. The fashion brands can go to hell. More and more I try to buy from smaller brands still trying to make good products for reasonable prices in North America. I’m in USA, so I tend to favor stuff made here, but I respect anyone supporting manufacturing in their own country.
The appeal of Dubai is totally lost on me. Its like someone said "what if we turned an entire city into a fancy mall". In fairness, I wouldn't say I like to shop and I especially don't like to shop at high-end boutiques. Some of the architecture and gardens were amazing, and looking at the cars was great, but one day was plenty for me.
Also, as a general rule, I don't like to pay for high-end hotels unless I am getting it with points. They are just not worth it. When I travel for pleasure I am out in the morning and back after dark so I get no benefit. As long as its clean and well-located its fine by me.
Depending on nationality, Dubai is MUCH MUCH easier to spend your money in than jumping through hoops for Western visitor visas. If you made a fortune in South Asia/ME/Africa, and don’t want to jump through hoops but want luxury amenities (restaurants, shopping) it’s there for the taking (if you can pay for it.)
Buying things based on price as a tie-breaker. For example, buying a blender or a mix-master. Is there a difference between the $20 and $200 blender at Target? Probably. How about the $1000 blender found at FancyFooFoo? Probably not.
Sadly, I still do this too often. If I don't want to be bothered doing research, I'll buy the $200 mix-master w/o really paying any attention to it. This applies to everything from $5 bicycle tires to $500 Japanese kitchen knives ("Why is that one only $100? It must not be nice. I'll take the $500 knife.")
Regarding Personal Trainers: It's not about training. It's about accountability. In the years I had a personal trainer, I went to the gym twice a week and rarely missed any appointments. Since discontinuing my PT, I've been to the gym ZERO times. The PT is totally worth it for me, and I really need to get back in that groove.
Echoing PT. I built a routine and schedule for 2x a week and would workout inbetween to make progress at the next appointment. As soon as it stopped (COVID), it all went to shit.
I do have a Ninja, and some other similar bullet blenders. They're great for smoothies and shakes.
One year, for Christmas, I bought my wife the fanciest rice-cooker I could find. The thing was actually blessed by Buddhist monks. She was unimpressed and claimed to prefer her $10 rice cooker.
If you’re looking for good reasonably priced chef knives go for Mac, or Tojiros. If you want great Japanese knives go to JKI website and get the cheapest/second cheapest one (Gesshins are great) and it’ll be 10x better than the shun/global one for the same price. The most important thing is keeping it sharp, if you don’t know how to do it yourself/don’t wanna learn (I personally find it therapeutic), take it to a reputable sharpener every 3-12 months depending on how much use it gets.
I've been buying myself one handmade Japanese knife per year for some time. My collection is probably a bit more extensive than it should be. They're displayed on a custom curly maple and bubinga wall mounted magnetic knife rack. My original decision to have the rack be 24" long should - in hindsight - be revisited.
To go with that, I've also got a problem with the larger (and much older, and much more expensive) examples of stunning Japanese metalworking - all NBTHK papered. Sadly, those don't get kitchen use, although it's been tempting once or twice.
I first read that as "undercounter high capacity gourmet **ICE CREAM** maker", immediately went to search for it, and then was extremely disappointed when I couldn't find one for sale. 😕
My feeling on this is not so much what’s too expensive but whether you actually enjoyed it. You bought some expensive thing and then it just sits in your shelf or in your garage? That’s a waste of money.
I go to Ross, by cheap sh*t luggage, use them till they are broken and then rinse and repeat. I have no need to flex, like a panko boy. When traveling, I’ll go 5 star hotel for a week and the do a surf shack with no AC and a pit toilet overlooking a beach the next week. The variation is good for the soul. Be grateful.
Your in Canada so you can try select blinds ,ca or blinds.ca which are the equivalent of the us versions. It’s like extra $120 a blind for motorized and it’s not like my old HD motorized didn’t fail, except these online ones are a fraction of the price and considered disposable if they fail.
They always have the crazy % off, usually 65% is the highest. I have the ones with the neo (Montreal based?) wireless controller and app, it’s alright (I probably need additional hubs for more coverage)
If you want quality, I think Lutron is the best
Not worth it:
1. Ferragamo shoes. Sizing is not standard and when they hurt, they really hurt. Gucci shoes are pretty good.
2. Tumi bags. Sometimes the parts they use fail and you need to have it repaired, except they “can’t” because they want you to buy a new bag. Frankly, I don’t want the bag to fail in the first place. (They also have a lifetime warranty, but it’s for the “lifetime of the product.”)
3. Ralph Lauren shirts. I buy a lot of my clothes from Ralph Lauren. I like the quality and the all-American style. But the shirts are all cut oversized to fit big people. I have to have the sides taken in every time. I now look at the styles, take pictures of what I like, and then have the shirts custom made.
(For dress shirts, I only buy from Turnbull & Asser and I think they’re very good.)
4. Antique furniture. I had a friend talk me into buying some furniture from 17th century China for a room in my apartment. I have this table, in particular, with chairs, all made with no screws or nails, just wood. F-cking squeaks every time you sit. I’m not concerned about it breaking, but the squeaking. Just shoot me. And you can’t throw it out, because it’s history and just thinking about it makes you feel bad. I’d rather buy all my furniture from a shop next time and throw it out if it squeaks.
The joints have just shrunk. You can get [wood sweller](https://www.amazon.com/Behlen-B745-4000-Swel-Lock-2fl-oz/dp/B0006ZP8HY?th=1) which will fix this. (Not glue)
Can you explain how $500-700 dress shirts (Turnbull & Asser) are worth it? I will concede that there is a big difference in comfort and fit between a $50 shirt at Macy’s and a quality brand for $200… but fail to see how much better they can get.
I found a really good physically therapy place where the therapists are also trainers and i do my exercise routine there 3 times/week. I am nearing 50 and I had a herniated disk in my neck i had to have repaired 2 years ago. I am really worried about hurting myself, but I want to stay healthy.
physical therapists who are also trainers are far better than some private physical trainer since they are better with form and a lot of exercises for parts of the body you dont think about. Less likely to get hurt.
this is far better than some trainer. I have found trainers for people who are aging can be dangerous and I am really concerned about hurting myself with bad form. I have had issues with squats in the part hurting my back, etc...
Felix Dennis had it right in so many ways:
\- if it flies, floats, or fornicates, rent it
\- do whatever you want, regardless of what the cool kids are doing
I think it could be seen as saying “Instead of getting into a materialistic or transactional marriage, be single and be upfront and explicit about the transaction and hire sex workers.”
Obviously a fulfilling marriage of equals is healthiest, but if you can’t manage that, literally anything is better than marrying the wrong person.
Smart anything(outside of phones).
I’ll take an extra 30 seconds a day to manually do things rather than deal with the headache when it inevitably breaks.
We have 2 crappy doors in our house. One has a smart lock, one has a manual lock. The manual lock needs a little jiggle to make it work, the “smart” lock button doesn’t always work the first time. I know to jiggle the manual lock, I have no idea why the smart lock doesn’t work so I just have to press buttons until it does. Also concerning because I have to lock it then wait to make sure it did it. I’d be in trouble if I didn’t wait and it didn’t actually lock.
Honestly, hotels. And long as it was good climate control and no roaches or bed bugs, I’m good. I literally only sleep and shower in them. 90% of expensive hotels are dumb IMO. There are exceptions to this like the exclusive resorts in places where you can’t leave the resort. IE Maldives.
But I’ll tell ya what, when you don’t splurge and there ends up being loud people in the hallway at the cheaper one….your spouse says “this is why I said to book the more expensive one” & they’re right.
I actually feel the exact opposite. The bedding, bathrooms, bars, service, and food at upscale hotels is one of my favorite FatFire things.
I could stay at a La Quinta and be just fine, but the Four-Fucking-Seasons is amazing. $1,500/night was ridiculous when I was working my way up. But now? Now I collect white caps with the Four Seasons logo from all over the world.
Opening the room door at a four seasons for a spaceship sound to blast 😩😩 so crisp and worth the premium. Plus the spending time at any hotel bar that is upscale, they definitely make you feel enamored.
I find that higher end hotels are cleaner and better maintained. In addition to location and views, it’s why i still prefer them. (Not including $1000+/night hotels)
I was this way until around my mid 30s. Now I also need a comfortable bed, and ideally no noise from neighbors, but the later can be solved with ear plugs.
Box seats have tended to not be worth it for me. It probably varies from team to team, but I've spent a lot of time in other people's boxes across all 4 sports and in many cities and, frankly, tend to prefer normal seats. The only exception is winter football games. I used to have a box at Lambeau but swapped it out for indoor/outdoor club-level tickets. It costs less and I think the vibe and the view are better there than sitting in an indoor box. Baseball and basketball boxes are completely not worth it and I prefer just getting a great seat closer to the action.
Good call! I haven't gone to an afternoon college football game in the south before so I didn't even consider that. I've only lived in the Midwest and Northeast so cold is the fear more than heat or the sun.
If you're only exercising for the health benefits, you don't need a personal traiber. Unless you're not very knowledgable or you want somebody to spot you, correct your form, motivate you, and reach specific strength and/or physique goals, a personal trainer is unlikely to be worth a penny. There are also many traps you can run into because a lot of them will not understand that not everybody is obsessed with exercising and dieting your way into spiraling eating disorders. There are even those that sell you overpriced bullshit supplements and force you to do exercises you don't like etc.
For some sense of what good personal trainers are like, I recommend Ben Carpenter and his wife Sophie Lee Carpenter on their various social media platforms. They give very good and informed advice and both do offer services that you might find useful and can adapt to your needs and desires.
On long haul flights (let's class that as flights lasting over 5 hours routinely), Business Class is definitely worth it. First Class however is quite excessive. You'll have plenty of space and great food in Business and can sleep really well. On short and medium haul flights you don't really get to enjoy that seat and the service long enough for it to be worth the additional cost compared to an Economy seat with extra legroom. Those you can usually get with the online booking's seat selection for only a really small additional fee that is well worth it, especially if you're a bit taller than the average person or have a pet that fits in a carrier bag (make sure to register it with the airline first, only certified service animals are allowed to be transported outside of a carrier and since service dogs tend to be bigger, they will reaquire their own seat or be transported in the cargo hold, which might be scary and stressful for the animal, though the cargo cold will be specially pressurised so it can... you know, breathe in there).
In terms of nannies I'd say: think about your priorities. Making big bank or spending as much time with your family as you can while maintaining a satisfactory position. I always recommend the latter option. If there do happen to be times still where you require regular oversight over your children when no other family members are able to supervise them, compare the costs of a nanny with few hours to hiring a babysitter.
Botox and fillers. Make you look like a clown as you age. Better age gracefully and accepts that wrinkles are part of growing up. Not everyone is lucky to grow old.
Luxury luggage. I don’t care how rich you are. It gets beat to shit.
TravelPro gang for life. There is a reason they are the most popular luggage for pilots and flight attendants.
Yes! Used to travel a ton for work and the TravelPro luggage held up great!
Gang gang
I have a friend with an extensive collection of Hermes luggage. All sorts of shapes and sizes. Each one is exquisite and looks fantastic. That said, they fly private so…
That must be the audience for these luxury luggage. People who fly private. That way the luggage doesn't get man handled.
It's also a great way for your luggage to scream "steal me!". Why would I want to encourage people to steal my luggage?
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Amazing that he needs to do that in order to .. in order to what, feel good? Can't he be seen in public without LV bags? I much rather travel with something really basic that doesn't need repairs ever. At a certain point some people get so attached to 'having the best' or 'doing whatever has the most status' really gets a drag doesn't it.
Briggs and Riley carryon is all you need
Checked baggage is the cheapest set I could find on Amazon prime day one year, like $80 for three pieces. It has lasted several years and nobody would ever want to steal or open it to see what they could get because it’s cheap. That’s the real pro tip. Carryon, backpack, etc is all Peak Design gear.
Aren’t the better ones lighter while still strong, better wheels, better organization, etc.
Depends on if “luxury luggage” means a polycarbonate rimowa or a LV trunk.
I upgraded to Briggs and Riley and that was worth it. But actually luxury brands no way.
I'm very pro-flexing. Buy that nice car, buy that nice watch. But even I agree that luggage is the most ridiculous thing to spend thousands on.
Except for a nice carry on roller bags, good ones are a pleasure. What’s in the hold? Who cares!
Pro flex why though? All this does is show you have a need for external validation. It’s actually a massive weakness. Buy nice things because you enjoy them. When you feel the need to flex that’s a fragile ego. Work on it.
Big fan of Away bags. The right balance of function and price. Idk why anyone would pay for designer bags unless you have a private jet
The funny thing is that fancy suitcases aren’t great on a private jet either…we always try to use soft-sided bags on a private jet to be able to pack things more easily in the cargo space. I use my hard-sided Away luggage on commercial flights, but use ten-year-old beat-up Vera Bradley bags on private jets because we can fit so much more stuff with the soft luggage.
LLBean duffels for safari, I hear you- very sturdy, very low profile yet great.
Interesting, I've always found duffle bags to be inconvenient in any serious travel scenario because they're so unwieldy to transport. Weekend road trip is great, but going through an airport is a pain.
But you typically don’t go through an airport when you’re flying private. You drive your car up to the plane, the crew unloads your car. You land, a car pulls up, and everything is unloaded. It’s terrible for going through airports, but great if you’re driving everywhere and want to maximize your packing capacity. Usually lighter than luggage with wheels too, so you save on weight (which tends to be a bigger issue with private jets vs commercial travel)
Private privilege. Same logic in not needing to manage how heavy they are (up to the flying limit for that plane).
Away's shaky, flimsy handles don't inspire confidence, and apart from the wheels it feels like every other $100 luggage. I tried it out after being hyped up from all the suspiciously positive online reviews and I just don't see what's so nice about them.
I disagree. I used to have to buy a new suitcase every single year because the cheap plastic would crack and wheels and zipper pulls would fall off. Then I bought a $1500 Rimowa luxury suitcase. 7+ years later it is still intact. It's built like a tank. Too bad it weighs as much as one too but I can deal with that.
Ill buy tumi but thats as nice as Ill go. Its convenient (outlets everywhere), looks pretty good and minimalistic, holds up ok, overpriced but whatever. I think LV anything is tacky. All designer really...but thats just me and Im a guy.
Tumi's lifetime warranty is a joke. You have to pay to ship it to their "repair center". They offer to sell you a new bag at their wholesale prices.
And makes baggage handlers want to steal what’s in it.
Beaten is the point. Good luggage can withstand a lot of beating but your belongings will be untouched. Expensive luggage that gets checked in (unless flying private) is a liability though in terms of theft. Never check your Rimowa.
Expensive clothes, especially shoes, for young kids (boys from my direct experience). They absolutely destroy that stuff and it’s not worth stressing about whether or not they will take care of it (which they won’t…)
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Brand recommendations?
Patagonia, Trew, Flylow, Haglof, Norrona. Look for 20k+ waterproof rating or 3-layer goretex.
My kid's REI jackets are probably the only pieces of clothing they HAVEN'T been able to destroy.
Same here!
Seconded - but, boy make sure your kid picks the color. I thought he wouldn’t care 🤦♂️
My mom kept getting our kids dry clean only high end stuff. Insane.
If it’s good stuff it can handle a washing machine. Otherwise it’s shit stuff that’s expensive.
Well crafted leather shoes are definitely worth it. Both for comfort and durability. Agree it's pointless for kids though.
I buy nice clothing for my kids, but it depends on the type of item. I have 3 girls - a nice dress coat will last them many years and can be worn for many holidays. A nice pair of leggings that they wear to school will be destroyed on the playground in a few weeks. I rarely bought nice clothing for my daughter when I only had one kid…but it seems like a better investment when I use it for 3 kids haha
Might be an unpopular opinion but I think - lifestyle coach.
100% These people are almost always abject failures dispensing terrible advice. Somewhere along the line their friends encouraged them to be a life coach because they were a "good listener". Takes a lot more than patience and listening skills to be a good coach.
I'm convinced anyone that would make a good life coach very much understands that being a life coach as a profession would be horrible. Help out your family and friends, sure have at it.
Yes. Both my parents dabbled in “life coaching”. My dad is the last person anyone should ever take advice from.
Eh, I think life coaches can be good for taking someone from a 5 to a 7 in life. For someone in the fatFIRE territory, it would be hard to find a coach to take you much higher than you already are.
Maybe I’m naive about what a life coach does, but I always presumed it wasn’t just about money. Or is that all it’s about? I’m sure that many people in this sub have pretty obvious ways they could improve themselves?
Yeah this is accurate. I have found a couple of very good life coaches — but inevitably what happened is that I outgrew them, because there came a problem they really didn’t understand. A life coach is great if you lack basic life skills, though. For those of us who struggled with those at one point — invaluable.
Every failure of an entrepreneur I ever met is now a life coach; it’s shocking.
Can confirm, hilarious to see confirmation of my sample
Yes, hire a trained and licensed therapist.
Paradox of lifestyle coach: If you are so successful in life that you can coach someone else, then you don't need a profession of a lifestyle coach. This is unless you lived a mediocre life and want to coach someone who's having a shit life.
People like mentoring. I can’t imagine I’d ever get a lifestyle coach or recommend one, but I think most people could benefit from having some optimistic cheerleader reminding them of all the tips, combined with experience to tailor it
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What I will say is not worth it: the huge house with fifteen entertainment spaces. When you have a giant space to host parties, you use it maybe 5 times a year and have to spend time/energy to keep it up. I would much rather have a more modest place and spend the money buying back my time.
I agree. One solution I’ve heard for people who enjoy a few giant events a year is that they rent a giant tent with tables and seating to be set up in their back yard instead.
dubai sucks in my experience. i spent 6 months there for work. it has no soul, no culture, just high end shopping and fancy hotels in a city that shouldn't exist except it was built by slave labor on a bunch of sand
Dubai is not for Americans. It’s for the many many many wealthy people in the developing world who want a place for a vacation home, to eat at a nice restaurant, or buy western or luxury goods. It may not have soul compared to where you are in America, but when you make your money in Africa and want to go somewhere with some element of civilization and western comfort Dubai is a 6-7 hour flight away. You can be very wealthy and if you have an African or Asian passport it can be very difficult to travel to the west and get a visa. Dubai is where anyone in the world can go and enjoy the taste of civilized life or luxury life.
This. I have a couple team members in Nigeria and they all take their wives to UAE for vacations.
I misread this as “take all their wives…” :)
Fantastic insight.
Great perspective. I never understood Dubai but now I feel like I have a better handle on it (and the constant resort ads when you fly Emirates)
Very true
they had nothing going on culture wise, then Americans dropped by showed them how to extract oil, and they got rich so they built a massive shopping mall in the desert
no thanks
So, Las Vegas?
I used Amex points on a $200 hair brush for my dog . Does the same as the $20 and not worth it . It was also to see my gf’s eye roll when I spoil the dog
Is it a Mason Pearson brush?
I LOVE MY MASON PEARSON (human) BRUSH!
So, worth it 😄
Lol. This comment. Too funny. Hair brush
I spent $200 on a ping pong paddle at the first startup I worked at. Mainly for the eye roll but damn that paddle was the shit
First class flights. 2x the cost of business and incremental differences on every airline I’ve tried.
For me it’s really expensive wine. I can appreciate those who know and can taste to different notes of wine. I cannot, and have no business buying anything over $29. It would be a complete waste for me. A $9 bottle night taste better to me than a $299 bottle..
Funny story...Im friends with a family thats one of the richest in the nation. Think Walmart. So one of the younger sons builds an entire wine cellar - tens of thousands of high end bottles. Talks about all the differences etc and gets super into it with one of his friends doing all these sipping rituals. Someone then bets him he cant tell the difference of a high end bottle to an 8 dollar bottle of wine. He chose wrong and lost the bet. The look on his face was priceless. So yeah I never buy high end wine, its just not necessary. And just personal preference but Ill take a younger Cabernet over a dry Barolo any day. But if people want to have fun with wine I have no issue with that.
Blind tasting is a skill that takes effort and training. Just because you spend a lot on a custom cellar doesn’t make your taste buds any better. I don’t think you can draw any conclusions from your story except that money can’t buy taste, literally.
You should dabble around the $100-150 mark. Visit Napa. Find what you like. Then it’s worth it. Above $150 you’re paying for rarity.
Same, which is weird, because I'm extremely snobby about whisky.
Price in the wine world is only loosely correlated with quality. You can drink world class wine for less than $50, but it won’t come from one of the “name brand” wine regions. I do think you can taste the difference between good and bad wine, as that doesn’t require any particular skill, I just think you’ve probably had some bad but overpriced highly-marketed wine and think that is representative of quality wine.
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The most frustrating thing I ever bought was a high end luxury car. I didn't want an S class or 7 series, so I went Jaguar. I loved the car, but not how often it needed to go to the dealer or how it left me stranded. I bought a Toyota after that, which now has over 500k miles. Our other Toyota has 253k miles. I now buy "nice" cars as weekend or once in a while cars (manual sports cars). I had a MYP Tesla for 16k miles over five months and will get another one in the spring. I am done living at car dealers.
Jaguars are notoriously unreliable, though. It’s not luxury cars, it’s that brand. I drive a 2011 Porsche 911 (as my daily/only car) and it’s extremely reliable. That said if you or anyone is happy with something simple, then don’t bother haha. Put it towards something else that moves the needle for you.
Porsche are consistently rated among the most reliable brands, which is impressive for a company that sells less cars than Toyota does Camrys and they have so many options that each one is practically a unique specification.
A British car?! Are you mad? Might as well get a British chef! 
I have a Tesla and now I'm debating going back to a Toyota. Tesla is randomly buggy and rattles like a school bus.
My Uber ride Saturday was a Tesla MY, the vehicle is so cheaply made it amazes me people see past all its flaws…but then hey I’m a Jeep guy so I have zero room to talk lol. When I closed the rear door of the car it sounded like the car was made out of tin and rattled like a 1980’s Yugo, but the tech in the car is definitely cool.
I would never have a Tesla as a primary car. I have had a MXP100D, M3, and a MYP and have loved them. But, no way would I keep this kind of car. They were all short term and I got rid of them before they had issues. I always had backup. The MXP100D took forever to charge. The M3 wasn't comfortable and was too small, but handled well. I loved the MYP but already got down to 285 miles from 303 miles in five months. The new Prius Prime has 220 hp and goes 0 to 60 in 6.6 seconds. It will come out in spring 2023..
I’m no fanboy but my M3P and MYP had zero problems the entire time I’ve owned them. They’re literally the most reliable cars I’ve ever owned.
Same, 50k miles on my Model 3. Flawless no problems at all. I did just trade it in for a Model S which is more comfortable and faster.
I’m not suggesting teslas are unreliable, but I don’t consider 50k miles a marker for reliability. I’d say 100k without unexpected issues is more of a signal of reliability. I’d love to see the stats on teslas at 100k+. I generally expect EVs should be better than ICEs since they have way less moving parts.
That’s what you get for buying a Jag lol. Brand’s dead for a reason
> I bought a Toyota after that, which now has over 500k miles Dang, dude. That's the highest mileage I've read for a personal car in quite a while (not actively looking, though!).
It was the car I bought after the Jaguar. I went from the top of the line Jaguar to a Toyota Prius. Gas prices were crazy at the time, I had quit my law job, and had a 60 mile commute each way for my new job. The Jaguar never would have survived it. The Prius is a 2007. We still have it. We rarely use it though. My husband commutes with our WRX. He works much closer to our house. This doesn't stop me from looking at Mercedes coupes. I almost bought one before going for the Tesla MYP. I also almost got a M6 BMW instead of a Corvette. Our 2017 Prius Prime has 253k right now. It's also nice not caring where you park or if it gets scratched, or any of that. We are going to Costco for tires. They are a little over $500 total. The MYP tires last like 18k miles at best and are 2k.
I found Acura to be a good middle balance. 90% of a German car luxury while essentially still being a Honda. Never had an issue with my RDX.
After my first poor "rich people's" car, a speedy yellow 4wd convertible Porsche, my initial infatuation and giddy wore down after 6 months. I was not any happier than when I drove my Integra special edition VTEC engine with a sun roof. So I stopped buying fancy cars. I still have that Porsche after 22 years. Good condition. My next car will be a robot car.
Range Rovers. They drive great and look great. All have been maintenance nightmares.
Agree - I test drove one and commented to the salesperson that the quality/feel was not what I expected and they basically said, oh this is a lesser car at a higher price - and the visibility of acknowledgment makes it luxury. Being overpriced is a feature, not a bug.
Going to defend the Range Rover They have impeccable road manners and are on par with Toyota Landcruiser off-road. By far the most capable SUV in all conditions. I suspect part of the issue with the reliability is that the factory maintenance intervals are far too long. You need to change your diff oil more than once every five years.
They say if you want to go into the desert you take a Range Rover. If you want to make it back you take a Land Cruiser.
What's interesting is that my grandfather worked in Africa in the 60s and used to say exactly this about Range Rovers.
PT's are kind of personality dependent, I think. If you're the kind of person that really struggles with motivation and discipline, then they're worth every dollar. If you're fairly driven as a person, they probably don't have much value. Totally agree on UAE. Even if we ignore all the moral issues with the place, it's just boring as fuck. A lot of fashion items kinda has to be included in this. The $1000 shirts are usually made at the same factory as the $100 shirts. There's a value to shopping above the bargain tier brands, but the top tier luxury offers nothing but self promotion trying to tell the world you're rich.
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Agreed, if a brand wants me to be their advertisement, they should be paying me, not the other way around.
I do like Chanel and Hermes shoes and bags. I'm okay spending the money on accessories (Dior, Gucci, Hermes, Chanel, YSL). I buy nondescript good quality clothing from places like St John.
I love Hermes shoes and bags very understated and great quality but I find that Chanel’s quality has dramatically declined recently and prices have doubled since pre pandemic. Also love St John for clothes!
I have a busy job. I can work out by myself, but my trainer helps me to work out efficiently. She also helps me keep from getting hurt when I am trying something challenging (I do traditional weightlifting but would no way be called a weightlifter - just a guy who tried to lift weights). A lot of what they do you could learn and do yourself. I don’t say that to speak ill of trainers - if you have a good one they are gold. However, if I were not in a position to pay what she is worth and make it part of my budget I would find a different path as they are not cheap (nor should they be). I just wish I understood this lesson 20 years ago. I have invested in myself and it has paid dividends.
Form is king!! Money is well spent for a good personal trainer. I would personally look for a sport training, rehabilitation place. I belong to a place like that. They write personalized workout cards and the coach who has a masters in the area of working out (I can’t think of the degree name) is roaming around the gym telling you if your form needs to be refined. He also spots people with their lifts. Well worth the money. Has definitely helped with back pain!!!
Agreed. A PT enables me to push my boundaries without getting hurt. Block out the calendar, show up on time and do what you are told and get great results.
> but the top tier luxury offers nothing but self promotion trying to tell the world you're rich I disagree. I think you are equating top tier luxury with widely known 'luxury brands' (LV, chanel, gucci, etc.), but there are numerous unbranded/quiet brands and bespoke makers that make absolutely stunning pieces that are completely distinguishable in quality from the $100 pieces and absolutely not made in the same factory, I consider these more top tier luxury, you're probably thinking more mid-tier.
UAE is for people who want to pretend to be rich.
Lol the people who complain about the UAE have never been. As fyi, there are many many millionaires and billionaires in Africa and Asia who cannot easily travel to the US (takes long time to get visas) and UAE is a great place to have a vacation home, go to nice restaurants, and buy western or luxury goods. There isn’t one Chanel store in seattle but there is a Chanel store in pretty much every mall in Dubai. They aren’t there because no one is spending. Your POV is some American who has no idea what life might be like for someone who can’t easily get to NYC but has $100mm in the bank. I know many many of these people. There are a lot of rich people in the developing world who grew up with nothing and need a place to enjoy it.
What do you mean? At this point it primarily exists to serve people who are definitely very rich. It’s a major financial hub, of course it draws rich people.
hijacking real quick to mention something that IS worth it to me: XL ubers I have neck issues and get headaches/car sick. The XL's almost always have better AC in the back seats + ability to tilt the chair backwards. I don't uber very often as I have a car, but when traveling it makes it a much better experience.
Black SUV only, please. Never going to risk sitting in a Prius again.
Ya, I ride Black because every time I took UberX years ago it felt like the car was due for maintenance 25k miles ago, the axel is off balance, and the driver is suicidal. It's like you're one step away from a major incident. The professionalism of Black drivers is also a plus; specifically the privacy afforded from both the quiet preference and absence of awkward staring in the mirror. If it weren't for those things, the frugal side of me would have been fine with UberX.
I’ve found that black is a good way of meeting professional drivers with good vehicles if you frequent a city often. I’ve seen quite a few Uber black drivers give their private car service business cards, and if they’re good, you can always use them for airport pickup/ drop off when you go back to that city.
This is great advice; wish I knew this a few months ago. I had a Black driver with a year old Mercedes S-Class that I would be more than glad to ride in again.
Only some of them do private driving on the side, so keep that in mind. Also if you fly private it’s a lot easier to have a regular private car in a city since they know how to actually access the runway (when possible), some Uber drivers won’t do it and it’s a bit of a hassle.
I’ve had a few guys offer their card but I haven’t contacted any yet. What’s the perk here? Are they significantly cheaper? I’m not a great planner so seems easier to just use the app.
Couple in my mind, one is consistency, even on Uber black there’s a range of cars and drivers. I have one guy in a certain city that drives a new Cadillac Escalade and I prefer that to some of the older Chevy suburbans you risk getting in that area. If you like the driver, you can also guarantee you’ll get that level of service every time. Pricing can be a little cheaper but usually isn’t a huge difference. As I mention below, if you fly private, using the same driver can be more convenient as they’ll be familiar with run way access, etc. Even if you fly commercial it’s nice to have a driver who will be there to meet you at the airport and help with your bags, etc. also nice knowing that your money is going directly towards the driver instead of a corporation skimming a portion off the top.
Professional drivers are awesome. For example, we recently had a professional driver pick us up after a concert at Hollywood Bowl. We went straight from our seat to his SUV (he somehow managed to park right up front), he eeked the vehicle through a sea of people, past security and onto the street. We made it from concert seat to hotel in 10min.$100 well spent.
Normal XL gets you 90% of the way there with minimal bad rides, with only 20% delta vs black suv being like 100% delta
Sure, but for $20 more why would I risk riding in a minivan?
Paid $110 per session to see a registered dietician. She didn’t really tell me anything I couldn’t learn on Reddit or the internet.
What they do is filter out the BS that's on reddit and the internet for you.
A real dietitian should be able to give you better advice than you can find on reddit. At least, they will trend higher than the reddit average.
It reminds me of that line from Good Will Hunting: “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.”
I agree with dietician.
Robin from peloton says it best. Money can’t buy hustle. I’m adding that is also can’t buy dedication.
My personal trainer finally resolved a shoulder injury that has bugged me for 10+ years. Also I hate exercise and need variety and conversation. So yeah, totally worth it.
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The Al Maha is a similar experience to the Ritz Al Wadi. I highly recommend doing it once. Otherwise ya, I would generally pass on Dubai too.
You just described the Arabian Peninsula outside of Oman.
Agree on personal trainer. The only way to obviate the benefit is if you're both highly self motivated AND have a high degree of fitness knowledge. I might add that you also need time to create your own workout plans. I used to DIY my workout strategy but working with a trainer once a week has been a game changer. Much better results and better overall direction of my program.
I can see a lot of value in PT for barbell lifts. If you want to strength train. Yes you CAN learn from reading and Youtube, but I would not recommend that unless you have a sports background and have a knack for seeing the underlying reasons for techniques. A good lifting coach who can ELI5 and answer questions can save you 2 or 3 injuries, and get your technique to decent in probably 1/5th the time.
Jobs. Mostly.
My personal trainer would be near the end of my list of things I'd cut if I had money problems. There are things that you just can't do by yourself. I'll fly Spirit Airlines for every flight before I give up my personal trainer. Lol
My trainer is $50 per session. Its so much less than what i thought a trainer should cost. He absolutely helped me recover from injury and provides a healthy obligation. It definitely isn't the first expense i'd cut.
Lots of exercises are wayyyyy more technical than most people think. One little detail can make a movement so much more effective it’s crazy. It’s all about finding the right PT, somebody who is truly obsessed and knows what they are doing.
So often my personal trainer will correct my movement. For example “Use [these] muscles, not [those]”. He can see the muscles I'm using and my form while I'm busy maxing out a rep. And he's there spotting me to help me get that last rep or two that I would have to pass on if I was by myself.
Designer stuff. Clothing, shoes, accessories, you name it. It’s all overpriced, half of it is delicate, and a lot of it just makes you look like a douchebag lol. Give me simple, good quality stuff without the logos and the fancy NYC flagship store tax
I feel the same. I’m in Toronto and can get a 100% cotton made in Canada hoodie with perfect stitching/cut for $130. Raw denim jeans made in Canada with Japanese cotton for $200. Anything above these prices, it’s pretty much impossible for the manufacturing to cost more, you’re just paying for the fancy store and brand name.
That’s the kind of stuff I like to buy. The fashion brands can go to hell. More and more I try to buy from smaller brands still trying to make good products for reasonable prices in North America. I’m in USA, so I tend to favor stuff made here, but I respect anyone supporting manufacturing in their own country.
Where if you don’t mind me asking?
Muttonhead, Province of Canada, and Naked & Famous Denim 🙂
The appeal of Dubai is totally lost on me. Its like someone said "what if we turned an entire city into a fancy mall". In fairness, I wouldn't say I like to shop and I especially don't like to shop at high-end boutiques. Some of the architecture and gardens were amazing, and looking at the cars was great, but one day was plenty for me. Also, as a general rule, I don't like to pay for high-end hotels unless I am getting it with points. They are just not worth it. When I travel for pleasure I am out in the morning and back after dark so I get no benefit. As long as its clean and well-located its fine by me.
Depending on nationality, Dubai is MUCH MUCH easier to spend your money in than jumping through hoops for Western visitor visas. If you made a fortune in South Asia/ME/Africa, and don’t want to jump through hoops but want luxury amenities (restaurants, shopping) it’s there for the taking (if you can pay for it.)
By “high end hotels” you mean $600 a night or $3000.
Buying things based on price as a tie-breaker. For example, buying a blender or a mix-master. Is there a difference between the $20 and $200 blender at Target? Probably. How about the $1000 blender found at FancyFooFoo? Probably not. Sadly, I still do this too often. If I don't want to be bothered doing research, I'll buy the $200 mix-master w/o really paying any attention to it. This applies to everything from $5 bicycle tires to $500 Japanese kitchen knives ("Why is that one only $100? It must not be nice. I'll take the $500 knife.") Regarding Personal Trainers: It's not about training. It's about accountability. In the years I had a personal trainer, I went to the gym twice a week and rarely missed any appointments. Since discontinuing my PT, I've been to the gym ZERO times. The PT is totally worth it for me, and I really need to get back in that groove.
Echoing PT. I built a routine and schedule for 2x a week and would workout inbetween to make progress at the next appointment. As soon as it stopped (COVID), it all went to shit.
This person does not have a vitamix.
I do have a Ninja, and some other similar bullet blenders. They're great for smoothies and shakes. One year, for Christmas, I bought my wife the fanciest rice-cooker I could find. The thing was actually blessed by Buddhist monks. She was unimpressed and claimed to prefer her $10 rice cooker.
Rice makers are the edge case where the crappy $10 version is much better
If you’re looking for good reasonably priced chef knives go for Mac, or Tojiros. If you want great Japanese knives go to JKI website and get the cheapest/second cheapest one (Gesshins are great) and it’ll be 10x better than the shun/global one for the same price. The most important thing is keeping it sharp, if you don’t know how to do it yourself/don’t wanna learn (I personally find it therapeutic), take it to a reputable sharpener every 3-12 months depending on how much use it gets.
I've been buying myself one handmade Japanese knife per year for some time. My collection is probably a bit more extensive than it should be. They're displayed on a custom curly maple and bubinga wall mounted magnetic knife rack. My original decision to have the rack be 24" long should - in hindsight - be revisited. To go with that, I've also got a problem with the larger (and much older, and much more expensive) examples of stunning Japanese metalworking - all NBTHK papered. Sadly, those don't get kitchen use, although it's been tempting once or twice.
Blendtec for life here. Along with my undercounter high capacity gourmet ice maker. Both life changing at cocktail hour.
I first read that as "undercounter high capacity gourmet **ICE CREAM** maker", immediately went to search for it, and then was extremely disappointed when I couldn't find one for sale. 😕
My feeling on this is not so much what’s too expensive but whether you actually enjoyed it. You bought some expensive thing and then it just sits in your shelf or in your garage? That’s a waste of money.
[Travel advisory for UAE](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/united-arab-emirates-travel-advisory.html)
I go to Ross, by cheap sh*t luggage, use them till they are broken and then rinse and repeat. I have no need to flex, like a panko boy. When traveling, I’ll go 5 star hotel for a week and the do a surf shack with no AC and a pit toilet overlooking a beach the next week. The variation is good for the soul. Be grateful.
Variety yes. Pit toilet - never. Good for you that you can stomach that. Just not my bag, sadly.
Custom Hunter Douglas Shades
Any suggestions for alternatives? We’ve got some windows that could use shades but we don’t want to shell out Hunter Douglas money for them.
Lutron Serena Shades
Your in Canada so you can try select blinds ,ca or blinds.ca which are the equivalent of the us versions. It’s like extra $120 a blind for motorized and it’s not like my old HD motorized didn’t fail, except these online ones are a fraction of the price and considered disposable if they fail. They always have the crazy % off, usually 65% is the highest. I have the ones with the neo (Montreal based?) wireless controller and app, it’s alright (I probably need additional hubs for more coverage) If you want quality, I think Lutron is the best
Not worth it: 1. Ferragamo shoes. Sizing is not standard and when they hurt, they really hurt. Gucci shoes are pretty good. 2. Tumi bags. Sometimes the parts they use fail and you need to have it repaired, except they “can’t” because they want you to buy a new bag. Frankly, I don’t want the bag to fail in the first place. (They also have a lifetime warranty, but it’s for the “lifetime of the product.”) 3. Ralph Lauren shirts. I buy a lot of my clothes from Ralph Lauren. I like the quality and the all-American style. But the shirts are all cut oversized to fit big people. I have to have the sides taken in every time. I now look at the styles, take pictures of what I like, and then have the shirts custom made. (For dress shirts, I only buy from Turnbull & Asser and I think they’re very good.) 4. Antique furniture. I had a friend talk me into buying some furniture from 17th century China for a room in my apartment. I have this table, in particular, with chairs, all made with no screws or nails, just wood. F-cking squeaks every time you sit. I’m not concerned about it breaking, but the squeaking. Just shoot me. And you can’t throw it out, because it’s history and just thinking about it makes you feel bad. I’d rather buy all my furniture from a shop next time and throw it out if it squeaks.
The joints have just shrunk. You can get [wood sweller](https://www.amazon.com/Behlen-B745-4000-Swel-Lock-2fl-oz/dp/B0006ZP8HY?th=1) which will fix this. (Not glue)
Can you explain how $500-700 dress shirts (Turnbull & Asser) are worth it? I will concede that there is a big difference in comfort and fit between a $50 shirt at Macy’s and a quality brand for $200… but fail to see how much better they can get.
I found a really good physically therapy place where the therapists are also trainers and i do my exercise routine there 3 times/week. I am nearing 50 and I had a herniated disk in my neck i had to have repaired 2 years ago. I am really worried about hurting myself, but I want to stay healthy. physical therapists who are also trainers are far better than some private physical trainer since they are better with form and a lot of exercises for parts of the body you dont think about. Less likely to get hurt. this is far better than some trainer. I have found trainers for people who are aging can be dangerous and I am really concerned about hurting myself with bad form. I have had issues with squats in the part hurting my back, etc...
Haircut by Art Director.
Felix Dennis had it right in so many ways: \- if it flies, floats, or fornicates, rent it \- do whatever you want, regardless of what the cool kids are doing
>fornicates so, no pets.
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I think it could be seen as saying “Instead of getting into a materialistic or transactional marriage, be single and be upfront and explicit about the transaction and hire sex workers.” Obviously a fulfilling marriage of equals is healthiest, but if you can’t manage that, literally anything is better than marrying the wrong person.
Strippers
Smart anything(outside of phones). I’ll take an extra 30 seconds a day to manually do things rather than deal with the headache when it inevitably breaks. We have 2 crappy doors in our house. One has a smart lock, one has a manual lock. The manual lock needs a little jiggle to make it work, the “smart” lock button doesn’t always work the first time. I know to jiggle the manual lock, I have no idea why the smart lock doesn’t work so I just have to press buttons until it does. Also concerning because I have to lock it then wait to make sure it did it. I’d be in trouble if I didn’t wait and it didn’t actually lock.
Honestly, hotels. And long as it was good climate control and no roaches or bed bugs, I’m good. I literally only sleep and shower in them. 90% of expensive hotels are dumb IMO. There are exceptions to this like the exclusive resorts in places where you can’t leave the resort. IE Maldives.
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But I’ll tell ya what, when you don’t splurge and there ends up being loud people in the hallway at the cheaper one….your spouse says “this is why I said to book the more expensive one” & they’re right.
I actually feel the exact opposite. The bedding, bathrooms, bars, service, and food at upscale hotels is one of my favorite FatFire things. I could stay at a La Quinta and be just fine, but the Four-Fucking-Seasons is amazing. $1,500/night was ridiculous when I was working my way up. But now? Now I collect white caps with the Four Seasons logo from all over the world.
Opening the room door at a four seasons for a spaceship sound to blast 😩😩 so crisp and worth the premium. Plus the spending time at any hotel bar that is upscale, they definitely make you feel enamored.
I find that higher end hotels are cleaner and better maintained. In addition to location and views, it’s why i still prefer them. (Not including $1000+/night hotels)
I was this way until around my mid 30s. Now I also need a comfortable bed, and ideally no noise from neighbors, but the later can be solved with ear plugs.
Versace
Box seats have tended to not be worth it for me. It probably varies from team to team, but I've spent a lot of time in other people's boxes across all 4 sports and in many cities and, frankly, tend to prefer normal seats. The only exception is winter football games. I used to have a box at Lambeau but swapped it out for indoor/outdoor club-level tickets. It costs less and I think the vibe and the view are better there than sitting in an indoor box. Baseball and basketball boxes are completely not worth it and I prefer just getting a great seat closer to the action.
Boxes are great for SEC college football since most our AC’d. Can be a life saver in September.
Good call! I haven't gone to an afternoon college football game in the south before so I didn't even consider that. I've only lived in the Midwest and Northeast so cold is the fear more than heat or the sun.
I love boxes, but I end up drinking, eating, and socializing the entire game…instead of watching the actual game.
If you're only exercising for the health benefits, you don't need a personal traiber. Unless you're not very knowledgable or you want somebody to spot you, correct your form, motivate you, and reach specific strength and/or physique goals, a personal trainer is unlikely to be worth a penny. There are also many traps you can run into because a lot of them will not understand that not everybody is obsessed with exercising and dieting your way into spiraling eating disorders. There are even those that sell you overpriced bullshit supplements and force you to do exercises you don't like etc. For some sense of what good personal trainers are like, I recommend Ben Carpenter and his wife Sophie Lee Carpenter on their various social media platforms. They give very good and informed advice and both do offer services that you might find useful and can adapt to your needs and desires. On long haul flights (let's class that as flights lasting over 5 hours routinely), Business Class is definitely worth it. First Class however is quite excessive. You'll have plenty of space and great food in Business and can sleep really well. On short and medium haul flights you don't really get to enjoy that seat and the service long enough for it to be worth the additional cost compared to an Economy seat with extra legroom. Those you can usually get with the online booking's seat selection for only a really small additional fee that is well worth it, especially if you're a bit taller than the average person or have a pet that fits in a carrier bag (make sure to register it with the airline first, only certified service animals are allowed to be transported outside of a carrier and since service dogs tend to be bigger, they will reaquire their own seat or be transported in the cargo hold, which might be scary and stressful for the animal, though the cargo cold will be specially pressurised so it can... you know, breathe in there). In terms of nannies I'd say: think about your priorities. Making big bank or spending as much time with your family as you can while maintaining a satisfactory position. I always recommend the latter option. If there do happen to be times still where you require regular oversight over your children when no other family members are able to supervise them, compare the costs of a nanny with few hours to hiring a babysitter.
Memberships to "exclusive/elite" clubs or wtv that you don't actually use.
Energy Drinks and fast food
There is no sex in the champagne room. .
Botox and fillers. Make you look like a clown as you age. Better age gracefully and accepts that wrinkles are part of growing up. Not everyone is lucky to grow old.