What Do You Splurge On?

I just got back from a vacation to Puerto Rico (incidentally, I’ve come to the conclusion life away from the beach sucks), and I’m happy to say I wasted a ton of money on everything from food to hotel accommodations to day trips.  Why?  Because it was awesome.

Frugality Can Be Lame

Most of my friends and acquaintances would accuse me of being unnecessarily frugal i.e. cheap.  I see things differently:  it’s not that I’m cheap, it’s just that I derive no pleasure from many of the material things in life, or at least a lot less than average.  That said, there are a few things I enjoy enough to splurge on.  Travel is among them.

Why travel?  I tend to value experiences over things.  Buying a new Porsche would probably be cool for a week or so, but I would eventually get bored of it.  After all, it’s only a car and there are only so many times you can drive 120 mph before having your license taken away.  Travel, on the other hand, is always an adventure.  I could go the same place a hundred times and never have the exact same experience.

But Can’t You Have Just As Much Fund On A Budget?

The frugalistas amongst you will likely argue, “but Kyle, you can have just as much fun without spending a ton of money.”  Perhaps you can, but I can’t.  Having to stop and worry whether or not I’m spending too much money is enough  to ruin a vacation for me.  I go on vacation to enjoy myself, and money, while perhaps not necessary in the strictest sense, certainly helps.  I could certainly take the bus to the other side of town if I wanted, and I did that on occasion, but taking a taxi is usually much faster and much less of a hassle.

Similarly, I could eat at Taco Bell every night and save some money, but isn’t at least half the fun of travel trying new foods?  Last I checked, Taco Bell has pretty much the same menu everywhere.  I didn’t fly 3000 miles to do something I could just as easily do at home.

What Do You Splurge On?

Practically everybody has something they refuse to compromise on, be it their morning coffee, automobile, home entertainment system, of craft beer.  What do you regularly splurge on even though you know it’s wasteful?