Luxuries

[puglogic]

I am a frugalista, but enjoy the occasional bottle of wine (but rarely spent the money on myself). Recently, someone tipped me off that the local wine-and-beer store had a cart tucked in the back of the store where they had blowouts and overstock and such, all for under $5.00. Skeptical, I have tried some of them, and have been surprised to learn that some are quite good. Score! Frugal AND hedonist! :)

Now I wonder if I could do more of this. What little luxuries have you found a frugal and/or sustainable way to incorporate in your life?

[flowerseverywhere]

we have a "yard sale" at our quilt guild. As quilters and other crafters know it is so easy to stock up on stuff you don't need or just don't get around to doing. We put our stuff that we no longer want at a low price and are able to buy other stuff cheaply. Some people bring boxes of stuff. Satisfies our need for new patterns etc. spending very little in the process and also being able to declutter.

[Zoebird]

that's a cool one, flowers.

I consider our car a luxury, and i got an online voucher that will provide the labor costs for the next 18 months of work (alignments, oil changes, etc). We still have to pay for parts/oil, but it's $99 for $1k of labor. It's a considerable savings, and it gives me more time to learn how to change the oil, etc, myself.

I feel happy to have gotten that deal. :)

I also use fuel vouchers AND get vouchers for accommodations when we travel. I've stayed at hostels/parks that are $75 for a room with bath at the regular price, and gotten it for $30 a night. It's great to travel to a place and stay for three or four nights for $120. :) And, they usually have shared kitchen, so we cook our meals and it's fabulous. :D saves a lot of money on travel, that's for sure!

[bke]

Staying at a hotel and having someone else cook for the holidays is a big one for us. We've managed to cut the costs quite a bit by stayingat a local casino of all places. We close the restaurant Thanksgiving day and hit the hotel the night before. Our room costs $209 for the night. We can swim and sit in the hot tub until 11pm. We get a $50 food voucher for the night. With this we get a huge brunch for about $27. The remainder will by sandwiches and/or snacks the night before. We also get $100 between the two of us to gamble with. We very very rarely gamble with our own money but will turn as much of this comped money into real cash as possible. It ends up being a pretty cheap 24 hrs of R&R.

We did this for 3 nights at Christmas last year. By taking some homemade cookies and other snacks, we managed to stay for almost exactly the cost of the room.

[catherine]

One of the perks of business travel (which I do a lot of), is I get to stay in nice hotels and eat great food, and have my client pay for it. I guess I do pay a price in terms of the wear and tear of travel, but I definitely enjoy indulging in fancy hotels in big cities, and room service brought in complete with nice linen napkins and little bud vase on my tray!

[iris lily]

We end up with more gift cards for dining out than one household should have to bear! At the moment Ive got $225 in gift cards for 2 local restaurants. one is a place that is close by and we love it! But our friends are too generous, and there is Christmas coming up when we will probably get another one...

[Blackdog Lin]

Sunday coffee. Well, that's what we call it.

We adore really good coffee, but it's expensive. We also fear (know) that if we had the good stuff everyday it would get to be old hat, that is we'd start taking it for granted, and not appreciate it as much. So we drink the cheap stuff (very drinkable, just not near as good) 6 days, and on Sundays (and holidays :)) we enjoy our premium grind. It makes it more special somehow, and tastes even better.

The concept works in other areas of our life as well. We used to eat out 1-2 times a week, now it's more like 1-2 times a month. And because we do it so rarely, even a McDonalds meal, or the cheap Chinese buffet, tastes better, and seems more special to us. And travel: we do so much less of it these days that even a day-trip with a picnic lunch seems like a big deal. We just appreciate it more that we used to.

We've come to just call all of these little life trade-offs "Sunday coffee".

[Fawn]

We end up with more gift cards for dining out than one household should have to bear! At the moment Ive got $225 in gift cards for 2 local restaurants. one is a place that is close by and we love it! But our friends are too generous, and there is Christmas coming up when we will probably get another one...

Oooo! Iris Lily! Invite me out!;)

[bke]

Blackdog Lin-

I feel like that explanation summed up our lives too. We don't indulge often on things but when we do, we try and make it worth while. The example that comes to mind is the last set of sheets I bought for our bed. They were medium priced, not expensive but definitely not the cheapies. Freshly laundered, decent quality sheets are definitely a luxury to me.

[reader99]

I love chocolate. Candy bars get expensive, and right now my gall bladder doesn't really want the fat. So I buy raw cocoa powder at the health food store and mix it with sugar and a little water to make my own fudge-like dessert.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

My luxury is a massage. When I don't have gift certificates, (my DH knows this is a great gift idea), then I will make an appointment at our local massage therapy institute. Less expensive, and so far I have never been disappointed in the student's work. Most time I have had someone who was just ready to graduate, and once I had a licensed therapist who was helping out.

[Mighty Frugal]

I guess mine are chocolate too. I prefer the good stuff -Lindt. We have a Lindt outlet in my city and there I buy still good divine choco for 75% off. The best before date is still a month away and the choco is still good for 6 months after that date. I also buy Santas in Feb, Easter eggs in June, Jack-o-lanterns in Dec-I don't care their shape...just care about the Lindt choco...mmm..choco snob on a poor man's wages

I also buy good make up (Lancome, Estee Lauder, etc) but wait until they have a buy X and receive a whole bunch of Ys for free. So I'll buy my foundation and get a whack of make up/cleansers for free...or buy a mascara, etc.

[ApatheticNoMore]

My luxury is a massage.

+ 1 I'll take it over chocolate ANY day! More expensive? Well you know I'm in a position to get short massages ocassionally really cheap .... so sometimes more expensive but not always.


When I don't have gift certificates, (my DH knows this is a great gift idea), then I will make an appointment at our local massage therapy institute. Less expensive, and so far I have never been disappointed in the student's work.

good idea

[Spartana]

expensive stuffed olives, smoked salmon, sushi, & brie cheese (three of my few non-vegan foods I eat a couple of times a year), artisan breads, and good champagne. I'm not a foodie for the most part but like to occasionally try things that are very unusual (and expensive) to what I normally eat - i.e. haven't tried cavier yet but want to - and would only be for a special occasion. Not frugal or sustainable on my budget and haven't found a way to get those things cheaper either. But I do look in the discount bins of my local Ralphs gracery store and they often have all kinds of stuff - including fancy food and alcohol - up to 75% off. Usually because the food will expire the next day. I just got a bottle of some fancy Tequilia that was normally $35/bottle for $5 as well as one off those pre-mixed booze (Bacardi Mai Tai's I think) that is around $25 for $3.