A few days ago Connie and I went to a unique NJ restaurant for a light dinner.
We each had a root beer, we shared a pastrami and turkey sandwich and one bowl of matzah ball soup. The bill was $108 before tip. Now you know why Harold’s NY Deli is unique. 
Have you concluded it is a upscale, white table cloth place or just a rip off? Now, the rest of the story. 
The sandwich is so large they give you six extra slices of bread to break it down.

While I was in Savannah last week, PBS was filming an episode of Antiques Roadshow, a show I’ve always enjoyed. On a lark, my girlfriend Patricia and I walked over and took a backstage tour with a woman who worked for Georgia Public Broadcasting. This is what we saw:
Hundreds of people who had won free tickets in an online lottery lined up at the entrance to the Georgia Railroad Museum. Most carried small items in tote bags.

A detour from personal finance to something more macro:
 
Isn’t it amazing (sarcasm intended) that the price of a barrel of oil has dropped from $ 72 to $ 59 over the past month, yet “shockingly” – sarcasm intended, again – the price of gasoline hasn’t budged in my area. It seems that the oil companies have no problem raising the price of gas IMMEDIATELY, whenever there is a hiccup in the Middle East, but they FORGET how to lower prices when the price of oil goes down !

If there is an antonym to HumbleDollar it surely must be in the form of a gift my wife just received from her niece. The gift is a bag. It’s a designer thing. From Paris. I googled the bag, and if you are interested you can buy one of your very own for about $4000.
My wife’s bag is actually a knock off, a counterfeit. The niece only paid 50 bucks. I couldn’t figure out how to post a picture,

Dan’s post ‘Insomnia and the Back of an Envelope’ motivated me to review our expenses.  Our top five categories are property taxes, home/car insurance, utilities, groceries, and healthcare premiums/deductibles.

Our home property taxes increased 23% from 2023 to 2025 while our home value increase 17%. The value of our ten-acre plot went down 1.6% from 2023 to 2024, but then increased 23.5% from 2024 to 2025 and property taxes increased by 30%.
Home insurance went up 46% from 2023 to 2025,

Five years ago I wrote a HD article titled Food for Thought. It was about all the food we waste and, of course the money as a result.
Yesterday I mentioned to Connie that we have things in our pantry and fridge we don’t even know we have. She was sure that was not the case. Today I pulled out a bag of candy and other goodies we had forgotten from Christmas. I’m assuming it’s from last Christmas but that is not a certainty. 

Suppose money were no object. If you could go anywhere in the world on your next trip, where would it be? If you could savor any experience, what would it be?

When I experience an issue with a food product, I don’t suffer in silence. While eating lunch at work in the late 1980s, I found what I thought to be a bug in my frozen turkey dinner. I mailed the specimen to the manufacturer, along with a cover letter that included a subtle attempt to mimic the comic style of the Lazlo Letters. I received some coupons and a boiler-plate apology, along what I thought was an unsatisfactory reply: “We sent your exhibit to our lab and they have informed us that it was a piece of fatty tissue with dark brown meat fibers adhering to the piece of fat.”
I showed the company’s letter to my co-workers and–goaded on a bit by them–I sent a response that stated in part: “Madam,

I was having breakfast recently in a small cafe when three people were seated at the next table. The server handed out menus and a woman asked her, “Between the pancakes, waffles and French toast, which is the best?”
I felt like saying, what a dumb question, but the quiet, reserved me said nothing. They are three different things and the “best” is highly dependent on personal taste. 
I was waiting for the customer to say,

Are we all on the same frugality page?
From what I found, frugal living involves  prioritizing needs over wants, spending less than earned, valuing quality, and embracing resourcefulness like DIY. Common practices include planning meals, buying used items, and seeking discounts.
I read that a cheap person focuses on price and a frugal person on value. Well, that doesn’t make sense. You could spend a lot of money achieving what you value – like a car or a cruise.

I know many folks look down on cruises, and I can understand why. The amount of food and booze that’s consumed is a wonder to behold, the casino is a smoke-filled den of desperation, and the behavior of fellow passengers can be a tad off-putting.
Still, Elaine and I have taken three cruises in the past four years, including one last week, and we thoroughly enjoyed all three. Why? Here are five reasons.
Few hassles.

Connie and I were discussing a purchase. “That’s expensive,” she said.  I finally said, “I don’t care what they cost.” A moment of silence. “What happened to you that you don’t care what something cost?” she said. I thought a moment and then said, “I’m old.”
Actually that’s true. Within reason, I no longer care. I don’t look at prices in the supermarket- but I do load digital coupons on my phone. It’s also true I am old.

One of the biggest financial questions I wrestle with is when to spend. Saving has never been an issue for me—my thrifty habits make that easy. What I struggle with is knowing when (if ever) to splurge.
For example, I love rock climbing with my kids. It’s a weekly ritual, and I have no hesitation spending money on those experiences because I know I’m investing in memories before they grow up and move on.

This is not criticism, it’s an inquiry.
Over the years I have read many times on HD about tracking expenses/spending. Some people pursue this in great detail, some seem to approach it like a hobby. There may be something motivating in knowing how every penny is spent. 
As you may suspect, I don’t know in detail where or how we spend our money. As long as the big picture is in balance I am happy. 
What I do know is the bank balance is $X at the end of the month,

This is not a political post, but the basis is a political action. Friday, Feb. 28, was the so-called Nationwide Economic Blackout. My wife and I decided to participate. For us, this wasn’t about specific retailers. We simply made no discretionary (or mandatory) purchases that day. It was not a difficult commitment.
Thinking about this over the weekend, I realized that the result of that day wasn’t anything special for us. There are many days that we spend absolutely nothing.