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As we ponder retirement and moving from savers to spenders i was considering what recent discretionary purchases really added extra value to our lives.
Here is my short list:
1) A home milk frother – we love coffee at frugal prices so we DYI most of the time.
2) a good quality sound bar – we love music.
3) my carbon frame touring (upright) bike – mental/physical health and fun. This wasn’t frugal but so worth it in terms of comfort and road confidence due to it’s wider tires.
I was wondering what purchases you would put on your list and why.
Thank you Jonathan Clements for all that you do. I have read many of your articles and books and wanted you to know that you have a fan for life. Wishing you a full recovery.
~Moshe
Our Peloton bike and later rower. Game changer for my fitness journey.
I’m a sucker for kitchen gadgets and love my Instant Pot and air fryer. I use both multiple times a week.
Fully agree, thanks Jonathan for everything. On my list, was a transistor radio in 1957, a boom box on 1960, Handheld Sony 1970, powerful hand held calculators 1975, Our first Apple computer 1983 and the list goes on. I like computers that are faster than me, and work properly everyday. I splurge on smartphones, smart TV’s and Apple Mac’s. I wonder what’s next!
I have absolutely LOVED reading this post! Thank you to all who have commented.
My list (in no particular order):
1) Membership to the local indoor pickleball courts. My wife and I play 3-5 times a week. Great exercise and social connections
2) Milk frother (from the OP!) We have two. We have a Bialetti and make our own lattes every morning.
3) Heated mugs (Nextmug from Amazon). You can take an hour to drink that amazing latte, and it never gets cold. I actually take these out with me too, as I find most places the coffee gets cold too fast
4) We live in Montana, and we now have an electric snow shovel for the front sidewalk and an electric snow blower for the back driveway. So much easier, faster, and way less chance of a back injury
5) We go to the local runners store to buy our athletic shoes. A while ago my wife bought her running shows on Amazon to save money. Ended up creating a stress fracture in her toe due to a not-so-go fit, and that cost $600 and 4 months not working out. Total waste of money saving money!
6) Costco membership. The fuel saves you a ton. I never bother to look at the price of petrol as it’s always the cheapest, and, per Consumer Reports, the best. I also like to get my tires done at Costco. Way cheaper.
7) Consumer Reports subscription and the print magazine. I’ve found that the print magazine brings me to stuff I would never look up. Just upgraded my wife’s lip balm to the “best” based on the CR reviews
8) Walmart+ membership. Didn’t use it for months, but just figured that getting groceries delivered is VERY nice indeed.
9) Paying to not have to watch ads on whatever platform. Ads are awful.
10) Paying for a month on a particular streaming service for a particular show. We don’t go to the movies, so spending $9 to watch amazing shows on Britbox is a steal
11) We have the Delta Reserve AmEx card. We pretty much have to fly Delta out of here, and the card gives you upgrades and, the most important part, access to the SkyClub. We just got our “complimentary” (obviously it’s not, as we pay $600 for the card) free companion ticket, and we’re both flying first class to Belize for Spring Break.
12) Top quality coats. Being cold is awful. Coats from Patagonia, Black Diamond and Arc’Teryx are stupidly expensive, but very light and very effective, and so very much worth it.
13) We have two old cars. Honda Ody, bought brand new 24 years ago, and now has 275k miles on it. Runs like a dream. I always buy good tires (from Costco) for it, plus have a very reliable local mechanic. The other is a 21 year old Honda Civic, just 105k miles on it. As someone else said, having two cars when at least one is old is just the right choice. Cheap to insure.
14) Good car insurance. I don’t want to have an issue if there’s an issue.
Central air conditioning, central vacuum system, first class plane tickets.
I installed the first two when I bought my fixer upper house over thirty years ago and if I ever move to a different house I’ll do it again.
I started purchasing first class plane tickets a few years before I retired. The “first on first off” and larger seats make them worth every penny.
I’m not retired yet but I have a few splurges that bring tremendous value to our lives.
1.) $30 bidet that attaches to my existing toilet. As someone who sits at a desk all the time, I am at higher risk for hemroids and had a couple of flare-ups a long while back. You know who doesn’t have that problem… Europe and Asia…why… bidet/water cleaning. I feel so much cleaner and we likely have saved enough on TP to have covered the sunk cost. We still use some TP…but it’s more of a “last pass” kind of thing. If we ever built or remodeled another house, I would have an outlet by the toilet so we could buy a bidet with an air dryer.
2.) $800-1100/ea. (2) vespa style scooters (Yamaha Vinos). Man, summer feels European when the wife and I head out on those. they joy is just getting to destinations. Only pay $75 in insurance a year, the gas cost is laughable, and in 8 years of owning them, the only repair I have ever made thus far is battery replacements (like $25 bucks a pop…I replace 1 a year). I use them at least a dozen times a year (go out with buddies or other family members), my wife uses it 3 or 4 times a year. Worth every penny.
3.) $200-$300/ea. – Used Google Pixel Pro 7. Our kids are still young; we appreciate taking good pictures. We both upgraded this year to 1 year old Google Pixel 7 Pro (the nicer of the 2 flagship models with a slightly better camera and bigger battery). We tend to keep our phones 4-5 years and then replace with a used/refurbished flagship phone from one of the top 3 manufacturers. We jumped from Samsung Galaxy to Google Pixels and there wasn’t much of a learning curve and the camera features are much better. Everything else feels the same.
4.) $4500 – 2nd car. Nothing crazy, we bought a 2013 Mazda 3 iGrand Touring with 140k miles on it 3 months back. We both work from home, so we were very OK with an older, higher mileage vehicle as we will likely put 2-5k miles on it a year. Plus, its pretty nice, heated leather seats, moonroof, Bluetooth, lane departure sensors and insurance is only $500/year. If we keep the car for 5 years…it works out to be $85 a month with appreciation, insurance and repairs/maintenance.
With 2 kids who are now in more clubs/sports and our other vehicle getting older and higher mileage (2012 Nissan Quest with 81k) …. it is a mental load off not having to manage schedules SO vigilantly so we don’t double book vehicles. As a former 1 vehicle family, it was a pain when the car had to go to the shop and we had to pick up a rental. If our car was in the shop longer than expected, we would have to do some severe bending over backward to extend our rentals. Redundancy on things you use daily has some value even if you don’t use the backup item much. So much less stress. Plus we no longer need to spend $150-$300 on rentals a year when the main car is in the shop.
5.) $300 – 2 large 32″ monitors that hook up to my laptop. It is great for work, a lot less clicking around.
6.) $5-50 – Used toys. Lego sets, Our Generation dolls/accessories, power wheels, bikes, Star Wars figures, games, matchbox car sets. They bring so much joy to our kids, keep them off screens and is way cheaper than sending them to daycare more than we do or dropping $100 on some expensive outside the home kid activities. When they stop playing, we put them in the basement for a while. When they are home and bored….go to the basement and the pick out some toys like its a library. I don’t advocate “more stuff” for many categories, but that one works for our family right now.
6.) $49 + Tips – Wal Mart Plus subscription. We have had amazon but honestly we don’t watch prime TV much and don’t have an issue waiting til we have enough things we need to get free shipping. Wal Mart + though…. is more valuable to us. You get a year of free Paramount+ TV which we watch a lot more, free shipping AND free delivery from local Walmart (just have to tip…please tip…delivery people work hard).
We don’t use delivery a lot, I actually like shopping and getting out of the house….but MAN is it great if you are sick and almost out of medicine or the weather is 0 degrees (I live in Buffalo, it happens), the car is in the shop lol, or if you have a party/event later that day or the next day and are running out of time. 1 hour rush orders are $6 and in the next 3 hour rish order are $3…I have done the $3 rush order once before a 4th of July party….was super helpful and worth the $3+tip to have our ice, chips, extra fireworks and some produce for tacos delivered lol.
Lastly, for vacations….man getting groceries delivered is worth every extra penny. We do a lot of family reunions are air bnbs …. do 1 each year with 20+ of us. Every grocery store run is 1-2 hours away from your vacation (takes longer because its a new store and we never know where things are). We have even done it at a hotel. After a LONG day of driving (and kids) …we did not want to go out for food and did not want fast food. While driving in the morning…we (my wife as I drove) set up a delivery to the hotel we were going to check into that evening, of fresh produce and some “healthier” microwave entres. The got there about an hour after we checked in, tipped the front desk guy an extra $2 and we ate healthy and WAY cheaper than fast food. Yes, we could have planned a hair more and packed a cooler…but sometimes life happens, you tell yourself you’ll eat on the road….and then remember you don’t love the convenient road options lol.
7.) $100/ea./year – Zoo/Science museum memberships – kids love them, we use them 3-5x times a season….gives us a default activity if we are looking for something outside of the house. Its a solid 3rd space if you need an extra outside the house space for kids.
8.) $5-$25/ea. Card games / board games. For adults and kids.My wife and I really enjoy card games …. just a couple nice decks of regular cards, uno, phase 10, eucher. Kids love all those plus Monopoly Deal. Card games travel well too. Kids also love board games and its nice to play with friends now and then. Way cheaper and more fun than going out always. Buy some nice snacks or crock pot a meal and enjoy with company.
9.) $3-5/ea Coffee/Tea. We used to be all about going out to eat…and then families and home ownership happened. Still….sometimes you just need a change of scenery to help put the screens down and get some fresh conversation going. An occasional drink out is nice, but the older get the more we pay the price with disrupted sleep and man….$15 cocktails are no joke…when did that happen. We have found a basic coffee/tea at a locally owned place does the trick.
10.) $5 bills. Want to feel like a rockstar….put 4 or 5 $5 bills in your center console of our car. When you drive past someone doing something you appreciate….stop…..thank them and tell them you’d like to buy their next coffee and hand them $5. I did this last week as I drove by a car that had the logo of my college days professional club on it. Was a twenty some kid…at the red light I threw it in park really fast…ran up…poor girl must have thought I was crazy at first…handed her 5 bucks and said I used to be part of the group and thanked her for keeping it going. She was so happy and I felt great the rest of the day. Ive done the same for my garbage men (can never find them at my house….but driven past them a few times, done the same for volunteers cleaning a public park, done the same for a teen I saw at the park who was taking neighborhood kids there. This world needs a little appreciation and you’ll be amazed how shocked and appreciated you can make someone feel with just 5 bucks and a moment of gratitude.
I’ve always been an advocate for continuous education. So, it is no surprise that I continue to take on challenges that require that I further my education. After doing this for 61 years after High School, it has become somewhat of a habit. Along the way I’ve acquired many skills. These have enhanced my life and the lives of other around me.
On occasion I purchase items to help others out. It came to my attention that a vocalist in the volunteer band could benefit from a head mike (hands free). So, I purchased and gave a Shure microphone.
Some boats have “trim tabs” which are small projections which improve the efficiency. These are low in cost but can have significant impact. That’s the kind of leveraged giving I prefer to do.
I do get “gadgets” that enhance our lives. For example, an electric woodfire grill and a sparkling water drink maker. I do a significant amount of grilling, etc. (Yesterday it was flank steak) and in a desert environment hydration is important. The drink maker provides flavored vitamin laced water (no sugar). I have low kidney function and other medical issues. Hydration is essential for me and the vitamins are also good. I noticed a difference when I was in chemotherapy. In 2024 I purchased a very good astronomical telescope. G has always been interested and we’re in an excellent location for planet watching and star gazing. I also purchased a digital camera for viewing via laptop. No bending over the reflective telescope required!
Norman,
I also like to grill frequently also, and have considered a smoker. I’m not familiar with an “electric woodier grill”. Can you provide a recommendation?
thanks,
The woodfire grill is marketed by Shark/Ninja. It is 120 VAC electric and can use wood pellets to impart a smoky flavor, but they are not required. It has a fan and can function as an air fryer. It uses about 1760 max watts. I purchased the larger model because I felt it would better serve my needs; that model includes two digital thermometers or can cook with a timer. It has front mounted controls but can also be controlled with a smart-phone app (wi-fi and blue-tooth) which allows access to cooking charts and selection (low-medium-high and time, or temperature using the built-in thermometers). Note that the smaller model doesn’t include the digital thermometers. The larger version weighs about 39 pounds. I have mine on an outdoor table. It can be purchased directly at Ninja.com or Amazon, etc. There are a number of YouTube videos. Here’s one using the smaller grill to smoke ribs: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/A18TSMcYIyM
Moshe, thank you for the interesting question:
I am a recent retiree (6 months) and my favorite purchase has been a Concept 2 Rowing machine: I had been using a rowing machine at my school, but for my retirement, my wife bought me my own. I use it 5 – 6 days a week (5k distance each time) and at 62, I feel more fit and strong than when I was 40. I watch a soccer or basketball game and the 25 minutes fly by. Here is an article that gives me inspiration: https://peterattiamd.com/93-year-old-rowing-champion/ . I also enjoy live music, and had a great time with my family going to various concerts this past year.
Hi Benjamin, I, too, love the Concept 2 Rowing machine. The company offers all sorts of rowing challenges online that you can participate in. I have participated for 24 years in their annual Holiday challenge: rowing 200,000 meters between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year- you get a pin! It is a challenge to get the hours in because of so many time pressures during the season when one is working full time (and 75% of the participants are men-when my kids were young I especially noticed the imbalance; women do so much during the holidays) . Now I’ve noticed more retirees can gain tons more meters, they must be rowing hours a day! I’m on my way to collecting 25 holiday pins, one for each year. And I hope to keep going for at least another 20 years.
Hi Eileen, thanks for the pin idea! It’s great to have a goal; it will keep me on track this upcoming winter. I too hope to keep going for at least another 20 years too.
When I retired I purchased quality fly fishing gear. And I have plenty of time to use it.
Now that’s an idea!
Marriage license.
Every one of my dogs has been worth every penny spent on them. They are companions, comedians and competitive athletes all rolled into one creature.
I often wanted to ask, what do you spend a year on your dogs? Supposedly a dog costs about $1,000 a year all in. My daughter just spent over $2,000 on her lab who broke a tooth, got infected and needed surgery.
There’s no way to answer that question since it’s a completely variable amount.
For the average pet dog owner with a young, healthy, small (20 pounds or under) dog, I’d suspect $1000 a year is a reasonable guess. That would assume one basic vet visit a year, feeding a good quality kibble and perhaps taking one group obedience class a year.
But for performance/sport dogs or older dogs? $1000 a year is not even close to an accurate amount.
Vet costs just can’t be predicted. If it’s just for routine care, I’d assume it works out to about $300 per dog per year. Obviously urgent or emergency care visits add a lot to that figure.
Food and supplements are also variable. I’d guess for our four dogs it works out to $200-$300 a month.
Training and competitions vary depending on the sport. Entry fees for AKC sports are about $35 per dog per class. Other sports are more expensive. Nose work trial entry fees can run $150 per dog.
Weekend training seminars generally run between $300 and $500.
Toys, training supplies, grooming items, etc. all add to that total.
BTW, $2000 for emergency dental surgery is a good deal.
Sounds like those pups are more costly than my Mercedes not even counting your van investment, but the car won’t put its head on my lap.
I have no idea if they are more expensive or not. I’ve never owned a Mercedes.
I do know they all make me smile–and laugh out loud– multiple times a day.
We just splurged on a Stressless reclining chair and ottoman. It’s very comfortable. When we watch TV together we trade time between the chair and the couch. Around the same time we replace the rug in our living room – very nice design and matches the furniture and room color better than the old rug.
A pair of Stressless chairs was the first splurge we ever made on furniture, after years of hand-me-downs and couches I disliked. We bought the Wing model in 2020 and chose a gorgeous, cherry red Paloma leather – a Medium for my husband and a Small for me. A visitor said they reminded him of a Ferrari seat. I can’t ever sit in it, though. I fall asleep within minutes. LOL!
One of my workout instructors has one. She loves it!
Why only one, if there are two of you?
Good question! We replaced a chair that my stepdaughter took with her when she moved. Our home doesn’t have room for more that that chair.
Our three best retirement splurges are easy-peasy to list:
1) We too just this week replaced our broken milk-frother for morning coffees.
2) We also just replaced the ancient, gullied, mushy mattress that came with our furnished-cottage purchase three years ago.
3) Best of all, we have funded three outdoor, adventure-travel vacations with our small family group over the past eight years with a fourth scheduled this year. These vacations have delivered awesome memories of family activities in adulthood. Unfortunately, our family may soon age-out due to our kids’ increasing life’s challenges for scheduling plus our declining ability to keep up.
When we were married 10 years, my husband insisted we purchase a new mattress every 19 years. When we did, I realized how much better I slept with a new firm mattress. We purchased our fifth (maybe final) mattress about five years ago. This one’s a Saatva, and I love it!
That was a typo. I meant every 10 years! Lol!
I’d say a nice computer is something I enjoy. I splurged for the Mac brand as it lasts a decade. It’s trouble free, I enjoy wriitng and use it as a part time teacher. I also agree with a good sound system, we invested in Sonos years ago and enjoy it most days.
I just replaced my MacBook Air after 10 years of great service. I probably wouldn’t have replaced it if I hadn’t damaged a connector while installing a replacement battery. I called around to see if it could be repaired, but it would have required scavenging an old connector from a scrap laptop.
I must be getting old, because this is the 2nd connector I have damaged in a few months. I broke some pins reinstalling the wireless module on a Yale electronic lock at the beach house. I have to say I’m very unhappy with the model of Yale lock I chose for that house.
I need to replace my 9 year old MacBook Pro. The fan likes to run when I go to a site such as YouTube. And I have to charge it several times a day. What did you get for a replacement?
In reference to the OP, we upgraded our iPhone 7’s to iPhone 16’s a few months ago. Still getting used to the differences.
I bought a 13in, MacBook Air,16 GB, 50GB Storage. It’s basically an upgraded version of what I had.
Thanks Rick! Was not aware of the Ari and will look into it.
Oops, just realized that was a typo for Air, not Ari.
Thanks – I corrected the post
Furniture, some folding, some modular, coming with me through decades of moves; a former colleague called it “fold and flee”: 8 bookcases, 4 L. L. Bean wood/canvas camp chairs, 20 Palaset cubes. Also, same vintage, complete Oneida “Paul Revere” flatware set. All used and appreciated daily.
My need for hearing aids is borderline, so I went ahead and bought a pair at Costco for $1500. They are great for watching TV and are Bluetooth enabled, so I can get phone calls and stream music through them.
And I just returned home from another Glass City Record Show where I bought Willie Nelson/Leon Russell, Buddy Holly, Aretha Franklin, and Guns N Roses goodies.
Dan, When I was a teen-ager so many songs were fun and upbeat. I always enjoyed listening to Buddy Holly’s recording of “Everyday”, and the romantic and beautiful “True Love Ways.
I’m trying to fill out my vinyl collection with artists that I find significant to my interest. Buddy Holly was high on my list. Also, my daughters did some acting when young and sang his stuff with their vocal coach, so it brings back memories.
I’m really enjoying a recent purchase of Apple AirPods 2. I’m using them for learning Spanish with Duolingo. Can close my eyes and focus on the words. And eventually I’ll check out the hearing test and hearing aid capabilities.
Good post, Moshe. I tried to think about some of the possessions we have had for a long time. One is a classic LLBean winter parka that Spouse still wears and we bought in the 1980s. I also wanted to mention when we paid off our house that we saved up to take one of the Alaska cruises to celebrate. We paid extra for the land portion and booked any of the excursions we really wanted to do. It was the trip of a lifetime and we are still so glad we splurged instead of trying to be frugal like we usually are. Chris
That sounds amazing Chris. I’m going to look into this idea. What cruise line did you go on or is there only one?
Thank you,
~Moshe
Moshe, we took a great small vessel Alaska trip to thinner passage.
https://humbledollar.com/2023/10/an-inside-look/
Thanks Rick. This looks amazing. I need to absorb the price.. The milk frother was a bit less 🙂
Definitely a splurge. But we saw so many whales up close it became commonplace.
Moshe, we did Royal Caribbean, and I would recommend them. I know there are other cruise lines that also do the Alaska cruises. Chris
Thank you. I need to look into this for sure.
Thanks for your post.
2 things come to mind:
my used iPhone XR that I bought 2 years ago for $300 and still works great and my used Lenovo laptop also bought 2 years ago for $260.
Moshe,
Thanks for your post!
And if you love home brewed espresso – as we both seem to – a milk frother is a great purchase.
Hi Winston,
Thanks for your comment. It was the first thing to come to mind as i was thinking about this issue that is was okay to splurge a bit now.
~Moshe
When I moved to the retirement community I got rid of some of my furniture and bought new pieces. I’m happy with them. (I didn’t go wild: most of the pieces I kept are Scandinavian teak and over 30 years old, the new pieces are West Elm mid-century modern.) I also had an interior designer do new light-blocking curtains for the main bedroom and am considering commissioning a couple of pieces of art – I now have more wall and less window.
Ryobi cordless framing nailer and Scag zero-turn commercial level mower.
My next one will be an embarrassingly and extravagantly expensive Steel Case office chair. I’ve been wanting one for years, but as something than will probably only be used by me, I haven’t been able to part with the money yet.
I was looking at cordless nailers yesterday. Not sure I can justify it.
What does one do with a cordless nailer? I know nail stuff, but what?
There are several types. You can get a framing nail gun for framing walls and structures. I was thinking of a finish nail gun to do some projects with trim, shiplap, …. They are a lot of fun.
I have observed at least a hundred new construction projects at the shore and in Monmouth County this past year, and I’m not sure I saw one person using a hammer on a nail.
When Elaine and I were in Ireland last year, I bought a T-shirt from a bicycle shop in Clifden. It cost 25 euros, which seemed steep to me. Still, every time I wear it, it reminds me of the trip.
How cool. Tomorrow, I am planning on booking a 10 day trip for myself,wife & 2 sons. Fortunate to be in the position to pick up the tab for my sons. Can’t wait!
This is where we stayed in County Galway:
https://www.ballynahinch-castle.com/
I cannot say enough good things about the place. The grounds are beautiful and the food was delicious. In the early morning, I’d sip coffee, check HumbleDollar and salivate over the wonderful smells wafting up from the kitchen.
Our last trip to Ireland, I bought a hand knit fisherman’s sweater for more hundred Euros than I will admit, but I love that sweater and wear it frequently in the winter. It really has to be cold because it’s incredibly warm.