I did a thing
I bought a piece of artwork. I walked into a gallery looking for something entirely different, fell in love with it and bought it. It’s being shipped.
I’m super excited about it. I have cleared the space on the wall for it.
I have done things like this before but this was pretty expensive relative to other purchases, particularly impulse buys. This was very out of character for me. Mostly because I knew full well I was paying gallery mark-up. Honestly, I’m not sure how I let myself do it.
I’m not regretting just contemplating. And hoping there are some not-cheap actuaries out there who can relate. ???
of course you’re welcome to share.
I’m interested in hearing from others like me who don’t generally go overboard on these kinds of things. What have you made an exception for?
Once while I was still a poor college student I went to a friend’s wedding in Mexico, hunted down her wedding coordinator, called my credit card company (after the transaction didn’t work), and purchased a whopping thousand Canadian dollars worth of fireworks for her wedding. She very nearly went to bed before they went off.
Our front yard project is about to cross the $10k mark. Feels extravagant when we could have just continued on like we have for the past 11 years with a lawn that my spouse watered and I ignored. Instead we’re going to have an oak tree and a peach tree and tons of wildflowers, along with a bunch (40ish) of low water, drought tolerant plants that I don’t have to remember to water (once we get the electric installed for the programmed timer that runs the drip system).
Not an exception, but we tend to ignore budget when doing home Reno’s. Even if we set an overall budget, if we see something that we want, we get it, without regard to budget.
I justify it with ‘this is the last time, might as well do it right’. Of course it’s never the last time, but that’s how we justify it.
I’m normally pretty good at working a budget for a reno and sticking reasonably close to it. Obviously things arise that weren’t anticipated.
But. We are anticipating renovating and expanding the master bathroom this fall. I was trying to figure out vanities, my wife bought an antique vanity that she wants to use and I was trying to find something that would complement that and look right in our old house. And after a lot of looking, I splurged on one. A man in Michigan made me a custom vanity and matching medicine cabinet from quarter-sawn oak, and he drove it to Kansas for me. It’s absolutely beautiful and will fit in perfectly with our 1912 craftsman home. But yeah, it’s pretty extravagant.
But speaking of art, some years ago we were at a school fundraiser. I bought a nice print and hung it on the wall.
The person who was doing our cleaning then sees it and laughs.
It wasn’t a print. It was a watercolour of the downtown of the small town I live in, by a local artist. When the cleaner was young, the guy she was dating commissioned the painting of a spot they used to sit at when they were dating. She later married someone else. A couple of decades later her husband is going through the garage, finds it and says maybe it’s time to get rid of gifts from your previous boyfriends. So, she donated it to the school fundraiser.
We’ve moved twice since then, and now I can’t find it. My so tossed it I guess, though they won’t admit to it.
I don’t spend lots on extravagance. I don’t see that changing until kids #2 and #3 finish college.
What I have for “art” are a few $40 prints that I like that have custom frames that were about $175 each.
I have the upper trim level (leather, etc) in my car, but it’s a Honda not a Mercedes or a Lexus.
I overpaid for my house based on its refurbished condition, but its not too big (2200s.f.)
I typically fly first class, but I use miles to upgrade because I’m kinda too fat for coach.
I used to be way into wine so years I bought & filled a wine fridge that holds around 175 bottles. I’m not as into wine as I used to be, so I still own >100 bottles.
I would buy a PS5 today if I could find one. I won’t pay aftermarket prices for one though.
I don’t own any significant items like watches, jewelry, collectibles, or anything that would conceivably appreciate in value over time. I have no electronics more expensive than my iphone. Well, maybe my desktop computer is worth more, but not by leaps and bounds.
My furniture mostly sucks. I’m thinking about replacing the living room furniture this year. Many of my appliances need replacement.
I have a nice Weber Genesis gas grill and a charcoal kettle and many many grill accessories.
Art is a funny thing. I don’t consider myself artistic at all. And my taste in art varies widely. The piece I got doesn’t go with the general decor of our house at all. It will hang in a spot where it can do and be its own thing. But also a spot where I can see it every day.
I know nothing about art. All I know is that sometimes I see a piece and it touches me. Could be a famous artist/piece - could be one of my kid’s drawings.
I did buy one (disc version) for 1.5x retail on eBay right after Christmas, was about $100 cheaper than any other auctions at the time, and I got lucky on no one else bidding it past that point.
My wife got a bonus at work the year of our 10th anniversary and spent the whole thing buying me a watch. I almost made her take it back. I did not know how to accept such a gift. I was a bad husband. I love it though and I wear it every single day. The money was a big sum, but it hasn’t impacted us at all in the long run.
I spend extravagantly on golf clubs once or twice a year. That is probably stupid, but it’s what I like.
I’m not sure I’ve ever bought anything extravagant. Me and my wife price compare like crazy, and almost never buy expensive things (insert sad cheap actuary stereotype here). I guess I bought a grill and an exercise bike (not an expensive one like peloton). Both of those purchases were out of our comfort zones lol
