What luxury/expensive thing turned out to be worth it (and what didn't)?

I'm quite the tight arse and generally buy reasonably priced items, however there are a few things that I splurged on and don't regret it at all!

• Stainless steel clothes pegs, not the cheap wire ones either. So good! Stay on the line all year around
• Brushless power tools. More power, lower battery consumption, no brushes to wear out. I only buy the brushless version now, if there's a choice.
• Lithium iron phosphate battery with a super capacitor as a starter battery for the car. Never have to worry about a dead battery again.

What hasn't been worth it?

• Fancy food, I hate it and am hungry afterwards.
• Paris. Just not my kind of place
• Engagement ring. Don't tell my wife. But it has probably cost me hundreds of dollars for each time she wore it.

What are your wins and failures?

 

My coffee machine, best thing I purchased, great espresso

 

Japanese kitchen knives were worth it for us - still going strong after 15 years of daily use!

Audi A4 has not been worth it - spent too much on servicing and repairs.

 

RM Williams boots are probably the best $500 I ever spent.. they’re coming up to 5 years of regular use and still in excellent condition.

the worst purchase might have been a day trading course for $6k.. I didn’t finish the course because the guys running it were intolerable..

 

i USED to own some sets of very expensive headphones ( i love my music LOUD and CLEAR )

yes back in the day they ( 3 different sets ) were extraordinary in sound quality , but my highly mobile lifestyle reduced they life span

worth every cent , now i am more sedentary i wish i could find the equivalent now , this modern stuff can't even survive pensioner use ( let alone crashes on a racing bike LOL , or a bit of rain )

 

from my outside observations day-trading is very much a testosterone-saturated atmosphere

intolerable and ego-driven should have been half-expected , maybe part of the preparation for the real thing as well . .. a brief glimpse told me day-trading wasn't for me at this age

have had some nice footwear over the years , but wouldn't consider mine 'luxury' , just good quality ( unlike the last pair of 'safety work-boots' , over-priced and inferior when put to the test )

 

Late 1980's - Worst buy $600 kid leather boots (brother then inherited them & wore them to death - resoled a few times etc), best buy $200 Saville Row shirt.

 

Bought a 97 Ford Fairmont Ghia EL for $3000, 80,000k 9yrs ago, still going strong - 160,000k.

 

My car. Upgraded model with sun roof, seat warmers, electronic seats etc, was $15k more than the base model. Worth every dollar.
Spent a lot of time in my car pre-Covid. I have back issues so great to have seats which can support my lumbar and can heat up.

$600- bose headphones. These became something I used daily for at least 6 hours a day during Covid (working from home). Worth every cent.

 

Well we bought a 2yr old Craptiva Maxx before that for $26,000, sold it a year later when my husband was unemployed for $23,000. Then bought that car. Pure luxury!

 

Wusthof kitchen knives.

 

It was both actually.

Had them for many years and they are very, very good and sharp. So that is the best of times.

Not so good when I sliced my hand open and only noticed when I saw additional colouring being added to the sauce I was making. So that was the worst of times.

 

Good:
- Coffee machine, it grinds the beans (no pods in sight here) and makes good coffee. Use it twice a day.
- Tineco S3 - vacuums and mops at the same, amazing on my hardwood floors
- Philips xxl air fryer, never use my oven now so I don’t need to worry about small children touching a hot oven

Not so good:
- Dyson v11 - I did love it but it is now hardly used because of the tineco. We use it for one rug.

 

You got nuffin' - I spent $16,000 on my 2008 Toyota Corolla and about to go in for it's 290,000km service. Never once broken down

Waste of money? Spent a few thou on a "recommended" jeweller to reset all my random stones into one ring and they got it sooooo wrong. Had to be redone by another jeweller

 

Massively under utilised IMO!