I’ve spent money on pretty much everything - I started working full time since I was a teenager, so I made money as a fairly young man.

I had a few ancestors who were known for being “meticulous in harness,” and for the flash of their horses - and realized I genuinely like driving a “good” car.

Usually, that means a fast one, but it can also be an actually comfortable luxo barge.

I wear some more expensive things, as part of a professional uniform, but mostly I’m happy with a g shock, khakis and a button down shirt.

I do buy the best eyeglass lenses I can find, but in my prescription, it makes a real difference in my visual acuity, and that’s not a luxury, IMO.

I can’t stand a bad hat - but, again, there’s no good reason to buy anything less than a pure beaver hat.

I fly first class, if at all possible - in part, because I’m 6’4”, but also because it’s slightly less abusive.

I do buy the best grade of food I can find/hunt/raise - not necessarily steaks and caviar, but if I’m making neck or shin, it will be pure grass fed, etc.

Tires; I want the best my wallet can afford at the time of purchase that pair with my driving style and vehicle. Would rather pay $1000 a set for 60K mile warrantied tires that may weather crack and dry rot from time, than a set of $400 tires that will wear out in 20K miles.

Coffee

I drink German coffee, it’s not super expensive but more pricy than regular American stuff.

I’ll never buy crappy run of the mill American coffee like Maxwell House or Folgers, or a supermarket brand. It’s all crap.

I don’t cheap out on tires. I’ve driven at 100mph + and cheap tires will kill ya.

I buy only Oreo brand Oreos

Cheap food

Charmin Ultra Strong.

Anything else is negotiable or just not necessary.

Reliability. I don't necessarily buy the most expensive, but will do my best to buy the most reliable and then maintain it like you would expect a mechanical engineer who is half German. For example, I drive a '16 Nissan Frontier with leather. Nissan barely changed it between '05 and '22, and had worked out all of the bugs so it's extremely reliable. Except when injured, I do my own oil changes with full synthetic oil. I hand detail my own vehicle inside and out. I machine polished it and applied a ceramic coating. People are shocked it's 8.5 years old.

Groceries. I'll buy store brand (i.e. not stuck on brand name), but only if it's premium. I buy the chicken and pork that is antibiotic free, hormone free, never fed animal byproducts, and is grown in Texas. I buy eggs that come from hens that pasture raised, antibiotic free, hormone free. For beef, I buy prime grade, grain finished, aged, and no artificial ingredients or preservatives but have recently been trying to decide if I want to switch to choice grade, grass finished, no hormones, no antibiotics, and no artificial ingredients or preservatives.

Most of my other things are allergy or food intolerance related. I'm allergic to nickel so my eyeglass frames are titanium, my watch is titanium, etc. I have a garlic intolerance so I make my own spice blends/rubs and make a lot of my own food from scratch (e.g. homemade breakfast sausage) to insure it's garlic-free.

quote:

I can’t stand a bad hat - but, again, there’s no good reason to buy anything less than a pure beaver hat.

None? I just bought a new Resistol “Black Gold” felt hat last fall. I wanted one of these for a long, long time. A Resistol Black Gold is a 20X hat, and it sells for $650.

A 100% beaver fur Resistol is $3,000. I’m happy that you have that kind of money, but unfortunately, I don’t.

I don’t skimp on boots. I wish I could, but I have narrow feet and can’t buy off the shelf, even at a well-stocked western store. My boots are custom. I might add, it used to be that many boot makers offered narrow widths; I just had to custom order. No longer,
D and EE, and they just don’t make the narrow ones at all.

Furniture- my wife and I like owning/collecting nice furniture, much of it American made.

Appliances- rather than Costco/Lowes stuff, we spend more for quality and reliability.

Liquor- when we drink, we like it to taste good, and in most cases, price is a general yardstick for quality.

Restaurants- my wife and I enjoy eating in our favorite restaurants at least twice a week, and we don't want to change this habit.

The love of a good woman.

This I will not compromise on…

Hotels. I no longer stay at any Motel 6 after an extremely bad stay in Redding, CA.

I'd rather pay another $50 and not have to perch the chair against the door when I go to sleep.

Toilet paper and paper towels.

On Cars, tires and brakes. Stopping and steering is kind of important.

My footwear and the bed I sleep in.

Gasoline. No matter the cost, I want to go! And the Pan American runs on supreme!

Women.

I don’t see any currently, so I can afford the very best.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Coffee

I drink German coffee, it’s not super expensive but more pricy than regular American stuff.

I’ll never buy crappy run of the mill American coffee like Maxwell House or Folgers, or a supermarket brand. It’s all crap.

I will bite. Which German coffee and where do you get it from? TIA

Sunglasses. Vaurnet, Maui Jim, and Oakley have all worked well for me.

Vehicles. Routinely spend many hours on a vehicle purchase. Electing for the best bang for the buck whether it’s a commuter car, truck, performance car, or sportbike. Then anything to do with it, top shelf tires, fluids (Amsoil), and the best aftermarket parts available if I’m modding and I mod everything.

Guns much the same. Footwear the same. Flat panels for the house and HT, which includes anything AV I guess as well.

Medical and dental care. I pay out of pocket for dental which is above whatever insurance may cover. My dentist (husband/wife team) are superb. For medical I pay out of pocket for my primary care (monthly subscription, no insurance). We have coverage for large medical expenses, but routine stuff I just pay out of pocket for a really good doc that I trust.

Tires, yup.

Guitars and related equipment. I don't have a ton of stuff, but what I do have is high quality for my uses.

Home appliances. I'd rather buy something that works well and lasts a long time than go cheap.

In most areas my motto is "Buy once, Cry Once".

I do economize where quality really doesn't matter.