What was best total splurge money you ever spent?

[arminnie]

I have 3 but all ended up being very beneficial financially.

1. I bought a 14K Gold Rolex watch when gold was $35 an ounce. It's worth a fortune now.

2. I bought a '71 Cutlass convertible and kept it for almost 20 years. I sold it for more than I paid for it.

3. I quit my great job and went to Stanford Business School - best decision ever.

 

[Sleepy425]

Many years ago, I had an overwhelming urge to attend a John Denver concert in a city 3.5 hours away. I had seen him several times before (yes, I was a huge fan). It was a Christmas concert and he wasn't coming any closer and we were so poor at the time... but I went anyway. By myself. In a snowstorm. Booked the hotel and they upgraded me to a huge suite (totally unexpected!). My DD was just a baby and I'd never been apart from her before.

I got myself to from the hotel to the concert via the hotel shuttle and sat third row center. It was an amazing show. Afterwards. I was to call the hotel to have them come pick me up so I sat in my seat while everyone else left. I felt a tap on my shoulder and a gentleman said, "Do you want to meet Mr. Denver?" Next thing I know I have a backstage pass and I'm being ushered into a meet & greet. He was so kind to me, so gracious. He asked some other fans to take our picture and stood there and made sure that they got my address and promised to send me the photos. He gave me a card and told me to bring my DD with me to the concert the next year and he'd make sure we both got to go backstage.

John died before the next Christmas. Never was I so happy that I "splurged" when I really couldn't afford to. That was an evening I will never forget.

The photo of the two of us didn't show up until about 6 months after John's passing. But what a great surprise.

As a huge John Denver fan, I love this story. I was too young when he died so I never got to see him in perform. But last year I saw a John Denver tribute artist who looked just like him and had one of his original band members with him. My husband says I stared dreamily the whole time and forgot there was anyone else in the place

 

[WDWBarb]

As a huge John Denver fan, I love this story. I was too young when he died so I never got to see him in perform. But last year I saw a John Denver tribute artist who looked just like him and had one of his original band members with him. My husband says I stared dreamily the whole time and forgot there was anyone else in the place

I was such a notorious JD fan that the local TV station called me and asked me for an interview when he died. I was 29 and everyone thought I was so weird for being such a fan. But his music and his message touched my soul. I hate to say it, but I can hardly listen to his music now. As much as I want his legacy to live on, it just isn't the same, knowing he's not in the world any longer. He was amazing in concert. Buying a single ticket at that last show got me right in front of center stage. It felt like every song was just for me.

I wish you had had a chance to experience it.

Am I odd for still having the dress I wore that night hanging in my closet with the backstage pass sticker still on the lapel? I mean, he touched it. I could never dry clean it again.

 

[Sleepy425]

I was such a notorious JD fan that the local TV station called me and asked me for an interview when he died. I was 29 and everyone thought I was so weird for being such a fan. But his music and his message touched my soul. I hate to say it, but I can hardly listen to his music now. As much as I want his legacy to live on, it just isn't the same, knowing he's not in the world any longer. He was amazing in concert. Buying a single ticket at that last show got me right in front of center stage. It felt like every song was just for me.

I wish you had had a chance to experience it.

Am I odd for still having the dress I wore that night hanging in my closet with the backstage pass sticker still on the lapel? I mean, he touched it. I could never dry clean it again.

I would have that on display somewhere in my house if I were you!
I was only 13 when he passed away.
I keep telling my husband if he really loved me he would set up a movie screen outside with surround sound and find a JD concert for me to watch. (To keep this on topic, that is a splurge I'd never regret)

 

[bex7583]

our 3 week florida trip was our biggest one off spend apart from our mortgage. we are a family of 5 travelling from the u.k and it was worth every single penny !! so much so we are doing it again next year ( even longer trip and hopefully a cruise in there too )

 

[Kitty 34]

All ours trips to Disney and Vegas.

 

[LJSquishy]

Buying a Vitamix was one of the best splurges we've made. Also, our espresso machine.

We're going to WDW next month with family and that will be an awesome splurge for such great memories!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Wow, I guess I should stop complaining about the $50 each I paid for NFL Pre-season tickets! I didn't realize they even charged for college football games. But I always went to my college games and students were free.

I graduated 25 years ago.

I started off in the town I grew up in at CU, and back then the students who wanted to BUY tickets at a reduced, student, rate were put in a lottery for games the wanted to attend and might get to go at the lower cost.
I later transferred to CSU where students could attend any game for free and tickets were give out until they ran out (which pretty much never happened when I started and then Sonny Lubick worked some magic and all of a sudden the stadium was full for every game).
At DD's school all of the home games in all sports are free for students, but that seems to vary widely by school, and the more the outside public wants to see the team the more likely it is that student tickets are limited and carry a fee at that university.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Barb--I love your story! (by the way, John Denver was the first concert I ever saw; at Red Rocks with the Colorado symphony, when I was 8. It was a magical night. I still remember what I wore).


I am not sure if it would be considered a splurge or not, but we recently put the money down fora penthouse in a building that is son to be built--we hope it will be our forever home, small and easy to take care of for empty nesters who like to travel. So we are working on kitchen planning now and leaning towards getting exactly what we want, even though it is pricey and we have a kid in college--it seems smarter to get it from the start and not want to replace anything down the road. I want an american style fridge with ice and water on the door (not cheap or common yet in Germany) and DH wants a built in quality coffee machine. and we want the reall pretty cabinets with a very "arts and crafts" style (think wilderness lodge.

 

[EvilDrPorkchop21]

DVC

 

[WDWBarb]

Barb--I love your story! (by the way, John Denver was the first concert I ever saw; at Red Rocks with the Colorado symphony, when I was 8. It was a magical night. I still remember what I wore).

Dream concert! Red Rocks and JD... it must have been incredible!!!

 

[Plaid Princess]

My portable air conditioner, since I live at the beach none of the houses have AC. I have a SoCal temperature tolerance range: 70-75 degrees, any more or less is unacceptable!

 

[Plaid Princess]

We don't have a lot of spare money so for us, it was a new bed that we bought last year. It is super comfortable and the right size for my 6'7" guy so it was worth every penny.

Oh yeah, having the right bed is a HUGE deal when you're that tall. Worth every penny for sure!

 

[JustCor]

I went back to school at 31 after working a series of dead end jobs that paid a touch over minimum wage and had no future. After I graduated and got a really nice job that paid well, I splurged on a beautiful Mont Blanc Le Grand fountain pen that I never would have been able to afford before going back to school. I enjoy writing quite a bit, and this makes it even more enjoyable. It's buttery smooth to write with and lays down a beautiful line of ink. I know people think it's insane to put down that kind of money on something like a pen, but I cherish it and would do it again. In fact, I have two more Mont Blancs in the collection. Those are splurges too.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Two years ago we spent six nights at WDW and then did a 4 night Disney Dream cruise. It is hard for dh to get off from work for that long and it was an expensive (for us) trip. It was a great vacation, though!

 

[jetskigrl]

I have three that I can think of. First was a 10-night/11-day WDW trip. We stayed Club Level/Theme Park View at the Poly. It was the most amazing vacation ever and really one of the first "resort" experiences for my family. Our other vacations had always been to see family, etc. As we live by DLR, it was most likely a once-in-a-lifetime trip as a family since I don't see us all doing it again (DD will be starting college next year). It was worth every penny.

The other two were both front row seats to see Elton John in Concert. I have been a huge fan since I was a kid, laying on the floor in my room rewinding tapes over and over until I learned the words to the songs

The first one was 3 front row seats for Million Dollar Piano in Vegas. I took my kids and we had an amazing weekend. John Mahon (percussionist) threw his drumstick to my DS. We danced on stage to Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting right along side Elton's piano. Then after the concert, the people in the front row stayed along side the stage and Elton walked by and gave everyone a high five. But when he got to us, my DS was too short and started to walk up the stairs to get his high five. Elton told him "No, I'm coming to you" and came down the stairs and gave my DS a nice long handshake. Then gave me and DD a high five and moved along.

The second concert was local when he was touring and my sister had just seen the show two nights before by her and was telling me out great it was. I had looked online for tickets but didn't want to pay the high prices for not-so-good seats so I forgot about it until the day of the show. About 4 hours before the show, I checked one last time and there was a pair of front row seats. I grabbed them and me and my DD got in the car and headed for the concert. Near the end of the show we were allowed to go up right along the stage. After a couple of songs, Elton walked across the stage and then stopped in front of us (along with another man that brought over a pen). The man reached down to my DD to take her program and then he handed it to Elton to sign then gave it back to us. Elton signed about 8 more items for people on the other side and then went back to singing (with me and my DD still trying to pick our jaws up off the ground).

Yes, it was a lot of money for a few hours. But experiencing those moments with my kids was priceless.
Even my DD said so on the way out of the concert:
Program - $26
Tickets - $500
Getting Elton's autographic - priceless

 

[NHdisneylover]

it must have been incredible!!!

That is was

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Hmmm. I've traveled quite a bit and definitely have a standard for accommodations and such but I don't really consider that splurging...

I guess my total unnecessary splurge was my Judith leiber pig clutch. I love them so much, but it is a ridiculous splurge to spend that much on a purse that can't even fit a phone lol.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Our hot tub. We are in it all the time. Great during Ohio winters and we turn the temp down in the summer and the kids use it as a pool.