Gawd, me too. I just bought another one for $1,000. That’s three guitars total and a Marshall amp head. I can play alright, not great. But I have the money and they make me happy.
Plus good beer. Microbrews go for about $13.50 a 12-pack here.
DSL, though it doesn’t really seem so extravagant these days. Plus I use it to actually work from home sometimes.
Either you mean $100 a month or I’m getting ripped a new one!
As for moving, I probably wouldn’t and won’t ask my friends to help me move, but that’s mainly because my tv is DAMN heavy so I’ll just pay some other guy to move it for me. I’ll help friends move, though - in fact, that’s how I spent a good portion of my birthday last year.
Dive gear While I realize that diving, is in itself an extravagance, I will not cheap out on most of my gear. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that Sears mechanics gloves work quite well underwater, at a lower price than “dive gloves,” but I refuse to go cheap on the serious stuff. That means Apeks regulators, Halcyon BC, a custom-cut drysuit, and my next wetsuit will be custom as well. Combine comfort, excellent fit, and quality construction, and you take a fun pasttime to a sublime experience.
Good Restaurants About once every other month or so we will splurge on a very expensive meal. For my wife’s 40th birthday it was Charlie Trotter’s. Last month it was Striped Bass in Philadelphia. I didn’t think I could appreciate the difference between a good restaurant and an excellent one, but damned if I can’t.
Books are my big extravagance. I get a 30% discount (work in a bookstore) and still spend about a quarter of my income on books. I’ve started buying hardcover children’s books now, when I can. I own all the Olivia books, and I recently found Micheal Rosen’s Sad Book and snatched it up. (You should too - it’s honestly the most beautiful thing I own.) I’ve become an avid reader of kid’s picture flats - anything that strikes a chord gets bought. My friends don’t understand why - I’m not maternal at all - I’m not stocking up for some future sprog. I just like them.
What’s strange is that I drag my feet about bookshelves. I’ve got a few - a couple of cheapies and a beautiful one my friends gave me for my birthday, but I can’t bring myself to buy any more. I’d rather wait til I have more space and money, and buy something huge and heavy and wooden.
I’ll also buy Doc Boots at $200 a pop for work. I don’t need them, but I never have sore feet, unlike a lot of my co workers.
Cocktails. I’mn happy to pay $16 for a drink, if it tastes good. And I only like drinking if other people are, so I wind up shelling out for everyone else.