Embracing Extravagance

In a recent post, I talked about embracing inconvenience -- doing things yourself, which might take you a minute or two more time, yet save you many dollars in the long run. Now, just to prove I'm not some Luddite or Spartan, let me talk for a bit about extravagance.

There are many in the frugal camp who view extravagance as the polar opposite to their way of life, and for the most part, I agree with them. But just what is an extravagance? There are two ways of looking at extravagance: either spending money on a want instead of a need, or spending money on a need, but not in the most cost-effective manner. At its core, an extravagance falls into one of these two definitions.

So, using our definitions of extravagance, are all extravagances bad? No, not at all. What my wife and I do, however, is when we do splurge on something, we make it something very meaningful or special, and we squeeze every ounce of enjoyment and happiness from it we can. We started the move toward this after a restaurant meal on one of our first Valentine's days as a married couple. We went out to Cheesecake Factory with several hundred of our closest strangers. It was one of the worst restaurant experiences of our lives. Noisy, busy, bad service -- all because we tried to do this at the same time as everyone else.

The last time we went to Cheesecake Factory, we went for a late lunch, around 3:00 in the afternoon. There were maybe a dozen tables occupied in the whole place, and the service was excellent. The food tasted just as good as it had on that Valentine's day -- maybe better because the chef wasn't trying to prepare forty or fifty other dishes at the same time. We were able to talk without shouting, take our time to enjoy our meal, and really cherish being with each other. A much better experience, for the same cost as our previous encounter. (The fact we bought most of the meal on a gift card we'd received for Christmas didn't hurt, either.) Could we have eaten at home for much less? Absolutely. Do I still remember sitting at the table with my wife and having a wonderful afternoon together? Yes.

You see, being frugal isn't all about sacrifice and scrimping. It's about being wise and aware of your purchases, about paying attention to where your money comes from and where it goes. My wife and I still have some very special moments -- our trip to Kaua'i this summer comes to mind -- but because we spent smart and paid attention to what we spent, we had some amazing experiences without seeing an amazingly-large number on our credit card bill.

What are some "extravagances" you have spent money on ... and was the money you spent worth it, or are you still suffering buyer's remorse? Share your comments below.