Aside from bling, what's your "big ticket vice?"

[rosetta]

Handbags and shoes. I have prada, four mulberrys, anya hindmarch, Chloe, jimmy choo...

I'm planning both louboutin and blahnik in my wedding budget!

 

[movie zombie]

guns and ammunition for said guns.

MoZo

 

[Matata]

I am relieved to report that I have satisfied all of my big ticket vices. It's the small ones that are currently draining my budget -- specifically kitchen gadgets. I am a kitchen gadget addict.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I go to Frederic Fekkai's salon to get my hair done, but I don't think it's that much.

Antiques and things for my home.

I see well-cut/groomed hair as an investment. Having hair properly styled says quite a bit about a person. One of my friends changed her hair from a more textured look to a smooth style where her hair lays elegantly around her face and she looks 10X as pretty! Also, seems like when a person gets their hair done, EVERYONE notices!

Hair and properly done make-up are essential. That reminds me. . .a vice of mine is expensive make-up brushes. Haven't bought one in a while. . .

 

[portia]

My big ticket vice would definitely have to be auto racing. At 5K+ per race weekend I cringe at the thought of all the bling I could have or the places I could go. And for what? An experience and some memories? At least with jewelry you will have it forever. Oh well... I'm hopelessly addicted to it!

 

[elrohwen]

I don't really spend money on big ticket items, because I'm cheap Heck, I don't actually spend money on jewelry either - I just like to look at other people's jewelry and dream.

I think we do spend more on travel that most, and going on one big vacation and numerous weekend trips is very important to us.

Another is wine and beer - I'd say we spend over $1500 per year on it easily, so that counts I guess, though I don't often buy bottles of wine over $15 and I'm good at finding a deal.

I'm not current riding horses, but I want to get back into it and that's a huge money suck. Even weekly lessons is $250 a month (more than I want to pay right now, since we're saving for a house) but after the house is purchased I'd like to start again. I don't think I'll ever own a horse ($1k per month is a bit steep for board, and that's the minimum around here), but I would consider partially leasing a horse. Still a huge amount of money!

I didn't list food, though maybe I should have. We rarely eat out, because we realize how expensive it is - when we do go out, we have no problems spending whatever we want. So we're not budget diners, but the infrequency of eating out makes up for it I guess. I have no problem spending large amounts at the grocery store if I'm craving a certain food that week, though we're so busy with work we tend to eat the same things every week lately.

 

[zoebartlett]

Elro -- I'm too cheap to spend much on big ticket items, too. As for the jewelry, I'm like you. I love looking at other people's pieces, but I can't justify spending $ on something like that most of the time. I love jewelry but I don't wear much (mostly just earrings and my wedding set). Traveling always wins out for me, and we don't even do as much as I'd like.

I do love shopping for furniture though, although it's usually just window shopping. We have one more room to furnish (our master bedroom) and I already have the pieces picked out. We won't be buying it for a few years most likely, but it's fun to look.

I think I missed the "girlie" gene. I don't spend money on purses, makeup, dresses, designer anything, shoes, handbags, etc. I'm sure my husband is thankful for that.

 

[calibali]

definitely fine dining and clothes! And me and my hubby like nice cars. We are scheming on a Range Rover HSE right now, but we are trying to hold off for awhile as we don't have any car payments at the moment and I love that feeling.

We actually just looked at getting a Range Rover for going to the mountains, but the way it drove and all the electrical problems scared us away. We ended up with an X5 and are loving it. Definitely recommend driving one before committing to the RR.

 

[Yimmers]

Shoes. I heart shoes. But, since I have a mortgage now, it's been scaled back quite a bit. Before that, I wouldn't have thought twice about dropping $800 on a pair of gorgeous designer heels. The last big shoe purchase were my Red Valentinos from Spain.

Food. We enjoy eating out at fancy restaurants on special occasions. Of course, that's on hold while DH looks for a job. But, for our one year anniversary, we went all out and did the 8 course tasting menu at Cyrus, plus a caviar tasting. Half way through the meal, I was already stuffed and ready to pass out from food coma. DH said he was sweating at the end of the meal b/c he had eaten too much. I wouldn't do all that again, but it was a real treat. Eventually, DH and I would like to try other fancy restaurants - Le Bernadin, French Laundry, El Bulli...one day...

 

[Nashville]

Well if the kiddo doesn't count, I guess my expensive vice is getting my hair done at Aveda. It's like 60 bucks just for my haircut, but the peppermint scalp shampoo, soothing music and tea makes it soooooo worth the money. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

 

[lizzyann]

definitely fine dining and clothes! And me and my hubby like nice cars. We are scheming on a Range Rover HSE right now, but we are trying to hold off for awhile as we don't have any car payments at the moment and I love that feeling.

If this makes you feel any better at all...we used to have a Ranger Rover supercharged and it was nothing but a huge headache. Tons and TONS of electrical problems.

Hmmm...very interesting Autumn. My hubby wants the supercharged but we would probably buy it new or slightly used so that we would still have a warranty period. What year was the one you got? I do hear mixed reviews on them. Right now we have a BMW 330xi but once we have another child it will be too small so we need an SUV. So we also considered an X5 (we have had a couple beamers and like them) but it doesn't have 4WD only all wheel drive. I really want 4WD as we have a 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee too and it is great in the winter, however the 330xi(which is an AWD vehicle) sucks in our northeast winters. Any other suggestions? We like having one work horse vehicle (Jeep) and one more luxury vehicle. Love your car by the way!!!!

 

[lizzyann]

definitely fine dining and clothes! And me and my hubby like nice cars. We are scheming on a Range Rover HSE right now, but we are trying to hold off for awhile as we don't have any car payments at the moment and I love that feeling.

We actually just looked at getting a Range Rover for going to the mountains, but the way it drove and all the electrical problems scared us away. We ended up with an X5 and are loving it. Definitely recommend driving one before committing to the RR.

I just read this! How is the X5 in the winter? Or maybe you are located where you don't have to worry about that?!!!! Glad you are loving your X5! I love beamers!

 

[lizzyann]

definitely fine dining and clothes! And me and my hubby like nice cars. We are scheming on a Range Rover HSE right now, but we are trying to hold off for awhile as we don't have any car payments at the moment and I love that feeling.

If this makes you feel any better at all...we used to have a Ranger Rover supercharged and it was nothing but a huge headache. Tons and TONS of electrical problems.

I'm gonna chime in here, if I may. My cousin had 2 Range Rovers back to back, the newest one being the Sports Edition, and her car is at the dealership every other month over 1 electrical problem or another. The seats, windows, navigation, etc. I recall how often it is because I pick her up on the days she doesn't have a car to go to grad school classes together. But they are gorgeous cars and I still LOVE the way they look!

Btw AutumnNovember: I love your car too! Sporty and chic!!

Oh no! Another bad RR review! Guess I'll have to start checking out other cars! But why must they be soooo sexy!!!!

 

[Amethyste]

My vocal recording studio and all the gadgety things that go with it...

It's quite easy to drop $2K+ on a microphone alone!

... And eating out. My hubby and I LOVE to do that!!!

 

[Imdanny]

My vocal recording studio and all the gadgety things that go with it...

It's quite easy to drop $2K+ on a microphone alone!

Amethyste, I can imagine. I used to be a audiophile.

lizzyanne01, I recommend you look at Audi's quattro (AWD) SUV's. I think they have two now. They've been experts in AWD since the early '80's.

 

[calibali]

Hmmm...very interesting Autumn. My hubby wants the supercharged but we would probably buy it new or slightly used so that we would still have a warranty period. What year was the one you got? I do hear mixed reviews on them. Right now we have a BMW 330xi but once we have another child it will be too small so we need an SUV. So we also considered an X5 (we have had a couple beamers and like them) but it doesn't have 4WD only all wheel drive. I really want 4WD as we have a 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee too and it is great in the winter, however the 330xi(which is an AWD vehicle) sucks in our northeast winters. Any other suggestions? We like having one work horse vehicle (Jeep) and one more luxury vehicle. Love your car by the way!!!!

Lizzyann - the problem isn't AWD vs. 4WD, you need snow tires on the BMW 3 series to do well in the winter. The X5 has much different tires and a different setup than the 3 series, so it wouldn't be an issue. AWD X5 and 4WD Range are basically the same thing in the snow and unless you're in Antartica I doubt you'd have any trouble with traction in either.

Also, we got our X5 specifically for going into the mountains and skiing, so we did a lot of research to make sure we got an SUV that could handle the workload (this will be our first winter with it). FI test drove the RR, X5, and Cayenne - and he said it wasn't a difficult decision. He thought the X5 drove the most like a car, had the smoothest ride, and had the best options, so that's why we went with it. However, I should point out I'm a bit biased since we're big BMW lovers who have never had a problem with any of our other ones.

 

[shihtzulover]

I spend a lot on my hair. It's not as expensive as some things, but I tend to buy a lot of expensive shampoos, conditioners, and styling products, and I also like to have different types of treatments done. I also love to try new things, so I have lots of different products in rotation right now.

 

[NakedFinger]

SHOES!!!

"Hello my name is NakedFinger, and I am a shoe-aholic"

Beautiful, Exquisite, Ridiculously Impractical, Unnecessary, EXPENSIVE shoes <SIGH>

They are my vice, my drug, my child, and my love. lol

I need a 12 step program.

 

[LGK]

Antiques. Also the occasional Fluevog shoe purchase. But mostly antiques. Oh and perfume. I loooove perfume!

 

[elrohwen]

I think I missed the "girlie" gene. I don't spend money on purses, makeup, dresses, designer anything, shoes, handbags, etc. I'm sure my husband is thankful for that.

Same! I do like buying clothes occasionally, and I like buying well made things, but I never buy designer. I definitely missed that gene. I typically go to Banana Republic a couple times a year, buy a bunch of stuff, then don't shop again for 4-5 more months And the older I get the more nice stuff I accumulate, so the less I even bother shopping. Like once I have a purse or a pair of boots I really like, I won't buy another until I wear it to the ground.

Furniture shopping though - I can get into that! I can't wait to buy a house just so I can spend money decorating it! I already have all sorts of ridiculously expensive pieces picked out that I want (library chair, dining room table, etc)

 

[Hera]

Mine is definitely furnishing and decorating my house. I think I need around $100k to finish it the way I would like (1500 sq ft). I think that makes it a big ticket vice.

 

[pennquaker09]

Mine is definitely furnishing and decorating my house. I think I need around $100k to finish it the way I would like (1500 sq ft). I think that makes it a big ticket vice.

I'm right there with you, but when I'm shopping for furniture, I do so with our current house and whatever our next house is going to be in mind.

On my wishlist are a pair of bergeres.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Travel definitely. On my law school loans, I went to Mexico twice, New Zealand (the flight cost still makes me nauseous!), and Costa Rica, and lived/worked in Japan.

Used to be designer purses but I've been on the wagon for a couple years now

My cats. They themselves were not cheap (pedigreed Bengals from champion lines), and their food, etc. is not cheap either. And I want another!

Electronics. I have tech-envy. I love computers, phones, cameras, etc.

I got my love of expensive tech stuff from my dad and my love of jewelry and purses and such from my mom - I think I was predestined to be constantly broke

 

[Autumnovember]

definitely fine dining and clothes! And me and my hubby like nice cars. We are scheming on a Range Rover HSE right now, but we are trying to hold off for awhile as we don't have any car payments at the moment and I love that feeling.

If this makes you feel any better at all...we used to have a Ranger Rover supercharged and it was nothing but a huge headache. Tons and TONS of electrical problems.

Hmmm...very interesting Autumn. My hubby wants the supercharged but we would probably buy it new or slightly used so that we would still have a warranty period. What year was the one you got? I do hear mixed reviews on them. Right now we have a BMW 330xi but once we have another child it will be too small so we need an SUV. So we also considered an X5 (we have had a couple beamers and like them) but it doesn't have 4WD only all wheel drive. I really want 4WD as we have a 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee too and it is great in the winter, however the 330xi(which is an AWD vehicle) sucks in our northeast winters. Any other suggestions? We like having one work horse vehicle (Jeep) and one more luxury vehicle. Love your car by the way!!!!

Hmmmmmmm....well...we got one that was also a little bit used, it was a 2007 and it had full warranty on it (thank GOD). It was literally in the shop about 10 different times for various problems in the 9 months we owned the car (it got so ridiculous taking it to the dealership to be fixed we got rid of that thing as fast as possible). I do love the X5's, SO's brother had one of them and he never had issues with it at all, plus they drive nice. When I finish nursing school I want to get the Audi Q7...that would definitely be my suggestion. Great cars, and they look beautiful. I also think that the Porsche Cayennes are good...SO's brother had that car too before the X5 and really loved it. Audi makes a Q5 too which is also an SUV and drives awesome (its a smaller version of the Q7).

Thank you!!!!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Dog sweaters and dog food. I have to buy the best for my babies and one of them has severe allergeis (he's gone into anapylatic shock before). $70 for 25lb bag. Since they don't have undercoats they need clothing for the cold and snowy winters. Otherwise both DH and I love to live very simply. We also don't travel by air because of my ears. They didn't develop properly and can't adjust to the sudden change in pressure so I end up very ill for the entire flight and day. I'm a huge sucker for cleaning products. I can get lost in the the cleaning product isle for a looonnnggg time. If we didn't have hardwood floors I'd have more vacuums too. Don't know why I love them so much and I don't need anymore - I already have two regular vacuums, two hand vacs and three stick vacs Guess I'm the crazy vacuum lady

 

[movie zombie]

My cats.

my god, how did i forget that?! i don't even want to add up what it costs us per month.....between visits, medications, tests, well, suffice it to say i really don't want to know.

MoZo

 

[lizzyann]

Hmmm...very interesting Autumn. My hubby wants the supercharged but we would probably buy it new or slightly used so that we would still have a warranty period. What year was the one you got? I do hear mixed reviews on them. Right now we have a BMW 330xi but once we have another child it will be too small so we need an SUV. So we also considered an X5 (we have had a couple beamers and like them) but it doesn't have 4WD only all wheel drive. I really want 4WD as we have a 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee too and it is great in the winter, however the 330xi(which is an AWD vehicle) sucks in our northeast winters. Any other suggestions? We like having one work horse vehicle (Jeep) and one more luxury vehicle. Love your car by the way!!!!

Lizzyann - the problem isn't AWD vs. 4WD, you need snow tires on the BMW 3 series to do well in the winter. The X5 has much different tires and a different setup than the 3 series, so it wouldn't be an issue. AWD X5 and 4WD Range are basically the same thing in the snow and unless you're in Antartica I doubt you'd have any trouble with traction in either.

Also, we got our X5 specifically for going into the mountains and skiing, so we did a lot of research to make sure we got an SUV that could handle the workload (this will be our first winter with it). FI test drove the RR, X5, and Cayenne - and he said it wasn't a difficult decision. He thought the X5 drove the most like a car, had the smoothest ride, and had the best options, so that's why we went with it. However, I should point out I'm a bit biased since we're big BMW lovers who have never had a problem with any of our other ones.

The tires are a very valid point Cali. Our BMW has performance tires, not winter tires so that definitely affects the way it drives in the winter. Luckily, my hubby works from home and I am a stay at home mom so we can get away for now with driving the Jeep in the winter and the BMW in the summer. We are most likely going to test drive the RR, X5, and Cayenne this winter, even though we most likely won't buy anything till next spring/summer. We need to actually bring them to our house in the snow and go up and down our driveway. We live at the end of a culdesac but our driveway is down hill and very steep. Our BMW won't make it up the driveway in the winter but the jeep does no problem. So I figure that if we test drive we will test it at our house to be sure!!!! Thanks for all of your feedback! I also love all of the options on a BMW!!! So we shall see....

 

[lizzyann]

definitely fine dining and clothes! And me and my hubby like nice cars. We are scheming on a Range Rover HSE right now, but we are trying to hold off for awhile as we don't have any car payments at the moment and I love that feeling.

If this makes you feel any better at all...we used to have a Ranger Rover supercharged and it was nothing but a huge headache. Tons and TONS of electrical problems.

Hmmm...very interesting Autumn. My hubby wants the supercharged but we would probably buy it new or slightly used so that we would still have a warranty period. What year was the one you got? I do hear mixed reviews on them. Right now we have a BMW 330xi but once we have another child it will be too small so we need an SUV. So we also considered an X5 (we have had a couple beamers and like them) but it doesn't have 4WD only all wheel drive. I really want 4WD as we have a 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee too and it is great in the winter, however the 330xi(which is an AWD vehicle) sucks in our northeast winters. Any other suggestions? We like having one work horse vehicle (Jeep) and one more luxury vehicle. Love your car by the way!!!!

Hmmmmmmm....well...we got one that was also a little bit used, it was a 2007 and it had full warranty on it (thank GOD). It was literally in the shop about 10 different times for various problems in the 9 months we owned the car (it got so ridiculous taking it to the dealership to be fixed we got rid of that thing as fast as possible). I do love the X5's, SO's brother had one of them and he never had issues with it at all, plus they drive nice. When I finish nursing school I want to get the Audi Q7...that would definitely be my suggestion. Great cars, and they look beautiful. I also think that the Porsche Cayennes are good...SO's brother had that car too before the X5 and really loved it. Audi makes a Q5 too which is also an SUV and drives awesome (its a smaller version of the Q7).

Thank you!!!!

Thanks for the info AN! I actually saw one of the Audi trucks today and it was very nice. Not sure if it was the Q7 or 5 though. Has your SO's brother mentioned at all whether the Cayenne or the X5 handles better for him in the winter? Just curious!

 

[manderz]

I used to spend a fair amount of money on purses, but I just got sick of carrying them. Now, I've just been carrying a small wristlet. Coach is my FAVORITE!!

My current vices are jewelry, and my saltwater fish tank. I haven't bought a piece of jewelry for over a year, and I've really got the itch for an eternity band. But lately, the fish tank has been winning out.

Fi's big ticket vice is anything electronic. He's got a projector with a fantastic surround sound in our living room, it's so amazing. He loves his computer, car audio, smartphones...

 

[Autumnovember]

definitely fine dining and clothes! And me and my hubby like nice cars. We are scheming on a Range Rover HSE right now, but we are trying to hold off for awhile as we don't have any car payments at the moment and I love that feeling.

If this makes you feel any better at all...we used to have a Ranger Rover supercharged and it was nothing but a huge headache. Tons and TONS of electrical problems.

Hmmm...very interesting Autumn. My hubby wants the supercharged but we would probably buy it new or slightly used so that we would still have a warranty period. What year was the one you got? I do hear mixed reviews on them. Right now we have a BMW 330xi but once we have another child it will be too small so we need an SUV. So we also considered an X5 (we have had a couple beamers and like them) but it doesn't have 4WD only all wheel drive. I really want 4WD as we have a 4WD Jeep Grand Cherokee too and it is great in the winter, however the 330xi(which is an AWD vehicle) sucks in our northeast winters. Any other suggestions? We like having one work horse vehicle (Jeep) and one more luxury vehicle. Love your car by the way!!!!

Hmmmmmmm....well...we got one that was also a little bit used, it was a 2007 and it had full warranty on it (thank GOD). It was literally in the shop about 10 different times for various problems in the 9 months we owned the car (it got so ridiculous taking it to the dealership to be fixed we got rid of that thing as fast as possible). I do love the X5's, SO's brother had one of them and he never had issues with it at all, plus they drive nice. When I finish nursing school I want to get the Audi Q7...that would definitely be my suggestion. Great cars, and they look beautiful. I also think that the Porsche Cayennes are good...SO's brother had that car too before the X5 and really loved it. Audi makes a Q5 too which is also an SUV and drives awesome (its a smaller version of the Q7).

Thank you!!!!

Thanks for the info AN! I actually saw one of the Audi trucks today and it was very nice. Not sure if it was the Q7 or 5 though. Has your SO's brother mentioned at all whether the Cayenne or the X5 handles better for him in the winter? Just curious!

I can ask him this weekend The RR did not handle well in the winter, AT ALL. SO and his brother literally were fishtailing everywhere in the RR when it was snowing