Me too! I figure I'm worth it.

I was real frugal all my life saving for retirement well now
we are retired and I sometime surprise myself at some of the things I buy..You can’t
take it with you!

My grandmother of blessed memory was from near the Baltic Sea, but was educated here in the U.S. Caviar wasn't easy to get, especially during the Depression and WWII, but I'm told that she would occasionally come up with a jar, and sit on the sofa with a spoon and eat the whole thing. Straight. :)

I have my indulgences, but they run toward cheese. :) One justifies it because the price of some of them preclude gluttony, and encourage one to savor the little bit that one buys. My favorites run more than $20/lb. I only buy little cuts. ;) Then there are things I don't look at the price of and just kind of bury in my grocery total so I won't have to know, like lamb chops. I do sort of know what they cost, but if I thought about it too long, we wouldn't have lamb chops.

My OMG!! items are things like La Quiercia proscuitto....when I know I will have a hard time eating it all by myself, or an expensive bottle of a liquor to sip a little at a time or to add a splash to some pastry cream or coffee. I have a yen for Strega and haven't seen any in years and years.....and B and B is something I consider an extravagance.....because it's expensive and I sure don't NEED it.

You can get Strega online :-)

I had to google Strega up to see what it is. Just kill me but I don't like wine or liqueur. As for whiskey, I got to taste it for the first time at 16 (first time I ever saw whiskey in real life). Not my cup of tea. Ewww!

I like beer, Guiness for instance, and it's not exactly cheap. Sometime I treat myself to a bottle. The canned stuff has an unpleasant metallic taste. The bottle is more expensive but what's the point buying the cheaper version that spoils the treat?

wintercat, I don't care for wine either, no matter how many "tastings" I went to, trying to learn to drink it. I also don't care for beer or liquor, but some of the newer hard ciders are OK. If I were to splurge on wine, it would be Black Star Farms Ice Wine, the only wine I ever drank that I actually liked. Very sweet and $95 a bottle, and that's a small, narrow bottle, so it will never happen in my lifetime. I did enjoy that $5 tasting, though. (grin)

As a food splurge, I only buy organic milk from a local organic dairy and it's $6+ a gallon, and almost $4 for a pint of whipping cream, but my splurges are mostly things like that $50 set of cookie scoops. I'd gone through 4 or 5 of the cheap Wilton type scoops and when I got that Amazon gift certificate last year, I spent it ALL on Jenaluca cookie scoops. I use them constantly for everything from meatballs to cupcakes, even for cookies, and they have a lifetime guarantee.

I grew up extremely poor and when I got divorced a decade or so ago, I was a single Mom without two nickels to rub together, so I tend toward being very frugal. Now I'm remarried and my kids are grown, and occasionally I "go crazy" and splurge, and sometimes I'm sorry, but not usually...

Annie

Quality food is something I never feel guilty about buying- what could be more important than what you put in your body? Variety (and new smells and flavors) is good for you!

I am not impressed by:

$10,000 a lb fish eggs that taste the same as $20 a lb fish eggs.

$500 a bottle fermented grape juice that taste no better than $10 a bottle.

$2,000 a lb fungi. For me $10 a lb mushroom are very tasty.

-------

I treated a client and his wife to sushi at MASA (NYC) $1,000 per person. For me all sushi taste the same. Let's face it, do you cook sushi?

dcarch

Me too "all the time"!! Food is something I never bother economizing with - it is one of the primary delights in life. I am a single person and eat out often with friends and family but typically more casual than 'fine dining', so when I get a hankering for a 'fine dining' type meal, I just buy the ingredients and make it myself. Like rack of lamb - Trader Joes offer a small, preseasoned rack that is perfect for a couple or a single plus leftovers. Or lobsters.

Fortunately, I live in an area that features a number of very upscale grocery stores with excellent delis that offer all manner of exotics and already prepared dinner items. These are not inexpensively priced but make great economical sense if buying for just myself - no need to spend extra on all the raw ingredients. And I never stint on cheeses, good breads and fresh produce. And I am a wine drinker but enjoy testing our the plethora of inexpensive locally produced wines available, most of which I'd be hardpressed to distinguish from a higher priced label. Again, Trader Joes is a great source for these but I steer clear of 2 Buck Chuck, which is awful compared to most other labels at just a dollar or two more. And I have been known to splurge on a bottle or two from a local winery that is definitely upper end on the pricing scale but tastes like the nectar of the Gods!!

I economize in other ways - I buy all my staples at places like Walmart or Safeway and then indulge myself with fresh stuff from the high end stores.

"I am not impressed by:

$10,000 a lb fish eggs that taste the same as $20 a lb fish eggs.

$500 a bottle fermented grape juice that taste no better than $10 a bottle.

$2,000 a lb fungi. For me $10 a lb mushroom are very tasty."

Neither am I. Things that are expensive but not commensurately better will never make it onto my shopping list. But, if there's a product I _really like_ and it happens to be more expensive than the el cheapo version, I'll spend the extra $$. OTOH, if I like the el cheapo version as well as the expensive one, then I'll buy the el cheapo one.

Annie, I am still thinking about those Jenaluca scoops. Haven't been able to get myself to spend the money.

>>$500 a bottle fermented grape juice that taste no better than $10 a bottle.>>

Well, it depends on the wine. If it was the 1980 Chat Trotanoy from Pomerol which I saved for 20 yrs and drank on my 50th birthday, to me it was worth that cash equivalent (I was pretty poor when I bought it, so it was a HUGE stretch for me to buy a half case). So was the 1970 Chat Rieussec which I let the sommelier finish off at that same dinner. No $10 bottle is ever going to come close to those beauties. The food enhanced the wine and vice versa. Can't ask for more than that.

I agree with colleenoz, I feel free to spend on the things we enjoy. Whether it's a piece of cheese or taking my niece to the best French restaurant in town because she's never been there and it's our favorite, life is too short to stint on the things that make life fun.

I do buy some expensive things for myself, but sure not on food or drink! I do not drink alcohol anyway. Most things people think are so great and tasty and cost so much, I would never even touch. However I do buy myself some nice things now that I am older and have my own money.

Sue

Since I brought up the cheese, I'll clarify that my cheese frugality/splurges are about what I put on my breakfast toast, not something that will be treated kindly and savored by fully awake humans. For company, I don't stint. For the household for "real", like the lambchops, I buy the best and just don't look at the price. But for breakfast, when other days I'm happy with American cheese (but the good kind, not the plastic stuff), I limit the Red Hawk and L#%@$ which I can't even sound out in my head from memory which is my most favorite, runny, stinky French cheese, most delicious on very toasted toast, and costs more than $12 for an inch slice. :)

The other things I'm price conscious about are candy fruit (berries, cherries, grapes, etc., i.e., fresh, high sugar fruits that are eaten like candies) and soda pop (best prices near holidays, and it's not food--a vice really--and while I want to offer my guests a coke, I don't want to pay extra when the price goes way down just before a holiday).

P.S., I don't drink Two Buck Chuck, but it's palatable. I have no qualms throwing a bottle over a turkey. If it's going to be an integral part of a sauce, like the Molly Stevens duck legs braised with dried cherries, I'll use the good stuff, but I can't tell the difference between the Shaw varietal and something five times the price if it's just there as liquid. And no way I'm putting a newly opened bottle of the really good stuff in general cooking! Actually...that's the issue. Where it's going to be watered down, I use the cheap stuff. Where it's going to be reduced, I use good to very good. Best is for drinking only.

I have been frugal all my life but now I do buy Truffle butter--9-10 dollars for a tiny container. But I melt it with regular butter and it keeps a long time. And sometimes prepared foods (especially deep-fried, and Chinese) I used to make myself but now I'm cooking only for me. I figure I'm saving on electricity at least. One of these days I'll buy myself a lobster tail. Haven't gone that far yet.

"I treated a client and his wife to sushi at MASA (NYC) $1,000 per person"

That's what happens when food and dining turn into status symbols.

I'd be so irritated by this that I couldn't possibly have enjoyed such a meal. I suspect you didn't enjoy it much either, dcarch.

My idea of splurging would be buying $10 a lb rib eye from Sam's Club. To me, it doesn't get any tastier than grilled rib eye steak! I've eaten caviar once before and do not ever intend to eat that mess ever again.

Splurging would include expensive cheeses and condiments (love Stonewall Kitchen products) as well as liqueurs, imported teas and locally roasted coffee.

This from a woman who just ate leftover cold spaghetti with marinara sauce for breakfast lol!

I do splurge where others might not. I keep good cheeses on hand from Pecorino to Fulvi. I order from Amazon when I want something that's hard to find nearby. I avail myself of local foods at the farmers markets when sometimes it costs more than the supermarket.

I figure it costs less than dining out.

That's something I actually think we should do more of.

When Wegmans first opened here they sold black truffles (they must have been the summer truffles) for $100/lb (it was 8 years ago), I almost bought a small one, it came to $35, but I passed. I will buy food and beverages that I enjoy, and will also go to restaurants that I like, no matter the cost.

Several years ago I bought an ounce of good quality saffron for a Christmas present to myself. I very much enjoyed this expensive treat for the better part of a year and never regretted the expense. I am normally a very frugal person.

Of course, why not? My favorite is Chinese fine tea, local Belgian Chocolates, and high quality Saffron.

Very happy our kids do that for themselves too, such as fine wine and cheese, good shoes, and great international trips. As long as they could afford, why not?

I suspect that there is wide variance in what one classifies as outrageously expensive. At this point in my life, I very rarely do on foodstuffs as I just can't, but may perhaps be more lenient some day. When thins get into the realm of ridiculous or outrageously expensive, I end up with a good dose of guilt on the side which interferes somewhat with the enjoyment factor. I enjoy the Justin's hazelnut chocolate butter. It went on sale at one of the local markets for 40% or 50% off so I thought I would treat myself, thinking that the jar would come into the $5-6 range as I knew the price had come up from what it once was but I was wrong and would not have bought it at the sale price which was closer to $10. I have hesitated to even open the jar yet but will one day soon.

Saying that though, there are still some things I would like to one day try. I would like to see if I can the difference between an expensive balsamic vinegar that I have read about than those cheaper ones I buy (although I have yet to even see an $100 bottle of balsamic). I would also like to at least try a truffle, just once. Caviar does not interest me much but perhaps a taste of Kobe beef cooked by somebody who knows what they are doing, at least once in my life. It gives me something to look forward to, I suppose.

My Costco Holiday edition magazine came in the mail the other day, and some will be carrying Kobe beef. I think I'm going to buy some to sous vide.

What the heck.

Truffles have to be used correctly to really be worth their price. I've had beautiful truffles that were mistreated and, rather than that treasured, earthy but transcendent flavor, tasted just dank.

I may stint on breakfast cheese, but saffron is a staple for me. :)

Don't forget what Ina says, buy really good vanilla ;-)

I make my vanilla -- but buy really good beans. Either way, the good stuff is worth it.

I have been buying fresh squeezed orange juice lately and enjoying that. Not really that expensive for the two of us and DH only occasionally, but I enjoy it.

I was thinking about this earlier and am not sure what I feel we really splurge on. We did buy a more expensive champagne for our 25th anniversary and have bought a whole tenderloin a couple of times. The tenderloin is expensive, but for the price of one steakhouse dinner, we all have steaks several times. So it's all relative. Our Thanksgiving dinner reservation -- that's a splurge, but worth it to me.

I make my vanilla -- but buy really good beans. Either way, the good stuff is worth it.

I have been buying fresh squeezed orange juice lately and enjoying that. Not really that expensive for the two of us and DH only occasionally, but I enjoy it.

I was thinking about this earlier and am not sure what I feel we really splurge on. We did buy a more expensive champagne for our 25th anniversary and have bought a whole tenderloin a couple of times. The tenderloin is expensive, but for the price of one steakhouse dinner, we all have steaks several times. So it's all relative. Our Thanksgiving dinner reservation -- that's a splurge, but worth it to me.

OK, Folks, I will go and buy a Lotto ticket tomorrow.

If I win the big one, everyone who posted on this thread will get one LB of saffron and one LB of truffle from me.

Alright, one LB of the best caviar also.

dcarch

I'd prefer a new handbag, if you don't mind.

Bumblebeez, you can sell your saffron and get a really expensive bag! :D

So, speaking of it...I was economizing. My local store doesn't get the Valrhona cocoa anymore, so I was going to order a pound online. I've always used it for things like cakes, but it also makes the best really chocolate chocolate ice cream, and because of all the cocoa fat it keeps in the freezer really well too. And takes a cup for less than a quart. Or maybe it's a quart if it all gets in the containers (my candy hater LOVES it). So I just received a three pound box. It's a tremendous splurge. But it's also a great economy if I can keep it from oxidizing before most of it is used up. :)

My DD worked for a small, very expensive restaurant chain in NYC. I was there to help her and her husband with their move from the city. On our last night, we went to one of her restaurants - fabulous place - for dinner. The sommelier (who knew DD quite well) came over to our table and put down two wine glasses, and then came back with a bottle of wine. A man and woman had ordered a $1000 bottle of wine, two glasses (partly filled) were poured and sipped, $1000 bottle. It was a red and I don't remember the name, but I must say I COULD tell the difference between it and a red that might be $45 at a liquor store (at least double in a restaurant). Glad I got to try it and enjoy it, but I cannot imagine ever having enough money to indulge in something that costly.

I do love truffles, but they're too expensive and they don't even sell them where I live. What I use instead is either truffle oil or truffle salt - gives the dish the truffle flavor at less cost.

I buy local pastured meats when I can, but I don't any more think of them as a splurge - but a health measure. Wine - $20 bottles are about my limit. A couple times a year I will splurge on a bottle of single malt whisky. One a year for Christmas Eve I buy an eel for the feast of the seven fishes. Oh, and I do have a sushi habit, but I'm NOT up for dropping $ 1000 at Masa.

But Pillog, I meant a birkin :- )

I guess there are some who consider my regular purchases of Organic produce, meats and dairy products to be out-of-line; I don't know what they now think of my move to pasture-raised and GMO-free. I figure that in my younger years all the food I ate was this, why not now in my elder years.

Oh. Well, in that case Bumblebeez, you'll have to sell them all and hope that DC meant white truffles and Beluga. :)

Of course, the Birkin was styled after a bag that a lady was carrying on a plane. It's an expensive knock off. :) My mother had one of the original kind, or a cheaper knock off of that.... :)

Special requirement foods, like kosher or organic or both, which are for philosophy rather than need, are expensive, but they're another story. It's an overall choice to spend a larger portion of one's wherewithal to get a specific kind of groceries that fit one's way of life. While my university made me learn to hate broccoli (I've gotten over it and can eat it, but won't buy it for myself) because there was a bumper crop and we had horse broccoli 3-4 times per week because it was cheap, a lot of universities now are following student insistence on sustainable agriculture and grown within 100 miles. It's expensive, though they save some costs by going right to the farmer, but they do manage to stick to budgets while feeding the young people according to their philosophy. Some have few clothes and many second hand in order to pay for their food philosophies. That's all about way of life, rather than indulgence of the buy oneself a treat variety.

What is horse broccoli?

An analogous construction to horse carrot. I don't know if a horse would actually eat broccoli, but that's what we called it. Over grown, fibrous and nearly woody, and not pretty.

The Gemini in me comes out when spending money on food. A split personality !

I am always checking out the flyers for good deals. Some things I know there is no reason to pay full price for because they are always on sale somewhere other things I refuse to buy on sale because I know the quality isn't what I want. If I know I can make it better and cheaper no way will I pay top dollar.

I am particularly extravagant when it comes to entertaining. Only AAA meat butchered well, fresh seafood never frozen, fresh herbs and spices, imported cheeses , produce from local small specialty markets and top shelf liquors and wines. Luckily we only entertain in that manner 6 or 8 times a year !!!

Around 20 years ago I renewed my Scotch whisky habit and began buying bottles of single malt that ran $150 to $250 a bottle. Over the years, that price range reached $750 a bottle and yes, I could tell the difference. Just about three years ago I mysteriously lost my taste for whisky, gave away around $2000 of single malt to my best friend, and have not had a single dram since. It wasn't the money, although it WAS a very expensive habit.