My little luxuries
March 26, 2018
There’s been a whole lot of chatter on the interwebs about what income level you need to be considered middle class, or more.
My contribution early on was that a household income of $100,000 in most places is what I consider upper middle class. That wouldn’t sustain us or our current lifestyle in the Bay Area. We wouldn’t be able to afford daycare, or travel, or eating out. We probably couldn’t afford this house or our second car. We’d get by but it wouldn’t feel good.
Nevertheless, I started to feel wealthy a long while ago even though our salaries are laughable compared to Silicon Valley friends or more highly educated colleagues. That’s because I truly appreciate the value of certain small things.
BOOKS!
Reading the calendar, I see that our daycare is going to have a Scholastic Book Fair in a few weeks. I asked Twitter if they were pro- or con- SBF because I don’t know much about the program. Penny assured me that they’re great about giving teachers funding support which made my heart sing. Buying a book because we want to read, because our kids love to read, that’s the stuff that feeling rich is made of.
I remember the feel of the SBF flyers, that extra thin paper I could pore over for hours, front side and back side. We never had the money to pay for books so I never got anything from those flyers, which may explain my obsession with mail order as a young teen, but they fed an already unhealthy obsession with reading.
JB already, at age 3, owns more books than I did until I worked a full time job. Ze is rolling in wealth.
Tissues
Hear me out! I know the Bitches say that’s what toilet paper is for and they have a point! But that’s the whole point – having soft tissues, with lotion or aloe, is a damn luxury. My delicate nose chafes after three days of a cold or flu, and treating it to a soft wipe instead of wimpy 2-ply toilet paper makes me feel rich as Croesus. That’s all I really need – a case of tissues and a stack of books to call my own. (Oh yes, 3 ply toilet paper would put me over the top to Feeling Like A Billionaire status!)
A few good pieces
Of clothing and adornment! My circle cardigan has been worn hundreds of times in a single year. I wear it most days. That’s the only piece of clothing for which I’ve paid full price in 20 years and it’s worth every penny.
My bold brass earrings were $5 from Forever 21 so you’d expect them to be crap but instead they are BOLD and look great with everything I own.
Feeling put together, or at least a little put together, is fabulous.
Food, always food. Being able to go to our ethically-raised meats butcher and get whatever cut I want whenever I want. Loose leaf tea. Fresh handmade pasta. Basically every time I go to a farmer’s market, it’s hard not to be super aware at how bougie I’ve become.
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Mmm delicious fresh food, yes!
I’m with you on the tissues! I buy 99 cent store tissues until I have a cold, then it’s luxury all the way. I also spend a lot on good health related items like food, classes, events, etc. I feel fortunate to be able to afford that.
Good food and exercise, yes, so important!
I love this list 🙂
There are so many little things like that which make a world of difference. For me, one of my things is being able to buy fancy cheese because I feel like it. Not that I ever even came close to being food insecure as a kid, but there were certain fancy foods that were a rare treat. I love being able to eat my feelings with a $15 block of fancy cheese, on occasion.
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The good cheese, oh my goodness yes!
Tissues are a wonderful luxury! We use toilet paper for the most part, but if we get sick and are going to be blowing our nose a bunch… Aloe tissues — the ultimate in tissue luxury!
Extra indulgence for me is probably makeup. I’m trying to go all drugstore now, but it’s still an unnecessary expense that makes me feel less self-conscious about skin imperfections and other issues that I know I shouldn’t care about but I do so… meh.
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I love it when you can feel like you’re looking good!
I started buying nice tissues mostly for guests – I’m happy with toilet paper (unless I’m sick!) but it feels rich/nice to have good tissues for people who visit.
One thing I appreciate every time is my car’s rear windshield wiper, it feels SO rich to use it after years without one.
The rear windshield wiper is AMAZING!
OMG yes. I think I started buying actual tissues a couple years ago…. and I won’t go back.
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Team Tissue!
Food!
I also don’t even consider tissues a luxury, they are just a thing that I buy. I don’t go through them quickly unless sick, so it just seems worth it to have them around.
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Good food is such a luxury.
Yes, actual tissues! Avocados when I want them, not just when they are on sale (but mostly when they are on sale). Girl Scout Cookies/lemonade stands/letting the soccer team bag my groceries for a tip. Contributing to my friends’ random Go Fund Me projects.
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All the food we like, even if it’s not on sale!
Awe this is lovely! I know exactly what you mean about the Scholastic Book Fair order form. I would also look at the books intently and dream about what I would order (except I did not because my parents said no).
I feel luxurious just being able to enjoy eating out (and not fancy eating out, even if it is just $15 and under a person) and having a glass of wine with friends and not having to worry about that against my budget.
YES! The day I realized that even if we ate out *gasp and horror* TWICE A MONTH, we would still be ok, I stood still for a minute to process that. Wow. That’s huge.
Buying whatever I want at the grocery store!
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Food is such a lovely luxury item.
We shall allow tissues to be defined as a little luxury! And as for me, it’s got to be plants. I love nothing more than having fresh flowers on the kitchen table, and flowers growing in all my window boxes and hanging baskets.
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Thank you for the pass! 🙂 Fresh flowers are ever so lovely.
Yes on the TP. I stopped buying cheap TP once I started making money. Cheap TP is only fit for college dorms and prisons…
Eating out is a luxury too. We mostly cook at home, but we enjoy eating out too. It’s a nice luxury that we can afford once in a while.
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We do the medium TP now – gunning for the 3 ply someday!
We did the fancy toilet paper when we were broke in grad school– the difference was the amount of effort that went into making sure it was less than 25 cents per regular sized roll. There was a lot of heavily watching sales and bulk buying. We’d walk lots of blocks on city streets carrying nothing but huge amounts of TP from a CVS sale.
Now we don’t have to wait for sales. Mwahahahaa! And we can buy it at the grocery store where it’s usually more expensive!
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3 ply?!? Whewwww boy that sounds lux. We’re not there yet. We’re on the Boardwalk generic brand TP… Maybe after we FI we will get 3 ply.
Somedaaaaaayyyyyy!
Hmm, is now the time to confess that we have more than one type of tissues at home? Plain Kleenex for regular nose blowing and then Puffs with lotion for when people are sick.
For me, desserts are a major little luxury for me! I love knowing I have something sweet to look forward to. Even a $4 bubble tea puts a little more pep into my step.
Oh that’s smart!
I love being able to go to any grocery store I want to get the groceries on my list without scanning the sales flyers to find the best deal first. I can even buy stuff that is not on my list and still not break my generous grocery budget. I can treat myself to a meal, a drink, and ice cream every week at knit night if I feel like it (and since it’s my main social outlet these days, I usually do.) I can go to happy hour once or twice a month to enjoy a drink and snacks with friends.
I ALWAYS buy facial tissues and keep a box in every room because I tend to be sniffly in the morning and it feels like walking around the house with a roll of toilet paper is something a done by uncouth young men. (Although I have had female friends who did that, but, why?) Like Luxe Strategist, I usually have a box of lotion tissues on hand, too, in case I get a cold and need the extra soothing softness.
And being able to give my elderly dog a great quality of life feels like the best luxury of all.
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I love your choices!
The 3 ply toilet paper is too rich for me right now, I’m sticking with 2 ply from Costco.
I recently bought a sandwich from Ike’s(popular Bay Area sandwich shop) and felt a bit rich since it cost $10 for one.
Same for us, but we can dream of 3 ply someday 😀
I don’t think I’ve ever tried Ike’s, let me know how good it was 🙂
I love it that books make you feel rich. I started reading The Rosie Project out loud to my 18-year-old daughter when she was sick, and she wanted me to continue when she felt better. By the end of it, she was reading it out loud to me. The other night, we took a walk together to a nearby bookstore and bought the sequel (at a discount): The Rosie Effect. More out-loud reading to come! That is a luxury for me:)
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Not just books, quality time with your beloved daughter! True luxury indeed.