To think that luxury is addictive?

I don’t generally.

But damn my French in-laws have made me love L’Octaine and now I have to have it. Not that’s that high end. But it’s not cheap either.

‘What one generation sees as a luxury, the next sees as a necessity’ Anthony Crosland.

I go to a spa every 2 weeks for 3 hours of pampering.
If i see something i like i buy it.
I have very good skin care products.
I always by clothes new.
If i can upgrade with flights at a good price i will.
Hotels i pay more for child free stay hotel's.
Im a fussy eater so i will pay more if i want better.
My bedding has to be changed every 5 days towel washed after every use.
Its not a brag its a why the fuck not.
No one is paying it for me so i do splash out on things because i can and i will.

I was going to say the same 😆 If you continue to live like a student but on a decent salary, you will feel (and probably be) rich beyond your wildest dreams!

Made the mistake of booking a swim up room a few years back and now I couldn’t go back to a normal room and the sun bed wars. If I’m staying in the UK I’m happy in a premier inn but when I go abroad I want a bit more luxury, probably because we are there longer and spend more time in the room.

I agree. Those £100K strugglers will be blowing a fortune on luxuries they don’t mention in their posts.

Years ago I was made redundant and had to cut my cloth and start economising. I was really surprised that a lot of changes made zero difference to my life. I switched to a cheaper hairdresser and started to use supermarket shampoo and conditioner. My hair was just as nice! It made me realise that I’d been wasting ridiculous amounts of cash on things that didn’t make my life any better.

Now that my financial circumstances have significantly improved I’ve always tried to be mindful not to slip into bad habits. I’d rather spend my money on experiences than ‘things’.

That is where the 'lifestyle you have become accustomed to' saying comes in.

I started off in a 2 bedroom terrace. I am now in a large 6 bed barn conversion. I would really struggle to downsize.

I agree. Since we started buying better quality mattresses, I can’t stand cheap ones. The one we’ve got now was £1600 down from around £2k. The one before that was around £1200. Also, holidays. We now stay at much better quality hotels than ever before and it really improves the experience. One thing I’ll never stop doing is rummaging through the yellow sticker shelf at the supermarket! Love a good bargain 😂

I’m not convinced by “luxury” but Quality is what I go fo every time. I’ll not spend on low quality. Better to go without.

I like luxury, but I can also go without it. I’m not well off enough to spend the money if the difference is huge- if I’m taking the train and a regular seat is 50 and first class is 100 then I’ll do it. But it’s 50 and 300 then no 😅 and ive definitely seem bigger gaps in price than that. Would also depend on the distance, if it’s a direct one hour train then I’d happily stand.

with holidays I’ll happily take the children camping but if I’m going to a London hotel etc then I want 4/5 star. I’d rather change my dates or length or stay to get the price right then go down on quality.

I don’t think I’m unusual in this ? Most people like a treat ?

I was lucky enough to get upgraded to business class Singapore to London, it was amazing, I'd love to be able to fly BC every time for long haul. As it was I felt I'd pushed the boat out paying to fly premium economy to Australia and back to see my DD.

hotels I'm not that bothered about so long as they're clean etc, we prefer SC apartments for the space to chill out and do our own thing. Cars, I'm not bothered about, I've driven Land Rover defenders (original, not the new style) for decades now and I like their classlessness and that they're quite small compared to modern cars. Although I realise many of them are now very much toys for the rich rather than functional utility vehicles.

I do enjoy lovely high quality clothes though, but happy to find/buy them in charity shops/vinted rather than pay full price. My real weakness is expensive boots and leather or suede bags.

I do wonder sometimes if I actually had the funds to live like a millionaire and buy £100k+ cars without needing to think long and hard about it, and generally live the high life whether I would spend accordingly, I'm not sure I would...

With international travel, luxury wins - we always take the least stressful option. Unless the flight is late at night we always go up to Heathrow and stay at the T5 Sofitel the night before, being able to stroll over to the terminal, fast track through security, have a quick look in the duty free before settling in the business class lounge, taxi from airport to hotel at the other end is priceless. However on our annual holiday to the Scottish Highlands and Islands, happy to break the journey in Premier Inns or whatever is available.

You can unlearn the dopamine hit; but you have to actually unlearn it, not just replace it with something else. (Think about how some people loudly perform 'saving the planet, which actually seems to be mostly telling other people what they should be doing while ignoring their own rules.)

Totally disagree. I prefer variety and hunting down the good value and interesting over the homogenous luxury offering. This Spring we stayed in a run-down, Caribbean style hotel that was adjacent to a luxury, 5 star, £1,000 a night place and I think we had the better option as we really felt we were in the Caribbean rather than being somewhere that could be anywhere. We flew coach too because 9 hours on a plane is a means to an end, not part of the holiday.

I think it must come down whether you value that higher quality and whether it makes a difference to you or not.

Agree, the additional cost doesn't represent good value for me.

I've flown business with work. Yes it's nicer, but it's not that much nicer that I'd spend 5 grand of my own money on it rather than the £500 economy seat.

Same with hotels, I'll pay for location but I'm happy with a decent bed and a shower. I don't care what type of toiletries they provide, designer sheets, having a spa bath or a concierge to advise on trips etc.

Absolutely couldn’t do a cheap hotel. The scratchy sheets would leave me opting for sleeping in the car

I fly long-haul frequently, and will always book first class. I like being able to stretch out and be comfortable, and the food is infinitely better.

Same goes for hotels - there’s a huge difference and I’d much rather stay in a 5* property or resort. I find the staff are so courteous and helpful, and always go above and beyond to provide a good service and recommendations. I also find them useful to make reservations at nice restaurants.

I’d also rather spend more on things like coats, bags and shoes, as I take good care of them and they last so much longer.

I agree if you mean once you've had a brilliant Chinese takeaway for £10 more, a cheap one doesn't cut it anymore.

However, I've had expensive face creams that are like, meh, always gone back to good old E45. Same with loads of products actually. Costing more doesn't mean better in many cases. Good old organic olive oil is brilliant!
I also dislike posh hotels as I don't feel comfortable. Prefer a friendly B&B any day.

Dopamine is addictive - our society is very good at selling ‘luxury’ whoch for many results in dopamine hits.

Absolutely, although you do adapt back if necessary. I used to work in a corporate role for an airline and part of the package was a certain amount of air miles in seats including some i could never afford myself 😂 since leaving and going back to paying full price for flights I've gone back down to economy but I really loved it and definitely miss it now I know what it's like!

Buying cheap buying twice is absolutely true and I always try and avoid that false economy.

Hotels ... I don't know. I stayed in a really nice hotel for work and it was nice but I didn't sleep any better or enjoy the shower any more than a Premier Inn. I think it must come down whether you value that higher quality and whether it makes a difference to you or not.

Similarly I will suffer through any economy flight to get to where I want to go - but I want it to be direct. I'm prepared to pay for flying direct but I'll make do in my tiny seat 😅

I don't know whether luxury is addictive, but scrimping and saving is definitely tedious.

I've had to adjust my lifestyle previously, and it's not easy, but you do get used to it. Just a case of managing expectations.

I'm not particularly bothered by luxury, so staying in 5* hotels, eating in expensive restaurants, travelling 1st class etc doesn't make me want more of that. I accept it as a nice experience but don't really want it all the time. I'm just as happy staying in a basic room, eating in cheep places etc.

I was discussing this with a friend the other day. We both love a luxury holiday and agreed that while the lovely hotel room, excellent food, comfort etc is wonderful the extra money is mainly buying you space. More space on the plane, more space in the hotel/resort and more members of staff per person so you never need to wait for anything and nothing is a hassle. The sense of ease and relaxation in those kind of places is priceless.

However I also love a trip where we fly budget, stay in an air BnB and eat street food in a hot busy city. It’s a different kind of trip but still just as fun imo.