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Original poster

If you're rich

50 replies

PoliticalBiscuit · 23/10/2018 10:26

What will always feel like a luxury?

I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a few things that I know other people view as treats and luxury items (on a small scale, so occasional splurges on make up and meals out)

But I'm car shopping with my Mum today and I don't know anyone who doesn't get a little excited getting a new car or a new phone etc.

Just curious, when times are good what will you always be grateful for? Wine

OP posts:
augustusglupe · 23/10/2018 10:32

Definitely, similar to you. However I find the things that excited me a few years ago, as in, a designer bag, shoes, car etc, just don’t anymore.
We’ve had a stressful few years and are slowly coming out the other side and I know it’s a cliche, but I’m thankful for health and happiness, for me, DH and DD. I still like nice things but I’ve got them and don’t really feel that need to spend on material things anymore....much to DH’s relief Grin

AdamNichol · 23/10/2018 11:42

I've sometimes had money, sometimes not. Now, own a nice home, but a bit hand to mouth beyond that.

I never found things with an elevated price tag to necessarily be any better or more 'luxurious'.
Buying a motorcycle is always super-exciting for me. But my other indulgences are kinda small scale - french bread, pate, sliced tomato, and a decent glass of red; beach picnic with a cold dry white; croissant with marmalade and strong dark coffee.
All of those a ruined if I do them often, but as rare treats unmatched

BlowPoke · 23/10/2018 11:44

Flying business class. We don’t always do it but when we do it feels very special. I’ve never flown first but I imagine that’s even better!

LaurieFairyCake · 23/10/2018 11:55

I get much more excited over a £20 cake and coffee out than I do about a new car

I just see cars as a shit necessity you need to pay for over 3 years 

Lucisky · 23/10/2018 12:54

I will just add the caveat that I am not rich.
The only thing that has got me really full of anticipation in my adult life is buying a house. Not all the crap with solicitors/conveyancing etc, but the day when you exchange, so you can breathe a sigh of relief, and then you finally get the keys. I just find it so exciting. It is the same feeling I used to get about Christmas as a kid. However, as we last moved 16 years ago and probably won't move again, it's probably a feeling I will have to do without .

WhenIWasAYoungWarthog · 23/10/2018 12:56

I don’t get excited about cars or clothes really. Flying business class is always a treat. Also checking into 5* hotels and thinking ‘I really don’t belong here!’

Dontfeellikeaskeleton · 23/10/2018 12:57

What kind of car are you looking at, may I ask?

Dontfeellikeaskeleton · 23/10/2018 12:57

I think there's 2 diffent definitions of rich going on here....

spanishwife · 23/10/2018 13:02

Not 'rich' but definitely comfortable. I am big into fashion and I see buying my clothes each season as just one of those things I routinely do, and not as a treat.
Going out for a really special meal (michelin or close) is a treat and is savoured, but where we live it's very normal to go out to eat a couple of times a week and so whilst that is fun and we see friends etc, it's not a 'treat'.
My big treat this year was going on a big holiday.

Rafflesway · 23/10/2018 13:06

Wouldn't class DH and I as "Rich" - more like very comfortable!

However, we are both pretty careful with money, e.g. would NOT pay for business class flights although could afford them quite easily.

The thing that excites me most is finding a good quality product at a bargain price. 😁

Laurie £20 for cake and coffee? 😱 (I am such a tight arse! 😂😂😂)

Atalune · 23/10/2018 13:08

My health and happiness make me rich.

My bank balance makes me feel secure.

LaurieFairyCake · 23/10/2018 13:13

Raffles - I really meant afternoon tea I think. :)

I'm more likely to enjoy Pret A Manger at a fiver as a treat. I really love a tea and a cake somewhere/anywhere

silkpyjamasallday · 23/10/2018 13:28

I grew up in a very wealthy family, and many of the things I now know to be extreme luxury I thought of as pretty normal. Flying business or first class for all holidays, having designer handbags as a teenager, being able to go on any school trips if I wanted to, I did expensive hobbies like horse riding and shooting etc. Adulthood and financial independence was a huge shock to the system, I struggled for a long time trying to adjust to an exsistence where luxury was not an option anymore. While DP and I are now financially comfortable there have been times when we have had to chose between heating and food, lived in total shit holes as it was all we could afford, pre DC thankfully. We are not what I would call rich but I know we are luckier than the vast majority of the population, I cringe at how extravagant my lifestyle was as a child. Now I think the biggest luxury in life is to have security and being wealthy provides that through home ownership and lack of debt, not worrying about bills or unexpected costs. I'd give up the chance of having any of my former luxuries again for a home of my own where I can't be asked to leave with a months notice. I don't actually think that secure housing should be a luxury in the developed world but that's the way it is for most people unfortunately.

Rafflesway · 23/10/2018 13:56

Laurie feel so much better now. Grin. Can't bear other people being ripped off either.

Good post silkpyjamas with some excellent - and very true - points raised.

spanishwife · 23/10/2018 14:07

Excellent post silkpyjamas - true luxury is comfort, health and happiness.

bigbluebus · 23/10/2018 14:16

We are not rich but have been comfortable enough for the last 20 or so years. I'm afraid I can't get excited about a new car. Circumstances meant I had to get a new car 12 months ago. Having been restricted to a certain type of car for many years (not through choice) I was free to choose whatever car I wanted. So many people said to me "why don't you get a sports car". I could have afforded to buy one but I'm afraid that I only wanted something that would get me from A to B reliably and comfortably and that I didn't have to drive past numerous parking spaces which were too narrow when I got to my destination.

I buy clothes and accessories based on functionality and comfort - not on labels. Designer handbags hold no appeal to me whatsoever. Call me boring but I just can't get excited about labels at all.

MarthasGinYard · 23/10/2018 14:23

'I don't know anyone who doesn't get a little excited getting a new car or a new phone etc.'

Me

These things don't interest or excite me in the slightest. I'm getting old I guess.

I do love fresh flowers from my garden in the summer.

Jo Malone diffusers in my rooms.

Prefer my old leather birkin to designer bags of today.

Eating out regularly

Love my classic old watch/diamonds don't get excited about much these days

I had a fantastic pair of new walking boots for my birthday which replaced my 20 year old Salomons

Got v excited about those....

MarthasGinYard · 23/10/2018 14:25

Oh and certainly not particularly rich in a financial sense so prob shouldn't have answered.

Damn rich in other areas though thankful everyday

dinkydonky · 23/10/2018 14:58

For me luxury is not buying new things, but in the satisfaction of using good quality things everyday that last. Good quality comfortable leather shoes that I've had for years. Good equipment/clothing for my hobby that lasts, in colours/styles I like, that fits well. Lovely bedding. Art I love on the walls.

These things are not always super expensive, but of course having a good budget helps. The watch I have been wearing for years was not particularly expensive, but I scoured all the luxury brands in Geneva airport once whilst waiting for a flight, and couldn't find one I liked more. The satisfaction of knowing there's nothing I want more than what I have feels very luxurious.

WhenIWasAYoungWarthog · 23/10/2018 15:43

Only on MN would an owner of a leather Birkin consider themselves ‘not particularly rich’ Grin

Panicmode1 · 23/10/2018 15:52

I used to have a client who was seriously rich (billionaire), and over a business lunch one day, he said "Life's so boring, I can buy anything I want". I'd just bought him a house for cash in St James', to add to his collection of houses around the world. His son bought him a 747 for Christmas (seriously) and he said it was a headache because he had nowhere to keep it.

At the time, DH and I were trying to squeeze every penny out of our salaries to put into a mortgage to buy our first flat together (which he knew) and it took every once of self control not to stab him with my fork...I didn't really enjoy working for him very much!!

AdoraBell · 23/10/2018 15:57

We’re far from rich but when we lived overseas we were regarded as rich, which was really uncomfortable.

What I used really enjoy was fantastic meals at restaurants and travel. Designer clothes and bags were much more expensive than they are in the UK so I couldn’t justify the cost. Having grown up at opposite end of the scale than Silkpyjamas I found it really difficult to spend money. Now I have teenagers thinking the things we did before as perfectly normal and they are in for a shock.

What I regard as luxury now is buying the skin care that actually makes a difference to my skin. I’ve tried lots over the years at different price points and the only stuff I like is Clarins.

Inniu · 23/10/2018 15:59

Another comfortable not rich but the one item I am always conscious of is paying privately for services for my child with special needs. I am just so glad I never have to think “can we afford this” when it comes to his needs.

I do have a weakness for ridiculous shoes too though.

AdoraBell · 23/10/2018 16:01

Oops, posted too soon. I meant to say I don’t judge people growing up with wealth, I wasn’t having a go at Silkpyjamas

kaytee87 · 23/10/2018 16:03

What do you consider rich op?