what one-off extravagant purchases do you have ? *not a gloating thread*

[littlemoonspistachio]

A friend of a friend lives in Greece and has recently brought themselves an underwater sea scooter. A top of the range one. They are not well off by any means, but could afford to treat themselves to this. It looks a real smart piece of kit.

It got me thinking, we don't have any one-off extravagant purchases. Not that you have to have any, of course. There has just never been anything we have really wanted, with the exception of a new car. But this thread is not about buying to that level.

*edited to add this is a no judgement thread

A 5 piece set of smart suitcases (large, medium, carryon, cabin bag and rucksack). Cost about £2,500 in total.

My thermomix - just after I received my first half decent bonus 12 years ago. I still use it daily and love it! I take it with me when I visit family! There is an updated version I’m saving up for (I’ll use both!).

I want one of these. Struggling to justify when the current barbecue is fully functional still.

A fair sized prehistoric tortoise in bronze, first seen outside a little metal worker’s shop in France. I fell in love with him, but the price was utterly eye watering. Roll on to the following year, he was still there, looking lonely, so I thought ‘Sod it…’
He lives in the garden.

Second extravagant retirement ‘purchase’. 16k on prescription replacement lenses for both of us. Expensive because we had it done at Moorfields. Having worn glasses all my life (couldn’t tolerate contact lenses) it was immensely freeing. Still happy with the decision 10 years on.

A solo, child free, adults only holiday in the Sun last year. Absolutely loved it!

An expedition tent for 2k. It will get used lot though and will last for years.

Litter Robot would be mine. I know it’s for the cats but I bought to save me scooping everyday and it has been a life saver.

A reconditioned antique French chandelier bought about 10 years ago for £1.5kish. I'd coveted it for a while and knew I'd be gutted if it was sold. It brings me joy every time I turn the hall light on.

That sounds amazing!

Amazing story, I hope you are well

I came to say a water rower. It was expensive but I use it every day, sometimes twice a day. I have type 2 diabetes that has been getting progressively worse, so now I have a very strict diet with hardly any carb and a ton of medication. I have a continuous glucose monitor and anytime it goes high I do a quick row, 1 to 1.5 km, and it drops right down. I much prefer it to the air rower at the gym which has an annoying vibration.

I think being able to see an instant result, my glucose drops in about 10 minutes, really helps. I'm a bit rubbish at delayed gratification. Plus, my alternative is to walk and it takes about 50 minutes walking to achieve the same drop as 6 minutes rowing, so it's actually the lazy option.

Your soul.

I've got a Rolex on order . God knows if it'll ever come through , I've been waiting 8 mths already .

Probably my kitchen. DH and I moved house and knocking through to the dining room was a long term plan to be done as cheaply as possible but then I was ‘fortunate’ to receive a large inheritance after my mum died. I should have saved it, but actually I paid off a big chunk of the mortgage and paid for a dream kitchen outright. It’s not overly fancy, no gadgets etc but we didn’t have to scrimp or worry about the cost and it’s well built so will last forever. It’s my favourite room in the house.

Loving reading all of these but especially the shelves - I’m a book worm and actually work in a library, currently trying to convince my husband that our next big house related project should be turning our under stairs into shelving for all my books.

They're the best I've ever owned, but you do need to have a good audio player and high-quality music (FLAC or equivalent to get the most out of them).

B&O do some incredible home speakers too if you're looking to ditch the Google.

Two pianos (one with silent mode), three if you count the weighted electric piano keyboard, a trumpet and a custom made Hanson clarinet.
I was heavily invested in music for my DC.

For me, a Pfaff sewing machine with ALL the accessories.

Oh no, I looked too! I love illustrated books. We are trying to declutter, but sometimes…

That's really interesting. I saw a tiktok about a study that found performing 10 bodyweight squats every 45 minutes during an 8.5-hour period of sitting improves blood sugar regulation better than a single 30-minute walk. Really interesting how the rower works for you.

Dh got me a fitbit. I never would have got one for myself, but I love it.

A theme park view room at Disney World. Overpriced for what it was but worth every penny.

This was mine . I ordered it the day after 9/11. I'd always wanted one and thought just do it , life's too short .

A Victorian pearl, gold, diamond and amethyst brooch about the size of a duck egg. It cost me £480 from an antiques shop in Windsor when i first moved to the UK in 2006. I looked at it, walked away. Went to a pub and had two drinks then went and bought it.

DH- well his hobby involves boats. Sigh.

Just purchased a Jaguar estate car and a roomba vac and mop system. Reading this thread thoroughly for ideas. Spending my life insurance which has paid out!

I once bought my ex-fiancée an expensive gift to win her heart back. She dumped me for a rich guy, but at a charity lunch I bought a hippopotamus for $1,000,000 and gave it to her. It did the trick and we are together again.

The hippo takes some feeding though and when it farts it really stinks.