What is your biggest lifestyle indulgence?

[Thankfucksummerishere]

Mulling this over as I look through job listings. I think for me it is enjoying fitness classes at different expensive studios, well pre covid it was. Not sure when we will be able to do that again! But I really enjoy it so much and it is definitely not an essential, I'm fortunate to be able to do so. We do live in an eye-wateringly expensive area so I guess that is partly a luxury, although we do need to live in this city for my partner's work.

What would you say is the most luxury aspect of your lifestyle?

@lissie123 haha yes I love the scale, from someone getting their nails done through to having a boat

Getting my hair cut and coloured every 6 weeks and spinning classes at the gym. I miss them both so much! Oh and a cleaner, I have never cleaned as much as I have in the last few months and I hate it!!

I also used to spend a lot of money on clothes every month. Lockdown has taught me that I have plenty of clothes so I won’t be resuming that habit!

My horses for sure.

2 cars. We only drive about 7-8000 miles/yr total. 2nd car is a total indulgence.

Food and travel

I've just realised that I don't spend any money on any of the things listed here. How odd! Saying that all our money goes by the month end. So maybe it's because there's none left over TO spend?

Working 4 days instead of 5. Ds is 8 now so I don't need to be off to care for him but I love it. I love walking him to school instead of dumping him the second breakfast club opens.

Dp thinks I should go back to full time but I'm able to contribute the same as him financially so bollocks that

For us being able to travel as a couple. Before lockdown we used to take regular trips abroad to cities/beaches. Spending the time eating/drinking and being in love.

Now - we sit at the bottom of the garden 😂🙌

Loose leaf teas and children's books. We don't have lots of spare at the end of the month, but these things make me (and my children) very happy, so they feel indulgent.

I've started spending more on better quality skin care and make up. Occasionally treat myself to a massage which is lovely. Decent quality gin. No really expensive indulgences.

Regular massages, and craft beer. I’ve got a specific taste in beer and they are usually not cheap but delicious!

I also get deliveries of more environmentally friendly for some day to day products (skin care, washing tabs, sanpro, razors) which are more expensive than supermarket brands. But I feel better being able to use them if u can afford it!

Probably TV packages and the time I took off work to look after dc. Not having to worry about paying our bills is probably a luxury I take for granted. Other than that not much.

My job. Working 2 short days a week for a salary that's less than DH's annual bonus, I'm also overqualified for it and could easily earn a lot more. However there is no childcare involved, I have all the school holidays off, I work 8am-4pm with a one hour lunch break and never take work home. It's local to me so I can walk to work.

My swimming pool. It makes me happy every time I look at it!

High-end hotels.

I travel to London fairly often (pre-lockdown) for different things... It's all out my own pocket, but I won't ever chose a travelodge or premier inn. I'll always get at least a 4-star hotel, if not a 5-star. My favourite is The Rubens, by Buckingham Palace.

Virgin Active gym (can’t wait to go back), having a cleaner (started again last week - was wonderful), holidays (just booked Disney for April next year). Extra curricular activities for my DD like drama school and workshops. I actually don’t spend too much on other living expenses though. I shop in Lidl and Primark mainly to save money!

Both spouses working the hours we want in jobs we like, with lots of flexibility and family time. We would have lots more money if both of us worked full time in roles chosen to optimise salary, so I think of it as an indulgence because of how much it costs us, but it's what we both prefer.

My animals. Horses, dogs etc. I don't do make up etc -I do order whatever I like within reason. A recent indulengence was two huge egg chairs for the garden. One for under the scyamore tree in the shade at the bottom of the garden and one at the top in the sun. We've had them a couple of weeks -but the kids and us love them. So, so comfy. We have bookcases of books and if I see a book on Amazon I like I get it. Likewise a CD. But at the moment we aren't having holidays and have no petrol costs. So we are saving money. If the kids want ANYTHING stationary wise for school -they get it. Then they have no excuses. I ordered £100 of supplies off Amazon yesterday for September etc.

My kindle unlimited monthly payment...

For me, it’s been working incredibly part time. I am classed as a low earner but because of DP paying the mortgage, I have been able to afford to quit teaching, stay at home with DS until he was two and then pick up a job that pays basically nothing. Because it was with a boss I’ve known for ten years, I was able to negotiate a contract change for last September when DS started nursery school and I work (or worked ore lockdown) 2.5 days a week with flexible start and finish times to manage school drop off if needed. The ability to work from home and, previously, as many hours overtime managing social media, again from home, as appropriate. It’s not my dream job but I love my colleagues, the setting, the flexibility, the responsibility. It feels like the biggest luxury because I was managing to save a bit as well.

It’s not forever and due to it being the tourism industry, it’s likely the business won’t survive the year, but it was amazing while it lasted.

Not as wealthy as some of the posters on this thread, but I did have a bit of extra money come in last year and spent it all on planting up the garden cottage-garden style. Best thing I ever did, you'd have thought I had a crystal ball and could foresee lockdown!

Just a small suburban garden, no landscaping or anything, just lots of different things thrown in higgledy-piggledy, so there's something new happening all the time: I love it!

Used to hate going out there because it was such a mess but last year we dug up the brick floor that was under the flower beds and put down real soil instead of the rubble and it's made such a difference. Got a bird table and a nesting box for my birthday, the first fledglings have just moved out.

Kept thinking of my late MIL when planting. She was not a gardener in any sophisticated way, just an impulse buyer, but her garden, like her house, showed her personality and was such a warm, welcoming place.

Also have several fish tanks and have just managed to breed a new species I'd never tried before.

Being a SAHM. I gave up work 12 years ago when I had our youngest and it was the best thing I ever did.
Apart from that, having fresh flowers everywhere. I love arranging them myself.

In light of the post saying childcare isn't a luxury and those saying they gave up work or went part time, by comparison I guess I would have to say staying in work even though it cost us more as a household with me out the house with 2 lots of childcare for a short while, I chose to stay working for lots of practical reasons but largely because I wanted to be at work and it certainly felt like a luxury after maternity leave...!

Oh and those (rare) days where I sent the kids to childcare when I had a day off so I could go out by myself they absolutely were a luxury

@Oblomov20 I hear you! Depending on income and outgoings you may be able to make savings somewhere or stop impulse buys. I went through a phase if going through my account and keeping every receipt and it was scary. It may of course be a case of no wiggle room at all - I've been there. If you're on a lower income things that made a difference to me when I had nothing left over and a 4 quid bottle of wine once a month was extravagant and I couldn't afford to meet a friend for coffee were;
Switch bank account for cashback.
Switch all utilities, phone, broadband, insurances etc to cheaper tarrifs and look for the deals with cashback.
Convert things like Clubcard and nectar points to the highest value useable vouchers. I got a months food shopping in sainsburys using my nectar points once.
Managing to save a very small amount and not be down to zero or in my overdraft at month end now and I treat myself with some very modest things in comparison to this thread.

One thing I don't get is buying lots of perfume, I read someone bought a bottle a month? A bottle lasts me a year

@notheragain4

In light of the post saying childcare isn't a luxury and those saying they gave up work or went part time, by comparison I guess I would have to say staying in work even though it cost us more as a household with me out the house with 2 lots of childcare for a short while, I chose to stay working for lots of practical reasons but largely because I wanted to be at work and it certainly felt like a luxury after maternity leave...!

Oh and those (rare) days where I sent the kids to childcare when I had a day off so I could go out by myself they absolutely were a luxury

I think that's a reasonable explanation! If something costs you money but makes you happy, then it's arguably an indulgence.