A Time To Splurge: When it's worth it
Okay, I know the promise of this blog is to help you find nice things for affordable prices. And that’s exactly what you can expect 80% of the time. But every spendthrift or saver has that one thing…or two… for which money is no object and reason be damned. For some, it’s shoes, bags, jeans, jewelry, food or their car. For me, it’s travel and gifts for the people I love and cherish. With the holiday season upon us, this is one of the few times of the year when I feel the need to splurge; not so much for myself, but for others.
Long before I became a spendthrift, I dabbled a bit in labels and expensive brands, but I had a negative experience that made me self-conscious about such things. When I was 16 I had my necklace snatched on the way to the bus stop for school. This was back in the day when flashy gold jewelry was the “in thing” (think 80’s). People had their jewelry, shoes and clothes robbed right off their bodies. Purses were snatched from their arms and cars jacked in broad daylight in public places. Gradually, people started getting murdered over these things, but it was something that happened to other people until it happened to me. That particular necklace, for the record, wasn’t even real gold. But it looked luxurious enough to a thief’s eye and in a flash it was gone. That it fell away from my neck with ease when he grabbed it, was a relief. That I didn’t lose my life over it, was the ultimate blessing. It took that moment for me to realize being “flashy” could get you in trouble. Suddenly, I understood why some folks who were known to be wealthy almost never showed it. Items of “status” can make you a target.
Fast forward a few years later when I came across a documentary on how much it costs to make things (clothes, sneakers, cars, etc.) and I was floored at the mark-up famous brands and department stores get away with in charging customers. Even when things go “on sale”, many stores aren’t losing money. The customer simply gets a little closer to paying the true cost. Also, oftentimes, you don’t always get the best quality because the price is high. Sometimes you’re simply paying for “the name” of the item and added costs for importing and stocking. Anyone who’s an avid consumer, like myself, knows this can be the case. You mainly pay for having someone’s name or logo displayed on the butt of your jeans, not that those jeans are truly any better than a cheaper brand. After that eye-opening documentary, I decided to cut out the middle man.
The day I purchased my first sewing machine, I had dreams of creating my entire wardrobe for a few dollars, per yard (the cost of fabric). I didn’t want to become a designer or anything like that. I just wanted to make the things I liked to wear for what it was actually worth. I did a few wrap skirts, which is a style I’ve always admired. It’s also probably the easiest thing you can make, being self-taught. I managed a B-grade in Home Economics, but making cookies and omelettes were my thing. The sewing portion of the class ended with a struggle shirt with uneven arms and a crooked breast pocket. It wasn’t as tragic as the shirt Denise recreated for Theo on The Cosby Show, but my shirt was nowhere as ambitious as the "Gordon Gartrelle". It was a simple button down oxford…which probably didn’t button down evenly, either, but…
Anyway, after knocking out about four decent skirts (no one guessed they were home made or were too polite to say so), I gave up the sewing hustle. I was working full-time and had a social life. It was much more time consuming than I imagined, and ended in tragedy.
LATE, one night, while finishing an alteration on what would become my final skirt, news broke that Princess Diana had died. When the news came across my tv, I was stunned and in shock. Couldn’t focus on the skirt anymore and the next few days were spent consuming news about the accident and the grief everyone was feeling. When important moments in history happen and people ask what you were doing when, I was mending a skirt when I heard the People's Princess had died. It took a long time before the sewing machine came out again and it was only for minor alterations. Eventually, it went to Goodwill.
Now that you know why I’m a bit of a spendthrift, let me tell you what makes me abandon all sense of reason as a shopper and consumer. Travel; specifically, hotels. I do like a nice hotel room. Spacious, clean and room service. A fluffy robe is my happy place. I feel like the nicer the hotel is, the cleaner and safer it is. After all, I’m possibly in a strange town and definitely sleeping in someone else’s bed. Who wants to worry about cooties and crime as they unwind? A nice hotel with gorgeous scenery outside is the dream. I want to wake up and feel transported. A parking lot or brick wall just doesn’t cut it and can totally kill the mood. Having said that, experience has taught me not all expensive hotels are spacious, sparkling clean, or safe (another post to come about this), so LOTS of research musts be done beforehand on sites like Tripadvisor.
I’ve endured the tiniest of bathrooms in NYC in exchange for a sliver of a view of Central Park. The price, per night, was basically because it was close to the park, but I literally could touch all four walls of the bathroom with both arms outstretched. I could’ve done a chain hotel with much more to offer in space for hundreds of dollars less…, but minus the view of Central Park. My point is, you have to pick your battles. Sometimes the experience can be worth the cost…even if it’s not necessarily the best value. Disney World is my other travel splurge. As a passholder for many years, this is my guilty pleasure as an adult. My love of Disney is worth a post of its own, so I won’t go into it here, but it’s definitely on the splurge list. That $2 soft drink in a souvenir Mickey cup for $10…yes, I’ll take it. No refills? Sure, I’ll still take it. I have no defense against the irrationality of this.
My last reason to splurge is gifts. I love to shop, yes, but I also love to shop for gifts! This habit has left me in sticky financial predicaments a time or two over the years, but I have no regrets. People were made happy. Good memories were made and a life may have been changed. For that, it was worth every sacrifice.
Now, at one point --in my family--there seemed to be this explosion in the amount of children that were around at one time. Nowadays, people aren’t having a crapload of kids and extended families are smaller as older generations die off. But about 20 years ago, there were tons of kids in my fam. My older brothers and sister and cousins were starting to have their own kids. Since it was becoming impossible to give everyone a gift without going bankrupt, the unwritten rule became “Only gifts for the kids”. If you were 18 and over and had a job, you aged out of the gift-exchange system. You had to be extra special to be a grown up and get a gift from another adult (lowkey as to not cause resentment) . By the time I aged out of the system and began working, I reveled in being able to buy toys and things for my nieces and nephews. Whatever their parents weren’t able to get for them, Aunt Bree would hunt it down. Their joy was my joy and I enjoyed making them happy. If they wanted the overpriced jeans, sneakers, game, toy, whatever it was, I would get it…even if I would NEVER pay that price for the item for myself. For birthdays or back-to-school, there would be a day of shopping and lunch. The impact of those fun excursions wasn’t realized to me, until recently, when one of my nieces told me she almost quit high school one year due to bullying, but a back-to-school spree we went on encouraged her to keep going. She’s now a thriving adult, a doting Mom, and soon-to-be college graduate (while working full-time). To say I am extremely proud of her would be an understatement. Her offspring are now the recipients of my splurging,….which inspired me to write this blog post.
I just endured Aventura Mall, a mall I prefer to stay away from during normal circumstance due to the horrible traffic surrounding it, the gargantuan parking situation that always ends up with me losing my car, and it always being so jam-packed with locals and tourists that you feel like a sardine making your way through. During the holidays, multiply all of that by 10!! If I can avoid going there, I do my best to stay away. What led me there, this year, was an eye doctor visit (He moved his office into this mall) and then a return visit to pick up a pair of beats by Dr. Dre headphones that cost $129 (regular price). Sweet Jesus! Headphones for $100??!! A black pair could be had for $30 less at Target and Best Buy (sale has ended), but my nephew specifically asked for blue. So, I paid full price for the pretty blue pair at the Apple store; the only place the blue could be found. To make sure they didn't get delayed in a holiday shipping snafu, I opted to pick them up in the store...in Aventura Mall.
For myself, I would never, Ever, EVER pay more than $40 for a pair of headphones and, even then, the sound better be so clear I could hear E.T.’s thoughts in space! In fact, I’m sure I could find an alternative pair for $25 or less with exceptionally good sound. But for my nephew, as a reward for bringing up his grades, it’s not too much. It’s a time to splurge. To be honest, when I saw how much some other beats headphones were, up to $350 (!!!), $129 feels like a steal.
Tell me, what’s your splurge?