I was away last week for work and took myself out to a very nice dinner for my birthday since I wasnt anywhere near friends or family for it, so said fuck it, why not? It was a 2 Michelin Star place and I had never been to one before and it was one of the best meals Ive ever had. I dont like having a lot of things in my house, and neither does my wife. Our kid makes sure its full of enough crap as it is. Even before that, I was always a bit of a minimalist. I dont usually buy a new phone until mine is completely unusable, I dont buy really nice clothes unless its a suit for something, and I just generally dont like spending money on material things. But for travel and food, Ill shell out the extra for a decent experience. The other part of the trip that I paid for was the flight. It was a work trip, so the coach class was all that the company covered. I contacted United the day before and they told me the upgrade to business class was $700. The day of the trip, I just glanced at the app and the upgrade cost to business class was $169 because the flight wasnt full and it was a day-of upgrade. Totally worth it for a 6.5 hour flight. On the contrary, I dont understanding paying premium for things like sunglasses or watches. $140 for Ray Bans? Naa, son. These ones I got at the gas station for $5 will do just fine. Focus: Whats worth paying the premium for? Alt. Focus: Whats worth just going with the bare-bones variety?
Most things i generally just buy the inexpensive stuff, not cheapest. To me the cheapest is the lowest cost, inexpensive is more of how much it cost vs. quality, so i will spend a bit more if it will lost longer. But i was visiting a friend 10 years ago or so, and he convinced me to to try on a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses, my god they were so light, they made everything darker but they didn't change the colour, they fit nicely, and i still have them 10 years later. Tools, i will generally spend some where in the middle or a bit higher. If you buy the cheapest it will not last and may not actually work they way you want it and you may think you just aren't good at doing what you are trying to do. With middle of the road or higher tools, you get good quality that will last, you will be the problem not the tools. And if you ever decided you don't like doing that job you can always sell them for a good chunk of what you originally bought it for.
Fuck yes. Day of upgrades for business class sometimes can be a steal. For a 6.5 hour flight, that’s basically free at $170. For flying, I essentially fly economy but will pay extra for exit rows. More than likely, my skills helping rescue people won’t be necessary under the ocean or smoldering on the side of a mountain. I spend money on a nice bag for work. In my industry, that makes a difference people notice. Spend money on nice dress shoes. Don’t skimp on toilet paper. For most clothes, I sale shop or go to Nordstrom rack.
I've been flying to Tokyo a lot for work over the last year, and luckily I got a bit of a promotion that now means I "have" to fly Business Class. Before that, it was Premium Economy, which was the minimal requirement, especially for a 14 hr flight. Personally or business, that is the minimum I'll ever fly now... it's just so much more comfortable. In the last 6 months I've become top tier rewards (Super Elite 100k) , to the point that I get limo service from my connector flight on the tarmac to the international lounge. As in, I walk down the steps of the Dash 8 in Toronto, and there's a limo driver with my name on their iPad... everyone walks into the building to make the long trek to their connections, but I hop in to an M5 limo and get driven on the tarmac to another set of doors at the other end of the airport. It was surreal. Fucking awesome, but surreal. Needless to say I'll always try and get Business Class for long flights... the lounge access alone is worth it. This last trip I spent almost 10 hours in lounges with the various delays that happened.
When we(wife, plus 2 sets of couples) went to Vegas, one of the guys gf was a flight attendant the met us down there. We we got back into Vancouver she got us into the lounge there. It was nice.
Food for sure- Organic meat and veggies are substantially better than their brethren. Granted you have to do your research- a lot of big brands use copackers and sell the identical product at a lower price thru grocery store brands. Also, fresh fish is overrated. Most all seafood these days is flash frozen on the boat to kill parasites. Flash freezing is so quick ice crystals don’t form and threaten the integrity of the fish. You won’t know the difference.
Yes and No. It keeps it fresher for longer. But i will take fresh fish any day over frozen. Well i live on the ocean so fresh fish is generally isn't an issue if i want it.
Yeah... nothing better than hopping down to Granville Island (I lived 6 blocks away) and grabbing a fresh fish from the fish monger. Kept on ice, but not frozen. You don't see good sushi being made with any flash-frozen fish.
It’s actually regulated that all fish must be flash frozen in the US (other than tuna) to be considered sushi grade. Again, it’s to kill parasites.
"good". In Canada, food regulation is province to province. Ontario has stricter frozen rules, but BC, etc, don't. Most salmon is frozen to kill the parasites, but most other fish is not.
Same in Ontario... most fish is flown in and not really "fresh". Also, a lot of sushi just doesn't freeze well, like squid, urchin, mackerel, etc. Even flash freezing it turns it into grossness.
I feel like this might be kinda niche, but: shoes I walk 5-8 miles a day at work. Then more at the gym. At home go immediately into my crocs or comfy slides. Get a comfortable pair of shoes, or preferably several. And just because they’re comfortable, doesn’t mean they have to look bad or cost an absolute ton. Just do your research and make sure you get something that fits and will hold up to what you require. Knee and back issues aren’t cheap or fun. And the older you get, the more pronounced and permanent they become. One of the cheapest and easiest ways to prevent it is with a solid set of task-specific kicks. I’m able to wear tennis shoes at work, so I have a pair of brooks and new balance running shoes that I rotate. Nike’s look better, but they don’t hold up. Once I finally got my wife to stop wearing her customary flats and into proper, supportive footwear, her leg pain went away almost completely based upon that alone. And if you work in a more hazardous industry or have potentially dangerous hobbies, a good pair of work boots — and gloves, for that matter; Mechanix Wear is worth every penny — can be the difference between a long and fulfilling career and a very significant hospital stay (I’m sure @dixiebandit69 can attest to the protective qualities of a nice set of steel toe boots).
This may be more suited to the guns and ammo thread, but what about H&K blows Glock and Sig Sauer out of the water? Focus: Cars. Don't live outside your means, but don't be cheap on something you're going to spend a lot of time in either.
Fit and feel are a cut above. Aesthetically they also don’t look like gangbanger guns. I’ve also never once shot a glock or sig that is anywhere near as accurate as my USP. Plus with the exorbitant prices of parts and extras you just know they don’t give a shit about their customers. A true sign of a luxury brand. As of yet they also haven’t started pandering to the walking dead crowd with ridiculous designs and features with no real world value outside of marketing fluff.