Five Guilty Pleasures I Don't Mind Wasting Money On

My friend George Bondarenko came to visit us this weekend. George and I go way back and are long-time cigar buddies. Unfortunately, fine cigars are not high on the list of ways to be frugal with one's money! But it got me thinking about other ways I spend money and which of those ways might be excessive but justifiable in a cost-benefit sense. I came up with a top-five list of my guilty pleasures that I don't mind wasting or spending money on.

I am preaching to the choir when I rave about investing and saving, but a life that is constantly deferred until retirement is no life at all. I suggest, if you have not already done so, that you make a list of just a few guilty pleasures that you will treat yourself to in moderation without regret. The key is to treat yourself in moderation, so you are responsible with your money but still have a chance to enjoy the things you enjoy. Every person's list will be different, naturally. So if you don't mind sharing your list, go ahead and leave your list in the comment section to share with other readers. It will be in interesting lesson in human diversity, I am sure!

Here are my top five guilty pleasures, in no particular order:

1) Cigars

While I have never been a cigarette smoker, I was hooked onto cigars at the age of sixteen by my friend and former coffee shop boss/owner, John Spatocco. John always kept a stack of Cigar Aficionado magazines on our bookshelves at the caffe. I was completely taken in by the high-class imagery associated with cigars. One day after work John took me to the local cigar shop and bought me my first cigar, a Hemingway Classic by Arturo Fuente. I have been a cigar aficionado ever since; and although I have tried many different cigars since that first cigar, my favorite is still the Hemingway series by Arturo Fuente due to its consistency and its robust but smooth flavor. I must admit that I indulged in a Hemingway this weekend over coffee with George, who used to work in the cigar industry and who remains my cigar mentor of sorts.

2) Star Trek DVDs

I have what is perhaps an even greater love of Star Trek than I have for cigars. Star Trek: The Next Generation will always be my favorite iteration of the Star Trek franchise, followed closely by Star Trek: Voyager and The Original Series. When I got my first teaching job, I had more money than I had ever really had, and I went on a Star Trek shopping spree. Within a couple of months, I had purchased the boxed set of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, the boxed set of The Original Series episodes, several seasons of Voyager, and all ten Star Trek movies to date. Now this might seem like foolish spending to a majority of my readers, but the DVDs will last a very long time, and the many years of pleasure I receive from being able to tag along with the crew of the Enterprise at the touch of a button is certainly worth the thousand dollars or so the DVD collection has cost so far. Yes that thousand dollars could have padded my IRA if I had been interested in investing back then, but now that I have the DVDs I am glad I bought them and will not feel guilty splurging once in a while to complete my collection.

3) Video Games

I by no means consider myself to be a "gamer" in the obsessive compulsive sense of the term. I am incredibly selective in my video game choices, and there have only been a couple of games in the past several years that I have really enjoyed. I am currently immersed in the three dimensional environment known as World of Warcraft. It is a classic role playing adventure game with orcs, trolls, elves, etc. and all the combat and magic that one could want. As a Christian I find these notions silly but harmless as long as one views them in their proper light as fiction. (Some people take this stuff to a whole new degree of seriousness. I just don't get it.) I have spent a total of $60 or so for the game itself and The Burning Crusade expansion pack, and an additional $14.95 per month for the online service. I play online with Joe Pierce, my former boss from Radio Shack, and spend many happy hours doing quests and generally saving the virtual world. We can talk while playing using voice over the internet, and it is a great way to hang out with people who live far away and whom I can't see regularly in person. The other game I have loved is Halo 2 for the Xbox, and I am anxiously awaiting the release of Halo 3 for the Xbox 360. Again, the cost is justifiable for me, given how infrequently I purchase new game equipment and the many hours of consequently cost-free enjoyment I have after the initial investment.

4) My Pets

I am a pet person. Period. We currently have one cat, Peaches (the smartest cat in the world!), two mice, and one goldfish. Pets can be quite a significant money drain. Aside from maintenance costs such as food, litter, etc., there are also expenses such as vet bills and medications if needed. Last summer our cat Peaches picked up some fleas and nearly died from anemia that was caused by a parasite that lives on fleas (a parasite living on a parasite! hmmm.). It cost us almost a thousand dollars to get him treated after the blood work, medications, etc. to get him back in tip-top shape. My mother-in-law still thinks that we should just have had him put to sleep, even though he was only three years old at the time, and especially since we had to finance the vet bill using their emergency credit line (high interest! yikes!).

I find this attitude heartless and callous. Our pets are are family and there is very little I would not do for them to make their lives as long and happy as is possible, regardless of the cost. Plus, pets can be just plain entertaining. Don't even get me started on hamster tubes! Expensive but entertaining as can be! And if/when we move to Ohio and buy a house, we plan on getting a pet Beagle or two (I will, of course, have to name mine "Regal." Kudos to you if you caught the reference.) And yes, the picture shown is of our beloved Peaches!

Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs, Yosemite National Park, Photo by Velma Fruhling

5) Camping

My wife and I, along with my friend George Bondarenko and my cousin Jeff Lehfeldt, take an annual camping trip. My traditional spot is Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite's high country, while Jeff prefers Lassen Volcanic National Park. Wherever we go, this is our big chance to get away from all the stress, hassle, and chaos of daily life, and to commune with the beauty of God's creations while being earthy-crunchy. Fishing is definitely on the agenda, as is hiking up big mountains and awesome camp cooking. This is such a crucial part of my psyche that I have no reservations whatsoever about plopping down a little cash for our yearly camping trip.

So there you have it, folks. That is my top-five list of guilt-free guilty pleasures. Each of these in moderation contributes to my overall well-being and happiness, and hopefully you also allow yourself the occasional indulgence to remind you of the importance of enjoying the journey on the way to your financial goals. Go ahead and post your list, if you like, in the comments section below. I'd get a kick out of seeing what other people indulge in for their own guilty pleasures.