Photo by Armchair Aviator via Flickr.com

Yesterday I rode in a convertible for the first time ever. I can see how seductive the draw of driving a fancy convertible could be now. As we drove up the highway blasting music that everyone could hear (well, if they had their windows open for some reason), I found myself thinking "how dare you drive in the fast lane slow truck! Don't you see that there's a convertible behind you??"

Okay, so it was a little silly. But it made me realize how easy it could be to decide that a fancy car is "worth" the extra price and gas usage. The same could be true for owning a motorboat, or jet skis, if I got too much of a taste for the fun of water skiing.

What is money for if you don't spend it?

Okay, so maybe you are saving your money to pass on to future generations. But really - why work so hard and put so much effort into saving if you don't ever use the "extra" savings for something fun?

The owner of Aldi is a model of frugality gone beyond necessity. I'm sure he is happy with his life, but it doesn't make much sense to me. His family has become incredibly wealthy from his chain of discount supermarkets, but the owner himself continues to stick to the frugal ways that gave him the idea for his supermarket in the first place.

For a lot of us, myself included, it is difficult to continue saving money when you already have enough to meet your most basic goals. If I reach that point (and I plan to) where I have the house I want, the free time I want, etc, I'll have to set new savings goals, but aiming towards luxury items like a beach house, or maybe a place in the country. Or maybe just early retirement?

So how do you make decisions about when it's worth it to spend your hard earned money on something that is a pure "want" and definitely not a "need"?

Be realistic about the longevity of pleasure you will get out of a luxury item

My friend with the convertible says that it makes driving home after work so enjoyable for her, but I know that for me, while it might be fund a couple of times on a short road trip (an hour or two), it wouldn't really make me feel more relaxed or happy after a long day of work.

On the other hand, FinancialSamurai paid $10,000 to join a tennis club, but it sounds like he gets so much enjoyment and various other benefits out of it that despite the seemingly high price tag, it was definitely worth it for him.

Make sure the item can fit your budget

I think that buying beyond  your budget could be a pitfall to watch out for. Especially if you purchase a luxury item that requires constant additional payments (like owning a horse, for example) instead of just a one-time purchase. If you save up the money to buy your family a motor boat to use at the lake, but then the costs of storing the boat and having it maintained start to stretch your budget, it becomes something weighing you down and stressing you out, rather than a relaxing free-time activity.

What would you buy?

If you have enough money to comfortably feed, house, and clothe your family, and save for retirement, what kind of luxury items do you look forward to spending your extra money on?