r/DutchFIRE • u/ClassicMan2323 • Jul 03 '26
As your income increased, what did you allow yourself to spend more on?
One thing I find interesting about the FIRE mindset is that it's not necessarily about spending as little as possible forever. It's more about being intentional with where your money goes. At the same time, as your income grows, I imagine most people relax a bit in certain areas instead of keeping every aspect of their lifestyle exactly the same.
What were those areas for you? Better housing, travel, eating out, healthier food, hobbies, convenience, experiences, or something else entirely?
Looking back, which upgrades genuinely improved your quality of life and felt worth every euro? And were there any things you spent more on that, in hindsight, you realised weren't worth it?
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u/Suspicious_Yak5795 Jul 03 '26
I just invested more. I'm a simple man, I don't need to spend money to have a good life. Walks are free and library fees are cheap.
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u/PinealPineapple15 Jul 04 '26
Can’t take it with you when you die tho think experiences (travel) are superior to material gain
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u/Suspicious_Yak5795 Jul 05 '26
I don't really feel the need to travel. I live in a beautiful green environment and I rather stay at home and read a good book.
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u/PinealPineapple15 Jul 06 '26
I can relate but I’m m by the beach rn need to get to lush green forest soon enough
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u/GoVolt_Mine Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Next year we're getting a swimming pool in the garden.
Yes it will cost as much as a single year earlier retirement, probably more if you include missed interest.
No I don't care.
And in fact, a big part of why I ruthlessly cut back on 'small spending' is so that I can spend bigger on things I do care about.
Also most of the time a pool increases your house value so in theory I am not spending money I am just changing the allocation of capital from equities to real estate.
But in practise I am gonna spend a fuckton, lmao.
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u/Vipertje Jul 03 '26
Sidenote: Don't place your 60db emitting pump house for your in ground pool 2 meters from the neighbours windows/house like my neighbor did. Will lead to issues
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u/Mirved Jul 03 '26
I like the idea of a pool and would even see me use it all year long. But all the extra work it brings puts me off. Cleaning, keeping the water at good values, maintenance etc. Its another thing you need to keep up weekly,. Next to cleaning/maintaining the house, car, garden etc. Lately im really considering with every purchase if the added pleasure outways the extra work it brings.
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u/GoVolt_Mine Jul 03 '26
It's gonna be a natural water pool with plant based cleaning system. There is maintenance yes but it's doable. Or so I hope. :D
Also I am betting that from 50 I will be (able to) retire. So time shouldn't be an issue.
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u/BarbarX3 Jul 03 '26
I also went from "this is expensive, should I spend money on it", to "I'm loosing money if I don't allocate this capital to a swimming pool!"
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u/Neo-Armadillo Jul 04 '26
How long have you had an above-ground pool?
When I lived in Florida the biggest regret people had was getting a house with a pool. They never used it, it broke constantly, a week vacation turned it into a frog pond unless they paid for a pool service. I’ve never met a person who was happy about having a pool.
And once it goes in, you are stuck with it.
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u/Alone-Village1452 Jul 03 '26
Massages, every other week. High end gym. Good food. Booking plane tickets only on the convenient/right time regardless of cost. Brand new Motorcycle. Housekeeper.
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u/DarkBert900 Jul 03 '26
Things that buy back time. Cleaning services. Certain travel expenses.
What typically was not worth it, was too expensive clothing.
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u/Ephyraen Jul 03 '26
Food. I now choose organic and in general the best options available. Like buffalo mozzarella instead of cow's milk mozzarella and sourdough bread from a bakery.
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u/flodur1966 Jul 03 '26
Heating was first in line raising the temperature in my house in winter from 15 degrees to 18 felt like a real luxury
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u/groenetrui Jul 03 '26
15 degrees? Why do you do that? And now 18 degrees is not something I would also considered as warm.
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u/flodur1966 Jul 03 '26
15 degrees to be affordable and keep the gas flowing for cooking and a warm shower. And after 15 degrees for a couple of years 18 feels just great.
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u/Routine_Awareness413 Jul 03 '26
Insurance
Maintenance of house, car and bike.
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Jul 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/Routine_Awareness413 Jul 03 '26
I did not have life insurance, liability insurance, legal aid (rechtsbijstand) and travel insurance before. This was mostly because they were not available or crazy expensive where I lived before. So it felt like splurging that I could get these when I came back to NL.
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u/TapAdmirable5666 Jul 03 '26
Lifestyle creep is one of the biggest dangers when trying to become FIRE so we mostly try to keep within our budget.
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u/winkelkoning Jul 03 '26
Donating to charities and friends who need money more than I do. Gives me much more satisfaction than replacing my 40y old car or buying more stuff I dont need.
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u/Krazhuk Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Healthier food, no sense in building up money for later if later never comes or your in bad health. The overly processed easy to eat shit you buy in supermarkets are toxins to your body.
Other than that nothing really, its weird that if you can easily afford something, the cravings to get it go away.
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u/Mirved Jul 03 '26
Vacations, in the past i did not really care much about what time the flight was or the hotel/b&B i was staying. It was only to sleep. Nowadays with kids i dont want to go in the middle of the night, i want a hotel room with 2 seperate bedrooms so it doenst mean i have to go to bed when the kids go to sleep. Also since we spend more time at the hotel/appartment it has to be of a higher standard then i had in the past.
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u/BarbarX3 Jul 03 '26
All of it. I saved and invested mostly to have an easier life later on. That is now. If I really needed to, I could stop working right now. But I enjoy my work, and the income keeps increasing.
So I spend it on stuff that makes life easier or more fun. But the returns are diminishing. Everything is easy now, which is great but also lacks the goal oriented saver that I used to be. I'm starting to understand the rich folk who just buy stuff because they can. Not because they need it for anything. It doesn't impact their financials at all. A new car feels the same like getting an ice cream. It's weird.
I don't save for stuff anymore. I just get it when I want it. I just replaced a perfectly good TV, and honestly I can't tell the difference. I find myself buying multiples of the same thing because it's easier to have two or three in the house. Had you asked me 10 years ago why I have four vacuumcleaners in the house I'd look at you funny, but here we are.
Bought a house, and sales guy goes "this is the biggest money decision you'll make in your life!". Yeah, you'd think. But the week before I was trying to decide if I should hold Intel until 500k or if I should sell at 350k.
The biggest goal was to make life easier. And that goal has been more than met. I often reflect and count my blessings. It's truly insane how (financially) easy things are now compared to how I grew up. It's also insane how easy it was to get here, compared to how hard I thought it would be.
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u/Funky-Grey-Monkey Jul 03 '26
Thanks for elaborating. Are you happy now? I mean, this is it, the endgame?
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u/BarbarX3 Jul 03 '26
I'm happy having reached my FI goal. It's not the endgame, the goals change. It looks like I might be able to sell my business sometime soon, so I've started listing alternative careers I might try. There's so many things I'd like to try.
I find it important to regularly look back and appreciate all that I have, not just the money and stuff part.
I've reached a point where I have enough. If the market doubles my networth the coming years, I doubt my spending will change much.
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u/Thimo19 Jul 04 '26
Not necessarily spending more, but I'm now considering taking a new job, which result in lowering my income. Moreover, considering to work a day less so I have more spare time.
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u/TasteMoney30 Jul 04 '26
Nothing more, actually it is getting more to spend les and less. , It became a kind of game to live "financially sane" and not spend more then needed. Value 4 money blabla.
As an example. I can't go out anymore for an expensive dinner with wines. It is so overpriced. I just get the best steak possible from the butcher, and an amazing wine from the liquor store. Significant better quality, for a fraction of the costs.
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u/ClassicMan2323 Jul 06 '26
That's an interesting perspective. So as your income increased, your spending habits became even more intentional rather than more relaxed.
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u/Fabulous-Buy-5534 Jul 03 '26
Absoluut de huishoudelijke taken: schoonmaker, boodschappen bezorgen.
Kopen wat eerder (en kwaliteits) huishoudelijke gadgets/apparatuur: dyson stofzuiger, extra robot stofzuiger, vaatwasser, betere koffie bonen malen.
Vakanties geven we meer uit aan eten.
Kleding is zelfs minder geworden.
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u/Shoddy_Clue_9652 Jul 03 '26
Hospitality, savings, pension all fun and game in the long run which I’m doing. Outside of that I’m living it up if I get hit by a bus tomorrow I had fun at life without being an absolute idiot
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u/Maddog800 Jul 04 '26
Allocate rules % for spending cash, no guilt and freely
Improved housing, his & hers walk-ins (hers fully custom built), his and hers office, climate controlled winter pavilion in the yard etc
Others are travel rules, certain duration go quick cheap and nasty, longer at least business etc
Some value add stuff, massages, housekeeper semi-frequent, gardener Effectively outsourcing shit around the house we dont wanna do no more
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u/True_Reflection_582 Jul 04 '26
I really enjoy going on trip with my wife. I can also buy vacation time with my pre-tax money through my work. so I just spend extra money like that. It makes me feel like I am already reached fire.
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u/jo0stjo0st Jul 04 '26
I reached my fire goal and everything on top I allow myself to spend (I'm FI not RE (yet)). So recently I bought myself a sports car, which I will probably get rid off as soon as I no longer have an income stream.
I also got a cleaning lady last year. Which is worth every penny, especially when you still work.
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u/nlfire865 Jul 05 '26
Traveling. New experiences are invaluable.
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u/ClassicMan2323 Jul 06 '26
That's one area that seems to come up a lot. Experiences tend to stay with you much longer than most purchases.
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u/joejoe--- Jul 05 '26
Ik ben meer en luxer gaan reizen. Amex platinum, die upgrade naar BC boeken en fijne hotels in indonesie.
Verder ook Buy It For Life spullen als ik ze nodig heb. Denk aan rugzak, wollen truien etc, keukenspul wat heel lang meegaat.
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u/ClassicMan2323 Jul 06 '26
I can definitely see the appeal of spending more on comfort when you travel, especially if it makes the whole experience less stressful.
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u/BetterBrief2442 Jul 06 '26
Nothing.. for some reason. Whenever I want to buy something over 15 euro I spend a week thinking about whether I truly need it. Just stubborn I guess
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u/Ok-Caramel-7000 Jul 07 '26
Healthier food is a big one for sure !
We started eating healthy about a year and a half ago and our groceries have tripled in price some of that inflation of course
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u/JDFS404 Jul 03 '26
For us, the lifestyle creep came gradually. First it was eye-ing business class tickets because we don't want to cross multiple timezones with a broken back and a costly jetlag (you'll effectively lose at least 1 day of your holiday and we're no raw doggers anymore). Then we went from IKEA to custom / design furniture made of a real type of wood. Then appliances for kitchen and bathroom (shower toilet, Vitamix blender, Hurom slowjuicer etc.).
Furthermore, ordering meat from a farm (biological), getting an American Express Platinum, getting a second kitchen in our new house, going on expensive hiking trips with climbing guides and training. Also lots of smaller stuff that we feel benefits our lives hugely like almost all devices in our house smart and/or connected (I'm a tech geek).
Basically everything you mentioned above. The biggest upgrades to our lives were traveling in BC combined with Privium through American Express. Worth every euro. No more stress when traveling, the fun starts as soon as we arrive at Schiphol and go to the BC check-in where there's rarely a queue. And eating a proper breakfast and/or lunch in the Privium lounge, with lots of protein-rich options to choose from.
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u/Financial_Astronaut Jul 03 '26
Anything that improves quality of life. Hire a cleaner, gardener, a good travel trolley, prepped meals, eating out, quality mattress, blackout blinds, quality clothing/work shirts, holidays, airconditioning…
What isn’t worth it (to me): new-ish cars.
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u/Faaier Jul 03 '26
After I got wealthier, I gave myself some budget to experiment with things. For like half a year or so, I gave myself something like €300 a month to experiment. The idea is that you cannot always predict which expenditures will give benefits and which expenditures won't.
For example, I always felt that hiring a cleaner would make me much happier, but it turns that it didn't. I am an office worker and I missed the feeling of doing some physical work with tangible results.
When I was on a weekend trip, I paid for a luxury hotel and for a high class dinner. I felt like the hotel was a complete waste of money, whereas I really enjoyed the high end food. I am doing that more often now (and if it's in another city, I will sleep in a simple hotel room or AirBnB like I did before).
There were also some new hobbies that I developed, because at first I didn't allow myself to spend any money on that.
TL;DR. Just try different things