As you are, no doubt, aware, ‘financial porn’ is not my jam. In fact, not at all. I do not post my net worth, my asset allocation, or my investment positions. I do not share my monthly spending, my annual savings rate, or my 401(K) contributions. Nor do I offer you ideas on how to become a side-hustle hustler or how to save money (okay, but only once). And, you are S.O.L. if you happen to visit looking for discussions on IRA RMDs, ROIs or SWRs.
I do none of that.
But, let’s be perfectly clear, I am not, by any means, a prude. I say, ‘porn for all who want it and in any legal form it may be had.’ So, to demonstrate that Mr. Fate is not the overly chaste, self-restrained FIRE writer you may deem him to be, I will, for your secretive viewing pleasure, engage in some naughty disclosure – I’m going to show you my – Wait For It – discretionary spending!
To set expectations, this is not the usual hyper-color, totally gonzo, eyes-buggin’ stuff that you may be accustomed to, but, perhaps, more akin to the memorizing scene in, ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High,’ where the inimitable Phoebe Cates momentarily reveals her glorious treasures. Simultaneously expressive and, well, titillating.
BEFORE WE DISROBE: MR. FATE’S DEFINITION OF DISCRETIONARY SPENDING
While I will go through some specifics of what I consider discretionary spending, let’s start with an elementary primer. Basically, I consider discretionary spending as: ‘I do not need this item/service in my life at all. This is basically unnecessary and is simply a ‘just because I want it kind of thing.’’
In short, it absolutely includes things such as a Porsche with a quadraphonic Blaupunkt, a pair of Monolo Blahniks, a gym membership, a Netflix subscription, getting your hair or nails did, eating outside of your home, a gardener, $6 artichokes, and that Coach bag that you bought at the local outlet mall. All of these are certainly awesome, but each are exemplary forms of discretionary spending.
What it does NOT include are replacement items (think: I used to have a couch and no longer do, I need to get a new one & not sit on a lawn chair indoors) or situational items for unique circumstances (think: snow tires). Getting a filling at the dentist to prevent your jaw from decaying? Cool. Narcissistic rhinoplasty? Not so much. In any event, you get my drift.
So, enough with all this foreplay and let’s get it on! What appears below is my 2020 discretionary spending, grouped into sensible categories.
GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY NOW!
This category includes gifts for family and friends throughout the year. It also includes donations, My intent was to reactivate my social enterprise and generate mad cash for the local cat sanctuary, but, you know, COVID. It also includes my Patreon where I support 2 independent artists. CATEGORY TOTAL: $1,189
WITHOUT YOU, I’M NOTHING
As most readers know, aside from being a freakish bookworm & crazy cat dude, I am also an outdoorsman, fisherman, and board game geek, so it will surprise no one that this is a category where I (mis)spent a fair deal of my discretionary money. I broke it out into 3 subcategories: Fishing ($217) which was licensing and a bit of tackle; Gaming ($299) because I have a low-level Kickstarter addiction; and Other Outdoors ($416) which, in this case, was mostly a crossbow & some decent binoculars for birding. CATEGORY TOTAL $932
ARE FRIENDS ELECTRIC?
I’m fairly certain that I spent more this year on electronics than in any other. Sadly, after 8 years of dutiful service, I had to replace my iPad. Apple had stopped supporting the IOS years previously and, what with our redonculous WIFI situation, it was virtually functionless. In addition, I purchased a drum machine that I found important to be able to write music as part of my new project. For the same reasons, I also picked up some studio speakers. Oops, nearly forgot that Instant Pot. CATEGORY TOTAL: $758
VACATION’S ALL I EVER WANTED
As the trauma still lingers, there’s not much I’ll say here since I already wrote an entire article on my 8-day Holiday In Hell. CATEGORY TOTAL: $542
I SIT AND WAIT ALONE, IN MY ROOM
While I did invest a bit of coin in replacement furnishings for our new home, they are excluded here as previously mentioned. That said, I did purchase some totally discretionary swag for my studio. Actually, all of it was custom art and shelves for the vinyl. CATEGORY TOTAL: $337
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
If you happen to follow me on Twitter, then you’re presumably familiar with my ‘Monthly Media Memo’ tweets that detail how I while away my leisure time. For those not on Twitter, let’s just say I read a bit and generally access books via my many library accounts. As such, my entertainment category is, likely, far below the average American Joe. In 2020, I purchased 3 books, rented 2 movies via Amazon and purchased one insanely wonderful LP. Okay, I put a couple pair of guitar strings in here as well. CATEGORY TOTAL: $127
FA-FA-FA-FA-FASHION
Until retirement, nearly all of my waking time was spent in a suit. As such, my wardrobe, charitably referred to as ‘capsule,’ was quantitatively limited to about 3 pair of jeans, 3 pair of hiking/fishing shorts, and some rock n’ roll stage wear (although enough shirts to last several lifetimes?). Once I began wearing this stuff every day, there was inevitable strain. No joke – when I arrived in WA I literally had one (1) pair of pants that could be worn in public without shame and all my shorts had, inexplicably, succumbed to irreparable rips in their ass-end. And my socks were also dwindling, since I don’t do holes. So in 2020, I ‘replenished the capsule’ and bought 2 pair of jeans, 3 pair of hiking/fishing shorts, 2 pair of Dickies work pants (because it’s impractical to shovel gravel in a bespoke suit), 6 pair running and 6 pair of crew socks, and 2 outdoor shirts. I’ll let you judge what’s necessary v. discretionary here, but I’m only including the 2 shirts and 2 pairs of pants. Oh yeah, I also pre-bought a pair of trail running shoes on sale in January. CATEGORY TOTAL $123
EAT THE RICH
In 2019, I spent a staggering $29 eating out. I was determined to actually increase that in 2020 and I was certainly successful. In total, I have patronized restaurants (read: fast food joints) 9 times. That number also includes the 3 stops I made while moving cross-country. Frankly, while eating at a restaurant is nearly always a crash course in disappointment, I was hoping to check a good many of the awesome eateries in our new area, but, you know, COVID. Hopefully, next year. CATEGORY TOTAL: $84
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I’M SOLD!
Any fair assessment of discretionary spending, in my opinion, must also include an assessment of discretionary earning. I had a bit of that as well. My thought has always been to attempt to somehow monetize those things that once brought me joy, though no longer do, so I always have some goodies up for sale on eBay. In 2020, I was able to net me some scratch to fund some of the junk above. CATEGORY TOTAL: $1309
MR. FATE’S TOTAL DISCRETIONARY SPENDING: $4092 (OR $2783 WITH EBAY SALES)
THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS
Like most anyone reading this, I keep a diligent eye on all of my spending, but I am also always a bit surprised when I download the file. Since, I’ve never isolated and analyzed only my discretionary spending, this certainly is a learning experience
My initial thought is that I continue to be grateful that I planned my retirement in such as way where I always feel easy and comfortable. Where I can buy whatever I want, whenever I want. My next thought is that I am also grateful that I am not a materialist and don’t need or want much stuff.
Since I don’t compare myself to others (too often), I don’t know if this is a lot or not, and it really doesn’t matter. As far as I’m concerned, people work hard for their cash, so they should do whatever they want with it. However, applying a scrutinous eye to my data, here are some of my thoughts.
- I’m bummed that I was not able to get my social enterprise back up and running this year. Fingers crossed for 2021.
- While I really wanted that crossbow, I regret getting it a bit. Honestly, I did a total of 4 hours (maybe) of archery this year and I already have 3 other bows. This just sits as indulgent in my mind even if that thing is totally bad-ass!
- Not replacing my iPad earlier, a device I use every single day, was idiotic as I immediately realized when I fired up the new one.
- An Instant Pot will change your life. Best $120 I spent in a long time.
- I really need to watch a few more great movies.
- I’m not buying any more games. Admitting to my low-level Kickstarter addiction above is the 1st step in recovery. I’ve got plenty (and plenty more on the way), so I’m good for 2021 (maybe?).
- Wolfgang Puck, Alain Ducasse, Gordon Ramsey? Whatever. Anything those dudes can make, I can make way better at home. Period. That said, In ‘N’ Out and Dicks Burgers are still worth every penny.
- There are a lot of “one & done” purchases this year. It will be interesting to see how next year’s spending goes.
- I really hope the Vacation category is far larger next year which means I will have made, my friend, Street Cat Bob’s memorial in London and that me and Ms. Fate bounced around Japan for a few weeks.
Well Good Goddamn! That was smoking hot, right? Anyway, day’s dawning so I’ll go make us some breakfast. You can just sit there, relaxed in the bed sheets and silently judge away…
HOW ABOUT YOU?
How do you define discretionary? Have you ever tracked and then dissected your discretionary spending? What was your reaction?
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
The first time I heard the phrase, “Financial Porn,” was from my pal, Katie, over at the magnificently superb AlongtheCamelRide. I thought it was hilarious and openly confess that, once read, I was hell-bent to somehow force-fit those words into a article of my own.
I get to binge your blog tonight as I let Q4 slide away without checking in. How you manage to make finance hilarious is truly a gift. I would have broken my hand patting myself on the back before I got to paragraph two.
Frankly though, I admire your conservative nature and generally ask myself, “WWJD?”- so thanks for the inspiration. And I truly hope I’ll be reading about your Japan adventures by end of 2021.
Hey Kelly. Happy 2021 and thanks for stopping by. Thanks as well for the kind words. Nice to know my nonsense here can invoke a smile – makes it all worthwhile.
I’m really hoping travel can happen this year, but I really doubt it. Nevertheless, it’s been fun learning and planning.
Hope this year is good to you and thanks so much for reading!
What can I say, I am a financial porn addict. Your discretionary spending is very well in check. I’ve spent more in entire meals than you have for a calendar year in your dining out category–incredible! During COVID, I’ve been looking at it more as a charitable contribution to order takeout from some struggling restaurants. While there’s some merit to that, I’m also very much making excuses for excessive spending on food and dining. Really enjoyed this!
Hey IF – thanks for stopping by to leave a comment. Glad you enjoyed the porn even if it was soft core. Haha. Like I mentioned, this was the 1 Year I really wanted to spend more on eating out to sample all the great new places where we live, but I just can’t bring myself to get food at a restaurant and then eat it on the sidewalk or in my car. Hopefully next year fingers crossed.
Nice Phoebe reference Mr. Fate. And you know I did my own financial porn post that I loved stealing from Katie as well. It’s funny because once you hear it you’re like yeah, that’s what wanting to see other people’s numbers is like. So scandalous! Haha.
I’ve never broken my spending down before in regards to discretionary and non-discretionary. I’ve always just kind of known which categories those were in my head like entertainment, restaurants, etc. But I think I’ll take a look at this when I break down my 2020 year end spending. Although, I already know my discretionary spending for 2020 is going to be insanely low simply because of the pandemic. Regardless though it will be interesting to see.
Hey Q-FI. Hope you’re gearing up for a nice, sunny Thanksgiving tomorrow. Yep, that ‘fin porn’ phrase is just too damn good not to use somehow.
Yeah man, like I said to Noel, it’s definitely worth it to do the line-item breakdown as it was a bit eye opening for me (albeit a bit tedious) just to see, precisely, how that discretionary coin is being spent. I’ll certainly do it again. Hey, I might even give another quick ‘flash’ again next year.
I had to look up what a quadrophonic Blaupunkt was.
Not bad for discretionary spending. To be able to buy whatever, whenever, is the definition of living comfortably I suppose. Surprised I didn’t see any bear mace expense in there after that last post haha. No matter what I spend on, other than travel, I usually get a case of short term buyers regret. This keeps my wallet in check for the most part. Probably our biggest discretionary spend on around in my house is marijuana, those dispensaries are nice but pricy. When we go it’s usually well over $150 a trip–we gift a lot of it away, and fishing and camping stuff. We spent about 5K on a vacation this year, and that’s about close to average for our vacations. Travel is always our big one.
You’ve given me inspiration to break out our discretionary spending and see where we are for the year. I’ve wondered for some time how much we’ve spent on toys for the girls (there’s something akin to 100 naked barbies laying around my house at any given moment). Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey Noel! Thanks for the comment. My “Porsche with a Blaupunkt” line was an obscure reference to the old 80s film, Bull Durham btw. In fact, I did aqcuireme me some bear spray this year, but didn’t show up as it was gifted.
Travel is also usually our biggest discretionary item, but we moved and then got grounded by Covid. Fingers crossed for next year.
I definitely recommend doing a detailed analysis of your disc. spending. I always look at the overall category on my annual analysis, but never went item-by-item and then subcategorized it. Definitely worth the while. Thanks and have an awesome Thanksgiving!
$123 for all that clothing?! Are you kidding me? I need to shop where you shop, though I don’t shop much and purchase nearly everything with credit card rewards dollars. Even so, that’s impressive!
I think we all have our sweet spots for where we splurge. After all, there’s no sense in accumulating all this money if you’re not going to enjoy any of it, but you’ve done a great job of knowing where and ages to spend, like few $ on restaurants and more $$$ on badass bows.
As for Phoebe, I know no Gen X guy who doesn’t love that scene. For us ladies, I believe the equivalent would be the volleyball scene in Top Gun.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey Katie and thanks for the comment. The $123 was only for the 2 jeans ($50 BOGO 50%, the 2 RealTree fishing shirts $11 each on clearance (what?) and the Columbia trail running shoes which were also on sale.
Agreed, crossbows are much more fun and enjoyable than lunch at Spago, but that’s just me.
Oddly, I was reading an essay by Bret Easton Ellis of ‘Less Than Zero/American Psycho’ fame last month and he mentioned the Cruise volleyball scene (which I vaguely remember since I was likely still blown away by the mesmeric Phoebe). Haha! Happy Thanksgiving as well!
Chili Peppers, The Go-Go’s, Gary Numan, Placebo, The Jam…. very nice. I once played “That’s Entertainment” on guitar for a bunch of other climbers in the Grand Tetons after a hard day in the mountains. They laughed as I tried to sing with a British accent..
And Phoebe… oh man. I remember when that came out. Still one of the best scenes in a movie, ever. As for your spending, you need to put more guitars in there. Just sayin’…
You win the unofficial “Too Cool for School” contest for a) getting and b) correctly IDing the music references! Boom! Also got Yaz, Motörhead, Bowie & even Boy George in there. Congrats.
Agreed – Phoebe = Best Film Scene Ever. No joke – I just read this comment after walking out of Guitar Center here in the Big Smoke. Temptation abounds! Have a great Thanksgiving Dave!
And I go through $1,000 in tennis strings every year, and that’s just me, not counting my wife. Doesn’t count the several pairs of tennis shoes, the racquets that break or the 200 cans of tennis balls we open. Then there are the dozens of times we take the boat to area lakes, trout rivers or four hundred miles to the coast to fish. Or the multiple thousand mile plus road trips we take every year. Or our off road adventures in our all terrain vehicle. Not to mention running shoes, hiking shoes, trail running shoes, all weather gear for hiking and fishing, pickle ball equipment and court fees, club membership for tennis courts, entry fees for leagues and tournaments, lesson fees, hotels for out of town competition. If your spending was R rated then mine must be XXX. But in my opinion its well worth it to have fun hobbies you enjoy. And if it only represents a tiny percent of your net worth you can easily afford it.
Hey Steve and thanks for the comment. Damn, I had zero idea that tennis could be that spendy! That said, investing in any type of of adventure, experiences, or equipment for being outside is extremely high value in my opinion. I view that sort of thing as investing in great future memories. Good on ya! And please be sure to hit me up next time you take the boat on an offshore adventure. Have a great thanksgiving!
wow, you really have what i consider low discretionary spending, mr.fate. now that i think about it though, most of our “set-up” stuff for our activities is already purchased be that kayaks, bikes, guitars, or other fun equipment. those things are pretty durable if you use them right and take care of them. our only large discretionary expense is wine and that is obscene to most non-wine people. it’s a good thing we’re not seeking validation or building consensus about what we choose to buy. i’m glad you’re supporting a couple of artists. you’ll manage a real vacation in the coming year; i’m confident.
if you took the great movies where judge reinhold had roles how much do you think those classics grossed? i’ll bet it was a lot. happy thanksgiving.
Thanks for the comment Freddy. You nailed it, the fact that I already own a shit-ton kayaks, fishing rods, music and outdoor equipment means that I don’t need to buy more or really replace unless they totally break.
Yeah, I was a little cynical about the Patreon concept at first, but I really like it and will likely expand.
Here’s hoping for some international adventures next year. Even if you take a flick like “Beverly Hills Cop” alone, it likely grossed more than most working actors. Haven’t seen Judge around lately, but than again, I’m not watching much either. Enjoy your Thanksgiving as well!