The first luxury item you bought?

[dodge man]

Luxury item isn’t the right word but I didn’t know what else to call it. The first thing you ever bought that made your life easier, had an impact you remember. Maybe it’s a chainsaw, tractor, house etc.

For me I was about 27 and renting a house. Up until this time I had been going to laundromats since I was 21. This rental house had a washer and dryer hook up and I bought a used pair. I don’t remember the exact cost but probably $200 for both. If you ever had to do laundry at a laundromat on a regular basis you understand. For me that was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

[flyerdan]

I did the same thing when I bought this place, didn't take long to get a set, and they were $200 as well, out of the IGA shopper as the internet wasn't a thing then.
First thing I got for the shop was a parts washer.

 

[anomad]

Luxury item isn’t the right word but I didn’t know what else to call it. The first thing you ever bought that made your life easier, had an impact you remember. Maybe it’s a chainsaw, tractor, house etc.

For me I was about 27 and renting a house. Up until this time I had been going to laundromats since I was 21. This rental house had a washer and dryer hook up and I bought a used pair. I don’t remember the exact cost but probably $200 for both. If you ever had to do laundry at a laundromat on a regular basis you understand. For me that was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

My story is like yours, kind of a combo. I rented a nice trailer house with a garage-like structure around the same age when I first got a decent job (Lakeview Oregon). Had it all to myself! Saved up for a few paychecks and drove 2.5 hours one way (Bend Oregon) to buy a washing machine. No roommates, no lavanderia. I didn't get a dryer till I go married later. I was happy to use a clothes line outside or drying rack by the stove in winter.

So yeah, having my own rental place and being able to wash my clothes with no shared laundry was a big deal.

 

[JasperFrank]

Luxury item isn’t the right word but I didn’t know what else to call it. The first thing you ever bought that made your life easier, had an impact you remember. Maybe it’s a chainsaw, tractor, house etc.

For me I was about 27 and renting a house. Up until this time I had been going to laundromats since I was 21. This rental house had a washer and dryer hook up and I bought a used pair. I don’t remember the exact cost but probably $200 for both. If you ever had to do laundry at a laundromat on a regular basis you understand. For me that was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Having your own washer/dryer was the greatest. No coins, no being around drunk people. No pack it up, and drive and then get home an un-pack. Or dealing with, "What the hell was in there the last time."

 

[BravoXray]

When I was first married, back in 1970, we bought a good quality mobile home from a local manufacturer. It was insulated pretty well, but the first summer was pretty warm, and I don't tolerate heat very well, can't sleep and get really cranky. We went to a local appliance dealer and bought the largest capacity window A/C unit they had and installed it in a window in the living room at the front of the unit. I slept a lot of nights on the couch that summer in the cool air and was a lot more rested to go to work in the mornings. I don't remember what it cost, but was worth every penny.

 

[tacticalturnip]

As a young soldier at my first duty station I purchased an iPod, one with the scroll wheel, and it was amazing. An absolute luxury for me.

 

[Oaktree]

Having your own washer/dryer was the greatest. No coins, no being around drunk people. No pack it up, and drive and then get home an un-pack. Or dealing with, "What the hell was in there the last time."

I've been a homeowner for almost 50 years, and still don't have a dryer but agree a washer is a must, and was one of the first things I got when I bought my first house (yard sale buy). Had to use a laundromat for about a month this past summer due to the well being low. $3.50/load goes thru a LOT of quarters in a hurry!
Still just use a clothesline or wooden rack for drying.

Bought my first chainsaw around the same time (then, as now heated with wood), so it's kind of a tie.

 

[Rockbadchild]

My first truck felt like luxury, my first big chainsaw, my first flat screen TV and the first time I own a dishwasher ho boy when I got these I knew I made it in life.

 

[bdhsfz6]

My first major expense or luxury item if you will, was a 5 acre parcel of land in the Pocono Mountains of PA. I bought a used mobile home and put it on the property while I built my house.

The property has since expanded to 25 acres but I'm still working on the house. They're never finished you know.

 

[ponytug]

Getting out of laundromats was a big deal for me as well.

The first item that I vividly recall buying and improving my life was a Patagonia Arctic storm rain jacket. I was living in the northeast at the time, near the coast, and the damp, rainy weather was going right through my other clothing. I had no car, and was walking or biking to and from work, shopping, everywhere. With the jacket, I was warm and dry. It was a huge difference in daily quality of life. Decades later, I still have the jacket, though it did go back to Patagonia twice early in its life to get the seams resealed. It might have been one or two paychecks, so it was a memorable expense, and a memorable improvement in my quality of life. It is still my go to jacket for being out in wind and rain.

I think it was also a life lesson about when to go cheap, and when not to.

All the best, Peter

 

[gstrom99]

I bought a pair of work/hunting boots, that were expensive at the time - $150 (back like 25 years ago) and fit great. I'd always bought cheap Kmart style boots before. WOW, what a difference!

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Washers, dryers, water heaters, and dishwashers are luxuries. So are heat and air conditioning. These are the household luxuries I would miss most if everything went to hell. Also, cars. Any car is a luxury. Remember how bad it felt the first time your car broke down and you had to walk? I drive a 10-year-old Ford, and I could replace it today if I felt like it, but I couldn't be happier if it were a Bentley. I thank God for it every time I drive it.

I think my first big extravagance was a $2200 used lathe. My first machine tool. I bought it from a company called Plaza Machinery, run by a now-dead man named Joe Bergamo. He turned out to be a disgusting swindler. Sent me the wrong machine with the wrong motor, and it had much more wear on it than he claimed. He wouldn't take credit cards, and I found out why. Never buy anything over the web if they won't take a card. There is only ONE reason for that policy, and it's to allow sellers to cheat people.

Not long afterward, I bought a Chaiwanese (Taiwan parts assembled in China) Bridgeport clone, and I spent over $12,000 on a 4-ton Taiwan lathe. Both new. I stuck them in a little two-car garage. I have never regretted it.

Another luxury: when my wife got her green card, I brought her here via business class. She goes on and on about it, even today.

 

[paulsharvey]

Boots that fit. Used to be regular shoes and boots stopped at size 13; so had to kinda deal with them being a bit small. Now, size 14s are pretty available, if limited selection. Don't know if that really counts?

 

[gsganzer]

About 20 years ago, I bought some polypropylene thermal underwear for a hunting trip in Idaho. Before that, I used the cotton waffle weave long johns like everyone else. What a difference! I never knew you could feel so toasty warm and not clammy! Now I see merino wool and many other thermal underwear types.
When I was working in Alberta CA the other year at -52C, I bought some expidition weight thermals. I never knew good thermals could make such a difference in your comfort.

 

[not2old]

My first luxury splurge was a Needie Weedeater. They were new on the market and cost about $125.00 in about 1972. I knew they would be way cheaper next year but bought one anyway because of how much easier it was to trim my 66'x160' property. Next year they were about $80.00

 

[rgr33]

My first luxury purchase was a floor model beta video recorder from Sears.
It had no remote, and the picture went blank when you got up and tried to estimate how long the commercial break was.

Our only tv was a 12 inch Sony.
I paid $1000 for the recorder, at a time when I really had to argue with myself over whether I could afford to buy a good shovel

I look now at a big screen tv, with satellite receiver, Bose sound bar, too many channels to watch, free movies, it seems downright prehistoric now

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Interesting. The first thing I ever bought that I thought of as a luxury was artwork.

 

[JasperFrank]

I was never very good with a hammer and nails. I sucked at it. And its hard to find a lefty hammer.
Building my house, this became an issue.
I splurged and bought a "Paslode" gas powered framing nail gun when they first came out. $$$$. Contractors snickered at first at it. Then they all wanted to try it. Then they all wanted one also.

 

[Hughman]

My first luxury item was a 10 year old Camaro (1970 RS) that I paid $600 for. No longer had to drive around in mom& dad's Honda Civic. It got 7mpg on a good day, but it was all mine.

 

[Runner]

First luxury item was a stereo component system in about 1984. The second item came soon after, my first new car, which was also my education on how much of a mistake it is to finance a car if you don't have to. It was a good car, but I should have kept driving the old one until I could afford the new one outright. Never financed a car again after that....