Best money ever spent?

[Geronimo]

What is the best money ever spent for you, trip, car, toy, anything... the most joy per dollar?


Anyone who has read any of my threads knows I am a complainer, I have missing tile syndrome.

I have a room of gold tiles, and I find the one that missing and focus on it. I have to actively look at what I have and realize how fortunate I really am.


This year we bought a puppy for my daughter, she's wanted one forever. We have 2 dog's but she wanted a little one that was for her. So Covid comes and apparently its the thing to do, and so we found a Pomeranian. NOT my first choice, I like a dog of size and stature.

A few months later, and I am filled with joy every time this little guy runs to me curls up under me as i'm crouched looks up and feels safet. He is the happiest lil monster in the world, best $600.00 ever spent.

[Rick Lee]

My biggest sale in my current job paid about $6k in commissions and I paid $20 for the lead. Took me three trips to the house to wring the business out of them, but I got it and they've been paying every month since about Feb.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

the most joy per dollar?

Uncle's dollars. However, for me as a kid this was the ultimate value gift ever. Steel ball and you walk it around that board trying to not let it drop in the holes. Today's X-Box. I ran into one a few years back and blitzed right through it after 50 years.

[masraum]

Hmm, that's a good question. I've gotten lots of pleasure out of lots of things. Some of the best money ever spent was in buying things for other folks. Making someone else happy is almost always better than making yourself happy.

My wife's engagement ring. When we got together, she said that she'd never marry ever again, so I dropped it. After almost 20 years, she had apparently changed her mind. She really loves the ring that I got for her (not traditional diamond solitaire). It was more then we had planned to spend, but she loves it and says it's the best thing that anyone has ever given her. It makes her very happy which makes me happy.

I really loved my old '88 911 targa. I couldn't really afford it at the time, and probably shouldn't have bought it, but I'm glad that I did. It's an experience that is unlikely to be surpassed by any other car that I'll own any time soon. Those old air cooled 911s are unlike anything else.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Uncle's dollars. However, for me as a kid this was the ultimate value gift ever. Steel ball and you walk it around that board trying to not let it drop in the holes. Today's X-Box. I ran into one a few years back and blitzed right through it after 50 years.

One of my uncles had one when I was a kid. I was probably too young to work it very well, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

[sc_rufctr]

The best money I've ever spent was the $22,000 I paid for my 78 SC just over 20 years ago!

She's now worth somewhere over $80,000! Just thinking about that puts a smile on my face.

[Roswell]

My two kids college tuition.

[LWJ]

Made a 10 x 15 room in my house into a theater room. Cost about $5000. Fantastic.

[Geronimo]

LWJ, NICE....

I'm thinking about a covered porch/fireplace and pool next year.... I skipped buying the "big" house last year so time to go big in the backyard.

[GH85Carrera]

The money I spent to by my 85 911 back in 1995. I bought it cheap, it has nearly tripled in value, and it has brought my endless joy and happiness. I have driven it to 41 states and Canada, and tracks from Roebling Road in GA and Laguna Secca in California.

Last weekend I went to a car show and had a blast, and the next day the autocross and had even more fun.

I guess the greatest investment was my wife's wedding ring, and the marriage. 28 years of happiness.

[vash]

i have one SINGLE definitive answer. the answer has ever changed. the undisputed champ of "best money spent" my HP48GX - 26 years old maybe. i think i paid $150?! got me thru college, helped me understand calculus, got me past the EIT, got me past the PE-exam, used it to figure out my house loan BS, and it gets me thru the daily mundane math of civil engineering work. i still remember clearly, the first class instructions were to buy a Texas Instrument 85. pfffttt.. a few of us bought the HP, and the professors would tell us we were on our own. he would use the TI85. he walked the class thru.."now push this button...". we scrambled with the HP's and eventually got faster than the professors. bad ass calculators.



honorable mentions:

Casio Pathfinder Watch
toyota Tacoma.

[nota]

an even trade

we had a 24ft sailboat
lived on it for 2 years
came back from a long cruise
haul out in a local boat yard for repairs
and a yard mechanic offered his 47ft glass house boat as an even trade

we lived aboard for 20 years on that boat at anchor at dinner key
the boat survived hurricane andrew

[Hugh R]

Aston Martin DB4 in 1971 for $1,175 kept it for almost forty years, sold it for $250,000. Probably had $15-$20,000 in it for engine rebuilds (two), leather, chrome, paint rubber, etc.

[vash]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Aston Martin DB4 in 1971 for $1,175.00 kept it for almost forty years, sold it for $250,000. Probably had $15-$20,000 in it for engine rebuilds (two), leather, chrome, paint rubber, etc.

this makes me feel stupid about my entry..hahha

but wait!! i can use that calculator to figure out 20 years of salary!! F given A!! (accounting people, i hope it got that right)

[onewhippedpuppy]

Engagement ring is #1, 18 years of happiness and still going strong. Honorable mention would be the three different boats I have owned, each one the single biggest source of family fun I have had.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

My education. Nothing else even comes close. It’s enabled me to bounce back from a really bad financial situation after 2009 and do fine for myself. I live in a beautiful place that I love, have two kids that I’m sure will actually have opportunities for themselves in life and I don’t have to punch a clock, be someone else’s slave, or work a menial dead-end job (or worse still, a corporate one). I’m very, very happy for that.

My longboard (Robert August 9’-0”) comes in second. Many enjoyable afternoons...

[aschen]

most smiles for dollar come from fancy stereo stuff. I would be fine with a much more modest system. But its something I use literally everyday and brings a lot of joy.

[Noah930]

Some thoughtful responses. I'm still working on the kids' education thing, so cannot comment on that, yet.

In terms of material goods, the 930 has to be up close to the top of the list. I've gotten 50K miles of adventure out of it. I've met a bunch of friends because of it. And some degree of family life has revolved around it over the years, to the point where none of my kids want me to ever sell it. And that's not even considering the monetary appreciation of it over these past 15 years of ownership.

[bkreigsr]

Originally Posted by vash

I found one of those just past the entrance to Bell Labs in NJ while I was on a bike ride.
Always wondered about it's capabilities.
Whichever - it makes a great tip calculator.

Best money spent?
I had a transfer box and exterior connection installed in the house in 2013.
Finally got to use it last month when the hurricane rolled through. No more 100 ft extensions running through the house choosing which appliance or room to electrify.

Bill K

[Seahawk]

I would say the farm I live on.

It was a bit of a stretch for us in 1996 but we made it work. I sold a pristine 83 911S to make the hump smoother.

I firmly believe my children are the fine people they have become since as a family we worked this place. We did a lot of things together and learned a lot as a unit...