My friend who reviews New York City cafes came across this at Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center:
Photo: Ana DaneAccording to Bouchon’s website: “Some people wish for their pets to take as much pleasure in food as they themselves do.”
But are excesses like this actually selling right now?
A recent survey by American Express Publishing and Harrison Group found that of the top 10 percent of rich Americans, “the percentage of people who said a little luxury was important in tough times declined to 50 percent from 61 percent in June,” reports Mediaweek.
CBS News reports that the the lower-end luxury market is indeed experiencing a drop in sales, but the “super-luxury” market is still going strong.
At $14 dollars for seven pieces, the foie gras dog biscuits don’t quite fall into the super-luxury category — or, considering they’re dog food, do they?
In this financial climate, where do you draw the line between splurging and saving? What luxuries do you still splurge on?
and 
. You can also watch it on 
I read an article about a recently-sacked Wall Street banker who had bought a pair of curtains costing $37,500 just before being laid off, and was bitterly regretting having frittered so much money away. I have to say, I found it hard to muster any sympathy.
The luxury I can’t do without is live music – I’ll always find money for gig tickets somehow, as you never know when a band will next be in town.
We’re keeping 2 DVR’s and HBO and Showtime. Once again, seems like an expense, but we stay home a lot of weekends now.
You can still afford luxury if you don’t waste money on things which really don’t improve your quality of life.
Some of the things we’ve done lately include:
1) Getting rid of our home phone ($50/month)
2) Dumping HBO ($20/month)
3) Setting our heat 2 degress lower ($20-40/month)
4) Not ordering appetizers, dessert, or alcohol when eating out ($20-30 per meal)
5) Reading magazines at a bookstore or library instead of buying them
6) Checking out books from the library instead of buying them
7) Waiting to see movies at our local second run theater, where tickets are $3 instead of $10, or waiting until they are out on Netflix.
All of this has allowed us to continue to spend money on the luxuries we really enjoy (a monthly facial for my wife, eating grapes for me) without increasing our overall spending.
Internet access, which is why I invested in equipment to steal it rather than continue to pay for it.
#11 mfw13
That’s a lot to give up for grapes. Might be worth it to keep the wife happy though…
i agree with Grant- if we all snatch a roll from mcdonalds, et al, we could make up the bailout in about a month
I’ve been splurging on stocks, telling myself that someday I’ll be glad I did.
Each morning I check my portfolio and regret my decision, then buy more.
Here in DC the pizza is generally terrible. I’ll spend the money, and go out of my way for actual, decent pizza. The simple things in life matter most.
Honeycrisp Apples. Worth $2.99 and then some. Pure luxury item but only available this time of year. Thank you University of Minnesota and apple growers of America for this small piece of heaven.