Don't Overthink It - Anne Bogel Page 0,50

feels extravagant to us.

When we talk about splurging, we’re not talking about impulse purchases or spending big all the time or living beyond our means. A splurge is a strategic deployment of resources. We can splurge and be financially responsible, as long as we have the resources to pay for our splurges and principles that guide them. (We can also splurge and not spend a dime. More on that in a bit.)

I like the idea of splurging, but perhaps because my frugal nature was reinforced by childhood training, I have a hard time taking action. I know I’m not the only one. How can we figure out if a splurge makes sense?

Accept That Signature Experiences Are Expensive

I opened that email from the restaurant and started running the numbers according to my normal cost-benefit analysis. When I calculated the cost per hour—no, the cost per minute—of our meal, knowing all we’d have to show for it at night’s end would be a photo and a keepsake menu, it didn’t make sense to say yes, at least not according to the way I typically made sense of things. I was afraid we might be wasting money.

Will is also a judicious spender by nature, yet he didn’t freak out when the email confirming our reservation came in.

“This makes sense. We’ll have fun, and the kids are old enough to appreciate it. It’ll be worth the cost,” he told me. Then he remembered something. “Think about it like this: Remember when we all went to Biltmore?”

I did remember. The year before, I’d had a book signing in Asheville, and we decided to bring the family along for the weekend. Malaprop’s Bookstore graciously scheduled my visit for peak leaf season. It was a gorgeous fall weekend, colorful and mild.

We didn’t plan ahead for our weekend away—we only knew we wanted to hike, eat, and visit the bookstore. While checking into our hotel that first night, we realized we were just minutes away from Biltmore Estate, George Vanderbilt’s massive Chateauesque-style residence tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’d longed to see the grounds with my own eyes ever since I read about the estate’s construction in Witold Rybczynski’s captivating book A Clearing in the Distance.

Will and I began investigating. We were so close, and we had the time. We could easily buy tickets and go. But the steep entry fee gave us pause. Our kids weren’t used to visiting historic houses, and I was far from confident they’d be able to appreciate the experience. I wasn’t keen on spending all that money only to feel like we wasted it. How could we decide?

In the middle of our deliberations, Will remembered an article he’d read that captured some of our unarticulated feelings. The article set forth this simple truth about the economics of travel: an area’s big destinations—or “signature experiences”—often come with a big price tag, and it helps to keep that in mind when sticker shock hits. They’re often expensive for good reason, and often worth it. (Unlike silly things like the six-dollar bottles of water at the zoo or terrible airport coffee—nobody calls those things pleasantly extravagant.) Biltmore was undoubtedly a signature experience. The price was beyond the usual for us, but the experience promised to be as well.

I value making memories, so I suppressed my reflexive cringes and bought tickets for the next day. Six of them.

At Malaprop’s that night, readers asked if we’d get to visit Biltmore while we were in town. I explained that we’d been hesitant to buy them, but we had our tickets in hand. They emphatically told me, again and again, that it was well worth it and we wouldn’t regret it.

They were right. The kids were wowed by the house, which was on a scale they’d never experienced before, and enjoyed exploring the grounds. As a bonus, the house was already decorated for Christmas. An audio tour of the estate helped us better understand what we were seeing, and how this was not just a home but a part of history. Looking out on the fall foliage of Biltmore Forest was my favorite part. Having seen it for ourselves, we could appreciate why many considered it the region’s must-see attraction.

Signature experiences are often expensive, sometimes achingly so. But Will reminded me that my only Biltmore regret was that we didn’t have more time to spend there.

Will built his case, recalling other times we’d (judiciously) spent beyond our comfort zone and were happy to do so even though it