Should you take a new watch or a weekend getaway?

I can't be bothered to get off the couch.  Going somewhere?  Where there might not be wifi?  And you gotta talk and interact with other human beings???

No, no, no!  Just give me the watch please!

The getaway is Big Sur, no TV, WiFi, Cellular Signal, or many humanoids at all.

OMG...  You might as well go on vacation here...

Same attributes as indicated in your description of Big Sur.

So, go to someplace like the photo above, or get something like this:

Come on!  How is this even a question???

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22086669?check_in=2022-10-29&check_out=2022-10-31&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=039f22ed-681f-4d1e-85d5-f271ba0df710

Okay, okay, no more juvenile jokes on my part.  In all seriousness, here's my very idiosyncratic take on spending on "experiences" versus "things."  

At a certain point, we are invariably counseled that spending money on experiences is vastly superior to spending money on things, because those experiences will give you a lifetime of memories, whereas things are just things.  

Perhaps it is only because I am not neurotypical, but I simply don't buy it.  My observation is that experiences are INCREDIBLY COSTLY and ephemeral.  Things, these days, are incredibly high quality and durable...  and, most importantly, largely affordable for the masses.  

Thus, if I put on my autist hat, I might conclude:

• If you of a certain socio-economic status (SES), you're told that it's better to spend on experiences.  Experiences are MORALLY SUPERIOR.  They build character.  They enable us to share lasting experiences with our loved ones.  They enrich us

• But, maybe, just maybe, we're told to spend on experiences because experiences are expensive "positional goods" that the lower classes simply cannot afford, and this is the modern way to flex on the poors!
• The vast majority of the middle class in developed countries can easily afford high quality durable goods and even luxury goods these days - that's how rich our societies have become!
• So...  the only way that high SES folks are able to flex upon the poors these days is to a) take obscene getaway vacations, b) send their children to exclusive $40k/year private schools and $20k per child sleep-away summer camps in New England, c) waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on college educations for their children when studies show that education is all about signaling as opposed to human capital formation, etc., etc., etc.

All juvenile quips aside, I really do honestly believe that your money would be vastly better spent buying a watch you love than to go on some getaway.

This gentleman's article puts it much more eloquently than I ever could:

https://write.as/harold-lee/theres-a-phrase-going-around-that-you-should-buy-experiences-not-things

Now, the one hanging chad is "but how do I make sure my SO is happy?"  That's easy!  Spoil her that weekend.   Tell her that you're going to take care of everything, bring her breakfast in bed, watch Bridgerton Seasons 1 & 2 with her as she's been begging you to and even though it's "chick flick" stuff everyone's so hot in the show you'll actually enjoy it, and then cook her favorite meal even if you have no frickin' clue how to cook - it'll signal that you're putting in lots of effort, and even if the coq au vin ends up burnt to a crisp, she'll appreciate all your fawning all over her.

And you'll have an awesome watch that will last you the rest of your life...  as opposed to a weekend at some hoity-toity resort, because "all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

But, that's just me, man!

Okay, okay, no more juvenile jokes on my part.  In all seriousness, here's my very idiosyncratic take on spending on "experiences" versus "things."  

At a certain point, we are invariably counseled that spending money on experiences is vastly superior to spending money on things, because those experiences will give you a lifetime of memories, whereas things are just things.  

Perhaps it is only because I am not neurotypical, but I simply don't buy it.  My observation is that experiences are INCREDIBLY COSTLY and ephemeral.  Things, these days, are incredibly high quality and durable...  and, most importantly, largely affordable for the masses.  

Thus, if I put on my autist hat, I might conclude:

• If you of a certain socio-economic status (SES), you're told that it's better to spend on experiences.  Experiences are MORALLY SUPERIOR.  They build character.  They enable us to share lasting experiences with our loved ones.  They enrich us

• But, maybe, just maybe, we're told to spend on experiences because experiences are expensive "positional goods" that the lower classes simply cannot afford, and this is the modern way to flex on the poors!
• The vast majority of the middle class in developed countries can easily afford high quality durable goods and even luxury goods these days - that's how rich our societies have become!
• So...  the only way that high SES folks are able to flex upon the poors these days is to a) take obscene getaway vacations, b) send their children to exclusive $40k/year private schools and $20k per child sleep-away summer camps in New England, c) waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on college educations for their children when studies show that education is all about signaling as opposed to human capital formation, etc., etc., etc.

All juvenile quips aside, I really do honestly believe that your money would be vastly better spent buying a watch you love than to go on some getaway.

This gentleman's article puts it much more eloquently than I ever could:

https://write.as/harold-lee/theres-a-phrase-going-around-that-you-should-buy-experiences-not-things

Now, the one hanging chad is "but how do I make sure my SO is happy?"  That's easy!  Spoil her that weekend.   Tell her that you're going to take care of everything, bring her breakfast in bed, watch Bridgerton Seasons 1 & 2 with her as she's been begging you to and even though it's "chick flick" stuff everyone's so hot in the show you'll actually enjoy it, and then cook her favorite meal even if you have no frickin' clue how to cook - it'll signal that you're putting in lots of effort, and even if the coq au vin ends up burnt to a crisp, she'll appreciate all your fawning all over her.

And you'll have an awesome watch that will last you the rest of your life...  as opposed to a weekend at some hoity-toity resort, because "all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

But, that's just me, man!

I actually completely agree with you.  But, I also don't disagree with all of the people that said take the getaway over the watch, the points are all valid.

I'm just going to do both, but perhaps scale back the lodgings a bit.  We've stayed in many places before in Big Sur that are nice for a fraction of the cost.

It is appropriate to pop on a nice watch for the big six o.

My partner and I have been together thirty years and we do those nice things for each other all the time, not just on special occasions (I'm actually going to let him read this thread, all of it).  It is more about how you treat people; that makes all the difference.  It costs zero dollars to be a decent human being.

OK, I took a few minutes to consider my snap reply.  

I think if you really want the watch, you should get the watch, but it needs to be separate from the discussion of the trip.  

I don't like the suggestion that you get the watch and treat your SO really well for the weekend.  To me that undermines their desire to do a nice thing for you.  It's sort of like "I'll just buy my own Holiday present, you don't need to worry about it"; sure you might get a thing that you want, but the loving ritual is lost.  

We're big kids, we can buy what we want, that's not the point.  The point is doing things for and with the people we love, and appreciating their desire to do the same.

Rant over.  

Happy almost Birthday, OP!

I disagree up and down, but I dig the Blade Runner reference.

Oh, and I take a few weeks off from watch sh*t and come back to find that you've made a major life change...?

Okay, okay, no more juvenile jokes on my part.  In all seriousness, here's my very idiosyncratic take on spending on "experiences" versus "things."  

At a certain point, we are invariably counseled that spending money on experiences is vastly superior to spending money on things, because those experiences will give you a lifetime of memories, whereas things are just things.  

Perhaps it is only because I am not neurotypical, but I simply don't buy it.  My observation is that experiences are INCREDIBLY COSTLY and ephemeral.  Things, these days, are incredibly high quality and durable...  and, most importantly, largely affordable for the masses.  

Thus, if I put on my autist hat, I might conclude:

• If you of a certain socio-economic status (SES), you're told that it's better to spend on experiences.  Experiences are MORALLY SUPERIOR.  They build character.  They enable us to share lasting experiences with our loved ones.  They enrich us

• But, maybe, just maybe, we're told to spend on experiences because experiences are expensive "positional goods" that the lower classes simply cannot afford, and this is the modern way to flex on the poors!
• The vast majority of the middle class in developed countries can easily afford high quality durable goods and even luxury goods these days - that's how rich our societies have become!
• So...  the only way that high SES folks are able to flex upon the poors these days is to a) take obscene getaway vacations, b) send their children to exclusive $40k/year private schools and $20k per child sleep-away summer camps in New England, c) waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on college educations for their children when studies show that education is all about signaling as opposed to human capital formation, etc., etc., etc.

All juvenile quips aside, I really do honestly believe that your money would be vastly better spent buying a watch you love than to go on some getaway.

This gentleman's article puts it much more eloquently than I ever could:

https://write.as/harold-lee/theres-a-phrase-going-around-that-you-should-buy-experiences-not-things

Now, the one hanging chad is "but how do I make sure my SO is happy?"  That's easy!  Spoil her that weekend.   Tell her that you're going to take care of everything, bring her breakfast in bed, watch Bridgerton Seasons 1 & 2 with her as she's been begging you to and even though it's "chick flick" stuff everyone's so hot in the show you'll actually enjoy it, and then cook her favorite meal even if you have no frickin' clue how to cook - it'll signal that you're putting in lots of effort, and even if the coq au vin ends up burnt to a crisp, she'll appreciate all your fawning all over her.

And you'll have an awesome watch that will last you the rest of your life...  as opposed to a weekend at some hoity-toity resort, because "all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

But, that's just me, man!

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22086669?check_in=2022-10-29&check_out=2022-10-31&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=039f22ed-681f-4d1e-85d5-f271ba0df710

You are staying in a Cialis commercial.