Ask HN: What do you spend your money on?

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Major Spending Categories

  • Housing & Utilities

    • Many report housing (rent/mortgage, property tax, utilities) as the dominant expense, sometimes >40% of total outlays.
    • Homeownership is a key goal but often feels out of reach (NYC, high-COL cities, even Eastern Europe); several say “the only thing I can’t afford is a house.”
    • Some deliberately pay a premium for an above-average apartment or nice area; others keep costs low with roommates, older or inherited apartments.

  • Family & Kids

    • Large, recurring spend on childcare, preschool, camps, and school tuition; one family expects >$75k/year on care despite public school.
    • Extra costs: kids’ hobbies (boxing, piano, GPUs), travel to see family abroad, and support for adult children in financial trouble.
    • Several posts describe most discretionary money effectively being “family money,” with worry about identity once kids leave.

  • Experiences vs Things

    • Heavy spending on travel (some $20–30k/yr, months-long “nomadding,” frequent flights, airport lounges, ski trips, scuba).
    • Many prioritize experiences (concerts, restaurants, sports, shows, rocketry, figure skating, Muay Thai, gaming with kids) over material goods.
    • Others enjoy high-end physical items (designer clothes, guitar pedals, farm/EDC tools, PC parts) but still frame them as enabling activities.

  • Education, Debt & Giving

    • Some pay grad school out of pocket or fund children’s tuition to avoid loans.
    • Debt payoff is described as more satisfying than most purchases.
    • Significant charitable/support spending: supporting striking teachers, an immigrant family, friends’ medical or basic needs.

  • Spending Philosophies

    • Common heuristics: only buy what you actually use; be cheap on non-essentials and generous on a few life-improving categories; the “2x rule” (match splurges with investing or charity).
    • Frequent tension between frugality/FIRE mindsets and fear of “not enjoying the fruits” of one’s labor.

  • Money, Happiness, and Constraints

    • Mixed views: some say expensive things don’t fill the “hole,” others argue money crucially reduces stress and enables relationships and freedom.
    • Many feel one crisis away from ruin despite careful living.
    • Desired-but-unaffordable: more time off work, frequent travel, real estate in specific cities, visas/passports, large hobby projects (boats, rockets).