What will you splurge your TSLA gains on?

[ZeApelido]

I know some people have mentioned plans on dream houses (or mountains), but I thought it would be neat to share any big purchases you are excited or dreaming about thanks to your TSLA (or other) investment.

I don't have a very specific plan, but right now it's looking like it could end up like this:

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Del-Mar/13975-Nob-Ave-92014/home/4424059

A house in Del Mar, CA, right near the beach. Ocean views from the house. Moderate sized house (3-4 br, ~ 2200 sq ft). Location, location, location. That's enough house for us.

Not cheap, as those are going for around $2.5m, but actually affordable leveraging taxable account gains and definitely affordable if TSLA goes over $1000 (and not touching gains in IRAs).

Houses here on the peninsula (near Tesla HQ) are similar, but you get some podunk Eichler house with bad schools and no AC. The good school districts will cost you even more than $2.5m! If your mortgage payments come from a very high Facebook, Google, or Apple salary, ok you buy in the Bay Area. But for someone like me where most of the gains aren't linked to keeping a Bay Area salary? Dumb. Why wouldn't I move to San Diego where I could live right by the ocean?

We also are considering Austin (buy a house right on Lake Travis), or Tampa / St. Pete (buy a waterfront house) and both of those "dream houses" would cost considerably less, like half. But even with the tax savings and excess cash left over, we're not sure it makes sense for the right schools and jobs for my wife.

San Diego seems like the best "compromise".

 

[Jack6591]

My end game is to build enough energy generation (Solar & Wind) coupled with storage (PowerWalls) to power my home and charge my vehicles.

I hope build upon the idea of energy independence. But, I want it to look good; that’s the hard part.

 

[Nocturnal]

+1 for Tampa/Saint Pete. That's the best part of Florida. That whole section on the west coast really. CA is beautiful but taxes are outrageous and the water is cold and rough.

I can't realistically do this for another decade when my kids go to college, but I want to live on a nice big catamaran. I love the ocean and that way I'd be doing it in a way that didn't require thousands of gallons of diesel. By then I'll be able to do 100% electric and sail power (it's very doable now even). If I can take trips to Europe or Asia on it, even better. That would be a dream. I'm not into huge mansions so a smallish house somewhere on the water would also be nice. And one in the CO mountains I think.

I'm right on that line where retirement is theoretically possible but too risky for the lifestyle I want. If I can get there soon I'd love to go get a law degree and offer pro-bono service to people who can't afford legal representation. Doing that part time would give me a nice outlet in retirement as I'd too easily fall into laying around and drinking all day.

 

[bkp_duke]

I know some people have mentioned plans on dream houses (or mountains), but I thought it would be neat to share any big purchases you are excited or dreaming about thanks to your TSLA (or other) investment.

I don't have a very specific plan, but right now it's looking like it could end up like this:

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Del-Mar/13975-Nob-Ave-92014/home/4424059

A house in Del Mar, CA, right near the beach. Ocean views from the house. Moderate sized house (3-4 br, ~ 2200 sq ft). Location, location, location. That's enough house for us.

Not cheap, as those are going for around $2.5m, but actually affordable leveraging taxable account gains and definitely affordable if TSLA goes over $1000 (and not touching gains in IRAs).

Houses here on the peninsula (near Tesla HQ) are similar, but you get some podunk Eichler house with bad schools and no AC. The good school districts will cost you even more than $2.5m! If your mortgage payments come from a very high Facebook, Google, or Apple salary, ok you buy in the Bay Area. But for someone like me where most of the gains aren't linked to keeping a Bay Area salary? Dumb. Why wouldn't I move to San Diego where I could live right by the ocean?

We also are considering Austin (buy a house right on Lake Travis), or Tampa / St. Pete (buy a waterfront house) and both of those "dream houses" would cost considerably less, like half. But even with the tax savings and excess cash left over, we're not sure it makes sense for the right schools and jobs for my wife.

San Diego seems like the best "compromise".

If you get the beach house there, then you have an open invitation to come up to the mountain and we can have beer and steaks! That house, although several miles, is line of sight from us.


Personally, I want to splurge on TRAVEL. We normally go pretty middle-of-the-road on accommodations, even though we can afford better. Would be nice to stay in some exotic locations, in exotic hotels, and not think "I could have spent that money better".

 

[Discoducky]

I'm moving into my dream house this coming week with a slice of a mountain. I'll have enough solar for myself and any visitors with a great view while you charge.

 

[AimStellar]

 

[bkp_duke]

I gotta say, straight up, this house speaks to me:

https://www.redfin.com/HI/Lahaina/60-E-Mahi-Pua-Pl-96761/home/71692380

Add Starlink, some solar, and powerwalls, and I would be ecstatic.

But that's a pipe dream. Too far from the wife's family, she would never approve.

 

[AimStellar]

For real this time, I've "reinvested my dividends".

 

[ZeApelido]

+1 for Tampa/Saint Pete. That's the best part of Florida. That whole section on the west coast really. CA is beautiful but taxes are outrageous and the water is cold and rough.

I can't realistically do this for another decade when my kids go to college, but I want to live on a nice big catamaran. I love the ocean and that way I'd be doing it in a way that didn't require thousands of gallons of diesel. By then I'll be able to do 100% electric and sail power (it's very doable now even). If I can take trips to Europe or Asia on it, even better. That would be a dream. I'm not into huge mansions so a smallish house somewhere on the water would also be nice. And one in the CO mountains I think.

I'm right on that line where retirement is theoretically possible but too risky for the lifestyle I want. If I can get there soon I'd love to go get a law degree and offer pro-bono service to people who can't afford legal representation. Doing that part time would give me a nice outlet in retirement as I'd too easily fall into laying around and drinking all day.

San Diego water is at least a little warmer than the Bay Area (like 7 degrees). But it's no Gulf of Mexico.

Only way I would do St. Pete is literally have water access. Boat, catamaran, jet skis, paddle board. Just hop in a go. Lots of water exercise. Everything all electric, splurge on massive solar and batteries too to say FU to the utilities. Could have fun with the extra cash.

I've never heard of retiring then going to law school! But you do you!

 

[Nocturnal]

San Diego water is at least a little warmer than the Bay Area (like 7 degrees). But it's no Gulf of Mexico.

Only way I would do St. Pete is literally have water access. Boat, catamaran, jet skis, paddle board. Just hop in a go. Lots of water exercise. Everything all electric, splurge on massive solar and batteries too to say FU to the utilities. Could have fun with the extra cash.

I've never heard of retiring then going to law school! But you do you!

I wouldn't move back to FL without direct water access either.

 

[ZeApelido]

If you get the beach house there, then you have an open invitation to come up to the mountain and we can have beer and steaks! That house, although several miles, is line of sight from us.


Personally, I want to splurge on TRAVEL. We normally go pretty middle-of-the-road on accommodations, even though we can afford better. Would be nice to stay in some exotic locations, in exotic hotels, and not think "I could have spent that money better".

Wait I thought you lived in a bunker

Speaking a splurging, we are going to SD in a month for a friends' party and we have to pay $400+ a night for anything decent. Is that normal?!

 

[Nocturnal]

View attachment 656099

I will seriously consider naming my boat TSLAQ.

 

[bkp_duke]

Wait I thought you lived in a bunker

Speaking a splurging, we are going to SD in a month for a friends' party and we have to pay $400+ a night for anything decent. Is that normal?!

The bunker is only when the wife is pissed at me.

$400/nt on weekends right now is not out of the norm. There is so much pent-up demand from people from being locked in from COVID that prices have been bonkers as soon as we hit the Orange tier.

I heard today Vegas is the same way right now, $400/nt. Crazy.

 

[ZeApelido]

I gotta say, straight up, this house speaks to me:

https://www.redfin.com/HI/Lahaina/60-E-Mahi-Pua-Pl-96761/home/71692380

Add Starlink, some solar, and powerwalls, and I would be ecstatic.

But that's a pipe dream. Too far from the wife's family, she would never approve.

Bring the inlaws with you!

 

[Krugerrand]

It’s none of your business but mountain already bought and it ain’t no stinking few acres. It’s plenty big enough to bury treasure on and it take a very, very long time finding. Course, you can’t get there from here. It’s remote and only one way in that is limitedly serviced. You listening @Unpilot ?

I’ll need to stock up well before winters hit since getting out by means other than a snowmobile or even perhaps snowshoes will be unlikely at times. I’ll naturally have a tractor, blower, plow, CYBRTRCK of course, but at my elevation - if I die during a winter, they’re not getting to me before I decompose. That’s for sure.

I’m splurging on a crap ton of solar and powerwalls of course. Starlink. A greenhouse. Pizza oven. A smokehouse. In ground cellar. Tesla Tequila. Top of the line surveillance and security. I’ve already lined up a Spec Ops team to do it. For sure a Cane Corso and probably a Rottweiler or maybe a wolf cross. I really wanted big cats of course, but I don’t think I can pull that off. Maybe I can convince a local cougar to hang out.

Envision me like this only more stylishly dressed and with a beer cooler full of alcohol that isn’t beer.

 

[mickle]

I'm thinking of getting a Silent Yachts 55-62 foot solar catamaran and keeping it in the Mediterranean for a while.
Around $2-2.5M. Just need to see if my seasickness will be an issue.

SILENT 62 3-DECK

 

[gene]

I've made enough to do what ever I want and buy what ever I want and still leave a bunch of money for my kids. Funny thing is, I already have a nice home fully paid for in a nice city. I have the few nice cars and instruments I like. I really do not want anything else. I hate to own very much stuff otherwise I become a slave to it. As I stated once before on another thread, what makes me happier than the serious money I have made with TSLA, is my otherwise poor musician friends who have done very well as they were buying TSLA back with me at $25 and $30 in 2012. For these friends, TSLA has been life changing. Me, I may go to my grave having never sold any shares. Oh! ok, I just thought of a couple of things I'd like...to solve the problem of my right eye losing sight, but they tell me it can't be fixed at any price. And lastly to bring back a guitar picker/Camping buddy who died of a stroke 2 weeks ago as well as to bring back Anne, the woman I loved so dearly, who died 8 years ago of leukemia. I think of her daily. Really, when I think of friends and family, the money just doesn't mean that much.

 

[StealthP3D]

A house in Del Mar, CA, right near the beach. Ocean views from the house. Moderate sized house (3-4 br, ~ 2200 sq ft). Location, location, location. That's enough house for us.

Yes, location and quality over size.

I have a hard time finding small enough houses for me and my wife in the areas we like that are actually high quality homes. And I don't really want to take on a building or remodel project right now. Our ideal house is only about 1,500-2,000 sq. ft. but equipped with high quality workmanship and materials which is hard to find in any size house. Even the most expensive houses seem tacky to me, either cheap dressed up to look premium or really expensive tacky like imported Italian marble and huge inefficient stoves and refrigerators and questionable decor. Which is why we live in a 1950's mid-century modern home. I would also like a large shop with utility rooms separate from the house that remains very minimally heated. Just to have a place to do large projects out of the rain. But we're pretty happy where we're at so not really looking to move.

I did splurge on three pair of wool socks that are great for hiking in cool weather:

Ely - Full Cushion

Our most technically advanced hunting sock, the US-made Ely enhances adds copper fibers in the heel and toe for additional antimicrobial benefits.

www.farmtofeet.com

Oh, and some new underwear too!

Life is good.

OK, I cannot tell a lie, I'm holding back on my "really big" purchase. We've had this really cool Panasonic infra-red toaster-oven in our kitchen for 15 years that we really like for the speed of reheating and it also works good for cooking. Yesterday I cooked up a rack of lamb in it that came out perfect and it only took 20 minutes to med/medium rare. Very juicy with excellent browning. The infra-red heat goes right in, no pre-heating necessary. It's all brown and stained as toaster ovens tend to get after a while but we don't care. I want one like it for our ski cabin to replace the el-cheapo Black and Decker toaster-oven that we've only had for 7 years but it's the kind that will never die so I'm getting rid of it.

The Panasonic infra-red oven went out of production for a few years a few years back and that made us sad because it meant we couldn't replace our old favorite if one of the elements ever burned out. But last year I noticed it was back in production!

So, here's the new splurge for the ski cabin:

Available on Amazon for $130. We don't use any of the custom functions except for Toast. For everything else we just select a time and temperature. It does save a bit of energy over a regular toaster oven by cooking faster and it's way better for cooking things than a microwave. It's not good for big meals but that's what our regular oven is for. It's good for roasting vegetables too.

I haven't used the new one yet so I'm hoping it's just as good as our 15 year old model (it looks the same).

I would be blowing a lot more money on eating and drinking out but for CV-19 and the fact that we're bored with most of the good food within an easy drive. And if I weren't such an environmentalist, we would buy one of these:

It's actually quite fuel efficient as far as 40' yachts with twin turbo-diesels are concerned, and it can go fast, even in the steep chop we get so much of around Puget Sound (Salish Sea), but I just can't stomach the environmental impacts of owning such a plaything:

Suan Juan 38 Reviews and more - Murray Yacht Sales

San Juan 38 Overview Introduced in 2000, the San Juan 38 is a top-tier runabout with an impressive mix of cutting-edge styling, state-of-the-art construction, and luxury-class accommodations. Her foam-cored hull…

www.murrayyachtsales.com

Don't let her 40 foot length fool you, this is really just a big sea skiff with minimal accommodations. Weighs under 16K lbs. due to extensive use of kevlar and foam core. Light, stiff and fast, it can pound the tops of the waves when all other yachts (except for ocean racing cigarette boats) need to slow down and punch through them. They make a scaled up 48-foot model but I like this 38' model better.

Now, how did we go from new socks and underwear to a nearly million dollar boat that I'm not going to buy? I don't know, I just know I don't like to buy a lot of stuff. Splurging on good food and drink helps support the local economy. I don't mind spending money/splurging as long as it doesn't come with a big footprint. A big boat is not a good way to contribute to a better world and converting this kind of boat to electric is not practical yet, at least not without giving up it's abilities. With fast DC charging of at least 250 kW in harbors around the area, it would be doable for around $2 million once it was all said and done and would still have a large environmental footprint over it's lifetime. I have enough trouble coming to terms with the environmental footprints of the Cybertrucks we have reserved.

 

[gene]

We've had this really cool Panasonic infra-red toaster-oven in our kitchen for 15 years that we really like for the speed of reheating and it also works good for cooking.

We have that very same toaster oven. It's the best we've ever owned. So you say these are available again for $130? I think I paid like $75 a few years ago. Ok, I guess I can sell a factional TSLA and get another one of this oven.

 

[StealthP3D]

We have that very same toaster oven. It's the best we've ever owned. So you say these are available again for $130? I think I paid like $75 a few years ago. Ok, I guess I can sell a factional TSLA and get another one of this oven.

View attachment 656141

Yeah, our first one was $80! I hope the new ones are as good - I haven't tried it out yet.

Great minds think alike!