• A good set of knives.  Got a set of 3 Henckels kitchen knives 7 years ago. They last a lifetime and have spoiled me for cutting with anything else.
• HRV or DVS. Have had both, and would put them in every house I buy from now on
• +1 for cordless drill
• +1 for LASIK

Geektastic: I have several bespoke jackets from tailors in the UK that set me back about $2,000 each over 10 years ago. Nothing like off the peg stuff - each one took about 3 months with 3 or 4 fittings and everything from the cloth to the linings to the buttons was chosen individually by me. Cloth was cut from a pattern made to measure just right for me and so on.

bazzer:

Geektastic: I have several bespoke jackets from tailors in the UK that set me back about $2,000 each over 10 years ago. Nothing like off the peg stuff - each one took about 3 months with 3 or 4 fittings and everything from the cloth to the linings to the buttons was chosen individually by me. Cloth was cut from a pattern made to measure just right for me and so on.

Unlike shoes (by and large), what happens to the jackets if/when you change size/shape?

langers1972: Central Heating, double glazing and loads of insulation.

MaxLV:

Geektastic:

Lizard1977:

Geektastic:

Lizard1977: "Expensive" shoes. For years I bought cheap sneakers from the Warehouse, but they never lasted for more than a couple of months before the heel would collapse like a souffle. About 7 years ago I took the plunge and bought proper sneakers from the Shoe Clinic. My feet haven't stopped thanking me, they've lasted for years and years, and the average cost (compared with the cost of buying new shoes from the Warehouse every few months) works out much better. I just refuse to buy cheap shoes anymore - it's a false economy for me. I've bought two pairs of sneakers from them (one pair of miAdidas customised to my feet), one pair of court shoes for badminton, and one pair of business shoes. Not only do they last, they feel as comfortable as they did on day one.

Next time you're in London, may I recommend Lobbs in St James?

Their craftsmen make wooden lasts that match YOUR feet precisely and then each pair of shoes you order is made on those lasts. Better shoes you could not get.

Added trivia - they could make shoes today that would fit Queen Victoria perfectly, because they still have their lasts of her feet!

The price, you say? Ahem. If sir has to ask, he may be more comfortable seeking his footwear elsewhere....!

Wow!  Yeah, I guess that's why I put expensive in quotes.  Definitely compared to Warehouse shoes, my current collection is expensive, but probably not expensive in the grand scheme of things.  Certainly not nearly $6000! :)  Sir would most definitely be seeking more affordable footwear!  Bet they would be comfy though...

Still - you've got to be impressed by the commitment to perfecting a craft, even if it sets you back almost as much as a reasonably good second hand car...

I have several bespoke jackets from tailors in the UK that set me back about $2,000 each over 10 years ago. Nothing like off the peg stuff - each one took about 3 months with 3 or 4 fittings and everything from the cloth to the linings to the buttons was chosen individually by me. Cloth was cut from a pattern made to measure just right for me and so on.

I'd have got to the shoes eventually...!

Very few seem to prefer quality to price in NZ though.

Or that most Kiwi's know that quality doesn't have to cost $$$$$$.

Geektastic:

langers1972: Central Heating, double glazing and loads of insulation.

I'm guessing you might not be from these parts originally, Langers!

Likewise, we have 4 heat pumps and at least partial double glazing (due to presently lacking the $50,000 required to replace the entire house's windows!).

Geektastic:

MaxLV:

Or that most Kiwi's know that quality doesn't have to cost $$$$$$.

In that case most of them are more often wrong than right. Or they misunderstand the concept of quality. Or both.

• Travel with my soon-to-be wife, as we met in our thirties we have less history than many couples, so experiences are key
• Quality in anything - buy once, buy right. Frying pans, knives, appliances, tools, clothes, bedding
• My education, which has paid for itself probably 20 times over already
• Kindle Paperwhite
• Harmony One (though it's not really very easy to get it to control XMBC, got it 70% working)
• SSD's for my PC
• Nice suits and custom made shirts (can be cheaper than off the rack if ordered online)
• Good shoes - Ecco for work, Merrell for outdoors
• Good socks - thorlo socks, mostly from amazon, dress and hiking. Their dress socks last much longer than any socks I can get in NZ, two years on they're still black, and comfortable.
• Heat pumps
• Nikon DSLR cameras and lenses
• Double glazing, insulation. Wish I had central heating though, and one day I may have a real eco-house built - comfortable and efficient not hippie
• Disaster supplies - food, water, power, sanitation, cooking, though I'll probably never use them
• A really nice torch - Fenix TK41, plus others
• Egyptian cotton sheets on my memory foam bed (though will probably go back to a regular bed next time)
• A nice keyboard and mouse, that I work on every day das keyboard/logitech mouse with wrist supports, same setup home and work
• Comfortable reclining sofas
• Thick carpet
• Smart phone, S4, though I was late to this game I find it really handy now