I usually get an assorted pack.
We also tend to get our sashimi from Meidi-ya as well. We get the mixed sashimi on weekends.
Around $39.90. It's pretty ex.
The plus point is that I get
- Ootoro (bluefin tuna belly)
- Scallop
- Uni (sea urchin)
- Salmon belly
- Hamachi (yellow tail)
- One more sashimi (usually a not so valuable fish)
And in my post on my expense update, I talked about how, if I really wanted to, I could just easily cut off $100 expense per month if I removed this snack...
So over this past weekend, I did some soul searching. This sashimi habit isn't really expensive per se. $100 per month is just a normal weekend dinner, something like that...
But I thought to myself and discussed this with my wife... have we taken this habit a little too far? Did it get out of hand? Are we upgrading unnecessarily? Yes, it's pretty ok to have some luxuries but are we doing this too often and it has just become unreasonable in our own view?
This brought me back to a few years back... There was a period where we really loved our buffets and Sunday brunches at hotels. For those of you who aren't too familiar with buffets and Sunday brunches, they don't come cheap. Hotel dinner buffets are $100 per pax, or Sunday champagne brunch could be $150 per pax. The max I spent on Sunday brunch was at Raffles hotel, $400 for 2 people.
I remember it was in December, our birthday month that I received the credit card bill. $1,000 worth of buffet charges. Not including all our other expenses. That's when I realized that we had gone too far. It wasn't about whether we could afford it. Rather, it was just that we became addicted to the thrill of finding a more exciting place or more wonderful experience every alternate week. We were going around actively looking for the next Sunday brunch that we hadn't tried yet.
It started out innocently enough. We went to Ritz Calton for a celebratory dinner for our birthdays. It was in December so there was a Christmas spread. Really good stuff. $100 per pax. We really enjoyed ourselves. A few months later, we decided to go to the same buffet again. It was still great even without the Christmas spread. As the year went along, we slowly picked up the frequency of our buffet and started adding on Sunday brunch experiences, and by the following December, it was pretty much "out of control" in my opinion. Although I think, in reality, $1,000 spending isn't much to be shocked about. But rather, the principle of it is that we were looking for thrills and seeking out our next high, and that needed to be stopped.
Well, basically, we cut our buffet spending back to the original amount, which is only on celebratory months or only for good deals. Now, we hardly even go to buffets. Although we imagine we would be enjoying it, after eating, usually I feel bloated (old already) and... except for a few hotels, we find that there's no more thrill in the food cos the buffets usually revolve only around similar spreads.
This was many years back.
Somehow, over this weekend, I felt the same feeling. Our last sashimi indulgence was on Deepavali. 18 Oct, just a few days ago. We really enjoyed the platter. We usually have it once every 2 weeks and the expense isn't particularly high. But once again... it was the principle of it. It had became a habit and we were looking for other "highs", our purchase on Deepavali was not from Meidi-Ya but at Isetan. Slightly more expensive at $41, it contained less quantity in general, but with more premium stuff.
Once again, it started out innocently. We went to Meidi-Ya on a weekend early this year cos we had nothing better to do. Then as we walked around, we decided to get a sashimi platter to try, with a small glass of sake (They sell sake by a glass bottle, just the size of a glass, 200ml). It was our first time doing that and, I thought, if it was of good quality and value, we could just use this to replace our dining at Japanese restaurants. So we would get better stuff for a similar price. Our first platter was around $29-$34. I forgot, but it's probably within this range.
As the months passed, we went more frequently until the current frequency of twice a month. Still not a big deal. The platters increased in prices, due to Meidi-Ya marking up the prices, so similar platters are a couple of bucks more expensive than earlier in the year. But we were also selecting more pricey platters. Less quantity for more premium stuff, like otoro (blue fin tuna belly), uni (sea urchin) or scallops, etc, and just a couple of bucks more... once again... no big deal.
Until we spent $41 on the platter at Isetan. In that platter, there was no normal stuff in it at all. All premium stuff, the quantity was around 75% of our normal platter but it was the most expensive platter that we had ever bought. We really enjoyed that one, cos we didn't have to eat the normal stuff as well, which isn't really exciting... like why would we want to eat normal salmon or hamachi or tuna sashimi, it's just a waste of stomach space.
And over the weekend, the revelation came that we were just over doing this. We had gotten used to the good stuff that we didn't even want to eat the normal stuff anymore. That's when things usually get out of hand. When we start thinking that our standards are higher than the norm. I could easily see that we both enjoyed the Isetan platter so much that we would probably not go back to Meidi-Ya for the usual platters anymore.
That's when I discussed with my wife... "Hey, I think we're over doing this. $100 per month isn't a lot. It actually helps us hit the monthly spending. But it's just not right that we have reached a point where we have gotten so used to the premium stuff that the normal stuff just isn't good enough for us anymore."
She agreed and we are going to cut down this habit to a lower frequency, or even if we go to Meidi-Ya again, we might get a lower cost sashimi, just plain salmon at $11.50, on regular occasions, and if we want to get a premium platter then we can maybe limit it to once every 2 months or something like that.
To me... it's not always about the money. $100 is nothing much really. Considering we have trouble hitting out monthly UOB spending, this $100 actually makes things easier for me. Rather, I take this as a mentality issue. Have I lost the battle mentally already? Have I/we reached a point where we think that we are too good for something? If/When I reach that point, I take it to mean that I have over done it. Sometimes I notice it, sometimes I don't. Or other times, I don't bother about it cos the cost is too low to be worth thinking about.
(I recently bought dark soy sauce for $7 for a small bottle, but this lasts me around 6 months so, so I'm not going to think too much about it.)
So what does this all mean? Absolutely... NOTHING. My spending will still be within the same quantum. Cos I will still need to hit $1,000 credit card spending. I'll just reallocate the spending to something else next month. Maybe I'll pre-buy some Christmas gifts for my nephew or something.
As I said... this isn't a money issue. It's a mental issue.
To be aware of lifestyle upgrading and/or the mentality that we are too "great" to eat "peasant" food anymore.
It's ok to eat premium stuff, but I don't think it's ok to think that we should ONLY eat premium stuff.
Anyway, I'm quite glad that I came to this realization and decision... Hopefully, I will continue to be able to remain grounded and avoid the pit traps of "unconscious" lifestyle inflation.
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