[Travesty]

This was a hard thread to search for so could be a repeat.

Contrary to blue pill thinking money if well spent can indeed increase happiness dramatically.

What some are things that have great value (bang for the $) that bring happiness and contentment?

I am trying to avoid things like "plane tickets" or "language classes" or "organic food". Avoiding all the no-shit Sherlock stuff.

I am sure there will be many hobby items like "my motorcycle", "my gun", "my guitar", "my surfboard", "my custom suit" etc... I am trying to keep things general that all men could be into as there are plenty of threads on masculine hobbies that are fulfilling. This is about positive materialism.

Here is a little list:

1. Large bay windows at your dwelling. Light and being able to see outside easily with good views is a huge boost to my happiness. I lived in a basement room with a tiny garden window for a few months it turned me miserable all due to the room.

2. Vaulted ceilings and open areas like lofts have increased my happiness.

3. A sizable kitchen with counter space. Bonus for a center island to set things on. The better my kitchen the more likely I will cook and eat better food. Also it makes it more likely women will want to cook for me at my residence. Both big deals. Health and sex life.

4. At my current residence there is a shower room that is all tile. It is connected to an outdoor porch with a huge bay window facing a plateau. It is a great place to shower and wake up in the morning. Vast difference than being crammed behind a shower curtain, especially in a bathroom without windows and views.

5. Dim lighting that is only from lamps with good shades. No light coming down from the ceiling. Lighting has a huge affect on my mood.

6. Indoor plants. Whenever I see these in someone's workspace or home, I give pause because of the maintenance. Buying succulents is a happy middle ground. Having plants really helps the feel of a place. I envy people that have them and feel brightened inside when I walk into a place that has them.

7. I have been at a friend's house in my college years that had an indoor sauna room. I could tell that brought that house plenty of happiness from their stories.

8. A great piece of art on a wall you truly find something different about everytime. These are hard to find and often expensive. Most people just throw something in the cart from IKEA and say "well that looks nice". I think the art I am talking about is the one you still walk up to and peer at for the 1000th time. Art for you. Art with a memory attached.

Maybe we could get a consensus on what items really have brought the biggest happiness and do a $ / happiness comparison so maybe guys that have never thought about this or consider themselves "minimalists" (which I don't believe in because I think it is anti abundance mindset) will open their minds to things that are not for status, instead are for day to day happiness and productivity.

[el mechanico]

Having your own private bathrooms!! I have one at work and home!

Don't get me started I love some stuff!

[Travesty]

^ These are big big deals. Guys don't realize it. I agree. Have shared bathrooms for years with family or a plethora of roommates. It is huge.

[Travesty]

This may seem strange to some. Placing your bed in the corner of your bedroom flush against the 2 walls.

1) It opens up the bedroom a lot! You can easily stretch, shadowbox, do push ups, have more room for foreplay with women. Make them dance and march around as you lay in bed. It opens up room for a desk, art, items that you can look at and make you happy, storage etc as well. Placing a bed in the center with two nightstands and lamps around it is such a waste and looks like a hotel room. Place a long well made mirror with an artistic frame or just a great art piece or two on the wall that the longway of the bed is against. Mirror for sex (lots of girls love seeing themselves ride on top - much happiness). Art for self.

2) I swear there is a primitive notion inside that if you sleep in the corner of your room (your cave) you sleep better and feel more safe because an intruder cannot come from two different sides. You have view of the entire room. It has been big for me. Also a woman sleeping on the inside half of you nearer the wall gets a shot of that primitive feeling of contentment being snugged in.

[Travesty]

Having a small slimmer wallet or money clip, I am sure soon everyone will smart phone pay or use for ID soon. While it lasts in the physical realm...

Growing up I had a velcro or bigger wallet I was given for a birthday by family.

Having your money easily accessible taking up little pocket space day to day is big for me. I switched to a velcro type when traveling in shadier countries as my burner wallet that didn't expose cash etc... a small pain each time - it adds up though. We have so much energy each day. Best to conserve and keep it positive as much as possible.

Avoid death by 1,000 cuts.

[HonantheBarbarian]

Things that are important to me, not as "large ticket" as you guys:

1. A good pocket knife. Not a shitty Smith & Wesson/Gerber you can get on sale at big5. I mean a good pocket knife with good steel. Approximate cost over $100 minimum. I use my knife for everything and can't imagine being without it. When I lost my titanium knife a few years back I was legitimately bummed. Its part of your everyday uniform, you carry it with you just like your wallet or cell phone, so in my opinion this sets it apart from being a specific hobby and more into a staple. Every man should always have a good knife on him.

2. If you drink coffee, a french press. This is a whole different level from a drip coffee maker or those pod things. Its old school, to the point and produces some of the best coffee I have had the pleasure of drinking.

3. A fire pit. Very cheap, very easy excuse to get a girl over and check out the stars and have her already at your place. Its got plausible deniability built in, and I enjoy the primal and elemental aspect of starting a fire. If you are into bushcraft, you can show of your primitive fire skills without actually taking her camping. And when you're done, hey your living room happens to be right there. Its cool to sit around with your buddies as well.

4. A set of really good scotch glasses. Preferably from a thrift store with a story behind them. I had some bourbon at a buddy's house the other night and he served it in those shitty little Crown Royal glasses that come free with the bottle. It just didn't have the same appeal as a heavy-bottomed, textured old school "oil baron" scotch glass. A snifter is also a nice conversation piece although I never actually place my liquor in it.

5. A hot tub. Enough said.

[Leonard D Neubache]

(07-03-2016 09:43 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  

...
3. A fire pit. Very cheap, very easy excuse to get a girl over and check out the stars and have her already at your place. Its got plausible deniability built in, and I enjoy the primal and elemental aspect of starting a fire. If you are into bushcraft, you can show of your primitive fire skills without actually taking her camping. And when you're done, hey your living room happens to be right there. Its cool to sit around with your buddies as well.
...

Anyone that's never banged a girl in front of a fireplace on a faux fur rug doesn't know what they're missing.

Firelight on naked skin triggers something very primal in the human brain. Even fucking under candle-light beats a bedside lamp.

[Teutatis]

(07-03-2016 09:10 PM)Travesty Wrote:  

This was a hard thread to search for so could be a repeat.

Contrary to blue pill thinking money if well spent can indeed increase happiness dramatically.

I completely agree with you, your personal space and environment are of paramount importance and it can make a man very happy and relaxed.

I also like plants, beautiful and meaningful art, big floor to ceiling windows, lots of light and modern decor.

Speaking of, I love beautiful bathrooms and showers. Something like this would make me happy.

[Liberty Sea]

A super-computer. )

[Veloce]

^^^I just dropped $1600 on a glass enclosure and I love just looking at it. The guy did a fantastic job on it, there's nothing like real craftsmanship, my shower looks pretty identical to this:



I love my guitars. My most prized possession, period, is a classical guitar made in 1968 at the Contreras shop in Madrid.

I love kitchen gadgets and tools obviously. I used to have an insane $3000 Japanese knife collection that got stolen. I still have a few awesome ones, including a handmade deba like so:



I love high end cookware like Mauviel. I have a few of their pieces that I stole from a fine dining restaurant in L.A.:


...and also steak knives from Laugiole:


I have a lot of hand-me-down stuff that has very nostalgic value to me, stuff I've kept once my mom passed away. An old Pioneer tuner and KLH floor speakers from 1980. They remind me of listening to music in my childhood.

[Hannibal]

[LINUX]

1.

2.

3.


4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

[Centurion]

-Lightbox.
-Minimalist trainers for all around wear.
-Gymnastics gear.
-Knockoff(I wish it wasn't!) MAGA hat.

[RawGod]

[Sidney Crosby]

-King or queen size bed with nice duvet and sheets, one of the best things after coming home from traveling and sleeping in small shitty beds.

-A nice car, or even just a new ish car. Anything worth over 25k new is half decent and should have heated leather seats and a sunroof etc.

-Smart TV that is 55" + with good surround sound, as snobby as it sounds I feel like I can't even enjoy watching a movie or sports on some small as TV with the built in speakers.

-Decent blender, The blender I use isn't even that expensive, maybe $80 but compared to something shitty like a Magic Bullet that has no power,constantly bogs and then smells like the motor is on fire it's pretty good.

[Recovering Beta]

For me, I have a tiny studio, but some material possessions really liven it up. Those are:

1. Napoleon III (Empire style) furniture in the form of two mirrors, a chair, some prints, and a lamp.

2. A genuine Turkish rug.

3. My record player, along with some vinyl of Charlie Parker, Django Reinhardt, and other jazz greats.

4. Five suit jackets from J. Crew featuring narrow lapels.

5. Pocket squares.

6. Skinny ties, mostly from J. Crew.

7. Old fashioned coupe glasses for Champagne.

8. Brandy snifter.

9. A yerba mate gourd and a bombilla.

10. Some art books picked up at a discount price.

11. An English umbrella.

[Ski pro]

you should surround yourself with well made stuff that is built to last.

I currently love the kastle rx12 that I use as my everyday ski. You can feel the craftsmanship that goes into them.

Same applies for ski gloves, get a decent pair of gloves and they will look after you all season.

My car is a old bmw. Feels like driving a grandfather clock.

Also, my kindle.

[komatiite]

A lifetime of happiness - golf and fly fishing!

[Oneeyedjack]

The urinal in the bathroom of my man cave!

[Travesty]

^ That's a good one.

[Moto]

And protective gear, of course. For the price of a cheap used car, you can have one of the fastest things on the street.

Of course, money can't buy the skill to operate one of these machines.

[Disco_Volante]

   

[Phoenix]

Great thread. Some of those bathrooms look awesome. Australia's frequently had water restrictions and had this obsession with reducing water usage. Showers with this pissy little mist that comes out. No thanks, I want to be impacted with an epic warm deluge when I turn my shower on.

Does an apartment count as a material possession? I don't think there's much else I'd need. Not interested in any marine stuff, or home entertainment systems, or even vehicles that much. Just a sweet crib. No; a grand station.



Me: "Let's have another drink at my place."
Chick: "Sorry I have to get up early in the tomorrow morning".
Me: "Oh OK I understand. By the way, this ^ is where we would've had the drink".
Chick: "~~~ Really???"
Me: "Yep, but you've got to get up early"
Chick: "Yes but maybe one drink OK!"

This would be my slumber chamber:


Me, after chick sleeps in that: "So am I going to be having retention problems with you?"
Chick: "No! And I won't waste your time even a little bit ever again!"

This would be my luxurious hydrous sanctuary:


Chick: "Hey sorry I can't make it tonight"
Me: "Lol who cares when I'm swimming in this ^"

This would be my bodily hygiene facility:


Chick: "Does that thing meet water regulations? Any of them?"
Me: "I'd be shocked if it did..... I suspect owning it could even be a felony"


Yep, if I was rich I wouldn't waste much on ongoing expenses, I'd just get a badass city-center apartment like that.

[oilbreh]

Faurk, having an apartment with lots of light with decent view (doesnt even have to be skyline or anything maybe just a nice courtyard) and a shower is my made it goal. Got to be a millionaire to afford that in a normal city these days. Other than that pocket knife in this list is the most versatile, whether homeless or chopping up some coke with hoes. Its like a mans only real companion left in the world. Everything else I can live without .

[Adonis]

Fantastic thread. Often it is the little things that we forget that we only realize when they are gone/lost/forgotten. Material items that improve the ambiance of one's domicile, or make the mundane sublime are rarely money wasted. My work environment is such that I don't typically take things like this for granted.

-Shower. Ive no issue spending close to $100 on a shower head the size of a dinner plate that I don't have to duck under. Whether after a night of drinking, a hard workout, or a day moving crates of 50 cal ammo a shower is such a simple indulgence.

-Audio. As Ive grown and matured so has my taste in music. I personally abhor television but having a legit audio system helps make the transition from rat race to zen garden. Things like quality multi-room speakers, remote control, and bluetooth add a smooth flow to any space.

-Furniture. Might seem a bit silly or over the top but I enjoy building and creating things. All the wood items in my house were bought in the raw. I then sanded, stained, and varnished them. TV armoir, bookshelf x2, dinner table + chairs, and now looking for a guitar stand to work on. Coupled with a dark brown leather Triad Chair from Ethan Allen, it gives a warm atmosphere.

-Bed. Holy dogshit batman this is important! At work I sleep in a 6x2.5x2.5 bunk bed stacked 3 high. I got a king size 14" memory foam mattress from Amazon and it is the cat's ass. As I falling asleep Ill pretend Im at work and start making angels on the bed with my middle fingers extended, what a great feeling. Ill try putting it against the corner in my room, thats a great idea.

-Tools. I carry a Leatherman Wave with a pocket clip everywhere. I never thought how much more useful it would be than a knife until I started carrying it. The clip is a factory part and it allows the tool to sit very low and discreet in ones pocket. I like it so much I have an exact duplicate incase I lose my primary I won't miss a beat.

-Lighting. I love natural light. Large southern facing windows and skylights.

-Fire. Absofuckinglutely. Fire pit, fire place, BBQ, wood burning pizza oven, you name it. Harnessing fire for your own ends arouses something primal in us all.