I've noticed I tend to unintentionally group purchases into one of three categories:  expenses, hobbies, or investments.  Expenses are things that are basically just the cost of doing business, or the cost of living life.  This includes gas and groceries, but I also lump things like wine into this category.  Obviously wine isn't an essential item, but I've reached the point where I drink wine almost as regularly as I use gas to power my car, i.e. every day. 

Hobbies are things that cost a decent amount of money, but the cost gets spread out over time.  I like bourbon whiskey, and I probably have $300-400 worth of it in my house at the moment.  That price point was daunting when I first started getting into whiskey, because I felt like I'd never be able to try the brands I wanted to try without putting up a big chunk of change.  But spread out over time at $30 a bottle or so, the cost wasn't that big.  It's not small or regular enough that I'd call it a cost of living life, but small enough that I can buy a bottle every few months or so and not have to think about it. 

I'd like to get into Scotch, but that counts as an investment in my book.  A bottle of Scotch is often 2-3 times the price of a bottle of bourbon.  Investments require planning and budgeting, and because of their increased price (and my relatively un-lavish lifestyle), it seems like they should be treated as such.  Obviously I would never mix good Scotch with Coke, but even drinking it regularly would feel a little wrong.  Since I don't light my cigars with hundred dollar bills, it feels like expensive purchases should be treated differently, as investments. 

Anyway, this was supposed to be about money, and it became a thing about booze.  C'est la vie. #money