....and as a result I am now very happily retired with a larger income than when I was working. Guess where the extra goes.
I've made and lost a couple fortunes, literally.
Have been extremely fortunate to have found another exec job in medicine.
Definitely changed my spending habits!
I'm keeping it this time.
I have always thought the solution was "make more" rather than "spend less". This latest oil bust may have me rethinking that philosophy.
And, believe it or not, though I spent large amounts on depravity it was far from my most profligate activity.
You want to talk expensive hobbies, buy a race horse, a plane, race car, boat, or start spending too much time in casinos. Those hobbies make P4P look quite cheap in comparison.
If it flies, rent, don't buy. My prior hobby was flying, but I always rented the plane. Still, I was spending about $6000/mo on average, but had to give it up when SoCal skies got too crowded and it became stressful rather than relaxing. When I replaced it with this hobby, I was actually saving money in the beginning, until I got addicted, and like any addiction, you spend what you have to to keep the "high" going.
and I think you will agree, $6,000 a month was cheap for that particular hobby.
I looked into buying a plane a few years ago, and even for a turbo prop like a King Air it was going to cost me a minimum of $25,000 a month. I have a client who is selling his plane to get rid of the $50,000 liability. Yes, seeing hookers is quite cheap in comparison.
I have very simple tastes and other than this my hobbies are cheap. I actually hate shopping. I tend to be analyzed about money. I spend way less then I make.
My wife on the other hand loves blowing my money. Actually she isn't bad at all given she sticks to a fairly generous budget we agree to. Just compared to me she goes wild.
last time I spent $2 mil in one month.
I'm still sticking to my $20 per weeks budget. I will splurge a little on special occasions (like my upcoming birthday), but I still set aside the money for these "splurges."
I've noticed when I go shopping, I tend to spend more now that I have more. My sisters look at me a little confused as to why I'm spending so much and then ask me to buy them something too 
I try to be practical and I set monthly financial goals for myself - but sometimes you just want to buy a ton of lingerie at VS.
I am nowhere near that rich, and have probably damaged my later retirement by playing as much as I have over the past decade or two. Then again, too many people I know/knew saved it all for their Golden Years, only to find it wasn't so golden after all. So, better to play now...you only live once, live it with all the gusto you can, while you can.