I will be the contrarian here. I like it when people state their budget in posts. How many threads have you read where people ask for help, let’s say for a turntable. In response someone types paragraphs recommending something like Air Force One, at $50 K or whatever, only to have the OP say their budget is $200? I try to tailor my recommendations to the budget stated, but I will frequently recommend something above that budget and say “if you can stretch it, X is really worth the extra cost”.
The OP has had quite a loss in his life, and earns my sympathy, and if I had experienced a similar loss, and had only myself to be accountable to, I perhaps would be a bit more free spending. As it is, I frequently go over my initial budget on just about everything I buy, and my wife rarely, if ever, utters a peep, but we are both looking at retirement and analyzing our finances and trying to decide where we want to retire. I would love to trade my excellent DAC for a dcs Stack, and could if I wanted to, but really? If I was a Widower perhaps I would, but no amount of money blown would ever make me get over that loss
The OP has had quite a loss in his life, and earns my sympathy, and if I had experienced a similar loss, and had only myself to be accountable to, I perhaps would be a bit more free spending. As it is, I frequently go over my initial budget on just about everything I buy, and my wife rarely, if ever, utters a peep, but we are both looking at retirement and analyzing our finances and trying to decide where we want to retire. I would love to trade my excellent DAC for a dcs Stack, and could if I wanted to, but really? If I was a Widower perhaps I would, but no amount of money blown would ever make me get over that loss