re: So I'm contemplating getting the Golden Opulence Sundae for our 10th

The things we once wanted often fade into irrelevance....we change, circumstances change, new experiences shape us. Just because you once wanted a profligately expensive publicity stunt sundae doesn't mean you still do. Think of all the other things you potentially can spend $1,000 on in NYC.....some of these would have never occurred to you back then. I say, update the dream and don't fixate on something that seems cool simply bc you saw it on TV back when you were eating beans and rice. Use that cash to stay longer in NYC, to upgrade hotels, to get really good theater tickets, to buy a durable memento of your trip (art, a piece of jewelry or furniture). Every time you look at/use the memento, you'll think about how you didn't spend it on ice cream.....

Me, I'd be figuring out the next trip on that $1k.