Splurge

You may think I’ve fallen off my 31 Day bandwagon and that splurging is not a Cheap Trick, but it is, especially long-term.  If you need/want to live for less for an extended period of time, and I’m not just talking about a month or two, then you need to learn when it’s ok to splurge.

Think of it this way – you are the bottle and your budget is the cork.  You don’t want the pressure in the bottle to build until it’s so great the cork pops off.

Sometimes if you constantly deprive yourself of the things you love or enjoy doing, then eventually your cork will pop and you’ll find yourself charging $800 on a designer handbag.

Ok, so maybe a designer handbag isn’t your thing, but what is your thing?

Every once in a while, it’s good to splurge a little and enjoy this wonderfully amazing life you get to live.

Maybe a splurge for you, something that will keep your spending in balance over the long-term term, is treating yourself to a Starbucks coffee every so often.  Or, maybe you want to go to lunch with your friends, or get a great haircut, or a manicure.  When you feel the pressure building, go splurge before the cork pops.

Just don’t get carried away and don’t use it as an excuse to get into debt.

Remember the 30-day list we talked about keeping in order to stop impulse spending?  Perhaps you should buy something on that list.

It may just meet your need and recharge you.

After your splurge, refocus.  See if your priorities have changed.  Maybe one of your Cheap Tricks is no longer working for you and you need to reevaluate things.  Perhaps you’ll decide you need more earning in order to put your life in balance.  Or, maybe it was as simple as going to Target and buying the shoes you wanted.  Whatever you decide, get back on track and move forward with less pressure.

Go on, if your cork’s about to pop, splurge, just don’t get carried away.

For more Cheap Tricks, please click the image below.