Does it make sense, every once in a while, to allow yourself a little “break” from being cheap? Is it good to splurge on unnecessary things every now and then?
I’ve been thinking about this for a few days now and I’m still not quite sure what the answer is.
A couple days ago I posted about how, when you manage to save a little money on something in some way or another, you’ve gotta keep the ball rolling my not splurging on something else. A penny saved is not a penny earned if you go right out and blow that penny on some silly doodad.
The “I deserve” mentality can be pretty harmful. I deserve this new car, you think; I deserve to eat out at a fancy restaurant. Maybe, but all those “I deserve”s pile up pretty fast and it’s hard to save money when you live like that.
You’ll know if you’ve been reading this blog for a little while now that I believe that wants and needs are relative and that to live cheap, you’ve gotta lower your standards, only it’s not really lowering your standards unless that’s the way you decide to look at it. It’s all about making do with less. It’s about sticking with the necessities.
So you might think that I’d be completely opposed to the slightest deviation from total tightwaddery. Yet really, I’m not.
Everybody has stuff they just want, and sometimes, I think it’s probably okay to give yourself a break from being cheap. For instance, you could make every single meal at home, but why not take a break sometimes and go out to eat? You deserve it!
But now I’m contradicting myself. Oh no!
Everybody out there has heard about the “latte factor,” right? Personal finance writers like to bandy about this term. The “latte factor” refers to the leak that forms in your pocketbook when you’re addicted to Starbucks. Over time, all those $3 decaf lattes can really sap your finances.
I’ve seen this at work in the lives of people around me and I believe that it can be a really ugly and harmful thing. But maybe every little expenditure doesn’t need to be thought of in that way. What do you think?
I do take breaks every now and then. Sometimes I’m feeling lazy, so I stop in and get fast food even though I could cook at home. Sometimes I buy $2.00 iced coffee at McDonald’s even though I could make coffee at home for a fraction of the cost. I’ve got a couple bucks in my pocket and I just want to spend it so I do. And I think that that is, in the end, what financially ruins a lot of people!
Like I said, I do think it’s okay to take breaks sometimes, but I can’t really put my finger on what it is that makes it okay or not okay in a specific situation.
What do you think?
If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to my RSS feed or subscribing by email!
June 6th, 2008 - 7:14 pm
I think it depends on what value you’ll extract from that thing/experience you “deserve”. For example, if you never eat out at a fancy restaurant, and you look forward to going for ages, then you’ll have a better time when you go there, than if you go just as a matter if course. If you splurge, and have a really good time, then it’s worth the extra. If you go, and spend the meal sitting worrying about the bill arriving, then it’s probably not worth it.
For me, frugality is all about the value. If I spend £2 on an item, and £20 on another item, and only get the same amount of value, it’s not worth spending the extra £18. No matter how much “better” the £20 item is, it’s not worth it if it’s not £18 “better”.
Like with the coffee, if I go to Starbucks, it’s a real treat, and I only do it when I meet up with friends, which makes it doubly special. I love coffee anyway, so getting a White Chocolate Mocha with squirty cream on top is very decadent. My mom hates coffee, on the other hand, so buying her a WCM would be a waste of money, because she wouldn’t enjoy it at all.
It’s noticing and really appreciating those expensive meals and coffee’s that make it worth splurging. I’m reminded of some lyrics from a song called Nina, Pretty Ballerina, by ABBA.
“This is the part that she likes to play
But she knows the fun would go away
If she would play it every day”.
It’s the “every day” bit. When something expensive becomes commonplace, it loses it’s charm, and worth.
June 7th, 2008 - 4:18 am
Great post. When I feel that burnt feeling coming, I go for an ice cream. It’s all about 80:20 for me. If I can be good 80% of the time, I’m good. Of course, I can’t go off the deep end the other 20%! But I take a little break-
June 8th, 2008 - 12:17 pm
June 9th, 2008 - 11:15 am
I think that in the case of say electronics, it might possibly be ok to splurge. For instance; if you really enjoy movies and TV. I think that in the long run if you splurge on that nice 50″ LCD flat screen, you’d be more inclined to stay home and watch movies rather than continue to want to go out to the theater for $20-30 a shot (after ticket costs and snacks). The TV should last you 20 years. According to my HDTV warranty (Yes I splurge but you wouldn’t believe the research and discounts I found first. Plus 60 day price match guarantee.)It should last me 25years. Sounds like a good trade. Besides the fact (I know this could get some people in trouble) if you never splurge, you might be enjoying life as much as you would like to. Again, this doesn’t mean you should splurge all the time but make wise decisions when splurging without knowing you’ll fuss over it later. Another “splurge” of mine this past week was buying a Bowflex. I did the hell out of my research looking for the one I need and not the one I want for the best possible price. And for $650 including tax and shipping. I’ll have a home gym I can use anytime I want without a pricey membership cost or the gas money spent on commuting there. Plus, how important is being healthy. Bonus!
Thanks for the blog, it really does help with ideas of living cheap. It’s also a fun read.
June 14th, 2008 - 6:09 am
You’re right. Most of us took advantage of the “I deserve”s too often, and we are now seeing the consequences. When I worked a soul-draining job, I indulged myself.
However, if you have a budget, and you’re sticking to it, you’ve already earmarked funds for the “entertainment” category. There are so many cheap and free ways to entertain yourself, so you don’t have to blow money here.
Conventional wisdom isn’t always wisdom, but having a budget and sticking to it is one piece of conventional wisdom that does actually work.
It’s not unreasonable to go out to dinner once a month, or even once every two weeks. It depends on your own comfort level and if your frequency of “outsourcing” still keeps you within your budget.
Also examine the value of the money spent. $50 spent taking your family out to dinner doesn’t go nearly as far as $50 spent on an item that provides entertainment value for days, hours, weeks, months, or even years.
August 12th, 2008 - 9:59 am
[...] Should you let yourself take a “break” from being cheap? posted at Living the Cheap Life. Money, Credit and Debt [...]