Why I Try Not To Splurge

Splurging is something that I hear people talk about a lot.

We splurged on our getaway.
We splurged at the restaurant.
We splurged on our car.
We splurged on groceries.
We splurged on this…we splurged on that.

I have never done a scientific study on splurging and no I am not an expert on it. All I know is that splurging, for the time being, may be fun, but are the feelings afterwards worth it?

Being Black Friday, we often think “today is the only day I am going to allow myself to splurge.” We think that because it is Black Friday, that it is a go-ahead to spend more money than we normally would. Where do we get that idea? Do we get that idea from the fact that we think everyone else is splurging too? Or is everyone else NOT splurging?

It is hard to give up a good deal – so we buy it. We walk past a display and think “oh, I’ve always wanted one of those” so we put it in the cart. Then we see socks for 1/2 price and think “I will need them someday!” Add it to the pile. Before we know it, we are splurging – buying things we wouldn’t normally buy.

We often think of splurging as spending LOTS of money on something, and yes, that is part of it. But splurging can also happen when we buy MORE than what we need, even when it’s cheap. It is still splurging.

I have a guilty conscience (I suppose this isn’t a bad thing when it comes to splurging). When I see how much something is, I always think “will I feel guilty for buying it?” When it comes to going out to eat – I always look at the price of something first, then what it is because I don’t want to feel guilty. When going on vacation – I always try to find the most reasonable price. Spending more than what we need, really isn’t on our radar.

Why we don’t really splurge?
1. Guilt. As I mentioned above, seeing the receipt later, will haunt me for days.

2. Instant gratification always dies off – might as well not even try.

3. I could better use that money elsewhere. It is always true – never fails.

4. I am accountable to my husband. Would I feel guilty telling my husband what I bought?

5. Nice things are nice, but are they worth the financial sacrifice? Typically the answer is no – I enjoy buying things that last, but we always price compare and try to find the best deal.

6. We don’t want to get caught up in the culture – we don’t want the culture to dictate our lives.

7. Bottom line: there is more to life than spending money. There are other things to do besides spending money on things I will regret buying later.

Do you splurge? If so, what do you splurge on most often? If you don’t splurge, what are your reasons not to? Did you splurge on this Black Friday?

WHAT WAS THE BEST DEAL YOU FOUND?