Used to treat fun money like a reward instead of a line item in my budget

Back in 2019 I would just spend whatever was left over at the end of the month on eating out and movies, but now I put a set $75 into my 'treat myself' category every paycheck before bills even hit, and I'm way less stressed about overspending. Has anyone else had to retrain their brain on this kind of thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_robinson25d ago

Man, that hits close to home. I used to do the exact same thing. I would see whatever was left in checking after everything else and just blow it on takeout or random stuff online. Then I'd be scrambling for gas money by the end of the week. Setting a fixed fun money amount before anything else changed everything for me too. It sounds backwards but giving yourself permission to spend a set amount actually takes the stress out of spending. Good on you for figuring that out sooner than I did.

ross.angela25d ago

Wait, you were spending whatever was left after bills? Like zero budget for fun until you saw the number? Dude, that is genuinely shocking to me. I would panic and never spend a dime that way, I'd just hoard it all for "emergencies" that never came. The fact that you could blow through an entire checking account on takeout and still be broke is wild, but I guess that's how the system works if you don't put the fun money first. I honestly thought I was the only person who couldn't trust myself with leftover cash. Now I just set aside $50 every Friday before anything else and it's honestly less stressful than trying to guess what's left. Good for you for figuring it out, better late than never.