Make the Most of Your Discretionary Income
Family finances are a complicated beast. While you must make sure that you have your basic needs catered for, you should also be putting some money aside for retirement and savings. But what about fun?
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Having fun is an essential part of life and everyone deserves to have a bit of money put aside for excitement. We all like to spend on novelties and things we don’t really need and whether you are a fan of putting on occasional freebets or you prefer to buy add-ons for apps, or indeed anything else, you should include a bit of frivolous spending into your budget.
Save For Big Treats
Putting a little bit of money aside each month to contribute to larger treats might not sound particularly fun but learning delayed gratification is an essential part of life. Successful people tend to be those who are willing to wait for bigger rewards, rather than always going for immediate pleasure.
This is actually a great thing to teach your children. If they can learn about delayed gratification early on, they are more likely to be able to manage their money successfully as adults. Showing them that you are capable of saving and encouraging them to do the same is a great habit to get into. Saving up for a more expensive toy is a brilliant way to teach this lesson and choosing something that might take a couple of week’s worth of pocket money is ideal.
As for you, saving up for a family holiday is a nice way to make sure that your whole family benefits. Equally, you might decide to make some home improvements or save for a luxury item you have always wanted like a car. It doesn’t really matter what you choose to spend on as long as it offers an exciting prospect for you!
Allow For Small Luxuries
While delayed gratification is a good skill to have, you should also factor in some short term pleasures. For some, this might mean a nice bottle of wine with a meal at the weekend or it may be a shopping trip to upgrade your wardrobe. Perhaps you might stop in for a coffee before work or get a new haircut. We all have our own idea of what a little luxury is!
The key thing to remember about small luxuries is that most of the time, they allow you to take some time to yourself, to relax and make you feel happy. Some of people’s favourite luxuries don’t even cost anything, for example, a warm bath or a cozy night in watching films are completely free.
Spending like this might seem like a waste of money but we can’t all be frugal all the time. Just as you wouldn’t want to eat lettuce all day every day, you can’t reasonably expect yourself to spend as little as possible everyday. However, by giving yourself an allowance within your budget, you can still make sure that you balance your spending wisely and don’t go overboard.
This is a collaborative post.
