Do you splurge on cafe-bought coffee or restaurant food?
What about you, do still splurge on treats for yourself when the urge strikes you? Or do you keep this for special occasions?
I splurge on restaurant food once a week when I head into the office, usually on Starbucks. My dietitian/therapist tells me that doing so can spike my dopamine aka the happy hormone. She says I should think of it as a reward.
A reward for what?
I look at it as a reward of staying sane in an insane family.
Even though I do treat myself once a week, it doesn’t mean I completely splurge. I have a budget of $30 per month, which I keep as a gift card account at Starbucks, and I try to stretch that $30 as far as I can, like ordering a Venti espresso ($5) instead of a Frappuccino ($10). In the recent days though, I’ve been finding it a little difficult to stretch the dollar as everything have gotten significantly expensive.
I used to go get lunch at the grocery store with my co-workers but lately, I’ve opted to eating instant ramen at my desk because as I wrote, everything seems to be much more expensive these days. As much as I love to splurge, these days, I’m sticking to just splurging on coffee once a week.
This is Another Story 
The prices have gone sky-rocketing here as well. It’s getting harder to get by.
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I’m finding my paycheck this year isn’t taking me as far as in 2023.
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It’s like that in Europe as well. I don’t know what’s happening, but the cost of living has increased.
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It’s inflation and government at work.
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I wonder do they do it on purpose.
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I don’t think they do but I do think there are some business people who advantage of the rising prices though like raising the prices more than they should.
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Thanks for sharing Yinglan. It is getting expensive to buy stuff just because we’d like to. One had to think of the budget.
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Skyrocketing costs are a concern to us too. My entertainment and treat these days is to scour the supermarket shelves/fridges/freezers for sale items (usually close to expiration/best by dates) and then splurge on those. We have enjoyed fancier meals because of this.
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Thankfully, I’ve been able to save a little by having vegetables in the garden. Vegetables are so expensive these days but it’s also the thing I crave. So even though I haven’t dared to splurge on veggies via montary means, I’m still able to indulge myself via the abundance of the garden.
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I am so envious you have a vegetable garden. I depend on the goodwill of my farming friends to taste the produce from their hands.
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Gardening has its own struggles as I’m finding out this year – my third season gardening. The results are definitely worth it.
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I hear you – especially in a soil patch … so many variables to contend with.
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