5 Ways to Reward Yourself for Financial Progress
You’ve budgeted, scrimped, saved, and hustled until you have paid part or maybe even all of your debt and now you feel like it would be nice to splurge.
But, what you don’t want to do is spend a wad and end up back in the same position you were before you worked so hard to meet some or all of your financial goals. So, how do you do that? Here are 5 ways you can reward yourself for the financial progress you’ve made without setting yourself back.
1 Give Yourself a Day Off
When you’ve been working hard towards a goal, you need to recharge your batteries. If you don’t, you run the risk of burnout. You may begin to wonder why you are working so hard in the first place if you never have any down time or fun in your life.
It’s okay to give yourself a day off occasionally as long as you go back to work tomorrow and press on toward your next goal. Take the day to sit around and watch movies, listen to music, read, or whatever it is you enjoy doing but don’t get the time to do very much of.
2 Go Out on the Town
Sometimes we all need to let our hair down, as the saying goes. Go out for supper with a friend or two. You could go see a movie or a play, or go out for a few drinks and dancing. You can have a great time and enjoy not thinking constantly about work or how you can save money. Take cash with you for your night out so you don’t end up spending more than you’ve planned.
3 Buy Yourself Something Nice
Can you remember the last time you bought something nice for yourself? Go get a new outfit or a new pair of shoes. Or, if you’ve had your eye on a new bag or a trendy jacket, splurge a little. You can even get jewelry if you are cautious not to overspend the amount you’ve planned. The worst thing you can do is undo all of the progress you’ve just made, so keep it reasonable.
4 Go to the Salon
One of my personal favorite things to splurge on occasionally is a trip to the salon. I happen to love getting pedicures, but I don’t get them very often because it can become costly if you get them all the time. However, if a pedicure isn’t something you would like then get your nails done instead or treat yourself to a new haircut. You could also reward yourself and ease away some tension with a massage or a facial. Another option would be so splurge on a salon package and get a full day of pampering.
5 Give Yourself a Play Date
Just like when you were a child and your mom arranged for you to get together and play with a friend, you can do that for yourself. Call a friend and take a day off to shop or go out to lunch. Take a walk through the park or on the beach. Go see an afternoon matinee. You don’t have to spend a bundle to give yourself a break and spend time with a friend.
When you’ve made significant progress toward your financial goals it’s ok to reward yourself. Choose one of these ways to reward yourself for financial progress. Or you could come up with a reward on your own as long as you don’t get back into debt doing it.
How do you reward yourself for financial progress?
I buy something for myself like a pair of shoes or a nice dress. It’s best to give you a reward to encourage you to go on and give your best the next time.