Frugal Splurge Night

We all know that frugal living, when you are really restricting yourself, can be like dieting… all that hard work and progress, and then you just can’t take it anymore and splurge!

My husband and I used to ruin all the progress we made from our thrifty ways every 2nd Friday… yes, the paycheck would hit the bank Friday and be gone by Monday. We’d start out with the thinking, “We deserve a reward because it’s Friday night and we’ve been good for the last 2 weeks at not spending money.”

A typical weekend:

Friday we’d hit Blockbuster and get 5 movies for mom and dad, 2-3 kid movies, grab the ice cream bars and candy in the checkout line, and leave the movie store with $25-$30 less than we went in with. Then we’d pick up some takeout, usually Chinese food or Carl’s Jr., $20-$40.

Saturday, we’d go to Walmart and run a few errands and eat fast food for lunch, $15-$20. Then, knowing we’d be too tired to cook once we got home from all those errands, we’d hit takeout again for dinner. $20-$40.

Sunday, I’d leave the family at home and head out for grocery shopping. Grab snacks from the deli while shopping: $5 and a Starbucks coffee: $5. Thinking that I did not want to cook after I got home and put away all the groceries, I’d hit up fast food to take home with me. $15-$20.

The total: $105 to $160, depending on the restaurants, for a devastating 3 days!

This splurge weekend that occurred once a month completely wiped us out of all the spending money that we would have had. A lot of times, we spent more than we really had because it seemed like small, harmless amounts would not add up the way they do. We called it quits and haven’t had a terrible splurge like that in several months, thankfully! Last Friday, I wanted to give us a little reward for our good work, but keep it reasonable.

Introducing, our Frugal Splurge Night!

1. We went to Blockbuster, and got only 2 movies (no new releases allowed). $1.98. (We even got a coupon at the checkout for 1 free rental!)

2. We went to Safeway and got the ingredients to make yummy hamburgers at home. Total for hamburger supplies: $23.96. Keep in mind that some of the ingredients (steak sauce, ketchup, Tabasco, lettuce) will be used for more than just this one meal. (And our hamburgers were so delicious, we had them for dinner Saturday night too! So that really takes the meal cost down to $11.98!)

3. Walmart for the candy part of our movie night: $5

Total Frugal Splurge Night Cost: $30.94!

Think ahead and be smart. Frugal rewards are great!

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