I think I have completed most of my holiday spending at the moment where everything should be back to normal in the sense of buying the essentials that you need for yourself. At the same time there are still so many discounted items for products that I could have a use for but it’s not mandatory. For example, for my computer speaker system one of the connections seems to have worn out a little where if you bend it a bit then the speakers produce a normal volume. So I don’t need a new one necessarily, but if there was a great deal would you buy it?
The tricky thing is I pretty much managed all of my Christmas spending budget and for most people I guess once you spend the budget then that’s it, no more. Even if you have the funds most people would say stop. But how about with the example I just mentioned where a crazy deal comes up? Would you still spend more anyways even though it makes you go over your monthly budget?
Normally I would say no if you were seriously on a strict budget. But if you are in a scenario where the budget is more about discipline and long-term planning then you don’t necessarily need to restrict yourself if this means savings in the long run. I guess my example would be if you were on a strict diet because you are currently not well then you shouldn’t have a “cheat day” as you need to be consistent. But if you were generally very healthy and not eating too much was more of a conscious choice then whether or not you indulge more should be okay. For example, it could be you got invited to multiple events that involve food where it could be a great opportunity to meet others as oppose to saying no immediately.
Ultimately the goal is to develop a consistent habit where you don’t need to live everyday with some kind of strict limitation where you put yourself in a position to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that benefit you the most in the end.