Uber Frugal Month: Day 18

I've nearly perfected my new menu plan. This should save me time and money, while also proving more healthy and satisfying for all. I'm quite excited and will unveil it soon :)

Today's UFM challenge is about treating yourself.

Today’s mantra: “Treat yourself” culture stymies our financial goals with continual hits of consumerism that prevent us from achieving lasting joy in our lives.

Today’s action: Squelch the treat yourself urge by reminding yourself of what you really want out of life (hint: it’s probably not a latte).

 I know I am guilty of this one. It's one of the main things I'm working on from both a financial and a health standpoint. So far I have found it helpful to have regularly planned treats to look forward to. This makes it easier to put off the treat yo'self urge since I know a treat is coming soon. Some of these cheap treats are:

• Our less than $10 Saturday deli dates followed by darts and a drink at home.
• Friday movie and frozen pizza nights with the family, thanks to library or Netflix vids.
• A very small coffee budget ($15), which allows us about 3-4 coffee dates a month.
• Planned hikes or similar "adventures."
• Treat date individually with each kid monthly. Something under $5, like a frappe, froyo, or pastry. 
• Setting aside time for specific hobby activities, which are free after initial outlay. Examples: monthly astronomy events with the club, or developing my new microscopy hobby.
• Evening game "dates." This is a silly thing we found we enjoyed doing when we were on our minitrip. It's simply laying in bed in the evening playing word puzzle games together via one of the many free apps I can get on my tablet :)

These aren't 100% free. But making coffee a special treat that only happens once in awhile is better than treating ourselves every day after a hard day of work or school. Taking the kids out once a month for a treat provides important one-on-one bonding time for a low cost, and can provide just as much treat satisfaction as a fancy expensive meal or outing. The $50/month we are planning to put towards these treats going forward is much better than the $300+/month we were spending on treats up until recently!