Go on you deserve it...

How often do you find uttering those four little words to yourself?

When that delicious chocolate bar is winking at you after a hard morning at work..?
When you've completed a particularly arduous workout at the gym..?
Or, maybe as a reward for finishing the housework..?

For me 'treat culture' (as I like to call it) is a daily battle! Not that I think there's anything intrinsically wrong with treating oneself. My god, if you didn't splash out a nice pair of shoes occasionally then what would be the point to life? No, my problem is that I always seem to think I deserve a treat.

Take today...I drove to work as I was running late (yes, I know slapped wrist) and because I'd had to scrape the ice off my car (at last winter has arrived!) my devilish spending demon was telling me that I deserved a hot chocolate. At only 10 pence, I know that isn't going to break the bank, but I swear they put some type of addictive substance into those drinks, so just the one could be my downfall - luckily, my penny pinching angel was swift to point this out to me and beverage consumption was avoided.

Then comes lunch time. Feeling particularly low today - very tired and with a serious bout of munchies, I spent the majority of my lunch break toying with the 'go on you deserve a chocolate bar or a bag of sweets' demons. Fortunately, the penny pinching angel came to the rescue again, reminding me that some scrumptious chocolate will taste even better when consumed on my sofa, at home, at the end of the working day. 1-0 to that darling angel!

As I left work, I faced another cash thieving thought...'You know you're really doing well at this money saving malarkey, you've hardly spent anything this week, it wouldn't hurt to treat yourself to a little something'. Luckily Angel kicked in again, letting out a slo-mo scream of 'Noooooo' like they do in an action movie when someone is about to fall over a cliff.

Then there was the 'my god we haven't had take out for ages, let's get fish and chips' thought when I got home. Luckily Love of my Life came to my rescue on that one, suggesting a scrumptious tea that we actually had in the cupboard!

So, you see my point is not that you shouldn't treat yourself. But that you should only treat yourself when you really deserve it, that way you really appreciate those special treats. By continually having treats, you're building a higher and higher precedent, with generally ever increasing costs. For example, if you treat yourself to a cream cake every day, then how do you better that when you've had a particularly testing Friday?

So, if you're a Babe on a Budget like me, keep the treats for truly special occasions - your anniversary, a job promotion, passing that exam you were dreading. We all deserve treats, but a treat every day starts to spoil us, we need to truly appreciate those treats to appreciate what we have achieved.