Guarding Against Frugal Burnout

I was talking to my friend Karen about various kinds of burnout. So many of our friends seem to be suffering from some type of burnout or another: career burnout, long-commute burnout, caregiver burnout, and so on.  One of the things that also seemed to be plaguing people was frugal burnout, or a strong desire to go out and spend a lot of money, because being vigilant against saving was wearing everyone down.  To avoid binge spending, or the continuous weariness of living frugally, here were some options that Karen and I talked about, most had to do with disrupting the routine, to keep things more interesting:

–Have planned splurges — such as a nice bottle of wine, a meal out, a professional massage, or vacation time.  Plan these in advance with a distinct budget, but keep the splurge itself rare enough to really be a treat (like once a quarter).

–Give allowances to each family member — many couples have allowances or fun money accounts, designated amounts to spend at each person’s discretion, no questions asked.  Although I don’t do this, most people who do use weekly or monthly allowances indicate that the freedom and flexibility to be able to buy what you want, without consulting anyone else or the budget, was refreshing.

–Indulge yourself with low-cost things — such as (small amounts of) really good quality dark chocolate, or a relaxing bubble bath.  If you are into classic movies, have a movie fest weekend complete with popcorn.

–Re-evaluate your budget — is your budget set at a long-term unsustainable level that is causing you more stress?  If so, it may be the case that making minor adjustments in the budget might make things more tolerable.

–Declare a temporary moratorium on looking at financial statements, bank balances, budgets, spending tracking etc…  If you know you have had these under control, taking a break from being immersed in the numbers is probably a good thing.

posted at this week’s Festival of Frugality