Do you know how to? Hmmmm?
Do you need to?
Yes! How are you living through life as it is today, and not thinking that you need to treat yourself. One thing they don’t tell you about adulting, is that it’s hard. They give you little comments of like “wait till your grown up” or “you’ll understand why later”. Sometimes they are right, other times, they just want you to live the life they lived, and not considering how you might feel. You are your own individual, so if you want to treat yourself, because you made it through a difficult day, which followed a really difficult time, then treat yourself.
Why do I treat myself
I am a grown ass woman, earning my own money. I am saving and investing in my future. I have lived through a pandemic (yes I will milk that, don’t shame me), I got a STEM degree and proved that I can do and achieve whatever I put my mind to. Why on earth would I not treat myself? I spent the first 6 months of my full adulting life, saving to get out of that nightmare place. I switched my radiators off in January, so I could pay off my bill before I moved out in June. I didn’t have a take-out meal in that time. I made my lunch every day, and when I didn’t have the energy to cook, toast and a cup of tea did me well.
By March, I asked myself why am I suffering so bad? What am I trying to achieve? Trying to reach my financial goals, on 1 salary (which was grad job) was not going to happen in the duration of my grad scheme. So, why was I stopping myself from experiencing my life a little. I am in my early 20’s, I have spent 18 years of my life, in education, doing exactly what I was told, and behaving the way I was expected to. I officially had my freedom, and I was spending it putting myself in another prison. So, that’s the reason I use to justify a treat.
How do I treat myself?
For me, a treat is anything from take-out to a weekend holiday. So, anything between that is a treat in my head. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. The best thing to do is start of small, with minimal risk and effort, i.e take-out.
The Beginning
I started off on small things. I started getting take-out once a month and purchasing something new, whether it was a kitchen utensil, or clothing. These were things that I normally would see every day, and tell myself, “When I am more financially stable, I’ll be able to buy better kitchen knives”.
I’ll admit as of today (Nov 2022), I have only bought 1 better kitchen knife, even though I want a knife set, with knives that work. I started pretty small because I have issues spending money. And turns out money can buy you experiences and treats and a little bit of joy, so you got to spend some of it now.
Now
Now a days, I am making more risky and bigger treat purchases. In July my car broke down.
I was originally planning to get anew one just before December 2022, and it felt pointless to buy a car to last 4 months. So, I financed a car with a loan. Risky? Hell yes. However, it’s well worth the treat. I now have a car that I can rely for years to come, that I don’t mind putting money into.
Recently, I purchased a new phone, again on contract. My old phone was not letting me create content for my IG (that’s why it’s been quiet). I had been waiting till this phone was on its final legs before purchasing a new one. Now I have a treat when it comes to content creation.
Also, I treat myself to roughly once a month trip to a city. I book an air bnb[1], I explore, and I enjoy. West Cumbria is nice, but it’s way nicer t see what other places have to offer. I get to see different shops, people, experience cultures, and its lovely. It also beats staying in West Cumbria every weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I also use staying in West Cumbria, as a treat. I get to lie in on weekends. I get to relax, and stay in a place that’s familiar and safe to me. It also gives me time to create content, so I can keep this blog going.
Treat yourself!
It’s a good thing to do once a month. Find something that makes you feel like life has a meaning, regardless of how materialistic or minimalistic it is. Life is too short to care about what people think about your lifestyle. Treat yourself, because we all aren’t lucky enough to have someone treat us all the time, except yourself.
Moral of my story:
- Treat yourself because you have to- Life is hard, and it’s not enjoyable when you don’t factor in the little treats that you love. Give them to yourself, you deserve them
- A treat doesn’t have to be big– A treat is whatever you want it to be. Having to not cook or clean up after dinner, is one of my favourites, hence why I love take-out
- By all means find a reason to treat yourself– If you need a reason, give yourself that reason. If you don’t, then don’t. Just get yourself a treat
[1] I am not affiliated with this, I love it enough to share my treat with you.
