I think a lot of it depends on the nature of the reward. Did you really do something that needs rewarding?

I think some of it depends on how that money is being spent to reward you. For example I like rewarding myself with piano sheet music which I usually print from the Internet. This costs me a little bit in printing and paper costs but I feel it’s worth it as playing the piano helps me relax and also keeps up my creativity.

On a bigger scale, I would really like a digital piano (mainly because I don’t like playing whilst my family are around as the piano can be heard throughout the house and I don’t feel it’s fair for them to have to constantly endure it) but it’s a massive cost. I think I’d have to do something extremely impressive to be able to reward myself with that.

My sister is a good example. She completed her oral examination in her final year of university and decided she deserved a treat because she worked endlessly on it. Her treat? A Starbucks iced-coffee. This was about £2.65. (She’s thriftier than me and so this treat made her feel so good).

I think you can get the same pleasure from buying a £3 magazine as you can buying a new iPod. It’s always a fleeting feeling anyway.

I would agree with you that spending money is a good reward under 2 circumstances: 1) Always pay cash – don’t reward yourself by racking up debt on your credit card. 2) Make it proportional to your situation. If you make $20,000 per year, you can’t afford to take a $5,000 shopping spree, but if you make $200,000 a year, a $5,000 shopping trip isn’t out of line every once in a great while.

I think the best thing to do is spend money frugally. Spend it. Get enjoyment out of it. But don’t go overboard. And I usually place experiences over material goods.