“Treat Yo’ Self”: Things I Can’t Help but Splurge On

I’m a firm believer of the quote “Treat yo’ self,” which is a quote popularized by one of my favorite sitcoms, “Parks and Recreation”. The phrase, which just means “treat yourself,” is the belief that we should pamper ourselves with things that make us happy.

As busy working adults, I think we sometimes find ourselves forgetting to just let go and indulge in things that make us happy, even if they might not be the most practical things. For me, treating myself isn’t limited to just one day of “living it up,” but instead, I occasionally splurge on things that I want, but probably don’t really need.

First of all, I always splurge on souvenirs for my family. Since I live across the Pacific Ocean from them, I basically only see them once a year at most. That said, I don’t send gifts to them like normal humans do, mostly because I’m a lazy person. As such, I splurge on a bunch of Japanese snacks, food, and toys for my parents, and for my brother’s family. It’s perhaps the only time I go shopping and throw everything I think they might like in the shopping basket without even checking the price. Despite that, it doesn’t really rack up much of a bill, so it isn’t really of much significance.

Similarly, I splurge when I buy food from home to bring back with me to Japan. While it’s convenient enough to buy import food in Tokyo, more often than not, I can only find one brand of the product I want, and it’s usually not the one I like. So, my only choice is to buy it from home, and the price really doesn’t matter to me. In the end, I probably buy about $200-300 worth of groceries to bring back. Since I come back with basically 2 large suitcases of food, I also don’t mind splurging on the delivery of my suitcase to my house.

As I get older, I’ve realized I splurge more. I used to be quite frugal; as that was the way I was raised. My friends thought of me as being stingy, but I think there’s a big difference in mindset between being thrifty and being tight with money. I suppose I started splurging more because now I’m well aware that the money I use is my money and not my parents’. I know I work hard, so I know I deserve to treat myself at times. Why am I working so hard if not to get things I want and do things I love? As a single person, who is there for me to spoil if not my parents who spent much more money and time raising me, and my brother who watched out for me?

So, it’s not that I don’t want to spend money, but it’s just that I don’t like to waste money on things that don’t actually make me happy, or things I know I can get for the same price.
I splurge on food or experiences, because I know I get what I paid for most of the time, and there’s no wasting any of it. If I buy something, there’s a chance I might not actually use it and it’ll also take up space in my apartment. If I splurge on food, travel, and games, I know I’ll definitely have a good time.

It’s cliché, but it’s true that we only live once, so I really don’t want to work hard all my life and die with a bunch of savings that I can’t take with me to my grave. Also, it’s important to work to live and not live to work. We work so that we can enjoy life, so go enjoy life!

Loki

Vocabulary

pamper (v) – indulge or treat (someone or something) with a lot of attention and care
that said (phrase) – even so; despite what was just said
frugal (adj.) – careful when using money or food
stingy (adj.) – unwilling to spend money
thrifty (adj.) – showing a careful use of money, especially by avoiding waste