A Month of Saving Day 10

Today, I wanted to write about splurging and indulging. While these 2 ideas are a far cry from most money-saving ventures, I think they are important if we are going to be successful with this little experiment! For every family, there are some costs that are non-negotiable. I am not talking about a mortgage or car payment. I mean, there are some costs, that although they may be unnecessary, they are worth it for that particular family. For us, one of our indulgences is the use of the Culligan man. We have a well at our house and if the salt tank runs out of salt, the iron in the water starts to stain clothes. From experience, we know that we are just not good at filling up that tank. Not to mention, we spent more money every month buying salt than the Culligan costs us when he comes! OK, maybe that isn't an indulgence, but the next one is: Creme Brulee creamer. We are addicted to it at our house. Last week, I tried to take a half-empty bottle of creamer and add skim milk to fill it back up to try and save money. Let me tell you, we could tell the difference. Ryan told me that the creamer is where he draws the line on saving money! We don't go to coffee shops for coffee, we don't drink expensive coffee (Hello 55 cent coupon Ryan found attached to the Folgers yesterday at the store), so this little splurge is totally worth it for us. Now, if someone can figure out a way to make Creme Brulee less fattening and still taste the same, then we might have another go at it! I really think these simple indulgences are important for us. While we don't spend tons of money on either one, they are enough motivation to keep at it when saving money doesn't seem like fun anymore!