How To Treat Yourself (Without The Guilt)

The idea of treating yourself has become a bit of a rallying cry, thanks in no small part to Tom and Donna of Parks and Recreation.

There are plenty of occasions in which we might consider treating ourselves. A promotion at work, a personal milestone, or even just for the sake of being nice to yourself. Heck, you know we think of spoiling yourself as an accomplishment in and of itself!

Many of those ways are often about making a moment as special as possible. Like this Byrdie list of 32 Awesome Ways To Pamper Yourself, treating yourself can look like a massage, spending a night at a nice hotel, grabbing a vintage bottle of wine, and even just taking a nap.

Another often mentioned way to treat yourself is by shopping. And while going out and grabbing a new jacket can feel good in the moment, shopping is a tricky path to walk, one that can often feel like a minefield thanks to the joys of buyer’s remorse.

Whereas you might not regret splurging on an extra big ice cream sundae, who’s to say that impulse jacket purchase might not start weighing on your conscience later on?

Since the joy of Treat Yo Self is to live in the moment, we wanted to pull together a few tips on how a little bit of planning can make that moment all the more sweet - especially when it comes to getting some new duds. 

3 Ways To Make Sure You Spoil Yourself

While it can seem counterintuitive to plan for a spur-of-the-moment shopping binge, it could actually make all the difference. Here are three tips to help you make the most of your next indulgent afternoon.

1. Save The Things You Like - Whether you have an account with your favorite brands, your own personal Pinterest boards, or a notebook, making notes of articles of clothing will help you be prepared. When the time comes to treat yourself and you still find the item a delight, you’re more likely to use it. Yes and Yes’s 9 Surprisingly Easy Ways To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse can help even more to make sure you’re choosing wisely.
   
   
2. Set Aside The Money - One of the issues people have with spoiling themselves is justifying the cost. If you set up the budget ahead of time, you remove another roadblock between you and the joy you deserve. Budgeting software like Mint and banks like Ally make setting up virtual buckets for goal setting as easy as it should be.
   
   
3. Set The Date - Maybe you’re concerned you’ll start treating yourself too often and end up falling into a decadent hole of self-indulgence (there are probably worse fates). Set up a recurring calendar event with an interval justified by your budget and you can rest at ease that, at last, your day of delights has come.

Whether you’re treating yourself to something fun in the moment or saving up for a once-in-a-while treat, it’s important to make sure that for all the work you’re doing, you enjoy the finer things, too (no matter how you define your finer things!).

What about you? Do you overthink treating yourself to nice things like we do?