Have you ever stopped to think about spending money? Beyond the paper, metal or plastic involved in a transaction, I’ve been thinking about my attitude in spending and saving money. One instance in particular has me second guessing my outlook.

These past few days, I’ve been craving an iced mocha. On my way to work, I consider stopping by Starbucks to shell out $5 and change for one, or perhaps try the McCafe stuff for about half the price. The closer I get to work, however, the need for instant gratification fades and I skip it.

I admit, this denial has me quietly congratulating myself for saving money. Still on my self-loving high, I later consider rewarding myself. Adding up a week’s worth of skipping Starbucks, I figure I now have $25 to spend at will, since I didn’t spend it on coffee.

Redefine “saving”

This time I had the sense to stop myself from thinking that. In rewarding a supposed frugal move, I somehow managed to rationalize spending five times that amount on something else I don’t need. Does anybody else do this?

All this has me thinking that we often deceive ourselves (or maybe we are deceived some other way) into thinking we’re saving money. One of the easiest ways to do this is to buy something on sale that wasn’t in your budget. It’s not saving, it’s spending. Maybe it could be argued that it’s spending, but to a lesser degree, but I know that I need to stop calling this saving.

Only reward yourself for worthy accomplishments

I need to see the pitfalls of rewarding myself for saving money by turning around and spending it. Just because I didn’t spend money at one place doesn’t mean I have any more money to spend at another. It sounds confusing, but this form of thinking makes me feel like I’ve somehow earned money, when my income status hasn’t changed. And seriously, since when is saying “no” to coffee a big deal that deserves a reward? I only end up wasting money on something other than coffee.

Avoid temptation

It’s silly how the thought of an iced mocha can lead into a topic of saving money. (Well, maybe it’s not totally out of the ballpark considering David Allen’s “latte factor.”) I don’t plan to make coffee a part of my budget, but I am tired of telling myself “no” to it. So I have found some ways to get a similar drink but for much cheaper. The first way is to drink chocolate milk. I know, I know, I’m not a toddler, but I read that it was the best post workout fuel. We bought organic chocolate milk at Costco, which is about 68 cents per serving. If it’s the coffee taste I’m after, a coffee-flavored yogurt at 50 cents a serving helps to curb my cravings for coffee and spending. I should note that these don’t give me a caffeine kick, and that’s not really what I’m after anyway.

Am I alone in being decieived by the idea of “saving”? Have you had some creative ways to calm a spending habit?