A few days ago I had a bad day. The kids were all giving me a hard time and pushing me past my limits. By nap time my patience, my emotions and my body were completely spent. I got the last one settled in bed and went right to the kitchen. I pulled out a package of Oreos, grabbed four cookies and plopped down in a chair. I probably would have grabbed 5, but they were Double Stuf so I could only fit 4 between my thumb and forefinger. I thought to myself, “There, that’s better.” And it was, for a minute.
A while later I considered my source of comfort – something that was bad for me. One or two cookies would have been fine … but FOUR? It was an unnecessary excess and didn’t come close to actually helping my worn-out mind and body. In fact, it was more harmful to my body than helpful. When I’m having negative feelings, one of the first things I do is over-indulge in food that’s bad for my health – for me it’s anything sweet, but chocolate is best. It makes me feel better – temporarily but what happens after that? Well, this particular time my mind, body and patience still felt worn out and I was beginning to feel bloated on top of that. I sought instant gratification instead of a helpful solution and because of that I found myself in worse condition, kicking myself for giving in to my weakness and letting my poor eating habits take over my better judgement.
Because I have frugality on my brain I saw an easy parallel with spending habits. If money is tight for your family and you work hard at your job or at home stretching your money as far as possible then it’s pretty likely you’ve made the cookie mistake with your money. You had an especially difficult day and you thought, I work hard – I deserve this; and spent way too much money on something way outside your lifestyle. It made you feel better for a minute but ended up making your situation worse. Whether it’s with money or cookies or something else, most of us have been there. We’ve lessened our standards and chosen something harmful when we desperately needed something helpful.
What would’ve been my helpful solution? A quiet house, a cup of hot tea, my feet up on the coffee table, ONE cookie and a few deep breaths.
What helps when I’m tired of trying to stretch my finances? Check out my post When Penny-Pinching Has Pushed You Too Far.
What’s the lesson here? It’s one I’m obviously still learning: everything in moderation.
Why I do what I do ~ My husband went golfing in the rain today. When he got home he was soaked. Chloe seemed concerned but reassured him saying, “That’s ok, Mommy will clean it up.” Somehow, she already knows how things work around here.
photo credit: Bill in Ash Vegas
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Great insights. I have definitely indulged in this form too often and to think about it in terms of finances was really an ah-ha moment. I’ll be talking to hubby about this tonight. Thanks for sharing.