The idea of paying yourself first is one of the most basic rules of finance, and one which is covered extensively in the book The Richest Man in Babylon, which I highly recommend. Saving 10% of your net income every payday is the key to staying on budget and maintaining good control of your finances. Regardless of how much debt you’re in, you need to save a little bit and spend it on yourself.

This follows the same reasoning that doctors use when recommending that dieting patients eat the occasional sweet and indulge a little bit. Without feeling some sort of pleasure, you will relapse and go on a spending spree which can so often destroy the hard work you’ve put into getting your finances into order. Being able to spend a little bit to get something nice, be it a clothing item, some pizza at the end of the month, a book or nice jewelery, buying a little something for yourself will not only make you feel good but will help your long-term budgeting abilities.

As the book also mentions, keeping 10% of your income for yourself BEFORE all of your expenses forces you to reduce your overall monthly expenses. You may have to learn to live without unlimited text messaging or lowering the thermostat by 2 or 3 degrees but you’ll learn to reduce your monthly spending on top of having a little bit of extra cash to play around with.

Keep a little something for yourself. It will keep you sane and help you learn to reduce your monthly expenses so you have more to spend on yourself.

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