Stick to your budget by budgeting in some mad money.

I'm sure there are people out there who are disciplined enough to make and stick to a strict budget and cut out all of the frills and extras.  I'm one of them...  For about a day and a half!  OK, I could probably go a little longer than that, but then I'd start feeling deprived and get the overwhelming urge to splurge. 

There have been times when our finances were just that tight that we tried to cut out any and every extra we could think of to save a buck, but it usually didn't last long.  We felt burdened and overwhelmed with having to be accountable to each other for every penny spent.  Especially when that came in the form of a swipe of the debit card that often went unreported until the bank statement came in the mail.  Add to that over drafts and late fees and that lunch out can pretty expensive!  When it came down to it, the tighter we tried to make our budget, the bigger we eventually ended up splurging.

Years ago, we decide to budget in an "allowance" for each of us.  This amount has changed from time to time over the years as our availabile cash flow changed, but we have found it to be a very helpful and necessary tool to keep us living within our means.  Over the years this has been as little as $10 each and as much as $100+.  We have pretty much settled for somewhere in the middle now.  If you've been tracking your spending on mint.com or using another budgeting tool, you can probably find the area where this money could come from (probably the area where you splurge and go over your budget on a regular basis) and determine the amount that works for you. 

This money is "guilt-free".  We each get the same amount and we don't have to be accountable to each other for it.  If we want to get a cup of coffee, buy a pair of shoes, catch a movie or go to dinner, this is the money we use.  Sometimes we pool our week's money together, sometimes we save up a couple of weeks for something special, sometimes we go all week and don't even spend it, but it's still there available for what ever.  The point is we have stopped swiping the debit or credit cards for anything that is unplanned. 

I suggest keeping a little extra in a hidden pocket of your purse or wallet just incase you go over your allotted spending for the week.  We've gotten to the place where this doesn't happen often anymore, but occasionally we go a little over.  Anything to keep from dipping into the budget.  The weeks when we don't spend much, I just stash a little of the leftover.