I have been trying to dig my way out of debt for a long time, and denying myself small dopamine purchases for the purpose of getting out of debt was just not working really well. So I decided to set myself a big fun goal. I decided I want to take my kids to Disney Paris in 2032, and to do that, I need to be out of debt and save a lot of money. I bought a dedicated piggy bank for Disney.

In order to not to be constantly buying little treats frequently just for the reason of debt repayment was just making me depressed and making it so I was constantly breaking and buying things I didn’t need. I was having constant shopping sprees on Temu because it was a “cheap” dopamine hit. But if I put even a fraction of that money in the Disney piggy bank and the rest on my debt, I am still getting small amounts of dopamine hits, still looking to the future instead of wallowing in the present. 

I am also using it to teach my daughter delayed gratification and getting her to stop getting so much plastic dollar store junk all the time; instead, we put it in the Disney piggy bank. Instead of making big impulse purchases, I am waiting, I am researching; I am getting others to buy them for gift-giving times, or we do without. This has two-fold advantages; it allows me to not go further in debt and to realize what is needed and what is just a passing fad-type impulse. 

I budgeted to go to a family autism camp this year, and it got cancelled. Instead of buying something, I decided to still invest it in an experience. We are going to Halifax to see a dinosaur exhibit. By denying material things, I am able to give my kids more experiences. Yes, I could have just put that on my debt and not go anywhere, but I have planned all year for our weekend family trip. My husband and I have a lot of work and other responsibilities, and with the time commitments of various appointments and therapies of two special needs kids, we don’t get to spend as much whole-family time as I want, so we save all year for this, and by having the goal of our weekend family vacation every summer, I am able to say no to other things that are just “things”.

Not to mention my apartment was bursting at the seams with things I would use “one day,” and broken toys everywhere were taking a huge toll on my mental health. I find that it is all tied together; keeping my mental health semi-decent makes my need for impulse buys lower, and it also makes my resistance and ability to say no higher, and my “I just don’t care, go ahead” attitude to purchases, especially purchasing fast food, is much better. Financial, physical, and mental health are far more intertwined than the majority of people realize. When I am physically or mentally, or worse, both physically and mentally, run down, I don’t care about my financial health or my long-term planning. I don’t care about saving or about the future at all; I am just in survival mode.