Back when I had some extra cash to spend, I used to treat myself to a latte or a small pastry after a tough day. Now that I'm watching my budget more closely, I'm searching for affordable ways to lift my spirits when I have a little extra cash to spare.
What are some things you treat yourself to that cost less than $5 when you want to feel better ? What are your favorite cheap treats ?
What?
Nothing like a fresh stack of library books!
Do you regularly keep coffee and creamer at home? If so, you might want to get a milk frother. (The kind with a small circular spring on it.)
Pour the creamer into your mug and whip that with the frother, add the coffee, and another quick buzz with the frother to mix it.
Certainly not the same as a Starbucks latte, but still quite enjoyable.
As for my own small treat under $5, I like to add to my art supplies from the Dollar Store.
I have a manual one and it's just a lovely way to drink milk.
You can also use a French press, the mesh will froth it.
Pizza, it’s my favorite! A $2.50 totino’s pizza, a $2 soda and a good movie (from a free streaming service), is a treat to me:)
I sometimes have a movie night with myself (when my partner is gone). I make or buy a snack, select a movie (instead of watching a million episodes), get cozy and turn off the lights. It feels like childhood when Blockbuster was a thing.
Yes!!! I love doing nostalgic things like this:) It’s a whole experience!
Fresh fruit. I love fruit and it’s gotten so expensive. This week my grocery had Queen Anne cherries. They were $9 a pound. I bought myself two handfuls and had them as a treat after dinner two nights in a row.
I love getting fresh fruit or steamed shrimp or sushi from the fancy grocery store as a nice treat!
I go get boba.
me too but boba is expensive nowadays too. i can get a whole meal for the price of one boba drink so its hard to justify now
Literally, a single boba drink costs more than I budget for a whole day’s food where I live. Sometimes I still gotta though lol
That's one of the reason why this is my guilty pleasure, haha. I don't get haircut & don't go to fast food, no cable & no internet. So I can do this. You want something, then you must give up something as well. You can't keep both.
Is boba u guys mention bubble milk tea ? It can be cooked by ur self as well however
Yes, but I'm lazy to do that. Remember guilty pleasure, haha.
Aldi has canned boba now—- no, not perfect
Going for a walk in nature! Exercising to fun dance music or just dancing. Curling up with a nice hot mug from my herbal tea stash. A nice cold beer on weekend. Going to the library. A chocolate bar from the dollar store is also a nice treat, playing stardew valley on my phone (one time purchase, but lots of mileage so far).
What is stardew valley?
It's a video game where you leave your soulless corporate job to be a farmer, but also go on quests and make friends with the local townspeople.
Houseplant
the gift that keeps on giving if you get a low needs succulent!
This is honestly the favourite thing to buy when I need cheering up!
Given my weight issues, I have learned to not treat myself with food, it's not a good habit to have.
I let myself do an in-game purchase or I'll paw through the clearance racks to find something I like to keep it simple. I wouldn't say it's necessarily under $5 because that's really difficult and again, I don't do food items. But back when I did food items, it's usually skittles lol
Eye masks from Walgreens $4.99. And Epsom salt for an At home spa.
Free/almost free things: a trip to the library, cinnamon sugar toast, a 50 cent can of kerns juice, a trip to the animal shelter to hang with animals (sometimes makes me sad tho), hanging out in a park/somewhere I’m allowed to loiter, drawing/painting (v good if you need to vent, no need to be particularly skilled), making tea at home, a walk
$1-$5: a new pack of hair elastics or a new hair clip, a small pack of candy (junior mints are my fave), a coffee, a bagel, a potted plant/seeds, berries, clearance home decor, a cat toy
Those little bottles of refridgerated juice or smoothies. But even then, only when they're on sale. I'm partial to the Bottenhouse (?) Farms smoothies.
I treat myself by spending time on myself.
I will stay in bed for an extra hour or two on my days off, or I will give myself some extra time on my hobby.
Or sit outside and relax on a nice day. Sometimes treating yourself to a half-hour outside in the middle of a busy day is a nice change!
I buy 1 bag of peppermints a week …
I buy a box of Pingüinos cupcakes lol
It’s not healthy but I love a good fountain soda when I’m out running errands. I get a big gulp for a buck while I’m out doing all the boring shit that bogs me down, and it gives me something to look forward to. I got tired of spending $6 every time I’d go stop for coffee, so this is a better alternative and still gives me my “fun drink”
I buy big jugs of spring water with SNAP. It’s good for you (minerals and such) and my apartment water tastes and smells like crap. I invested in a filter but it broke, I will buy one when I have money saved. But this is me telling myself “you and your health are worth quality water for goodness sake!”
edit: typos
Quality waste?
huh?
edit: oh my! quality water **
Same! There's lead in the water in my town
A bottle of Martinelli’s Apple Juice. It’s so tasty but I can’t drink too much or it will give me a gout flare up.
It was pure black cherry juice but it’s gone up to $7 a bottle now. I mainly drink water and unsweetened tea.
If you have an Aldi near you they have delicious black cherry juice for $4.
Wow! Really? I do have an Aldi nearby! I will check it out. Thanks! 😙
You can treat yourself to 50 hot dogs for under $5 at Aldi also. If that’s what you’re into.
Really? That cheap? That’s too many for me but an excellent deal.
I am so sick of unsweetened tea 😂
😭
But I can’t stand sweet tea, might as well just pour syrup down my throat. 🤢
Same here unless it’s one of those fancy boba teas. I started making them myself one summer and got sick of it after a week. 😭
I just can’t. I live approaching the south and they worship here. That and white gravy 🤮
True. I live in the south too and sweet tea is everywhere. White gravy is okay but brown gravy is so much better.
Caramel iced coffee from Dunkin every time for me.
I like to take my dog for a walk, either in the city or take a short drive to the mountains and hike there. Both have interesting things for her to sniff.
A slurpee or some other frozen drink. Makes me happy :)
Omg yes I had a Hi-C Tropical Punch slushie today from Daves hot chicken and it made me happy!
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I get a cheap box of hot chocolate and a container of those horrible soft cookies with frosting. I eat a cookie one night and drink hot chocolate the next. Freeze the cookies to stay fresh and it's a couple of weeks for a little treat after dinner
Costco food court date with my husband, but I believe you need to have a membership to use the food court now. I don’t drink coffee much, but it’s nice to get once every so often. Trader joes one pound chocolate bar or their chocolate milk.
The Costco here seems to go in phases where they want you to have a membership then they stop checking, you just have to walk in through the exit like you’re going to membership services.
Our local costcos no longer allow people to anger through the exit, it’s really annoying 😩 seems regional I guess?
Super annoying.
If u r 420 friendly..
Oreos!
Bag of frozen shrimp or jalapeño brats
Drinks and snacks, but from the gas station, or if I have extra money, something from a coffee place but that isn't less than $5 is it
I particularly like the long wrapped pastries from the gas station for $2.99 (those bear claw or strawberries and cream ones)
Dollar store taffy popcorn, or kettle popcorn
A relaxing DIY face or hair mask!
I love getting a nice piece of fruit when it is on sale.
Nail polish for an at home salon experience. Add some tv/music and a drink, and I make a night of it.
i like to get a sonic drink , a large is like 3.50
Half price in the app all day!
Fried chicken from a local joint. (Not as cheap as those chains)
Dairy Queen. Strawberry cheesecake with the cheesecake blizzard chunks. But I have to go to the laundry mat first. I hate doing laundry.
Buy a new ball of yarn to crochet with. I crochet to help take my mind off my pain and chronic illnesses. It's a nice distraction but it's always so hard for me to justify buying one. So I get a color I don't already have and it gives me long term joy to be able to use it in multiple projects!;
Right now I'm saving whatever I can to replace my dishwasher. I am able to sell my crochet projects so it's helping me make money also!
I get a pint of ice cream and a small package of baked goods from the discount grocery store.
2 ramen noodles packages.
Designer shirts from the thrift shop.
Peace tea + Reese’s from the corner store
Tajìn peach rings from dollar tree 🤤
I love turtle brownies. U can microwave them for 12 seconds to make the caramel gooey….. I gained 20 lbs on em when my husband died. A box of turtle brownies and a gallon of milk….
Sorry about your husband.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome. I hope you're doing ok.
I can’t say it hasn’t been rough as hell but it’s been 2 years and I’m starting to feel like a human again. Progress! Thank you for asking. It really means a lot.
I feel you. I lost three relatives since September and my dog too.
I’m sorry for your losses. Our pets are our children, that’s just as traumatic as losing our humans.
That is very true. This is the first time I haven't had a dog since 2003. It feels wrong.
I used to get a Tootsie Pop whenever I wanted a treat and was low on cash. The brown and red ones are my favs! They’re really cheap and last me a good half hour of enjoyment.
A very small piece of really, really good (and sadly, really really expensive) high-quality cheese. I can take or leave sweets things, but cheese is my weakness.
Yesss… do you like goat cheese?
Toast with peanut butter and honey drizzled over, and some tea. Cheaper than any pastry i can buy outside of the house.
taking a bath!
Spend two or three bucks on a phone theme. Gives my phone a fresh feel, and I like the idea of supporting an artist or developer directly ☺
Where would you buy a phone theme?
I have a Samsung phone, it's under options > themes ☺ there's also a similar thing for iPhones but my iPad is so old I don't bother 🤣 😁
Maybe ice cream or some desert or maybe a nice pair of shoes? Whatever you like.
I bought a box of mixed fruity popsicles for about $5. I don’t eat sweets much but having a popsicle once in awhile for fun or as a reward is nice. also the packaging is white so i don’t know what flavor im going to get. Little things
I get Vienna sausage and eat them as a snack. Also, I love menudo in a can.
Costco ice cream
I had this today. $2.75 for a large cup of ice cream. Costco food court is so affordable I wish they had healthier options else I’m tempted to eat pizza slices all the time.
consider trying comfort basket. That's the name I give my good hot British cuppa tea. An entire pound of Earl Grey supreme tea leaves is like just under 30 bucks. Trader Joe's organic heavy whipping cream is less than five dollars for a pint. My favorite sugar for it is morena sugar from Aldi.
So you can have the most exquisitely decadent cup of tea you take 2 teaspoons of the leaves and pour boiling water on them. Set the timer for 3 to 5 minutes and then add 2 teaspoons of sugar and a teaspoon of the cream.
SOOOOO HEALING
I use a metal strainer for the leaves ... it gets pretty strong if you leave them in there
Plants… I can start back on collecting plants now that my kids are older. I find the small, unloved ones and give them a happy window at home
NYT games. I absolutely love playing them and can’t wait to get out of bed every morning so I can play Wordle, Strands, Connections, etc.
My favorite pick-me-up treat is an 8oz. can of Sugar Free Redbull. Yum 😋
Something that lasts longer than a few minutes! I can spend $5 on a coffee or pastry that’s done in five minutes or I can spend it on a nice soap that I can use every morning for weeks, or a candle I can enjoy every night.
Starbucks for me
Same. Chai tea latte is underrated
food
A bottle of nail polish.
I check the fast food apps (McDonalds, Wendy’s and BK) to see their deals. Usually I’ll redeem the free fry with a purchase. I’ll get a drink or a $3 sandwich and then the free medium fry. If you have TMobile, they do TMobile Tuesday and sometimes have deals like - - Little Caesars: free crazy bread with the purchase of a pizza - it would be a little over $5. Free disc rental with Redbox.
I like the London fog
Also pastries and food treats! Some places near me do 50% off everything their last hour and also through Too Good To Go, getting 5$ bags or 50% off pastries and keeping them in the fridge or freezer when I can for the rest of the week!
i like the $3.99 breakfast burritos from safeway. i like to get chorizo with chipotle sauce, but they also have sausage and bacon options.
it’s not a “good” breakfast burrito, but it is cheap and feels like a treat to me
Lighting a candle. You have to buy candles, but a $10 candle can be lit many many times
Gummy worms
Cheesy double beef burrito from taco bell value menu
$5 can get you 8 pieces of fried chicken at Raley’s or Safeway when it’s on sale. I buy it and freeze them individually, and eat a piece now and then as a treat (bc fried chicken isn’t that healthy).
Collect miniature items. It’s about $15-20 for 2 mystery balls, gives you about 3-6 items. Nice to look forward to
7/11 slushee!
I try to hit the nearest Costco warehouse , walk in via the exit & return line (they don’t ask for membership there) and get myself the hotdog & soda, $1.50 + $2.50 for the ice cream sundae. Everything done under $5.
Enjoy a nice rare ribeye steak
Library books! And making a hot chocolate at home!