Splurging for my sanity

I've found over the years that there are certain things I feel I must splurge on for my sanity's sake. Of course I worry about the money I spend and I don't make much, but I figure like is short, and it makes more sense for me to splurge on some things over time than to end up in a mental hospital one day. I'm sure that would cost a lot more, too, in the long run. I hear straight jackets are expensive.

Lady Gaga would know.

Some of my sanity-inducing splurges are:

• Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm. Ever since high school, when I was on the swim team and taking Accutane (a prescription for chronic acne that makes your skin unbelievably dry...because being a teenager didn't suck enough), I've been obsessed with this stuff. It's $3.00 a tube, but if I had to live without it...well...I don't even want to think what would happen. 

• Unlimited text messaging. We all have those days when we need to vent or we'll self-destruct. I don't have a boyfriend or husband to confide in, so I do a lot of my venting to my friends via text message. I hate talking on the phone, so this is a quick and easy way to get it out and move on.

 

• Satellite radio. The only time I enjoy driving is when there are no other cars on the road. Since this doesn't happen often, I need music to get me through. Since I do most of my driving to-and-from work, when most of the regular stations are talking and playing commercials, I do a lot of listening to unlimited music via my XM radio. I switch stations a LOT (hello short attention span), so the $13/month seems a small price to pay.

• Starbucks. I mean...duh.

• Gym memberships. I have two of them. Even when I was out of work for six months and couldn't afford to eat, I still had a gym membership. It's a necessity, in my book (unless, unlike me, you are cool enough to have everything you need at home).

• Purple stuff! I just need it. Purple is my reason for breathing.

Do you splurge for sanity's sake? Or do you ward off the crazies in other ways?