By “indulgence” I mean things not absolutely necessary for work, study or well-being. Creature comfort.

Depriving yourself of all indulgence is harsh/punishing , unfair/unjustified, and unsustainable.

Q: is there a (cognitive) conflict and tension between ctbz and frugal indulgence?
A: not sure. Frugal indulgence is supposed to be guarded by my ctbz habit, so frugal indulgence should not create guilt or degenerate into lifestyle creep

Frugal indulgence are personal. (In contrast, luxuries are more universal, like nice clothing/gadgets, spacious and new home/hotel …) Look into your heart. Each of us need to identify those nice little luxuries with the highest pleasure and enjoyment for “ourselves”. For me:

• [Feb 2023] Saizeriya: $4.90 fancy dessert.. small but not frugal indulgence. Not worthwhile
• [Christmas 2022] $35 log cake
• [S] coffee shop 杂菜饭 (mixed vegie rice)
• exercise or yoga classes
• free: jogging in big park
• [S] free: stadium. In contrast, activeSG swimming pools and gyms are low-cost
• movies — luxury
• [S] taxi to bring family to east coast
• [S] free: Pasir Ris resort next to the beach
• free: beach
• dining with old friends
• tech books, even though ebooks are widespread nowadays.
• [big ticket] frequent flights to see my immediate family
• WPCH
• [S=SG specific]

For grandma

• swimming pool

— family dining out .. up to $15/pax .. not really “frugal” but it has become a conscious joint decision of me and wife. We spend this extra money and time to have a “good time” for the family, hopefully something fancy and memorable. You can call it a small luxury, but always in a family context.