<prompt> Human: Hi guys,Last week I wrote to you about my current financial situation, and you all were SO kind in your responses. Truly, I am so grateful that so many of you reached out and were so supportive about helping me get back on my feet and realize that this isnt bottom, I can get out of this with some budgeting and hard work. I have a small update. I wound up finding a cheaper apartment and would like to pick your brain about something.NEW BUDGETINCOME29500:- monthly salary which is 21900:- after taxes 2619.001050:- stipend for child care 125.0010 000:- side income after taxes. Typically monthly but not always, it depends on how much work there is for me to do 119632 950:- total 3941___COST OF LIVING7130:- Rent including heat and water 845250:- Internet 30400:- Electric 48200:- Rental insurance 24250:- Cell phone 30800:- Childcare 953200:- Food budget 38319 820:- left after all of those are paid 2348 9 820:- without side income 1163___tl;dr So, bascially, I am saving a little over 100 USD by taking this apartment instead. Now I am wondering if I should use that extra 100 a month and use that additionally toward my debt payments, or if I should use that extra money as a mental health stipend and spend it on something that will help me feel better and keep up with my new frugal lifestyle. For example, I was considering hiring a cleaning service to come into my apartment twice a month to do deep cleaning 3 hrs per day, 6 hrs total per month. Cleaning has always been a very difficult thing for me to keep up with when my depression has been at its worst, and I feel like it could be a great way to keep myself motivated. Only having to maintain my apartments state of cleanliness between their visits is very doable, and considering how much I am working and am a single mom, it would be a huge help. Am I silly for feeling like this is something to indulge on? Its 100 a month but I feel like its money well spent, and in my last post there were a lot of people telling me to be sure to reward myself somehow or do things to keep myself motivated. Tax benefits make it so affordable.Id love to know your thoughts. Thanks again for all the support!  <response>: Normally I tend to give the frugal maniac kind of advice, but I think in this case it might be quite appropriate to spend that 100month on having someone come to clean your apartment.After reading your previous post it really sounds like the problem youre working on isnt a matter of frugality, but rather is all about feeling stable, developing good habits, and managing your depression. With that in mind, I think its really important to set yourself up for mental success. For you to be rewarded for good habits not for it to just be a white-knuckle grind. With your situation you arent just trying to grit your teeth and get through the next few months, youre trying to establish all new healthy patterns to live your life in a different way long-term. In order to succeed at that, I think you need to feel positive about the whole process.You actually have a very strongly positive cash-flow. If you can make it fun to manage that cash-flow I think that would be a big help toward maintaining a healthy and sustainable long-term positive habit.In my experience one of the most powerful tools for feeling positive about your finances is a good pro-active budget. There are a couple of good budgeting apps including YNAB Personal Capital. Im a big fan of the You Need a Budget YNAB app, which has a pretty big following and its very own subreddit here: YNABs budgeting philosophy has you assign a job to every dollar you earn for the month in advance, as opposed to an app like Mint which just tells you what happened to your money after-the-fact. I find this approach has a strong motivational effect on me, as I see each dollar I spend draw down on the category it was assigned to. It both helps me hit my goals X paid toward a debt each month helps me see the progress being made, and feel good about the money I do spend oh hey, I have 50.00 left in my Personal Spending Money category this month, I can buy that thing Ive been wanting.I really think the key is having a proactive budget, not a retroactive one.With a positive cash-flow of 2348month, it looks like youll be able to pay off your debts within a year. My instinct is that budgeting 100-150month on personal spending money in this situation is a good way to control your spending at a healthy sustainable level. Not only will you not overspend, but youll also be able to spend that 100 a month guilt-free, because you know its in your budget and youre abiding by your plan!Moreover, once you have wiped out your debt, a pro-active budget will help you set new long-term goals to work toward. For example, the 2348month youre currently contributing to pay down your debts can then be set towards creating an emergency fund. Once you have a decent emergency fund, you can move on to creating a monthly contribution to investments in an index fund, etc. This will help you to keep setting new goals and carry healthy financial habits forward into the future. It will also help to keep the goals measurable so that you feel a sense of achievement!It sounds like youre taking a lot of the right steps, and youre actually in a very good position to achieve the financial goals youve set up! Make it a game, and play for the long-term!Good luck! 