<prompt> Human: Apologies for the dumb question. I am on my own for the first time in my life and have managed to spend the last year and a half learning how to budget.I have a steady job for now, a nice 10k-ish in my savings. I have about 5K in my debit account. I usually save about 200 a month and I usually trasfer over 1500 every two months into savings. After paying off a a medium-sized 401k loan and taxes 1K this year, I wanted to start spending on some needed but luxury items. One of the items on my list was a new laptop or iphone.However, spending on either one of these would mean Im dipping into my savings.Money saved is meant to be spent right?Heres the problem. I have no idea what the right way to go about replenishing my savings is. Or if I even need to be spending on silly items like a computer or iphone. Do I spend the money, count it in my budget, and then penny pinch my monthly budget to rapidly make up for re-save the spent money? Or do i spent the money, know I planned to spend it, and just save as normal, waiting for my savings to replenish on their normal schedule.Or should I just be socking everything away into my savings for a larger goal?I am having trouble sorting out saving for something that people tell me I need a house...which I dont really want versus scrimping my day-to-day life and denying me things I would like and have the money for.Ive also recieved some flak from my RL friends because my cat has run up a large vet bill this month 1300. I told them I had money in my bank to pay it, but they have told me that I should hold off on other large purchases until later in the year due to the tax and vet payment. I am uncertain why they would say this since I do have the money to pay everything!Just looking for a bit of advice. Sorry if this comes off as sheltered!  <response>: You need to make a financial plan. Every dollar you spend is a choice - it could go toward a meal with friends, an iPhone, a vet bill, savings for retirement, a house, a vacation, etc. YOU are the only who can decide what priority to give each item and how to balance them. The flowchart in the sidebar can give you some general guidelines for how to structure your financial plan. You should take care of financial security debt-free, e-fund, retirement, and required living expenses before spending on things you want, but beyond that, its up to you whats important. 