This is NPR's life kit. I'm Laura McGocchi.

If I were to turn my credit card statements from the last few months into a cliche,

buzzfeed listicle, it would read something like this. February, Fuzzy Slippers, and House

Plants. March, a jumbo pack of hedgehog chew toys for my dog, and some more plants.

April, a five-foot wide bean bag chair. Don't ask. May, new clothes for the hot girl summer,

I'm definitely gonna have. June, inexplicably, more plants. I recognize I'm really lucky to be in

a position to buy anything, but the trick is I should really be saving money not spending it.

So why can't I stop buying stuff? We in poll shop because it feels good in the moment, right? It's

like the bandaid. It's the cool glass of water on a really hot summer's day. That's Tiffany

Leechay, better known as the budget Nista. She started as an early childhood educator, and nowadays

she teaches folks of all ages about being smart with money. And she says we're all tempted from time

to time to do a little comfort shopping, and that's okay. As long as you're not leaving your long-term

savings goals by the wayside. Money is there to enhance your life. It is a tool to build up your

financial life. And part of that is enjoying some of it as well. I just want you to create a plan

where all of those things can happen in harmony. Unnecessary spending looks different for all of us,

but regardless of your financial situation, we could all stand to stretch our dollar a little farther.

In this episode of LifeKit, learn to spend and save smarter. And we should say,

this episode originally came out in 2020 when we were all splurging on face masks and sweat pants,

so you're going to hear a couple pandemic-themed questions, but trust me when I say that wisdom, still applies.

In some ways, it seems like Tiffany Leechay was destined to become the budget Nista. Growing up,

her dad was a CFO with an expertise in accounting. So the attitude towards buying things in our household

was, do you need it? Well, because I'm one of five daughters. And so my dad was by force pretty

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