I Spend Because I'm Unhappy?

Do you remember the hilarious Austin Powers movie in which the very overweight character Fat Bastard says, near the end:

I eat because I'm unhappy and
I'm unhappy because I eat

?

I'm beginning to wonder about the roots of my spending.

I have work deadlines, and some stress about them...the stress does dissipate when I dig in and shoulder through. One source is acting prickly and high-maintenance....that's no fun.....am I spending money to soothe or smooth stress? I felt tired....I wanted to rake the backyard but have to watch my time management....am I spending money for a wakeup, a jolt of excitement? I'm worried about my dear Sis, with a fairly serious health issue....beautiful things, like that tube of hand cream with the magical gold key, they add beauty to life......it's counterintuitive, I know...bills due, get luxe hand cream......

Anyway, onward.

TCOY

1. Leftover roast chicken [Melissa Clark recipe] and pea soup with leeks and mint [made both last night].
2. Bath with lavender salts.
3. Dabbed on my Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado.
4. Blowout. Pampering.
5. Important writing.
6. I am about to put on my luxe Oribe hand cream at bedtime. Smells so lovely, truly.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Municipal parking lot, since I was running late for blowout appt.--$5 plus $1 tip for attendant, $6.
• Gumdrop salon, blowout, plus tips for Rachel--and Shane, who shampooed, $52. 
• Gumdrop, also bought velvet scrunchie there for Punchy, $5.
• Lululemon, striped shirt for Punch. She paid for part of it and has been wanting it for a month. Our part, $28. It should fit her for a few years.
• Playa bowl place on South Park Street, fruit bowl for Punch, $10.66 + tip jar, $11.
• Cafe Giotto, yes, right next to Gumdrop salon. Housemade pasta w eggplant, sausage, tomato + housemade ciabatta [which Punch loved, squirreled 2 pcs into her lunchbox for tomorrow] + tax, $22.92.
• CVS to get Rx, but add organic milk, Fairlife chocolate milk for Punch, 2 distilled water gallons for my CPAP machine, 2 Special K on sale, 2 Clif Bars, Honey Maid graham crackers, $22.93.

TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $147.85.
MONTHLY SPEND AS OF APRIL 10: $1,675.65.
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND SO FAR THIS MONTH: $167.56.

Big April spends so far, 10 days into the month:

Lamp, $79; luxe hand cream, $55; Giotto dinner to go + jar of imported Italian artichokes, $46; dog groomer/beauty salon, $75; vet for hamster, $157; necklace repair, $128; blowout, $55; Over the Moon, bday gifts for Punch friend + book for me, $60; Kings groceries, $132; liquor store, $32; bra/underwear/tights, $126; second blowout w tips, $52; Punchy, Lululemon, $28. Steep subtotal of $1,025.

MONEY THOUGHTS: Buying things is a happy, satisfying part of my life. It has been this way for decades and decades. And if I'm paying for beautiful things--flower bulbs, a repaired necklace, a bubbly Prosecco to pour my friends in stemmed crystal glasses, a smooth blowout--all the better. I can find beauty by tending the garden I have, or organizing the accessories I own, but I find it hard to resist the temptation to buy more bulbs and baubles. This is food for thought. My grandparents raised their families frugally, and so did my parents. I wonder if I have a gene that wants to make up for that.