We all have our little vices. You know, the teeny, tiny things which we buy each day without thinking. Mine is Starbucks Hot Chocolate (with a White Chocolate & Strawberry muffin) for breakfast. Our little habits barely register, because usually cost relatively small amounts of money. Or do they?

My hot chocolate and muffin cost £3.89. That’s not a huge amount, is it? Even when you multiply it over a working week it doesn’t seem that much (£19.45). That’s what – two albums from iTunes, or a DVD a week? How can that hurt?

Well, it depends. If your equivalent of a hot chocolate and muffin truely makes you feel that little bit happier each day, then no, it’s not hurting and it’s not a bad thing. If you’re just buying out of habit or convenience, however, then that is bad.

Over a year, breakfast costs me over £770 (assuming four work weeks in a month, and ten working months in a year). £770 is a sizable chunk of change – 70% of my current visa bill. If I can save all that money, I’d have one less bill to worry about, and that would make me happier than any tasty, hot beverage and super-sweet bakery product.

Instead of spending my money in Starbucks, I can make use of the company coffee machine to make hot chocolate; I can buy a big tray of muffins from Costco and take my own breakfast with me each day. If I find I really, really want a Starbucks, there’s no real problem… just so long as I don’t slip back into the habit of going every single day.

It’s not about being frugal, or “tight-arsed”, it’s about getting real and prioritising what’s important – not just for your bank balance, but also your happiness (and waistline in my case!). Truth be told, I can’t stand frugality. I think it’s the silliest way to save money. But hey, if it works for you and you’re happy, good on you. Don’t deny yourself small pleasures, just to save a few bob now and again. Buy those little things which make genuinely you happy; just know when you’re buying for happiness and when it’s buying out of habit.