the importance of fun money

Every financial advisor will tell you that you need to give yourself a little fun money so you don't feel deprived. The same goes for anyone trying to lose weight, it's important to make sure you have a cookie now and then or you're setting yourself up for failure.

But how much fun money? How to handle it? Does it go in your budget or do you use it as a reward (as in, I pay off this bill and I can have dinner out)?

I've never really had a good grasp on this idea. I don't have it in my budget, and I don't have any rewards set up. Basically, I'm not taking my own advice. So today, after talking to my frugalista coworker E about fun money, and getting a little stressed out in work, I decided to give myself 10 bucks to blow in CVS. I won't tell you what I bought because I don't want to publically admit to smoking and eating junk food, but it was fun, and the funny part is, I only spent 7 dollars!