...Or Money In My Pocket

I figured out why there's no Cornetto (or milk, or butter or yoghurt) in my fridge; it's because there is no money in my pocket, wallet or bank account. But I have a job - a well paying job with bonuses on top, so really, I should have a massive amount of money hiding away. They call it 'rainy day savings' - money you have put aside not for any particular reason (although, in an ideal world, my rainy day savings would be too big to spend in one day).
So where, folks, has all my money gone? It has been slowly chipped and withered away until it gets to pay day and i just about scream with excitement. From week to week I find myself handing over the Westpac debit card and thinking that I have enough in my bank account for this small purchase not to make that much of a difference. Turns out, though, that 15 of these small purchases makes a pretty sizeable dent in ones account. And then BA-DING! I'm living off toast for the next week (toast with no butter, I might emphasise).
So what goes on in our heads when we think that trading our money for something we don't really need - or pay too much for - doesn't really matter? How could it not matter?! Toast is not very nutritional for every meal. It would be okay if I were a duck, but unfortunately, I sometimes need vitamins and minerals to keep me alive. Why is it so difficult to think 'i do not need this, it can be $20 to keep in the bank'. Well, maybe not think it - because i sure as heck do that - but actually carry out the action. Is it the prospect of getting more money later? It's always coming in, so what's the difference in getting it now and getting it in two weeks? I'm just going to have to wait for it if i'm only going to get it anyway.
The worst thing is the bittersweet feeling. Getting my new purchases home, dumping them all on the floor and being surrounded by things that are now mine gives a type of euphoric feeling of success and comfort. And then the bitter taste sets it, and I've suddenly just lost a couple of hundred bucks when I didn't have to. Bugger. But then again, I'm not really saving for anything in particular, so why not just spend it now, and take advantage of the fact that I can? You never know what's going to happen - I might lose my job to some crazy sales chick with the manipulation skills and heart of ice that makes the company an extra 2 grand a month.
So what is the right thing to do? Should we save save save just in case, and to give ourselves a head start if we were to ever need it? Or is living life right now and getting what we want because we can an even better way to do it? Whatever we do, we have to live with the consequences. Which, in my case, is having to learn to enjoy dry toast with water for dinner.