> if it becomes a daily habit, then you're missing out on other choices with better long-run returns
If you quit that habit, it might make you miserable enough to make even worse financial choices.
These petty expenditures are a tax on misery.
Anecdote: My father's criminal history (racketeering) more-or-less forced him into a career in backbreaking construction in order to support his family when he got out of prison. He would come home after work with burns from creosote and often looked as if he had gone balls-to-the-wall in the gym all day. Back then, I wouldn't dare think to try to separate him from his cigarettes and lottery tickets. It would have been cruel.
If you quit that habit, it might make you miserable enough to make even worse financial choices.
These petty expenditures are a tax on misery.
Anecdote: My father's criminal history (racketeering) more-or-less forced him into a career in backbreaking construction in order to support his family when he got out of prison. He would come home after work with burns from creosote and often looked as if he had gone balls-to-the-wall in the gym all day. Back then, I wouldn't dare think to try to separate him from his cigarettes and lottery tickets. It would have been cruel.