I first came across the phrase “small indulgences” in the way I mean it here, in a book called The Popcorn Report, by Faith Popcorn. In it, she talked about trends in modern life. She explained (at much greater length than I am going to!) that as modern life has many stresses and demands on most of us, small indulgences become a way of keeping ourselves more balanced.

Personalized postage, which you can create in a few minutes, is a perfect example of a small indulgence. If you use a digital camera, you have many photos on your computer that you would enjoy sharing. It’s very easy to go to Stamps.com, upload one or more images, see how they look,  and adjust them to your liking. Another little bit of time, and you’ve chosen the denomination you want (anything from postcard to priority mail) and gotten them ordered.

The real benefit comes when you start using the postage, and your friends and family enjoy your creativity. It doesn’t have to be people you know, either — I read in one blog where a woman was standing in line at the post office to mail a variety of things, and an older guy in front of her noticed her custom postage. He asked about them, and she explained that she had uploaded a photo to stamps.com. Her blog post said that everyone in line was intrigued by them and the older guy said he would have to get some with his grandkids on them.

Personalized postage: a small indulgence that’s better for you than chocolate! Well, maybe…