After 17 years of marriage to the man I lovingly call "THE VOICE OF DOOM" when it comes to finances...I have been trained to pinch my pennies and scale down my spending. But the truth is, 3 months + 4 kids = excess cash outflow. Here are some of my expenses:
- Pool Snack Bar--Poor quality and poorer service, plus the prices are outrageous. But sometimes the ease of poolside dining is just too convenient to resist. Sure, you pay $1.50 for a watery soda...but, boy, I get thirsty out there yelling at my school of fish!
- Babysitters--As much as I would love to do everything "as a family"...there are just some places that do not like four children all at once. (Amazingly, one of these is the pediatrician's office. Go figure!) So, thankfully, all the junior high kids are home for the summer and ready to earn some spending money. Good sitters are worth their weight in gold...if they weigh less than 100 pounds, that is.
- The Library--Yes, I know. It's supposed to be free. Probably for normal people it is. But not for people like us, who borrow books-on-tape and foolishly leave the cassettes out where three-year-olds find them and drop them down the heating vent.
- The Grocery Store--I try my darndest not to shop with my kids. But sometimes, when your husband is flying to Texas and you run out of bread and you can't trust your 4 in the car with the AC on...you have to bite the bullet. That $1 loaf of bread costs you $50 worth of bribes, gotta-haves and broken merchandise. (Click here for details...)
- Miscellaneous--This category includes the gallons of sunscreen, dozens of t-shirts, bushels of berries, bottles of bubbles, boxes of sidewalk chalk, oodles of craft supplies, and freezerfulls of ice cream that the season demands.
So, there you have it. The reasons why I'm broke this summer. I'll start saving again real soon. That is, after our vacation next week...and back-to-school shopping...and Halloween...Turkey Day...Christmas...well, maybe for my New Year's Resolution...
5 comments:
You forgot to add to the list:
School supplies. Oh, yes, we have to buy our own out here. I have dropped well over $150 in pencils, crayons, glue sticks, and erasers for my little ones to take to school this year - and we still don't have everything on the list yet. Tell me again what I'm paying my taxes for?
I so hear you on this... in so many ways! We have experienced all of that (other than the pool food)- grocery trips, babysitters (ouch, we pay LOTS for our favorites), misc...summer is a budget buster. I think, oh it will so fun to go the park with the kids- then after 20 mins in over 100 degree weather with 3 rascals, I've had enough. All the cheap (or free) things don't really last. Oh and the library thing- my oldest took a bath the other day and flooded our entire bathroom, which has tile but my library books were in the bathroom on the floor (duh me) and got DRENCHED!!! AUGHHH!!! And they were expensive PSE books...I took out the blow dryer and tried my hardest to get them back into shape! (unsuccessfully I might add).
If you think of any good, free, kid friendly ideas, send them my way- I'm all ears.
(sorry for the novel of a comment)
AMEN! I feel like an ATM and there seems to be no end in sight! And never mind "freezerfulls of ice cream"... what about trips to the various ice cream counters every other night? At $3 to $4 a cone... cha-ching! Not that I'm very good at saying "NO" when it comes to perfect frozen custard in a cone, but agh... so expensive!
Oh my gosh, YES! I so feel it. Especially on the babysitters. Because two of mine are disabled, I probably pay more than your average bear, and it adds up QUICK! BUT, I can NOT go to the grocery store with my 4 kids. My dh is out of town this week, so I got a sitter for the kids, ran to Home Depot and the grocery store (forgot scads of things) and then took my daughter to the orthodontist. $25 later, I took the babysitter home, but that doesn't even count the over $200 spent at the 2 stores. Not to mention my quick run into QT for diet Dr. Pepper. Ahhh! $1 well spent.
i hear ya! esp. the grocery store. i've been going with everyone! including the dad! and even though he is the one nagging to stay on budget he is the one dropping the extras in the cart!
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