I have two goals for this summer. Pay off our last bit of debt in order to refinance our house, and make sure that the boys have a great summer while not spending incredible amounts of money. So I've been putting a lot of thought into how we would spend this summer. This is the story of all that thought put into action.
My Mom and Dad bought us a zoo membership for Easter(which they are turning into an annual thing because it's such an awesome thing to have). Last year we did the zoo once a week, and that's definately something we'll do for fun again. We live five minutes away so it costs nothing in gas and really the only thing we ever spend money on there is for tickets to ride the train. Definately fun for cheap acheived with the zoo membership.
We also have a park that is within walking distance of the house that GJ discovered last year, and I've already been there a couple times with the boys this year. They LOVE IT. I'm not going to lie, it wears me out because they are still so little in my eyes and they like to climb on the biggest ladders and go down the tallest slides and I have a mini heart attacks every time we go. This time fun for free, so far I have had a couple of really good ideas.
Then of course I get my most brilliant idea... we have a BACKYARD! I should definately get some outside toys and then I can just go out back and lay out and read a book and let them run around and play with toys and it'll be great. Fun for cheap, right? WRONG. Fun, yes. Lots of fun. They love the backyard. I worked hard at the beginning of spring to rake up rocks and plant new grass and I even mowed the grass once so far. I knew in order to have the backyard be a play area I'd have to start early and I followed through. I put even more thought into it and I told my mom to look for outside toys while at garage sales because who cares if I buy used toys for the outdoors, they are just going to get beat up anyway. She found an awesome and pretty big sandbox for only $15. Sand turns out to be pretty cheap as well, so we're "winning" there! Then I found a pool(a plastic one because a blow up one would get destroyed by the boys) which was only $25 and I got some pool toys on clearance and a sprinkler on clearance and I'm feeling so good about my ability to cheaply get toys for the backyard and it be a totally fun place for the boys.
We've been out playing on the two days that it didn't rain since I bought all this stuff and I came to the realization that I really need a few more things to keep them entertained for more than a couple hours. I mean, how can I get a really killer tan while playing with my kids if they are bored after only two hours?
Here is where I realized how wrong I was about how cheap this would be to do. I realized that in order to buy outside toys you have to be a CEO of a multi million dollar organization. There are not outdoor toys for less that $50. More than that, the ones that are $50 are made for 12 month olds, and I'm here to tell you that at 12 months old neither one of my kids would have played with those toys and now that they would play with say a water table, I have to buy the one that's $100 because they are 2 and 3 now. I want a water table for sure, because I know they will enjoy that beyond all measure. We definately need some more bubble toys, and that's not very expensive but I know I'll be buying them at least ten times this summer because since they are cheap, they are cheaply made. I looked at picnic tables, but they are ridiculous, so I found folding chairs and table with an umbrella (CARS of course) that was only $30. What I think would be AWESOME to have is a playhouse. Do you have any idea what a playhouse costs to buy NEW? Again, must be a CEO. So I looked on Craigslist. Apparently the people who have kids who have outgrown the playhouses think that they are still worth what they bought them new for. So now I have to do one of two things, either totally blow my budget and buy the playhouse that I know my kids will love or let my mom keep hunting for one at garage sales and hope those people have sense and aren't asking $400 for it. If she doesn't find one by June 15th then Toys R Us will win again. In retrospect, I should have thought about this six months ago and put a little money back for it. Lesson Learned.
Last, but certainly not the least, I was really excited that a special activity this summer, and from now on for me and the boys, would be to go to the movies. They are finally old enough to both go, and they really really love it. For the first big movie of the summer, I decided we'd go see Kung Fu Panda 2 today during the morning so it'd be a little less crowded and at matinee price. The boys were so excited to go, all the could talk about was Panda Panda Panda.
When we were paying for the ticket, the girl did a really good job selling their Stubs club card for $12 a year. It gives you discounts on concessions and you don't pay to get tickets on Fandango. The thing she acted like was the big selling point was you get $10 back for every $100 you spend. Now, in my head I'm thinking, it would take forever for me to spend $100 at the movies. At most we'll probably go once a month. Good thing I didn't say that outloud to the girl because she probably would have collapsed from lack of oxygen while cracking up laughing. For three tickets and the $12 membership thing I spent $27. For an 11:30 am movie! Then at the concession stand(where I save $2) I bought three small popcorns and two small(which FYI were about five times bigger than I thought they'd be) drinks and one large drink. After my $2 in savings I spent $30. I'll do the math for you, I was already $57 in to spending $100 and that was in one trip to the movies.
I don't mean to sound like a crazy person about spending money. Truth is, there's really no amount of money I won't spend for my kids to have fun experiences. My indignation comes more from the fact that I was so excited to think of all these "cheap" things to do and then I turn around and end up spending crazy amounts of money. Possibly it's my personality. Both of my parents like to tell me that I have champange taste on a beer budget. Personally, I think champagne is for special occasions, and on special occasions I do tend to spend quite a bit of money. In general though I know how to cut fat out of our budget and there are plenty of things I've given up in my quest to refi and renovate the house.
Even as I've been writing this I've worked out a justification for all the money spent. Next summer the boys will only be 3 and 4. Meaning that they will not have outgrown playing in a smaller pool, sandbox, water table or sprinkler. They will still be small enough to sit in the little kid chairs at the little kid table. Even at 5 and 6 they'll probably still play with those toys. In the end, the big money items will probably definately be worth it in the end. Then, after the boys are done with them I'll pass them on to my neices and nephews or anyone else who I know with little ones that can use them still. The movies are a special thing, once a month, easily factored in to a budget :) And sweetness!! Every two months I'll be saving $10!
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