I thought
this was a fun idea for a post: things you on which you splurge and things on which you scrimp. Money is on my mind a lot these days, and not in a good way, so it made me feel good that our "splurges" are pretty low-key and in ten years, they just might seem silly.
splurges1.
My Hair - I spend a little over one hundred dollars having my hair cut and colored. Such is the burden of having dishwater blonde hair. Instead of having it refreshed every 6-8 weeks like my hairdressers always suggest, I can only do it about 3 times a year. For now.
2.
Orange Juice- We go through at least a gallon of orange juice a week. I could get the frozen concentrate and mix it with our nasty tap water, but it tastes really yucky. I buy 1 or 2 96-ounce Tropicanas a week. At about six bucks a pop. Totally worth it.
3.
Our Kids' Education- We could have easily kept Audrey at the public school down the road, which we contribute to through our hefty annual school tax, but chose to splurge, sending her to the private school, which we can barely afford, but which has already made a huge difference. I'm also a firm believer in sending kids to preschool for a few hours a week the year before kindergarten. So we pay for that, too. I've also noticed that both of my kids' extra-curricular activities are academic in nature. Looks like, for now, we're heading down the nerdy road instead of the sporty one.
4.
Good Meat- We've been spoiled by Neal's family's adoration and requirement for good steak, good brisket, good turkey, etc. We don't get to see his family all that much, but ever since Neal's brother, Jeff, sent us delicious high-quality steaks for Christmas last year, we've been buying up the good cuts. And they're so good when Neal grills them up with lots of salt & pepper.
5.
Cereal- We have a lot of cereal in our house. And only name-brands will do. I use coupons every chance I get, but it still adds up.
6.
School Shoes for the Kids- Every August, we head to Stride Rite to get our kids one pair each (they have a buy-one-get-one-half-off sale every August). They each have several pairs of "other" shoes (lots of flip flops), but I think it's important to get a good-fitting, quality pair of sneakers for school.
7.
Medical Care- I feel like this is a reluctant splurge, but I'll pay a little extra for a private hospital room after my c-sections, and I'm pretty prompt about well child visits and immunizations, even when it's a tight budget month. I guess I'm just paranoid and want to be sure the kids are getting the best. That's how we knew Audrey had such bad vision. She never squints or complains about it, but that vision screening let us know just how difficult it was for her!
8.
Books - I have a major weakness when it comes to beefing up my library or my kids' library. I have a hard time leaving Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com without spending at least $30.
9.
Everyday conveniences - Cell phones for the two of us, DVR and high-speed internet. We're just too used to it.
scrimps1.
Electronics- We bought a 22-inch old-fashioned TV at Wal-mart about 6 years ago. It's still our only TV, we don't own any video game systems (much to Parker's distress), and just really aren't all that into buying movies or fancy gadgets.
2.
My shoes- I won't pay more than twenty bucks for a pair of shoes. Sure, I may pay $12.99 a few too many times, but at least I wear most of my shoes pretty regularly.
3.
Everyone else's hair - It's a triple treat at Great Clips when the time comes. Luckily, Miles is saving us money by remaining quite bald.
4.
Sunglasses - I don't ever see myself spending $75 on sunglasses, at least not as long as I have children who eat them or my forgetful brain. I prefer the $5 pairs.
5.
Kids' clothes - As tempting as Gymbucks can be every once in a while, I only buy my kids' clothes at stores like Gymboree about once or twice a year. Most of the time, Old Navy is our favorite source for their clothes. (I could obviously save
more by buying at Wal-mart or some such place, but I just can't bring myself to put that stuff on my kids. I gotta have a
little quality!)
6.
Furniture - Most of our stuff is either hand-me-downs or self-assembled stuff from Target or Ikea. It'll do for now, but when we move, a lot of it is going to the curb. A bookshelf we've put together after three moves just isn't looking so good anymore.
7.
Accessories - This is the kind of thing where low quality isn't that big of a deal. I like to pick up a new bold necklace or headband every so often, but never for more than $5. Same goes for handbags, I can never have enough, but never spend more than $20.
8.
Lawn Service - It's absolutely criminal how hot and sweaty
one can become while mowing the lawn & cleaning up the yard every 8 days or so. But we just can't bring ourselves to budget out 25 bucks a week for someone else to do it. Especially since we own a lawn mower. We'd rather use the money for a meal out on the weekend.
9.
Neal's Wheels - He drives a 1998 Honda Civic. And he's at
least the third owner. It smells of old yogurt containers and gym clothes, has a cracked windshield and a broken rear-view mirror. It's not even remotely shiny. It has a dull matte finish to it. And we wash it about twice a year.
~~you try it!~~
This week, I'm feeling grateful for:
Posts
