Drive By

So I have recently, maybe more often than not, talked about money or budgets lately - so yes another post but I think you will find this one a little helpful and maybe eye opening. As I knew my budget was slim, I took the kiddo to the zoo today for some fun - my folks have a pass so it was free...or so you think.

I did bring our own snacks, but kiddo ate them in the morning and I probably didn't plan enough to spend nothing at the zoo. So I ended up deciding to get an item a le carte at the zoo (because we all know the "meal deals" are a joke there, not that any food is cheap) - so then the kiddo wanted the darn animal cup and are you really gonna say no on your first summer trip to the zoo....maybe stronger parents would, lol. So ok, $6 and change for a shared lunch, well then I said pink lemonade as in for the animal drink and the kid rang up another adult pink lemonade - and we have $12.

So below are some of my everyday type Suburbia budget busters:

I managed to avoid the below - only by taking a wrong turn though:

And since the microwave was broken and I felt the kiddo needed one hot side and a little treat for me (minus the sandwich because I could deal with cold chicken at home):

 But still - if you gave in even just once a week to a small $3 treat for your one kid, a $2.50 cheaper Bucks treat, and $4 shared off the value menu dinner add on - you are looking at almost $10 a week via marketing by driving down the street and poor willpower v sad rationale. Crazy when you think about it. The sad thing is for awhile I didn't think about it because the budget (or lack their of) wasn't that bad - just as I had to cancel my gym membership to make room for getting some unexpected old bills paid off and an unexpected lower income (please God I know it's your will but please please please not for long), I now have to really think when I drive by and just drive by as much as possible. It may be harder to budget in Suburbia.

P.S. Microwave will be out for a bit as the estimate of like 4 microwaves (it's built in) came in today - so yeah I either eat it all for no leftovers or eat the kids scraps as to not over cook. Or heat up over a pan of boiled water. The modern world has spoiled me.