The kids start summer vacation on Friday. Gah! I'm so stressed out. We seem to eat through money while the kids are on break. All the extra activities, and meals, and I don't even know what!
Maybe all my careful planning and budgeting goes out the window from stress.
What do you do to keep from hemorrhaging money while the kids are out of school???
The summer money pit
May 23rd, 2017 at 02:05 am
May 23rd, 2017 at 05:50 am 1495515058
May 23rd, 2017 at 07:07 am 1495519674
May 23rd, 2017 at 07:18 am 1495520318
My town also does movies in the park one night a week all summer. They are free and family friendly. Look to see if your town does anything like that.
Stop by your town's visitor center. While you think you might know everything there is to do, they may surprise you with new things or off the wall things you've never heard of. In our town this is how we found out about the Toy Railroad Museum and the Radio Museum which has all the machines that recorded and played sound over the years, including some impressive Victrolas and early ham operator radios and primitive walkie talkies. We have a touch tank down by the bay where kids can go and touch sea plants and it is free. We have a fish hatchery where you can go and look at the fish, no charge. Our museum doesn't charge for entry, though I know many do.
In my state kids can fish without a license until they are 16. If your state is the same you could take them fishing. As long as you aren't fishing yourself, you don't need a license either. We even have an area of one creek where only kids are allowed to fish.
We have rivers, lakes, streams, and the bay, all areas that are fun to explore with kids. Looking at tide pools was something my kids always enjoyed as their is such a huge amount of life in them. Lakes are great for free swimming. Rivers are fun for rock collecting and teaching your kids how to skip rocks across the water. Streams are great for wading.
We have bike trails all over our city and our son loves riding on them. Perhaps there is a trail system you guys could go on in your city, too.
Our local food co-op has free lectures and classes. Our farming community does a farm tour day each summer where you can go and visit several farms over the course of 8 hours. It doesn't cost anything.
Check out bulletin boards wherever you go. Our Trader Joe's has one with lots of fun community events on it. So does our feed store.
Plant a garden and get the kids interested in it. Kids are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables that they helped plant, care for, and harvest.
May 23rd, 2017 at 11:52 am 1495536725
I think there is a national bowling program where kids can bowl free at select bowling alleys. Worth a quick Google search!
What part of summer are you usually spending money on...Outings? Camps? Food?
May 23rd, 2017 at 01:35 pm 1495542937
I don't have much to add. We don't spend more during summers or holidays. Having two kids close in age, mine mostly just entertain each other. Beyond that, our list is probably more like LR's. We spend a lot of time at the local pools and have had various memberships over the years. The only thing I Can think of that we do with any great regularity is that we walk down to our pool (free) several times per week.
May 23rd, 2017 at 02:48 pm 1495547331
We DO sign up for Kids Bowl Free every year. It's at the bowling alley by my Mom's house, so an hour away, and we usually manage to go 2-3 times a summer. But we do buy lunch there...
We always do summer reading. Thing is, my boys read constantly, and they finish within a couple of weeks. Last year we even did TWO summer programs at different library systems and they were done right away!
We do free movie nights at the park, too. Sadly, my youngest is very sensitive and gets scared easily, when he knows something bad will happen or the music gets scary, he makes us go home. We haven't managed too finish a single one!
We take day trips around the state to interesting hiking and historical places. We've got petroglyphs, snake mounds, Native American villages, space museums. I definitely spend more on gas, since during the school year, we walk to school/park.library, etc. But, my car gets 35-40 mpg, so gas isn't a bankrupter.
So far, the summer expenses have been $835 for camps and $260 for a pool pass. Ugh.
I think the extra money ends up going to meals out, because we're on the go, and sometimes on day trips far from home, so we tend to eat out more than when they are in school. Plus, admission costs to places. There are just so many hours to fill every day.
I'm thinking of setting an 'entertainment' budget each week--say $50 to $75-- that includes eating out, and having the kids sit with me and decide where we want to go, where we want to eat, and how to spend it.
May 23rd, 2017 at 05:50 pm 1495558224
May 23rd, 2017 at 10:53 pm 1495576395
May 24th, 2017 at 03:51 am 1495594298
I don't think you need to fill all these hours. The kids can just play, can't they? I think you've fallen into the trap that you always have to be doing something, but you really don't. Kids ought to be able to entertain themselves for hours once they are school age. I'd honestly just schedule one or two things a week. Provide board games and books and let them play out in the yard.
When I was a kid I played on our play structure, played badminton and croquet with my sister, kicked around a soccer ball with the neighbor girl, danced in my room, shot baskets, played tether ball, climbed trees, strung beads, read, blew bubbles, collected stamps and coins, played with toy cars and dolls, and never, ever told my mother I was bored because she'd put me to work cleaning. Most of the time everything occurred in my yard or house. When I was old enough, I rode my bike all over town, too. I usually had camp one week, but that was it. I also worked in the berry fields, but they don't allow kids to do that anymore.
May 24th, 2017 at 12:49 pm 1495626591
Also, there is no casual play with neighbors anymore. With camps and parents working, every playdate has to be planned, apart from going to the pool and hoping someone is there!!
SO, I guess I'm trying to avoid the week three and every week thereafter meltdown, and at least have a loose 'routine' for our days and weeks. I struggle with routines, so it's extra hard for me to maintain some sort of structure in summer. Both my boys have ADD, so they need structure. Ugh!