Summer Budget Busters

My summer plan, besides keeping everyone alive, covered with sunscreen, away from the H1N1 virus and marginally entertained, was to live like a cheapskate frugally.  I totally expected this summer to be easy on our budget.  I planned on ushering in September awash in cash in our Starbucks savings account.

Our vacation plans are family reunions that are graciously being subsidized by our parents.  My daughter was lukewarm about going back to the gymnastics summer camp she usually attends, so I tossed that registration form right in the recycling.  We have a few months break from preschool tuition payments.  There is really NOTHING fun about going shopping with 4 kids, so that's off my agenda.  Our entertainment consists mostly of hanging out at the pool and partaking in free swimming lessons.

I waited for our bank account to swell with the fruits of my frugal labors and my awesome budgeting skills.  I would be known as Queen of the Recession.

Except there was that day a few weeks ago when we were running a tad late and I backed my van out of the driveway a wee bit faster than usual, forgetting about the tree growing right next to it.  (Who plants a TREE right next to a very narrow driveway, anyhow?)  I knocked the rearview mirror right off the passenger side.  $200. 

And of course, while that was getting fixed, my mechanic found $500 worth of OTHER stuff that needed to be done.  I was was all, "REALLY?  Does it all NEED to be done right now?" and he was all, "Well, I wouldn't be driving MY kids around in that van, but whatever. It's your choice."  $500

Later that week, my new-ish laptop stopped working.  I tried all my tricks to get it to boot up.  (Consisting of turning it off and on again a BUNCH of times.  And cursing at it.  A LOT.)  Being that my computer is my lifeline to sanity (and ok, yes, Twitter), I reallyreallyreally needed to have it fixed immediately.  Even if I HAD just knocked the mirror off my van.  $175.

A few months back, we had promised a pregnant friend that she could have our glider, as we are out of the baby-rocking biz and it's taken up residence in our laundry room.  But there are quite a few miles on it (and probably some residual puke, breastmilk, drool and other baby fluids).  I couldn't possibly give it away without having it cleaned by something other than a Clorox wipe and a spritz of Febreze.  And unfortunately for my checkbook, that baby is due any day now.  And if the upholstery-cleaning guy is coming, I REALLY should have him do something about the family room sofa that smells very strongly of sweaty little boy head, right?  (And if he's going into the family room, the RUG, my God, the RUG.)  $150.

I was also mapping out the route for the first leg of our vacation, and noticed that we will be tantalizingly close to Niagara Falls.  We CAN'T drive all that way (and seriously, even though my Garmin says it will be five hours, it has obviously not spent enough time in the car with MY kids... it will be AT LEAST nine hours) without going to the Falls.  And really, the Canadian side is so much better, so let's just take an extra day and go to Canada, right?  Except my passport is expired and we only have, oh geez, 15 days until we leave.  So ring up the renewal and expedited fees along with express mailing and passport photos.  $225.

Then there is the love letter my husband received from the Metropolitan Police Department with the cute photo of him driving through the 3rd Street tunnel at 64 MPH.  $100.

I also managed to commit myself to hosting birthday parties for three of my kids.  We don't do birthday parties every year, but for various reasons, three of them were really due for a party this summer.  I came up with the brilliant crazy idea of renting a moonbounce and running the parties back-to-back on the same day.  Frugal right?  It might have been, if it hadn't been scheduled in the same month that I ran into a tree and renewed my passport, had my furniture cleaned and my computer fixed and my husband decided to play race car driver past a speed camera.  I'm not even putting a total on the birthday parties, because I'm afraid to add it up.  By the time we got to those, I was just handing over my credit card, closing my eyes and gritting my teeth.

So let's just say, my summer goal of having a well-padded bank account is an epic fail.  And we aren't even two-thirds of the way through yet.  I may need to take out a loan just to get through August.

This is an original DC Metro Moms post.  Sue writes about life and laundry at My Party of 6.