Toddler Summer Money Diary: Weeks 6 & 7

Remember how in my last money diary I joked about $19 in 48 hours making kids expensive?

Hahahahahahahaha.

Here’s live footage of me trying to salvage our budget at the end of July.

via GIPHY

There’s just something about summertime that means spending in my life. Though if social media is any indication, it’s pretty universal.

We knew that this month would come with some additional expenses. Normally, we plan to spend about $100 on HP (not including regular groceries, etc.), but we bummed our budget up to $200 for this month. And it turns out we were just about spot on.

Our money diary for these two weeks shows exactly why. All things considered, I’d say it was mostly money well spent. Mostly.

$36.00 Tumbling class

At the start of summer, we put HP in a parent tot tumbling class out of curiosity more than anything. He absolutely fell in love with it. We knew we would happily enroll him in another session, and we did.

$1.07 Shark shoes

These shoes were part of his birthday present. I score them so cheaply thanks to DSW and their shoe recycling program. I’ve earned a whole bunch of rewards from them. Those rewards combined with a great sale meant really cheap shark shoes. Cue the “Baby Shark” earworm.

$28.18 diapers and wipes

These diapers will last us until November or December. It was our big haul from Target. The out-of-pocket cost was mercifully low due to my pledge to actually use our gift cards.

$88.00 birthday party supplies

In addition to our normal grocery budget for the week, we spent an extra $88 on HP’s second birthday. I’m debating doing a full post on this at some point (mostly because the Elmo cupcake cake was cute!). But the short and sweet version is that we hosted about 15 adults in our backyard, and it was a fun celebration and a nice way to thank the grandparents and godparents for supporting HP for another year. It does, indeed, take a village.

$1.00 iTunes – Peppa Pig

I caved and bought an episode of Peppa Pig. Normally, we just use YouTube, but when times get tough and there is no WiFi, I want to be prepared.

$11.09 Penguin potty

My parents have a cottage in the approximate middle of nowhere, so it should really come as no surprise that this is the place where HP would announce that he no longer wanted to wear diapers. I should really factor in the 35 minutes of drive time to find a store that sells training potties. Sigh.

$7.11 dried fruit and baby food pouches

I am weak. My son is consistent. We splurged on these again.

Things We Got Without Buying

I wasn’t actually sure what we get in terms of HP’s birthday. When all the wrapping paper was unwrapped, it was immediately clear just how outstanding everyone in my son’s life really is. Not only did we get some really thoughtful toys, but HP actually got money from both sets of grandparents to cover his swim lessons for the fall and winter. Now if only they also offered to go in the cold water with him.

We also loaded up on $100 worth of baby items from Target. They were doing a magical sale where you spend $100 and earn a $30 gift card (normally, it’s a $20 gift card!). Since this is how we normally buy diapers, I save my gift cards and apply them to future purchases that also trigger gift cards. It’s the one final remnant from my couponing days.

RELATED POST: Extreme(ly Stupid) Couponing

But because I started the summer with a commitment to documenting and curbing our spending, I also used a $50 Target gift card…from HP’s baby shower. That’s right. I have kept this gift card for over two years despite the fact that the note right on it said to use it for something fun or something useful like diapers. So I finally did.

Things We Did That Didn’t Cost Us Anything

Library visits: 9 (We visited 3 different libraries, and then we had a few repeat trips. I think we might actually have taken up residence at one. HP is positively in love with their train table.)

Park visits: 11 (So many parks. So many many parks.)

Walking paths/hiking trails: 4

Malls: 2 (We had to exchange a birthday present, so I tied it in with some JobSpotter fun! Plus, we went to another mall where HP had earned a bounce house pass thanks to a library reading program.)

Tons of time outside: HP is officially rocking the toddler version of a farmer’s tan. We are still spending hours outside every day, unless it’s raining. Plus, there was one really magical day when the temperature was so warm and the rain was so light that we all stayed out in it to play. HP was thrilled.

A Look Back

If you’re interested in past toddler summer money diaries, here they are!

Toddler Summer Money Diary Week 1

Toddler Summer Money Diary Weeks 2 & 3

Toddler Summer Money Diary Weeks 4 & 5

Final Thoughts on This Toddler Summer Money Diary

With a day remaining in the month, I can honestly say that this was one of the most expensive months we’ve had with HP.

So Tell Me…What’s your favorite free thing to do in the summer? Do you find this season to be frugal or full of spending?