If You Want To Purchase an Ice-Cream Truck, Don't Listen to Me

I don't know if I'm the best person to take financial advice from. 

Sometimes I joke that I would rather buy my children an ice-cream cone from the ice-cream truck now and enjoy their sweet faces of childhood joy than save that money and have enough to buy them the actual ice-cream truck later in life when they are grown.  Maybe this is an extreme example, but I would much rather make memories with my children than scrimp now in order to have the big bucks later.  

Financially we are on a different road than we were a few years ago.  Now it'll probably take us a few years to save up what we once could in a few months.  Oh well, life goes on.  I have a great life that is perfect for me.  But whatever the financial circumstances, I still feel it is important to have quality family moments, including vacations, now during these precious years.  It's good for all of us. 

Obviously we still have to be wise (I do want some money to spend on my grandkids).  

Thankfully there are many things we can do for free or cheap here in Mesa and the East Valley (hello, I'm the I Heart Mesa lady - it's my hobby to research ways to spend quality family time without breaking the bank) and Arizona is home to many wonderful adventures.  Our girls love camping, backpacking, fishing, exploring Arizona...yes they still cost in gas and food and sometimes lodging, but we make it work.

Ryan and I know how blessed we are that we have been able to explore our state with our girls.  We love thinking about all of our adventures.  Maybe our girls won't remember many of them (at least I have pictures to jog their memories).  But, I think these experiences help their minds to enlarge.  I know they strengthen our family bond.  And we plan to keep exploring and re-exploring as they grow.  I'm sure it'll be a lot easier once Leta and Annie are past the scream in the car phase.    

You may or may not agree with this, but I'm okay that our house won't get paid off in record speed but our girls will be able to say, "I saw lava rocks at Sunset Crater."  "I played in an indoor Jacuzzi in Flagstaff." (This was our latest vacation - post soon to follow)

I get Ryan new shirts at the Lutheran Thrift Store's $1 days.  I kept our thermostat at 82 degrees for most of the summer.  I stopped getting my hair highlighted and stopped buying my favorite shampoo and conditioner.  We canceled cable and lowered our internet speed.  We changed insurance coverage.  I've perfected my bean recipe.  I taught Lucy and Elsa's preschool class - all in an attempt to save money and be more frugal.  

But I just can't bring myself to be a total miser in the family vacations department.  Hopefully my children understand when we don't have enough money to buy them an ice-cream truck for their wedding present.     

* Ryan figured out long ago that if he wanted to do something extra, all he had to do was add a kid element into it.  When he wanted to be a ski instructor, "Kathryn, just think of how cute I'll look skiing kids down a hill with a hula-hoop."  If he wanted to go backpacking with his brother, "Kathryn, just think of all the awesome brotherly bonding."  If he wants some new piece of technology, "Kathryn, this will be awesome for educational purposes for the girls."  What can I say, I'm a sucker when it comes to the kids.