The lodge at the Ski area is an interesting place. My husband and kids enjoy downhill skiing. I hate it. Cross country skiing is my thing. I was snuggling with my book and a thermos of hot mint tea. One by one the kids came to find for hot drinks and snacks. One mother commented she had spent 50 dollars on snacks and drinks. Our son came over and asked for nachos. The mother gave me a nod to say now, you will be spending money. I pulled out a bowl of chips, nacho cheese sauce(which is nondairy), olives, green peppers, and tomatoes. Bowl of nachos at the ski hill is 12 bucks. Lift tickets are expensive. Purchased snack are an unnecessary expense to purchase at the ski lodge, however, it is the kids' choice with a limit. They elected to select their snacks before we left. The eatery manager came over and asked me about the nondairy cheese. I gave them the recipe. He asked my son if it was really good. The manager ended up trying it.
This led to a discussion of how much time it must have taken and how this could apply to packed lunches for work and school. One mother commented how sad life must be for kids to always get homemade items. My frugality is about creating experiences, not always for
My son looked her and said " Every time, we don't get a snack out, mom gives me the money for my bank account." That ended the conversation quick. There are several points that I am teaching our children. 1. Healthy food is better. 2. Nacho cheese sauce wrecks our son's stomach. 3. Parental limits and values. 4 Saving for other things. 5. The kids make the choice of having healthy food or the snack money for snacks. Now, if they were selling Boba tea, our daughter would have selected that hands down.
Skiing is an expensive hobby regardless if you rent or purchase equipment. There are ways around it. I put the word out when I need ski boots, skis etc. I was able to outfit each child for 50 dollars. Now, they have always ran a size behind each other in shoes. So, I swapped boots and found a pair for our son for 10 dollars. Rentals cost 75 dollars. Lift tickets are anywhere from 75 to over 200. Sticking to smaller ski areas and buying used equipment. Sometimes, you can borrow equipment.
Another winter activity is using snow shoes. we borrow these from the library. Sledding, ice skating, and roller skating are other fun activites.
Worn out wool sweater can be cut into infinity scarfs, socks, and mittens. This is a savings and way to repurpose wornout or outgrown sweater.
One fun project is repurposing overalls. I have made them into cute purses and totebags. Denim is a very sturdy.
I make scrunchies out of discarded soft clothing. My daughter is always losing or breaking scrunchies.
I don't purchase oven mitts. I make them myself. That way I always have clean oven mitts.
Old clothing and jeans can be cut into strips and braided into rugs, These are used to get out of the pool, I nail them down and cover with tape. I use these in the children's room and in our outdoor livingroom.
Weekend or midweek trips can be less expensive way to have a vacation. We are planning a trip to Steamboat. We will go midweek to save on housing. Ski and shop a bit.
Pet grooming is expensive. Our Golden needs a ton of grooming. One issue is her ears. They develop fungus. The vet suggested a 50 dollar spray or a 2 dollar solution. I elected the 2 dollar solution because the other spray didn't work well. Bathing, cutting her hair, and cutting her nails in various areas is 125 dollars at the groomer. I found a way to get her to be calm for these activites. Puppy ice cream. Stella doesn't like two people on her for these activites. If I go into on eof the kid's bathrooms to do these activites, she is calm. The bonus is I clean the kid's bathroom I am using.
No comments:
Post a Comment