This week has been a whirlwind of spending: my dryer broke, my kids have outgrown most of their clothes for school, the school supply lists are ready, and our Minivan was in desperate need of tires and a check up. A fun thing we did this week was ordering pizza for dinner on Wednesday.

A chain called Marco’s Pizza sent a coupon mailer, and it was a free pizza with a $5-or-more purchase, plus a bunch of coupons. The store let the family meal coupon ring up with the free pizza deal, so all in all, the order had an original price of around $60 and came out to $34 out of pocket. Not bad considering the pizza made for two dinners and a lunch.

I know that I shouldn’t look at regular car maintenance, like tires and oil changes, as an avoidable expense, but it does feel like a gut punch when I have to drop $800-$1,000 for them.

I think my wife would say that I lean too hard into the “never spend any money ever” mentality, instead of the “spend money wisely, when you have to spend” mentality. Clothes shopping for three kids can get pretty expensive, but these aren’t surprises; they should be a planned part of a budget.

How’s your summer budget handling the heat?

~~Miniwing~~
Parent, Investor, Stoic