If you have a one income family or maybe a hard working two income family, you know how difficult it can be to get away for a family vacation. In times like these a weekend getaway can be a sacrifice. Well, in the Edwards' family we have found a way to enjoy guilt-free vacations. We managed to take vacations the last two years, but after the fun was over and we were settled back in our home the regret set in. "We should have thought the trip through more. We should have packed lunches". All of these comments after a vacation. What were we doing wrong? After two years of the same thing we decided that we were going to pay closer attention to our money and plan ahead not just by making reservations or deciding a location for our next trip, but we would plan with our money.
I don't know about your house, but we spent a lot of money on fast food. One day we sat down and analyzed our bank statements for a few months and what we found was that 1/4 of our monies were being spent on eating out. We thought we were saving money by eating at Kids Eat Free Nights and purchasing meals from the value menu, but the little we saved did us no good when we were eating out at least three times a week.
We were shocked at the amount of money we spent. Basically, we were eating our money. What my husband and I decided to do was create an account just for the money that we would normally spend on fast food and use this money to plan more trips with the kids. This year alone we plan to take three major trips and the trips will not stress out the family budget at all because we are being more mindful of where our money is going . With the extra money we are saving, we were even able to take out better life insurance policies on the family.
I challenge you to join us on the journey to guilt free living. Sit down and see where your money is going. Reassess and see what you can do with the extra funds. Remember be realistic and have fun doing it.
To everyone who have read my blog and commented and checked me on my grammar errors thanks so much. I appreciate all the feedback. I have kept a private journal for years I figured now would be good to write and share somethings with others that may help.
ReplyDeleteI like this idea Talethia. It's good to find ways to spend quality time away from home with the whole family. They dont' have to be expensive and you can find many ways to make it exciting for the kids. Believe me, the opportunity for them to see places other than Tallahassee will awaken a fire in them. It opens new doors to them, which is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea about limiting the amount of "dining out" when home in order to pay for these getaways. At my house, we cook dinner and eat at home most of the time. And we make a point to eat together at the dinner table. A lot of our dining out experiences are getting meals and bringing them home. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy dining at a restaurant, but I'm find doing it at home also.
The benefits of sacrificing the dining out money is that you guys will have fabulous trips that will mean a whole lot more to you and the memories will last forever! Keep it up girl. I am loving your posts.