Budget Smudget

I’ve been tagged by Shanti at Antishay Ventenne to complete The Budget Busters Challenge, wherein I need to list five things that cause me to break the budget. Five? ONLY FIVE? Just kidding. Hubby and I are not spreadsheet or quicken budgeters. We spend less than we earn but we don’t follow a strict budget *gasp* so this is going to be tricky. I will do my best to complete the challenge though.

Starbucks – Yes, I am a latte junkie. I love my Grande White Chocolate Mocha. I don’t splurge on them too too often but I certainly do indulge myself enough to call it a budget buster. Right now I am dwindling down a $50 starbucks gift card though so it’s been a while since I’ve spent my own money there.

Weekly trip to visit parents – Every Sunday, the kids and I pile into the car and drive 45 minutes each way to visit my parents for the day. Before we head out of town, I stop at Barnes and Noble and get a Sunday NY Times, a Grande White Chocolate Mocha for me and a Venti Decaf Cappuccino for mom. Between the gas, coffees and newspaper, I spend about $30/week on this little trip. It’s worth it though.

Travel – My family has 2 cottages in Northern, NY. I grew up spending my weekends there and we still make it part of our summer routine to get up there from Florida for a few weeks. It takes a chunk of money to do it – including last summer when hubby came with us for 3 unpaid weeks off work because he’d used up his vacation time earlier in the year to work on the house. Sometimes recharging, relaxing and rejuvenating are worth much more than a paycheck.

Thrift Shopping – Not really a huge budget bust since I’m pretty good at only getting things we need at deeply deeply discounted prices, but it’s an obsession and I have probably bought a thing or two I didn’t actually NEED when thrifting.

Jeans – I love getting deals and I am not a snob about too many things that I wear, but I am a jeans junkie. I believe that it’s worth it to spend more money on a pair that is really quality, fits great and I feel fabulous in than a pair that kinda fits. I’m 5’11″ and thin – finding a good fit is important and I’ll spend more when I find it. I wear my favorite Seven for all Mankind Jeans or Citizens of Humanity jeans almost everyday and have gotten my money out of them and then some.

Now, who to tag, who to tag…so many bloggers have already been tagged for this one!

Alison at This Wasn’t In The Plan Hee hee – I always tag Alison!

Mom at Wide Open Wallet

and Aimee at Daisyeyes