A Fence, New York City and Spending Priorities
July 10, 2008 by Miranda Marquit
Filed under Finance
We’ve been slowly working on getting a yard for our new house. We’re putting in a fence right now. We’ve decided to buy the rest of the fence panels, just before our trip to New York. We know that if we wait until next year to buy the panels (the posts are already in), we will be likely to pay $2,800 to $3,000 instead of $1,800. That’s a big difference.
Inflation is also affecting our travel plans. Every year we go see my husband’s family near Albany, NY for two weeks. One of the highlights of the trip is a jaunt down to NYC. But this year things are going to be a little bit different. My husband’s dad is coming down to see a Yankees game with us. This means that we’re going to have to get reserved seats on the train, instead of riding coach. But that’s not the only increase in prices we’re seeing:
- The hotel we stayed at last year is charging $75 more per night.
- Train ticket increases + reserved seating will cost $222 more.
- We are paying for good seats at the game, since my husband’s dad has never seen a Yankees game, and this is the last year in the current stadium: $300 more.
- The shuttle that takes us to and from the airport — we live 85 miles away — also costs more, thanks to gas prices: $100 more. (Although it still costs less than driving ourselves and paying for parking at the airport.)
This trip is probably going to cost around $700 more this year than it did last year. Which is why we’re going to have to curtail our activities. In fact, since my husband’s priorities are more for going lots of places, we’re not even staying in the city. We’re renting a car for a few days instead. (Due to several “other people” running stop signs and the like, the car situation is rather dire.) So we can go watch two or three movies in the Albany area. And we better eat out at least once.
Bottom line: Family finances involve trade offs. I want an actual yard rather than a dirt. My husband would rather make several so-so mini trips than one big awesome trip. So NYC gets severely maimed in terms of our itinerary. The good news is that we can go back next year. But if something has to get cut, it’ll be the Yankees game, and not my trip to the Metropolitan Museum.
Responsible personal finances means you have to make hard choices and set priorities. We can’t afford (without debt) to do everything we want to do, so we have to cut out some of our wants.
What sorts of things do you choose to forgo in the name of responsible personal finances?
image source: Miranda Marquit
As a stay at home mother of five children, we have always had to prioritize spending when having fun. We usually sacraficed eating out. We would buy groceries at a local store and make sandwiches, etc while driving down the road (my husband drove, I made sandwiches). We have always taken a well stocked cooler and a couple of grocery sacks filled with snacks for the kids to avoid expensive snacks at the gas stations.
Thanks for sharing, mom! I remember that fiscal responsibility was a big part of our upbringing. I remember the made-from-scratch dinners (delicious). But most of all I remember that we still had fun — and even went on trips — even though it wasn’t always the fanciest time, it was good family fun.