Weekly Spending Recap (1/23/12-1/29/12)

Another week has passed! Here's how we did with our spending this week. Two no spend days in a week. Super fun! :-) I picked up some birthday supplies this weekend, which will go towards our planned spend for each child's birthday.

 

• Monday
• Coffee for me + M at Starbucks (on a gift card)
• Tuesday
• No spend day!
• Wednesday
• $66.55 - gas
• Thursday
• $100 - donation to the boys school's auction
• $18.57 - groceries
• $18.98 - birthday gift for a kids party my son is attending this weekend
• $8.99 - beer for M (so much for the no liquor spend ;-))
• $43.74 - invitations, goodie bags, and items to fill the bags for my oldest's birthday coming up in a few weeks
• $138.65 - Costco. We stocked up on chicken breasts (M barbecues them in giant batches & then we freeze them for easy meal prep) and also had to purchase ground beef, plus all of our normal produce.
• Friday
• No spend day!! :-)
• Saturday
• $58.30 - Target for goodie bag items. My younger son is having his party at my mom's house (his request), as most of my extended family lives in the area & he requested a party with all of the family. As a result, there will be just my kids + my two nephews at the party, so I got more substantial goodie bag items - one pack of Pokemon cards each (it's a Pokemon themed party, of course ;-)) + a $10 Target gift card for each kid. I get annoyed by all of the wasteful stuff in a traditional goodie bag & was hoping to come up with something a little more useful.
• $35.50 - party store for invitations, plates, napkins, etc for youngest's birthday. He's turning five in *March*, but gets very excited when he sees the planning begin for my oldest son's birthday. As a result, it's easiest for me to plan & purchase for both parties at the same time. :-)
• Sunday
• $1.15 - Protein smoothie at the gym (on gift card)
• Childcare for the kids while I worked out - on gift card

Total spend = $489.28. Hands down, the least we've spent in a week since I stated tracking! Victory! And, the $100 donation to the kids school was completely unexpected - we would have been rocking it without that.

How did you do for your weekly spending? On track? Also, if you have kids, how much do you allocate for each birthday? We typically get the birthday boy one gift, and allow them to either do an experience (for example, a night at Great Wolf Lodge), or a birthday party. For my own sanity, we typically do not have the party at our house. Either way, it adds up quickly. Our budget is $500, although I'm hoping to trim it back to $450 this year.

Here's an example of our budget for my oldest son's birthday. (He's having his party at a bowling alley, and my nephews will attend, plus two family friends, and he's inviting four school children.)

• Cake - $30
• Cupcakes (for his class on the day of his birthday - we cannot bake our own) - $10, estimate. Not sure how much these are from the store.
• Goodie bag items for 10 kids- $50
• Bowling + pizza/soda for 10 kids - $160
• Adult food/drinks (my parents, sister, and best friend will attend, as well as any parents of other children. We'll order a few pizzas/salads & beverages - $100 (estimate)
• Birthday gift (purchased in 2011 on a Groupon deal) - rock climbing lessons & rock wall climbing pass - $40

Total = $390.