And in Other Spending...It's August

We are getting so very close to our vacation. Hard to believe when we made the decision in February, the time has flown- as we will be in just 12 short days. I have to battle with VISA to get a refund credited when one of the hotels that was not supposed to charge a deposit, did, and still has not credited us after we cancelled that reservation when our plans changed (free cancellations). Orbitz claims nothing was charged as a cancellation fee and the hotel has a no deposit policy. Well, I'm looking at two charges of $154.71 a night from April, with no credit yet applied. That will be another pain, but $310 is nothing to sneeze at, so I will be taking this one firmly into battle. Otherwise, we are on track with the vacation budget. The question is how much we will actually need to spend on meals and additional activities once we are there. I feel I estimated very high in the budget, but have made a decision that if we go over, we just will. This is literally the trip of my and DH's lifetime, probably the last we'll be able to do with all three of kids. Both DH and I are feeling healthy and I want to fully enjoy.

Still, life at home has needs as well. August gets us geared up for school-the last year since 1994 that we are sending a kid off to school before college and adulthood. For twenty five years I have helped kids prepare for the first day of school. We will need some good folders, a few multi subject notebooks-work so much better for organization even though they are pricey, pencils, pens, and couple replacement three ring binders for those not reusable from prior years. We'll contribute to the Kleenex supplies and make sure there is a fresh memory stick for storing and transporting written homework, but gone are the days with lists of supplies. That's OK as here is a short list of fees we will have this fall:

$125 Parking pass (and another one in January)
$150 Vocal Jazz Fee
$20 Choir Robe Rental fee
$15 Choir T-Shirt
$10 Spanish Honor Society Fee
$30 Show Choir Choreo weekend meal fees
$1300 Show Choir fee (minus some fund raising money she has in her account)
$65 Patches for her letter jacket

We  need to decide this week if she is going to continue private violin lessons into the fall. We have been less than pleased with the inflexibility on the part of her teacher when DD2 has a conflict, but she regularly changes times or wants to do facetime lessons instead. She is only available on Tuesdays, a horrible day for DD2 to cram a lesson in. She technically could just get a lesson a quarter in with her school teacher to satisfy the requirements, so we will decide if the lessons are worth the money and stress they seem to cause some weeks. 

We will be tackling some DIY projects once we are back. The upstairs bathroom is going to get new flooring, some tiling, a new toilet, vanity, and mirror/medicine chest. We'll also splurge on new shower head and faucet system and some wrap around toilet Storage. We will not be pulling out and replacing the tub, which was where the major costs were coming in the estimates. Instead, we will be doing a sandblast kind of cleaning (not exactly right terminology) and then reglazing (again not the right term) Still, the DIY, with some friends helping, will be several thousands. Replacing the kitchen floor and counters is also on the list for fall, but we will stop there on our budget, likely going over the $9,000 target. 

We'll be doing a fair amount of frugal meals the next 12 days, making sure to not waste food in the refrigerator. I wanted Papa Murphy's pizza last night, but settled for scrambled eggs and avocado toast. Tonight will be pasta, tomorrow tuna hot dish. Simple foods now in exchange for peace of mind with spending later. All these expenses are just the stuff of life, the stuff of having kids, and the stuff of owning a home. How are you faring as August begins?