what its worth.

I am a pretty cheap person. I only shop the clearance racks. I live for an awesome deal. I will always attempt to fix my plumbing issue or basic home repair by myself before calling in a professional. I research major purchases TO DEATH and always end up making my decision when the perfect deal comes around. That being said - I shop, a lot. If a sale is too good to be true, I buy it - even if I don't really need a 3rd car seat or a new set of china.

My husband is the total opposite. His thinking goes like this - "dash really likes bubbles, maybe i should buy him a bubble machine...hmmm....well there are 15 choices on Amazon, I guess I should be the most expensive one because that means it is the best." I mean every 2 year old really needs a "DJ quality" $150 bubble machine along with a $20 gallon of bubbles. (seriously, who buys $20 bubbles ... I about had a heart attack when I saw that invoice. I could have bought those for $1 at Big Lots.)

There are a few "luxuries" that we allow ourselves and I don't feel one bit guilty and I can rattle off a 10 minute justification of each.

1. Lawn Care - after 5 years in this house, we finally hired a lawn service. I don't know why we didn't do it before. Our weekends no longer have to be spent mowing and trimming and fertilizing. I don't have to worry about the dogs getting chopped up by the mower, as it is their mortal enemy and they attack it and if they aren't participating in the yard work with Brent then they sit by the window and bark - for HOURS.

i'm ferocious .... watch out lawn mower

2. Pool Guy - we did the chemicals and cleaning in our pool for 3 1/2 years and our pool was probably breeding bacteria for that entire time frame. For about $30 less than we were spending every month on chemicals trying to make it usable, a guy comes once a week and cleans it and does the chemicals and it has been usable every day since we hired them. if you have a pool - hire a pool man. seriously.

3. Good Hair Cuts - I don't get my haircut all that often but it is important to me that when I do the person cutting it isn't going to fuck it up. I found my hairstylist right when I moved here and haven't been to anyone else in 5 years. Every year her prices go up and I will just keep paying more because I love her and trust her. She cuts Dash's hair too - for free, so I probably save $20 a month just by knowing her.
                                                  

look how cute he is after his haircut

 

 

 

4. Vacations - I like to travel. I think everyone needs a break from the routine. We are going on our first annual family/friend trip to Tennessee in a couple weeks. One house, 7 bedrooms, 6 families, 5 kids under the age of 4 and apparently my brother is bringing a case of vodka. so it should be an interesting trip. i am excited to see what this trip has in store for us!