this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

It's always frustrating when things break, even more so when you spend a lot of money on said item and it breaks not too terribly long after you spend that money.

Our Canon Digital SLR camera is not yet two years old, but it appears to have bit the dust. We were getting the mysterious "99 Error", but every fix we found and tried didn't seem to work. Now it won't even turn on.

It seems like our only choice is to send it in to be serviced. I'm so frustrated by the fact that the camera didn't even last two years that I'm not even sure I want the camera anymore. We certainly can't afford another DSLR, so fixing this one seems the most economical (maybe). We will probably up getting an inexpensive small camera and maybe fixing this one later down the road when I am not as angry.

I realize I'm treating this as if a camera is a need. It certainly doesn't fall into the food, shelter, clothing, or transportation category, but I think I'd consider a basic camera a need. Pictures help us remember the wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) times we enjoy as a family. And even though we've been camera-less for not quite a week, so many memories have been missed and will not have photographic evidence to support them. There are so many things that seem to need a picture in order to capture the essence of what's really happening.

'Tis the season for twenty-five cent crayons and five cent glue stick. Even if you aren't preparing to send someone back to school, this is the time to stock up on everyday basics since everything from pencils to socks will be priced right. But how do you know when is the time to buy?


From now through the end of next month there's no doubt that there will be rock-bottom prices on school supplies, but I always find it so hard to know when is the time to stock up! I wish I would have paid better attention last year so I would know this year what sorts of prices to expect. When it comes down to it though, does it really matter if I buy a bunch of crayons when they are 50 cents instead of 25 cents?

Don't forget that school supplies such as crayons and notebooks and pens make fun stocking stuffers or party favors - another good reason to stock up!

Do you have any tips for back-to-school shopping?
photo by .robbie

Last week, my oldest turned six years old. I had purchased him a few things several months ago, but was tossing around the idea of getting him one more thing. For awhile, he was very into basketball and I was pretty sure he'd love a small basketball hoop to put up on the wall for his birthday.  I didn't get one right away, because I thought it could perhaps just be a phase. Guess what? It seems like it was! I still felt like he needed one more thing, but couldn't settle on what to get him, so I didn't get him anything else.

His big day came and went, and he seemed perfectly content with his gifts (and trust me, if there was anything he felt he "needed" that we didn't get him, he would have let us know). It was a good reminder that often my kids need a lot less than I think they do.

My oldest is about to turn six and had a birthday party on Saturday. I spend much of last week preparing for this party and was not looking forward to it at all. Until Friday, that is. By the time Friday rolled around, I felt sufficiently prepared for everything and was actually looking forward to the party! What a difference a bit of preparedness can make.

The same theory can apply to money. When you aren't prepared (as in, no savings to help out in an emergency), you may not be able to look forward to things as much. It's certainly hard to adequetly plan for any emergency considering life can throw some crazy curveballs, but it's important to set aside some money when truly unexpected expenses come up.

Up until my son's procedure, I felt very prepared for just about anything that could be thrown at us. Now, as we deal with a chronic illness for him (he has been diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophogitis), we will probably be dealing with many more medical expenses in the future and well, that has me feeling slightly less than prepared!

I like to buy the big boxes of diapers because diapers are cheaper that way, I don't have to head to the store to buy them as frequently, and I can use the boxes to store things as soon as they are empty. Because of that last reason, I still have many boxes that I originally purchased when my three-year-old was a baby. Recently, one of of those boxes was down out of the closet and I couldn't help but make some comparisons. The box I bought a few years ago contained 144 size three diapers, while the one bought within the last month has 92 size three diapers.

It's my understanding that the reasoning behind this is that people won't notice if the packaging size gets smaller as much as they might notice a price increase. Remember my second reason for buying diapers in bulk? Yeah, I'd rather have the price increase.

My kids all have summer birthdays, so three parties right in a row could get quite costly if I let it (especially once the last one rolls around and I'm just done with party prep!). Here are a few tips to help you plan parties that won't break the bank

Ask what your kids wants. Clearly this one could backfire on you, but you may be surprised at how simple it can really be and still thrill your child to pieces (because that's what it's all about right?). For example, for his third birthday my son just wanted to "watch a show, play toys, and each lunch". You can't get much more simple (and inexpensive) than that!

Look online. Of course there are party ideas galore out there, but you can also find a bunch of free or inexpensive printables to use for your party. If your party theme happens to be a TV show on PBS Kids, Nick. Jr, or the Disney Channel, head to those websites for lots of great ideas specific to your theme. For a dinosaur party favor, I found some inexpensive dinosaur pictures (from a digital scrapbooking kit) and used a graphics editing program to take the color out so they could become coloring sheets in a coloring book. Similarly, I found a car illustration to make cupcake toppers out of for my youngest son's party.

Incorporate Party Favors into the Party Activities.  If your guests create something during the party that they can then take home, you're killing two birds with one stone and saving some money in the process. The guests could decorate a lunch sack to take their goodies home in, participate in a practical craft (like a bookmark or a picture frame), or hunt for small trinkets and treats to take home.


Bury Stuff in the Sand. At my son's dinosaur party, I buried some dinosaurs in our sandbox so the kinds could play paleontologist and dig for dinos. This was a huge hit, took up quite a bit of time, and the kids each took home some dinos. My soon-to-be six-year-old has been asking what we can bury in the sand for his birthday party!

What are some of your ideas?

Today, I took the kids to a spray park. My oldest (who will turn six later this month) asked me if it would cost money and was excited when I told him that each person would cost $1. He wanted to use his tooth fairy money to pay his admission and some of his allowance money to pay for his brother's admission. I told him he didn't need to do that, but he insisted. I let him, mainly because I was short on cash and would have had to raid his bank for some anyway (but I would have paid him back, it's wouldn't have been the first time I'd borrowed).

He often wants to pay for things that he shouldn't need to buy and I'm not sure what to do about it. I don't really want to control what he does with his money, but on the other hand he shouldn't have to pay for an outing that I suggest in the first place!