I spent the weekend in Chicago with my girls and my mother-in-law for a gymnastics meet. I had thought maybe I would write a post about how to do a weekend in Chicago frugally. Except I don’t think it is possible. $96 in parking alone, all meals out, meet entrance fees, gas, tolls, hotel! Yeah, I’ve got nothing.
We got home at 1:30 am and this morning it was apparent that the boys ate just about all the food around – at least it seemed like it. A $300+ Costco trip later and we have a lot of options. I just needed my life to be a little easier right now, and having a lot of options makes my life easier. So I am not feeling very frugal lately. Please tell me I am not the only one!
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I live in Chicago and parking is crazy. I hope you had fun in my town.
I’m not feeling frugal either. We are in the middle of a construction project at our house that we have planned and talked about since the first time we saw our house 11 years ago. Every time I write a check to our builder I sweat. At the same time we decided we would also handle decorating as we go so cleaning the area rug in the attic, new rug pad, re-upholster cushions for the furniture, pick lighting we really love… it all adds up.
Some times you have to take a breath and look at the positives. For you, you had a great weekend with the girls they will remember!
That sounds crazy Laura! Hopefully the project goes quickly.
We’ve been to chicago a few times, dh many times — it’s cheapest when staying with friends and relatives, which happens rarely for us since there are six of us. I reviewed my frugal and not so frugal activities this week; thinking about reviewing more frequently.
We have been 2 other times and stayed with friends and it wasn’t that bad to go into the city for a day. But those friends moved and now we don’t know anyone there.
I don’t mean to be disrespectful or mean- but if you want your daughters to be in gymnastics and all that it entails, you have to accept that these expenses are going to pop up. Gymnastics and competitions sounds like an expensive hobby. It’s not a frugal hobby. Are you sure you want your daughters to stick with gymnastics, seeing as how it costs so much money?
I know that gymnastics is an expensive sport – that is one of the big reasons we are frugal. That being said, we don’t usually go away for the whole weekend for a meet. In fact this was the first time because my MIL wanted to fly in and meet us. I was not complaining about gymnastics being expensive, but the weekend in Chicago being expensive. Even though I knew it would be pricey, it was still a “sticker shock” to have to do it, even though I was prepared and we paid cash for everything. We have great memories though to remember for the rest of our lives. So definitely worth it, but we can’t do it often.
I think you or anyone else needs a break. Shopping at Costco gets the job done and really with 4 kids the food will be eaten and you probably have a ton of laundry to do. Cheryl
Ah, yes, Chicago isn’t cheap! I live in the Chicago suburbs and frequently drive into the city to a hospital for my son’s special health problems. Validated parking at the hospital costs $10 for 7 hrs or less! He was hospitalized 4 times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we didn’t pay much attention to the budget during that time. Now we need to really tighten our belts. Our current grocery/household budget is $150 per week for 2 adults and 2 school age boys. One of my boys has multiple food allergies, and his special foods really add up. I practically have a panic attack each week before I go grocery shopping. It is TIGHT! All this to say, I feel for you!