Expensive weekend

Well, shit.
I go blabbing about how we need to 'fix' our finances, and buckle down and behave ourselves.
It's SO HARD to do that when we cannot be a united front, when one of the "adults" is just as bad, IF NOT WORSE, than the kids. Worse in the aspect that it's easy to tell my kids NO, but it's tougher to say it to my husband. After all, he makes the majority of the money that gets spent willy-nilly around here.

Friday night there was a retirement party for a guy that JP works with. Fine, that didn't have to hurt as much as it did. JP didn't (read: couldn't) drink too much, he had to get up at 6 am Saturday for Guards. I got there late, had to work late. So the bar tab wasn't exactly what killed us. What did, you may ask? Meat raffle. What's that, you say? You've never heard of a meat raffle? Well, let me tell you, you are really missing out if you've never experienced a meat raffle. Of course I am being sarcastic and obnoxious.

A meat raffle is exactly what it sounds like. You buy raffle tickets, they draw a number, if your number is called, you get to go up and choose a package of meat. It's not mystery meat, they're all labeled, you KNOW what you're getting. JP decided that since one of the packages was prime rib, and he really LOVES prime rib, he should spend some money to "win" some "free" prime rib. Well, the first drawing came along, and JP did not win (surprise) but his buddy Adam did. Adam is also a fan of prime rib. First win gets first pick.

Now, you'd think that since the prime rib was literally off the table, that JP would stop. But no, that would have been the responsible thing to do. JP kept buying tickets for each subsequent raffle. In the end, he did get a package of pork chops. And yes, they were good. But just how many tickets did he buy before he "won" the "free" pork chops? It's like asking how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop... the world may never know.

My entire night cost me about $20. I know this because that's how much I walked in to the VFW with, and JP bought me ONE drink, and at $3.50 each, it was not much over $20 that went down MY gullet.

Saturday JP got up and did his Guards thing. It was a one day deal, he was home by early afternoon. Then he proceeds to bully me in to taking Emma and Eric to the county fair. It's about 6 blocks from our house. He had already given Alex permission to go down there with a friend... and unbeknownst to me, he gave the boy $25 cash.

JP's argument for taking the younger two to the fair, was twofold. One, Alex was already there, and Two, it's a once a year thing. I gave in. Dammit. I have GOT TO STOP DOING THAT WITH HIM!

So we get there, and we are looking around the midway. Of course, Em and Eric were begging to go on this ride and that ride. So we go to the ticket booth. Each ride costs between 3 and 5 coupons. Coupons are $1 each. Or, here's the bargain (sarcasm again!) you could just buy a wristband for unlimited riding for $25.

NO, YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT A FRIGGIN BARGAIN IS??? STAYING HOME!!

So, $75 for wristbands (Alex spent the $25 that JP gave him on that) plus we took Em and Eric to see the Demolition Derby, and it was $24 for the four of us. PLUS the food, because, as JP says "You have to eat at the fair, when else are you going to get funnel cakes and foot long hot dogs and cheese curds and cotton candy?"

So I figure between the two nights, we spent about $250. Yeah, that's right, and that's about the same as we spent total on the pool and filters and chlorine tablets etc a couple of weekends ago, when I originally had this rant.

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!

JP leaves for Guard camp on the 9th. Maybe, just maybe, I can have 2 weeks of no blowout spending while he's gone.