This weekend somehow became one incredibly expensive weekend. Here is the damage:
Friday night – went out for a girls’ night out. Dinner and drinks ran me about $80.
Saturday – bought a new BBQ grill. Goodbye $200. We’re planning on having a pool party on Saturday so we had to buy some supplies for it. Spent $50 at Target. Had to buy some cat supplies too so spent $65 at Petsmart. Went to Home Depot and bought more household stuff for another $65.
Saturday night – Went to dinner with my sister for her birthday. Gave her $150 for her birthday plus dinner for $110.
Sunday – finally didn’t spend any money!
This weekend ended up costing me about $720. I know it was an unusual weekend, both with a big purchase (that we had planned on getting) and my sister’s birthday but it’s still more than I like to spend, especially when I didn’t really budget for it. I’ve been way more relaxed with budgeting which means purchases like these happen “unexpectedly”.
My next big expense is Saturday because we’re throwing that pool party – I still need to buy all the food. I plan to hit Costco and stock up on hot dogs and everything because there will be about 30 people there. I have to say, I love having parties but I really do hate the expenses behind them. I usually do it potluck style so I don’t have to buy that much but this time I decided to change it up…and now I forget why I did that.
Do you throw parties often? How do you deal with the expenses?
Modest Money says:
Wow that’s an expensive weekend, but at least you have a new BBQ and some other stuff to show for it. I like having people over for meals and I usually have no problem covering it. These days though I live in a crappy apartment and tend to go out way more than having people over. I try to make a point of not showing up empty handed when I go to someone else’s place though.
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LifeInTransition says:
I enjoy throwing parties too. For now it’s the bring your own snack or drink variety, and I feel like I’m getting a little old for that.
I always joke with my husband that I’m going to become an event/party planner so that I throw all the showers, weddings, and parties and get paid for it.
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Emily @ evolvingPF says:
In my more social days in grad school (read: before getting married) I threw a party every few months. Generally if there was a meal involved we made it a potluck and cooked a lot of food. It is quite expensive but we just absorbed it in our grocery budget for the month. When we threw a grilling/pool party last summer I think we provided the meat and asked everyone else to bring side dishes, which is still quite expensive. I love entertaining and I wish we did it more often, but if we did we’d really need a Hosting targeted savings account… hmmm…
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Daisy @ Add Vodka says:
That certainly is an expensive weekend. But not to be cliche, that’s not lost money, you have all of those memories! Lol!
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bogofdebt says:
It sounds like you had a lot of fun over the weekend! And it’s okay to splurge a bit
For parties, I tend to throw pot lucks. I enjoy them and it’s always fun to try new things. This way I provide part of the main dish but don’t have to worry about too much cost. If I’m actually throwing the entire party and I know in advance (I normally do!), I’ll shop sales and start stocking up well ahead of time.
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Mo' Money Mo' Houses says:
I’ve also found that I’ve been a bit more relaxed with my budget now that it’s summer. I love to throw parties but I usually do BYOB and I just provide snacks or pizza and since my place is so small I usually can’t have more than 12 people in at the same time. But I’ve always wanted to throw a full on dinner party with courses and everything. I just need to learn to cook first! lol
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Michelle says:
That’s a lot of money! When we first bought our house, we threw a couple of big parties. We would buy kegs and have everyone over. My oh my was that a mistake…
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Eddie says:
The bright side is that you have a new BBQ. It’s amazing how the household stuff can add up quickly. $10 here, $15 there, and next thing you know you’re well over your initially planned budget.
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