Choosing To Stick To The Budget: How A $1 McDonald's Sundae Saved Us $16 (2024)

Have you ever had one of those days when youneed to pinch a few pennies but just don'twant to? I had one of those days yesterday at our house.

My husband was working late, I took the kids out to run some errands, and every single ounce of me wanted to splurge and take them to their favorite Ice Cream Sundae bar . . . which even after a coupon would easily cost us $15-$20.

But, we've been spending alot lately. There have been extra activities that we've enjoyed this summer, we went on a huge vacation last month ago,are heading out on another short trip soon, my kids all are involved in several different sports, and back-to-school clothing shopping is just around the corner. After my husband looked over our budget last week, I knew it was time to reign things in.

So, instead of a trip to Zen Beri (our family's ice cream place of choice right now), we made a stop at McDonald's and spent $4 on hot fudge sundaes ~ a savings of around $16 which is enough to stock up on quite a few school supplies if I shop wisely! It wasn't my favorite choiceat all, but it was a better way to be a good steward of them money God has entrusted to us, and my kids handled it really well.

Here's the thing: I don't want my kids to think they always have to have everything (which is such a struggle in the world we live in!) Thankfully after years of penny pinching we have plenty of wiggle room in our budget, and it wouldn't have been the end of the world if we'd spent that extra money.But,I'm called to use wisely what we've been given, and some days that means making a decision that isn't necessarily our favorite choice. (But we still did get some ice cream!) 🙂

Have you had to choose a more penny pinched route any time this summer? I'd love to hear how it's gone for you . . . it's so worth it in the long run and such an example for our children, but not always the easy choice!