7 reasons a second child has blown my budget

I just spent $70 on a pair of shoes for my toddler.  I can’t remember the last time I spent $15 on myself, unless you count reloading my Starbucks gold card, which is a total necessity these days.  How did I, a frugal living blogger, allow myself to spend this much on toddler shoes?  I can tell you exactly how I got here.

It has to do with time.  Now that I’m a mom of two, I don’t have time to find the perfect pair of cheap, comfortable shoes that will make my toddler happy.  I’d already wasted countless hours and time trying to find new shoes for my son.  Not to mention all the money I’ve wasted on shoes that he refuses to wear.  We got to the point where we had no shoes left.  Zero.  I had no choice but to buy the first pair that didn’t make him cry.  Worth. Every. Penny.

This got me thinking about all the other ways I’ve started to spend more money now that I have two kids.

After the birth of my first son I was extremely careful not to spend too much money.  I got serious about couponing, prepared meat free meals several times a week, and threw myself into cloth diapering.  I didn’t understand why people complained about kids being expensive.  I would scoff at the families who complained that kids cost too much, and I prided myself on not spending too much on our new bundle of joy.  Then, my second one arrived, and all hell broke loose.   Now I understand that kids aren’t expensive, it’s the time consuming act of taking care of kids that makes them so expensive.

[bctt tweet=”Now I understand that kids aren’t expensive, it’s the time consuming act of taking care of kids that makes them so expensive. #momlife”]

With multiple kids there is no time for anything other than parenting.  As soon as one kid is taken care of, another one has a problem.  It’s been two months after having my second and I’m still not following my budget every week.   Here are all the reasons why having a second baby has blown my budget.

1.  Coffee.  All my “fun money” now goes to coffee.  Once upon a time, in a land of one child, it was easy to make fun coffee drinks to get me through the day.  Now, if I have extra time during the day to brew another cup, I have to choose if I should use that time to prep the coffee maker or pee by myself.  The struggle is real.  I consider Starbucks to be my special little reward for getting two kids out of the house without too many meltdowns.

2.  No more DIY time.  Crafts and DIY projects were a daily occurrence for me when I had one kid.  This was one of the biggest ways I saved money, as well as it being a great outlet.  Gone are the days of well thought out Pinterest inspired birthday presents, and here to stay are the days of gift cards and “experience coupons”.  My poor husband keeps getting “coupons” for things since I don’t have the time or energy to actually buy him the things he wants.  If Amazon can’t deliver it, a “coupon” will have to suffice.

3. Speaking of coupons, those things are not easy with two kids.  Coupons are too time consuming.  People used to tell me that they didn’t coupon because they didn’t have time.  I never understood until my time was sucked away by two little boys .  When you have multiple kids you have no time left.  And if you do have extra time, you don’t use it to coupon, you use it to pee alone.

4.  Meal prep is so much harder.  The overpriced ready made meals that once looked like a waste of money are now lifesavers.  This is because the hours between 5 and 7 are like living in The Twilight Zone.  They are the two longest hours of the day, yet nothing, including cooking dinner, can be accomplished.  Until having my second son, I never understood why someone would choose to pay more for microwavable rice when regular rice is so much cheaper.  I get it now.  Minute rice was created by angels.

5.  Wine.  If I could live off of coffee and wine, I would.  At the end of the day when I’ve barely peed alone, it is nice to have a glass of wine to look forward to.  Luckily I don’t spend too much on wine since 10+ months of abstaining has made me a total lightweight.  Even so, that extra purchase at the grocery store adds up each week!

6.  Gym clothes.  I need lots and lots of them.  Not for the gym, but because gym clothes are stretchy and I don’t fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes yet.  If you wear gym clothes while running after a toddler, that counts as a workout, right?  If I do make it to the gym, it will be so I can sit in the locker room by myself for 30 minutes and finally get the chance to pee alone.

7.  All shopping is more difficult when you are strapped for time.  It’s impossible to comparison shop, and when I do take the time to do it, I have to buy “treats” to entertain my toddler.  He is now programmed to believe that all shopping trips come with cookies.  What have I gotten myself into?

I know life won’t be like this for long.  Before I know it my boys won’t take up all of my time.  I’ll probably end up binge shopping to fill the new void in my life.  I guess parenthood will always have it’s costs!