To ask sahm how much they spend each week?

[Hoardernomore]

I’m wondering how much other people spend? I’m finding myself spending a fortune as I’m at home, just on taking dd out places. Even a quick drink and piece of cake adds up a couple of times a week.

How much do other people spend?

The park is free, take lunch. I used to enjoy toddler groups (£1 or £2). It is as costly or not as you make it really.

I find it’s harder when the weather gets worse. Picnics are ok in the summer but not so much come October time. We end up doing more indoor things and it costs more

When the DC were small I didn't tend to take them out for cake as it was too much hassle. We'd do the park, play groups, kid friendly museums, occasional soft play. If you have any local attractions annual passes can work out well. I found one outing a day and maybe a walk in the afternoon was plenty.

We have things on a Thursday and Friday and I try and go swimming once a week too - all those things I’ve already paid for as we belong to a leisure centre.
We have annual passes for two places too. I guess I need to do swimming Monday, one of the annual pass places Tuesday or Wednesday, a day to do something different and then we go to forest school on Thursdays and to gym on Fridays.

I used to walk everywhere when DC was small. Saved using fuel for the car. So I'd walk to the shops every 2-3 days (took about 45mins each way). Always something interesting to see or do or someone to talk to on the way. Went to a toddler group once a week, and visited a few friends, walked to my Dad's every week for lunch, but that was about it. We did have NT membership, but nothing I could walk to.
After shedding the calories walking I would never have gone in a cafe for a drink or eaten cake though! What a waste of money.

We have a couple of memberships to local places, so a local wetlands centre costs £70 for the year, a local farm park cost £55 so after those two annual costs I don't spend much! We very rarely buy any food or drink in either place but go to one or other most weeks, one week last autumn we went to the wetlands centre 4 times!

We go to a baby group £1.50 per family weekly, maybe a soft play once a month and we visit family, walk the dog. Our local park is 1/3 of a mile so with raincoat and waterproof trousers and wellies is walkable even in the rain. We have play stuff in the garden if all else fails and if the weather is truly vile we stay in and do some baking or painting or drawing or something.

So on a bad week I'd spend about a tenner maximum on just us 2 pottering around during the week. We save the big days out and swimming for the weekend when daddy can come too.

Ooh petrol probably costs about £15 a week as we live rurally.

I agree you need a couple of memberships - leisure centre/soft-play etc. Probably a bus pass too, and then I'd say £10-£15 on incidentals - play group fees, the odd coffee, although if you're relentlessly organised you can avoid this.

Remember, the whole world is an exciting place to a toddler. Today's favourite activity has been walking around the block listening to the wind and watching the trees 'dance'.

Later we are going to walk to choose a birthday cake from the shop and we will stick some music on and have a little boogie too.