Spending Money To Save Money

My mom is out spending money to save money. I guess that's a little like "Turn right to go left" from the movie Cars. The logic isn't in the sentence, but the proof is in the result. When Lightning McQueen gives the wheel a yank to the right on that difficult turn, the car does indeed go left. In about an hour, mom will be home with her proof as well.

In our family, my parents teach the kids from the time they are little that when they turn 5, they get to go Disney World. Brenna was first and it was a huge success. Now it's Daniel's turn. He's been five for five months now, patiently awaiting his turn. Tickets have been purchased, airlines booked, a hotel room reserved and tomorrow evening the three of them will be high in the sky.

I spent today washing Daniel's clothes and packing his suitcase. I hadn't realized how many 4T items he still had in his drawer. No wonder some of his shirts look short. I think I overpacked, but I hope there are enough matches. He has everything except his toothbrush and his Winnie the Pooh, which I'm planning to throw in tomorrow morning. No toothpaste, soap, or shampoo. Those are just trouble for security and I'm pretty sure they have that stuff in Florida. After a house wide search, Brenna finally located his second pair of tennis shoes so I think that pretty much covers all our bases.

Except for the fact that my mom came in from work at 7:40 and said that his suitcase was too big. Too big? Too big for what? I intentionally packed the biggest one we had so he could bring home some fun reminders of his trip. Apparently on this airline, if they check bags it will cost them $25 for each bag, each leg of the trip. They have one connection so Daniel's bag alone would cost $50 there and $50 back. Add in mom and dad's and that's $300 just to pack a suitcase.

That is ridiculous. No really that is beyond ridiculous.

I'm aware that it's been that way for a while. Airlines keep looking for more ways to cover what they insist are the rising costs of flying. I just think that total is unreasonable.

Which brings me back to my mom - who isn't going to pay $300 to bring suitcases with them to Disney. In order to save the hundreds of dollars, she went out tonight and bought a bag that can be carried on, and not checked. She spent money to save money. And that will all make sense when they board the plane, checked baggage free.