My daughter is a peach. What girl - I mean teen - would suffer through southern heat and flies to follow her mother around a graveyard? Her job was to take notes while I took photos of gravestones for our genealogy files. Cora listened patiently as I rambled on about who belonged to whom, and how each group of families was related to each other and to us.

As I popped rolls of film in and out of the camera, she asked, "Just how much is this going to cost us?" I peered into my backpack and realized I'd already shot six rolls of 24-count film that morning. I bought them in packs of three on sale for $11.25 each, total $22.50 without tax. I'll spend at least $70 to develop the prints, since my camera allows me to take those larger, longer photos (perfect for the horizontal family headstones). This brings the cost close to $100 for just one cemetery.

Cora thought that was outrageous?that is, until I reminded her how much her dress for the Renaissance Fair cost. "We could have bought you a nice dress for about $80, but you wanted a different color and style," I reminded her. So, we went shopping for patterns and fabric. Fortunately, the $14 pattern was on sale for $1 (fifteen minute special). However, the fabric was exactly $100, and that cost didn't include my time making the dress (12 hours at $10 per hour would add $120 to the total value - double that amount, since it was cut, fitted, and sewn on vacation).

This little tit-for-tat quickly escalated into a spending match. She reminded me about the $27 I spent copying records from the courthouse, and I reminded her the tickets to the Renaissance Fair were $14 each. She skewered me with the $40 genealogy book I purchased, and I countered with her $50 pair of khaki Capri's.

Suddenly we stopped, looked at each other, and laughed. What's a summer for but to find deals, family graveyards, and that perfect pair of Capri's (not to mention a knight or two to flirt with at the Renaissance Fair)? All year long we pinch pennies, pay bills, and save up for emergencies. What's wrong with a little summertime spending spree?

Well, for one thing, sprees can blow a budget to smithereens. The week after we returned home from our road trip, we had to pinch those pennies until they squeaked. The film is still undeveloped, and the tickets for the Renaissance Fair are sitting here, waiting for the money to rent a car for the trip. Oh, we'll get it all done, but we have to be patient and wait for the next dollars to dribble in from various sources. To pass time, we make lists of all the things we'll do when the money arrives. Then we actually do things to whittle time away, like?

1. Dig out all the old photos in the house and separate them by the year taken or by subject. Once separated, place them in baggies and label them by year or subject. Wait until we can afford to buy enough photo albums at one time so they all match.
   
   
2. Drag out all old magazines from the attic/basement/closets and laugh at all the old ads and the opinions rendered by ancient philosophies. Then, cut up the magazines and make paper mache bowls. Or, if we find the magazines at antique shops, we ask the owner if they'd like to buy our issues.
   
   
3. Go to the library and borrow books about Feng Shui. Change the furniture around to achieve the ultimate in financial success. While at it, clean out all dust bunnies from under moved furniture.
   
   
4. Use those rollover minutes and free long-distance cell phone plans to call old friends. Make sure the time zones correct when we call, or they might not be friends anymore. Use those minutes to discover birthdays, anniversaries, etc., and mark them on the calendar. Don't lose the calendar.
   
   
5. Scour the Internet for "healthy" makeovers using food like mayonnaise and avocados. We used egg whites for an instant facelift. Just make sure you don't look at each other and laugh, or your face will crack.
   
   
6. Write a book. Use your kid's imaginations and expertise to write a book of fiction, comedy, or how-to. Illustrate the book and it's either a one-of-kind project d'art or self-publish and force all your relatives to buy a copy.
   
   
7. Turn up the music and dance. Don't do this with egg white on your face. Trust me.
   
   
8. Sit with the kids and revamp the budget. Add a 'sector' for "vacation fun" money, and manage that part of the budget just like the bills, the emergency funds, and the portfolio.

Whatever you do, don't let things get out of hand. For instance: don't make smoothies with the top off the blender to see what happens. And, of course, some of these activities would make your son wonder if you're out of your gourd. If you force him to dance or discover Feng Shui, you might have a rebellion on your hands. However, #8 is perfect for anyone.

I'm just happy to know I can have fun with my daughter with or without money to burn. However, summers and spending sprees eventually end, and this family unit will be turning to world markets and budgets once again. Next week, we'll continue with international trade and its affects on how we choose sectors in the home market and abroad.

Until Then,
Linda Goin