Monsoon's almost finished!

We set a $100 budget for Monsoon. It's been the most challenging part of shopping this year. Not only do we have less money than in years past, but we set the budget to keep ourselves from going overboard. He just doesn't need that much stuff, and this has put into perspective my habit of grabbing from the shelf, thinking "oh, he might like this so why don't I just pick it up now?" I have to keep reminding myself to think about what he really wants, needs and will use.

Here's the latest:

Bat Cave. It's his "big" toy this year, and one of the few items for which he specifically asked. Original price: $44. Price paid: $34 ($10 coupon), bought with ToysRUs GC.

Mr. Potato Head Jumbo Set. Original price: $24.99. Price paid: $12.50, bought with ToysRUs GC.

Peter Pan pop-up book (huge, elaborate book - one of his favorite stories). Original price: 29.99. Clearance price (b/c they have updated the artwork in a new book): 6.99, bought with Borders GC.

I did purchase 2 other items, but returned them. One was something he'd enjoy, but ultimately took up too much space, which we don't have. Another was a race track, but my Dad got him something similar, and we don't need two.

The total purchases for Monsoon this week came to $51.49 (although we spent $0 cash), added to the previous weeks equals $75.27 spent on Monsoon. That leaves $24.73 left in his budget. I'm going to start thinking about stocking stuffers with the remaining balance.