We had a great trip to Fairbanks, but looking over the various receipts is giving me a bit of anxiety. There was the cost of the rooms, and then meals (lunches and dinners for five is not cheap--even at more inexpensive places), and fuel. Then there were admission fees to the museum and the ice sculpture exhibit. We also needed a pet/house sitter for the time we were gone. Then we also had items that we picked up from the UAF bookstore, the Christmas Store, and the Comic Shop.
When adding in the repair costs for the heater, the simple maintenance visit quickly escalated in price. No doubt Janelle is being cautious in her spending on her trip, but souvenirs and other side fees can snowball, especially on a three week trip. I'm just hoping that we don't have any major surprises.
Thankfully, with both of our jobs and the cabin rental, we are in a better financial position than we have ever been before. For the first time, we can look at some of these expenses and not baulk at them entirely (although I am still wincing). That said, we still need to be cautious as even small things can really start adding up.