5-Star Dining at a 2-Star Establishment

I hope all the dads and grandpas had a wonderful Father's Day yesterday. We made a quick trip to my parents' house for the weekend, where my dad and I spent Saturday doing body work on my new car. The car is in pretty good shape overall, but 18 years of life has provided a few scrapes and scars along its journey. Here’s an updated pick after removing the chip guard film and restoring the headlights.

We drove home yesterday morning so I could coach Finn and Pax's last soccer game of the season (and they won the league championship!). It was 90+ degrees out, so we grabbed some ice cream afterward, and then took a wonderful nap. To finish the night, we had a little Father's Day dinner out.

IHOP. Yes, IHOP. It's not my favorite place in the world, but the family was craving breakfast, and they have a kids-eat-free special. We had a great time together, and it was the perfect way to cap off a great Father's Day.

While I love a 5-star restaurant as much as the next person, not all meals need to be profound. Sometimes, it's just about creating memories over some simple food. The food was just that: simple. However, we had a blast together, and everyone walked out happy and full.

Over the years, our dining out budget has varied. During our pre-kid debt payoff years, the budget was $100/month. During our pre-kid post-debt years, the budget was at least $500/month (we had a lot of fun dining in that season!). After the twins were born, our dining out dropped to around $200/month (a few nice date nights). After I left my prior career and we took a 90% pay cut to start over, it went back down to about $100/month. Today, we're in the $250/month range.

We NEVER deviate from the budget. If we have money left, we use it. If we don't we don't. It's one of the ways Sarah and I show commitment to our budget, which we negotiate and agree upon at the beginning of each month. We don't exceed it....no exceptions. Sometimes, that sucks. Sometimes, it's frustrating to be 20 days into the month with no dining out remaining. But that's on us. That's our fault. That was our mistake; therefore, it's our burden and consequences.

That level of self-discipline changes things. It forces us to make wise decisions. If we can't bend the rules, then we must find a way to live within the rules. We can always create new rules next month, but this month's rules are this month's rules. Sometimes that means we get to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and sometimes we eat at IHOP. Both are wins, by the way.

That's the beauty of setting financial guardrails in our lives. It's not something we have to do, but rather something we get to do. Once the rules are set, we have the creativity to work within them with no guilt, no regret, and no remorse. Freedom through boundaries.