Sarah Ludwig Rausch is a mom of four and a freelance writer. Sarah specializes in parenting, children’s health, agriculture and family issues and writes a blog, “Parenting By Trial and Error.” She’s written for The Christian Science Monitor, The Progressive Farmer, Farm Industry News, Singapore ’s parenting magazine Motherhood, and a variety of other publications. 

I never thought about this much, despite the many bargains I’ve discovered as a parent, until about a month ago when I arrived at the check-out stand with my overflowing cart.

The check-out girl was young, maybe in high school even. She scanned all my items while I looked on in barely concealed joy as each piece of clothing was rung up, thinking to myself thoughts such as, “Those pants were only $4! I am Awe. Some!”

“Wow, you got a great deal,” the clerk commented as I, filled with ridiculous elation, wrote out my check.

“I know,” I said smugly.

“Four bags of clothes for that price! Geez, I’m lucky to get one piece of clothing for that,” she said.

Oh yeah. I had forgotten all about the days when shopping at Kmart or other discount stores for clothes was a huge social faux paus (obviously this was when I could afford to buy my own).

I nodded. “I know, when I was your age I didn’t shop for clothes here either,” I told her. “It’s amazing how having kids changes your perspective. Especially when you have four of them to clothe.”

I left the store feeling weirdly old and a teeny bit flustered. What happened to the days when I paid full-price for a piece of clothing without thinking about it? When I saw a pair of sandals I wanted and didn’t wait until they were on sale, or better yet, clearance, before I bought them? I can’t even remember the last time this has happened. Probably before I had kids.

These days I have become quite the bargain shopper. It has turned almost into an addiction to see what I can find for how little. This is really embarrassing to admit because it makes me look really cheap, but I get quite testy if I have to pay over $10 for a pair of shoes. I guess it’s because I know I CAN get them for that price (or less) if I look hard enough. Our closets are filled with the fruit of my purchases, many of which are $5 or less.

It doesn’t make sense either. I’ll happily plop down $50 on a meal with my hubby at Red Lobster (3-1/2 hours away), but I’ll quibble internally with myself as to whether I should spend an extra $2 to get the shoes that don’t lace up. Yes, I know how crazy that sounds, but we all have our idiosyncracies, right? There are just some items we’re willing to spend more on than others.

Bargain shopping is practically a sport where I live, at least among my friends and me. We regale each other with tales of how much we saved on X item, point to our kids and say things like, “I only paid $4 for this dress!” and marvel over each other’s bargain hunting abilities. We trade secrets — “JCPenney has an extra 20% off their clearance clothing!” — and covet the great deals our friends found that we missed out on.

I don’t remember doing this as a teenager or young adult. In fact, it was the opposite. The more a person spent on something, the cooler she was.

So, one way you officially know you’re a parent is when bargain shopping becomes a hobby. Because, after all, you’re saving that extra money to put towards your kids’ braces/school/toys/college tuition, right? Of course you can probably get a bargain on those as well if you try hard enough . . .

 by Leah Black

I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not the only parent in the Hudson Valley whose budget for family entertainment this summer is going right into my car's gas tank. My plans to take some weekend day trips across the river and beyond will have to be put on indefinite hold.

What bothers me most about the increasing price of travel is that it costs us about $90 (soon to be more) just to visit my parents. They live about 2½ hours away. My son is growing so fast, I hate for my parents to miss out on this special time in their grandson's life. But at 100 bucks a trip, I just can't get out there as often.

To make this summer not so much of a bummer, I have some ideas that don't require an admission fee, and most can be done without pulling out of the driveway.

1. Play games. Turn off the TV and get out the board and card games. It's not only a great way to spend time together, but games help build kids' math, reading, team-playing and sportsmanship skills.

2. Visit the library. Summer reading helps maintain language skills learned during the school year. Besides, where else can the entire family - from infants to mom and dad - participate in educational and fun programs for free? Check with your local library to see what's happening this summer (rcls.org or midhudson.org).

3. Catch free outdoor concerts. There are free concerts throughout the Hudson Valley all summer long. Just check our calendar (hvparent.com) to find some kid-friendly tunes near you!

4. Go for a walk. Take a stroll around the block or plan a long hike for a weekend afternoon. Just don't forget the sunscreen and water, and check for ticks when you're done.

5. Have a picnic in the park. Ask the kids to help make some sandwiches, put together some simple finger foods and drinks and you've got a special occasion.

6. Take a bike ride. Find some safe areas like quiet streets or the rail trail and get out there! Children ages 1 to 14 are required by law to wear a helmet. Be sure it's fastened securely (nysgtsc.state.ny.us/ Kids/kid-bike.htm).

7. Plan a special family day. When I was younger, my family celebrated Christmas in July one year. We each picked a name from a hat, then made a gift for the person we'd picked. On July 25th we had a cookout in our yard, played some games and presented our gifts to each other. It cost us nothing and was a fun way to be creative and share family time. What could you do for a special day?

8. Look toward the sky. Take out some books on astronomy from the library, then go outside at night and see how many stars and constellations you can identify.

9. Camp out in the yard. Pitch a tent, make some popcorn or other fun snacks, and tell some spooky or funny stories by flashlight.

10. Visit local historic sites. There will probably be a nominal fee for mom and dad, but kids under 12 often get in free or at a discount. For a little more than the cost to get your destination, kids can get a sense of the history in their own backyard