Weekend update

It was a fun weekend, but didn't include much job hunt activity, so I'm feeling a little guilty. I'm also feeling a little guilty about spending so much money on such activities when I'm without an income. At least a full-time income outside of unemployment insurance.

On Saturday, we took our daughter to a wildlife park in Vallejo, buying three season passes and a season parking pass. For only a few dollars more than the cost of admission, you can get a season pass and go the remainder of this year and all of 2009, so the pass will pay for itself after two visit. Such a deal! It was a fun place that I hadn't been to since I was in high school, and Emma had a lot of fun. It's definitely a fun place we will go to again, even if we didn't buy the pass.

Then on Sunday we went to the Oakland Zoo, where we've had a family season pass for two years. Granted, this pass is a lot cheaper than the Vallejo wildlife park, and is also a deal that pays for itself in about three or four visits. Both places are educational, I reason, because of the animals, although Emma would prefer to spend most of the time on the rides.

If I use something often enough, I've always been the type of person who would rather spend more money upfront and save money longterm, instead of buying it again and again. But in this case, without a steady income (from me, not my wife), I wonder if it's an expense I shouldn't have made. In the long term, I see the cost savings and benefit to my daughter and family, but in the short term it feels like I'm spending money I don't have. Thoughts? Please e-mail them to me .