Niagara Falls: Beauty vs. budgeting
Three moments when my money mindset collided with making memories.
Parker was getting pissed at me.
Every few minutes — if I even made it that long — I kept checking my phone. Our daddy-daughter weekend getaway to Niagara Falls had just started, and we hadn’t even exited the rental car lot when she started giving me that look.
“You were driiiving doing stock options,” Parker said on Episode 24 of the Money Talks podcast. “I’m like, ‘Daddy, you don’t even know where you are. You need to chill out.’”
I traveled to Niagara Falls on the final weekend of April intent on making memories and not stressing about money or prices. For the most part, I succeeded.
There were three moments, though, when I couldn’t shake my old money mindset. I shared them on the podcast. They’re worth sharing in writing.
📸 Souvenir photos
The souvenir photos at Cave of the Winds cost more than the attraction itself.
That’s why I never even think about purchasing them anymore.
I paid $24 for admission, one adult and one youth ticket, and $54 for the doctored shots we took at the booth stationed just outside the entrance.
It’s absurd when you think about it.
Only this time, I didn’t blink. I bought them.
I even surprised myself when Parker suggested we get the digital-only option for $10 less. I reasoned that saving time was worth the extra cost. I’d still have to search for and pay for the right printing paper and print them, hopefully without messing it up.
It’s the first time since date night with Parker last February that I splurged for souvenir pics.
I’m noticing a pattern.
🅿️ Pay to park
We got hungry after Cave of the Winds and decided to grab lunch before boarding the Maid of the Mist.
Despite my hunger pangs, I felt pretty good pulling out of the Niagara Falls State Park parking lot, where $10 covers your vehicle all day, with in-and-out privileges. We could return for the Maid of the Mist without having to pay again. I was happy.
Until the next paid parking lot made me instantly agitated.
Parker spotted the perfect place for lunch — Rainforest Cafe. It served two purposes: kid-friendly and veggie-friendly. Only it sits inside the Sheraton Hotel, which charges for parking by the hour.
Suddenly disgusted, I drove off. I made it a good five miles, headed out of Niagara Falls, before realizing I was being ridiculous. I busted a U-turn, went back to the paid parking lot and pressed the button for a ticket.
Parker had mac and cheese, apple slices and raspberry lemonade, while I had a Philly cheesesteak, fries and a piña colada.
After our $62.60 lunch, I almost paid $20 for parking.
Then it finally hit me that Rainforest Cafe, or the hotel, might validate parking for restaurant patrons.
They did, and I had spent all that time worrying for nothing.
We had an excellent lunch.
💸 Printing options money
Trading and driving is worse than texting and driving, and I shouldn’t do it. I don’t recommend it.
I also don’t recommend booking a flight that departs during market open.
I didn’t sweat missing the open two Fridays ago, but before we even landed — I mean, the second my phone snagged a signal on descent — I had my brokerage pulled up.
The wheels had just touched down when I entered a call option on Hims. By the time we stepped off the plane minutes later, my position had hit 100 percent. I stopped in the middle of the airport to have the Money Talk with Parker before taking profits — a quick $44.01 I told her could have paid for our lunch.
Even though Parker was annoyed, I kept preaching, showing her the power of options and the thinking behind each trade.
We had just stepped off a plane. I missed the open. I was operating on little sleep. And it was my day off. But we were still making money — while doing what we wanted.
When I finally closed my brokerage for the day, my realized gain was $145.39. I made four day trades and turned a profit on them all. Parker didn’t like it, but just two hours of sporadic attention got us paid.
The biggest lesson I could give her came just before we left Rainforest Cafe.
As I plopped down on a couch waiting for Parker to go to the restroom, I spotted an advertisement for a hot air balloon ride sitting on a coffee table. It was one of the main things we wanted to do in Niagara Falls. And there was a QR code staring me in the face.
I scanned it, entered our info and couldn’t believe the total.
Our highly anticipated balloon ride came to $144 — almost the exact amount I had just pulled from the market that day.
The weather on Saturday unfortunately didn’t allow us to get in the air, but I had all the proof I needed to give Parker a clearer understanding of why I kept checking my phone.
In just a few hours, she saw us graduate from the market paying for our lunch to funding our desired lifestyle.
Hope to get to Niagra falls in the new few years as my nephew is playing volleyball for a college a few hours away. But I'll just have to pay for it out of my index funds or my engineering pay. I'm not an options gal. Glad you got to make some memories... the time we get with our kids for that is way too short...3 days until my baby's college graduation.