FRUGAL SUMMER FUN

HAVING FUN DOES NOT NEED TO BE EXPENSIVE

For many of us, summer means nicer weather and often a change in our schedules, especially if we have children. It is often a time when we want to go out and do things to get out of the house. Regardless of how much money you have budgeted for fun things to do this summer, you can find something that works for you and your family. While many things we might want to do can be very costly, there are plenty of things to do that cost very little. There are also plenty of ways to make the more costly activities cost a little bit less. Today I am going to share some tips on things to keep in mind to make sure you stick to your budget while also making sure to get out there and have some fun this summer.

KNOW ALL OF THE POTENTIAL COSTS

In my experience, there is usually no shortage of things to do and events to attend for free or really low cost. The problem is that many of these free events have many things for sale. They often have expensive food or souvenir-type items that can be purchased. Make sure to consider the potential cost that you might come across at whatever activity you plan to do if you are going outside of the home.

If you are going during meal times, decide ahead of time if you will purchase food at the event. If there are potential souvenir purchases available decide ahead of time if you intend to purchase any and if so what your budget will be. It’s also important to know yourself and your spending habits. If you know you are prone to impulse spending, you might want to avoid the types of events that will have opportunities for you to spend money that you might not want to be spending.

MAKE SURE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE ON THE SAME PAGE WHEN IT COMES TO THE BUDGET BEFORE GOING OUT ON AN ADVENTURE

It can be helpful to let your family know your plans for the day regarding spending dollars. This is especially true if you have children that tend to ask for things a lot! Of course, you have the ability to say no, but it can make things a little bit nicer if the expectation on spending money is set before making a fun outing not so fun because you have to battle off requests to spend money the whole time. In addition to knowing your tendencies regarding impulse spending, it’s also important to know your family’s tendencies. If you know that going to certain types of events is going to cause them to want to spend money that you don’t want to spend, then again consider doing some other activities that do not have as many temptations to spend money.

SOME FUN LOW-COST ACTIVITIES

Find a new place to go for a hike. Hiking can be a really fun activity regardless of the fitness level of your family. Many areas have great hiking trails for almost everyone. Some hiking trails are even handicapped accessible. So, this is an option that most people can take advantage of. Most of us feel great after spending a little time out in nature and there is usually no cost for going on a hike.

Attend a local farmers’ market. Depending on the size of the market, this can be a really fun day out. We have one market near us that is very small and would take less than half an hour to see all there is to offer. There is another one near us that has an enormous number of vendors selling everything from local vegetables and plants, to homemade bread and pastries, to local honey and much more. You can potentially use some of your grocery budget to cover purchases made that will be used in your meals. If you are trying to go low-cost, pick just a couple of your favorite things and make a note of the things you would like to try on another visit.

See a matinee movie. If the weather isn’t that great, going to see a matinee movie can allow you to see a movie at a lot lower cost than going in the evening. We used to do this at a great movie theater near us before COVID. Unfortunately, the one we used to love going to did not reopen after COVID. I really should look into going somewhere else, because it really was fun to do once in a while. And bring your own snacks and drinks to save extra money (at your own risk!). Check out Facebook for local events. Even if you don’t love Facebook, I would suggest using it even for finding local events. There are so many events advertised on Facebook that I would never know about otherwise.

We recently attended a local art show at one of the state parks that we learned about in the Facebook events listings. Next week we are going to attend a blueberry festival that we also learned about on Facebook. It’s a great resource to find local events that are often free or very low-cost to attend. You can get to experience new things that you would have never known about. There are even Facebook Groups specifically for families looking for free things to do.

IF GOING ON A DAY TRIP PACK A LUNCH

If you want to go really inexpensive, then you can make your own sandwiches, bring some bottled water, and maybe a snack. This takes a little bit of pre-planning but it can really help save a lot of money. Another option is to stop at a convenience store or local pizza place or deli to pick up some sandwiches and snacks. This will cost more than packing from home but makes it a little more convenient and fun. It’s also usually a lot less expensive than purchasing food at your final destination or at a restaurant. At the very least, bring your own water!

SOME FUN OPTIONS FOR STAYING IN

Have a game night or game tournament. Game nights are always fun. If you want to take it to the next left, consider having a game tournament. Find a game that can be played in matches. Set up the number of matches and declare a winner at the end. This can be something fun for the family to plan and look forward to and can be something so simple.

Have a tasting party. If your family loves food, which I think most do, having a tasting party can be fun. Pick anything that you might like to taste. Some ideas might be chocolates, salsas, or other dips, cheeses, cookies, or brownies. Pretty much anything there are multiple varieties of can be used for tasting. Add some fun drinks and you have a little frugal home event.

Plant some seeds. Some seeds are so easy to grow.  It can be really fun to plant them, care for them and watch them grow without having to have much of a green thumb. This can be especially fun for young children. Some of my favorite really easy-to-grow seeds are nasturtium, zinnias, and sunflowers.

YouTube Trivia. We often have fun on YouTube watching trivia videos on a variety of topics. We shout out the answers and wait to see who got the answer right. There are also “complete the lyrics” type videos for all different music genres. Some of these videos can be really fun to watch and get involved in as a family.

Have a picnic or barbeque in your backyard. Just stating that you are having a little celebration makes the night. We did this a few weeks ago with my family. One of my daughters said that she wanted to have a barbeque one night. We had hamburgers and hot dogs like we might have done on any other night. But by adding a few extras, like a bowl of chips, some cute disposable plates cups, and some bottles of soda it turned it into something a little bit special for very little cost. We all sat out on our patio and had our special barbeque dinner.

Take advantage of all of these new National Days to get ideas for fun things to do. It seems like almost constantly there is some new National Day for a type of food. Most recently I remember National Popcorn Day, National Hot Pretzel Day, and National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. While some of these days definitely seem a little bit funny they are a great opportunity to add a little bit of fun to your week. For example, on National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, I stopped at Wawa and got three different Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavors that incorporated some type of chocolate in them for the family to try. It cost about $20 and made the night a little bit more fun.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

I would love to have you join my mailing list! Sign up here:

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you’re human: