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Frugal Ways to Entertain Your Kids this Summer

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Summer vacation is a time that most children excitedly look forward to. It is easy to see why. They get a whole lot of free time! Parents are going to need some frugal ideas for fun activities that will entertain their children. Here are a few ideas to try. Bubbles Little kids cannot get enough of bubbles! You can pick up small bottles of bubbles, complete with bubble wand, from a dollar store. Check the dollar racks at Target, too. Parents can sit down outdoors and blow bubbles that their toddlers will chase. Older kids can blow bubbles on their … Continue reading →

Our Cheap Picnic Dinner

How can you put together a cheap picnic dinner at the last minute? Just get a bit creative and see what you already have at hand. The other night our family had a parent teacher get together at a local park. The instructions were to bring a picnic dinner for your own family and some extra desert to share. The picnic was on a weeknight, which meant that there would be some scrambling to do, since we also had school and work to deal with that same day. I thought that putting together a homemade picnic was probably not high … Continue reading →

Frugal Vacation: Think Outside the Gift Shop

Sure you want to take a little piece of your summer vacation home with you. But will one more mug, keychain, pen or snow globe really preserve your memories? Here is how to bring home the souvenirs, but in a practical way. Gift shops are usually loaded with overpriced merchandise that you can often get elsewhere for less money. Often, the souvenirs don’t even have any connection to the vacation at all. One of the recent episodes of Jon & Kate Plus Eight showed Mama Gosselin on vacation, loading up on toys and play purses that could probably be purchased … Continue reading →

Frugal Picnic Night

One of the favorite activities that my kids like to do as a family is also economical. Recently, I’ve made it even more frugal. Here is what we did last night and how we had a fun time for pennies. When the weather warms up, my kids are always clamoring for the park. One fun way to enjoy the park and get out of a warm house is to visit the park around dinner time. We eat dinner on one of the picnic benches, and then after dinner is done, mom and dad pack up while the kids play on … Continue reading →

7 Ideas for Frugal Date Night

Whether you are looking for a date night with your spouse or wondering what to do on a first date, you can spend less and still impress. Here are 7 different ideas for frugal dates that fun and sometimes even free. 1. Instead of the fancy dinner at a fine restaurant, opt for happy hour at your local fun and inexpensive restaurant. There is bound to be a festive atmosphere, and you can enjoy drinks and appetizers for less than half the cost of that fancy dinner. 2. Check out evening museum programs. Many local museums offer free or reduced … Continue reading →

Have a Frugal Valentine

Now that the holiday decorations are all put away (or almost all put away, depending on how much time and or holiday spirit you have), it is time to think of hearts and flowers. Valentine’s Day is such a pretty holiday, with its pinks, reds and whites. There are plenty of ways to decorate and celebrate your Valentine’s day without breaking the bank. There is no need to spend a fortune at the card store. The key is to getting creative and using whatever you have on hand. One year, I used the luminaries (paper bags with cut outs that … Continue reading →

The ABC’s of Frugal Living: 26 Tips to Live a More Frugal Life

The ABC’s of Frugal Living – 26 Tips to Live a More Frugal Life The frugal living blog at families.com is chock full of great information to help you live a more frugal lifestyle. We all strive to save money and the bloggers in this category are here to help. A: Amazing Dates Have a date night for less! New Cheap Date Ideas A Cheap And Fun Date Idea It’s Date Night Date Night On a Budget B: Budgeting Make a plan and stick to it. Be sure you watch where your money goes each month and try to do … Continue reading →

Zeroing Down the Entertainment Budget

When money is tight in my household, paying for entertainment is one of the first areas of the budget to go. Convincing my family, on the other hand, can be a little tough, so while we do make some allowances (we still haven’t completely gotten rid of cable), it takes a lot of creativity to keep everyone entertained for as close to zero as possible. Finding fun alternatives to eating out Part of the pleasure of eating out is the entertainment factor, so we try to include that even with home cooked meals. For example, I might make a salad, … Continue reading →

Happy Valentines Day

It’s that time once again, Single Awareness Day, known to most people as Valentine’s Day. If you are single, you are very aware of this day. Even at work today when I called a client he wished me a Happy Valentine’s Day before we got off the phone. Ahhh, love is in the air. Except at my house, I am happily single but this is still a fun holiday that we can share with our kids. I think it’s important to establish traditions that your children will remember and will give them a sense of home no matter where they … Continue reading →

Vacation Prices are Up: How to Save

Did you know that it will cost you almost 14 percent more to fly this year? Air travel, car travel and many other vacation expenses will cost you a lot more today versus last year. I’ll explain why there have been such large increases and how you can still save despite the inflation. Bankrate recently took a look at the consumer price index and also pulled out a few numbers of their own to compare the actual costs of common summer favorites, such as travel. They report that airfare is 13.8 percent due to airlines grounding planes instead of trying … Continue reading →