If you have some extra baby food containers at your house, here’s a creative idea for repurposing them as letter boxes for preschoolers.
Family Fun
If you’d like to build your own swing set, you can download free plans for eight different swing sets.
There is nothing that will squelch the joy in frugality faster than pinching your pennies so hard you never have any fun. And if you’re planning to practice thrift for the long haul, you need to strategically come up with ways to keep life interesting, exciting and fresh. Otherwise, you’ll likely burn out before a few months are out.
Just because you don’t have a lot of money or are trying to live on little doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to have fun and splurge a little without breaking your budget. Here are a few things we’ve done:
::Have a bookstore date. We did this often back in our law school days, when there was almost-zero wiggle room in our budget most months. We’d browse books, buy a drink to share (usually paying for it with a card I’d earned through reading emails from MyPoints!) and sit and read and talk for awhile. It made for a very relaxing evening that cost us next to nothing!
::Go out for coffee. Nowadays, we don’t often have time for leisurely bookstore dates, but we use our Starbucks gift cards earned through Swagbucks for fun (and free!) dates.
::Visit the pet store. Can’t afford to go to the zoo? A pet store is a great alternative. Our children love to peer into all the different cages and aquariums — and we’ve never had a pet store owner have a problem with us just dropping by to browse.
::Plan a nicer dinner each week. If beans and rice make up a large part of your diet, plan ahead so that one night per week, you have “feast.” You could go all out and re-create food from one of your favorite restaurants at home. Or, you could keep it simple and just try a fun new recipe or make your family’s favorite dessert. If you can’t even afford that, add a table cloth, your best dishes and candles to your normal fare to make it seem extravagant. No one will probably notice you’re eating beans and rice yet again if they are distracted by the beautiful candlelight. 
::Stop by the library. The library was one of our favorite places to frequent when we were on a very limited income. When my husband was in law school, there was little else we could afford when it came to entertainment, so we spent countless hours and evenings at the library. And we checked out hundreds of books, CDs and DVDs. Best of all, that particular library had no late fees!
::Go shopping at CVS. This might seem a little crazy, but back when I was playing the drugstore game really hot and heavy, we oftentimes used extra ECBs to splurge. And some nights, we’d divvy them up and see who could get a better bang for their bucks by hitting up the clearance section of the store. It felt like a splurge, but it didn’t affect our pocketbook.
::Have a Loose Change Date. During the first few years of our marriage, any extra pennies or nickles or dimes we had, went into a change cup that we kept in our kitchen cupboard. Once a year, when we were feeling particularly like we just couldn’t keep on living like no one else and needed some sort of pick me up, we’d take the change cup to the bank and exchange it for dollar bills.
You know that money was tight, because usually after a year of putting in our extra pennies, nickels and dimes, all we’d have would be around $7-$8 collected! But that $7-$8 could meant we could rent a movie at the $0.50 movie store and get dinner at a fast food restaurant with coupons. And you know what? A little splurge like that often did the trick to re-invigorate us on our frugal journey.
How do you keep frugality fun at your house? I’d love to hear your ideas!
photo by Maddy Lou
Have you signed up for Groupon yet? If you’re looking for deals in your area, you definitely should! Every day, you’ll receive a coupon offer via email which is up to 90% off an area restaurant, attraction, store or service.
I’ve been really impressed with the offers available. While they do cost something (i.e. none of them are totally free), it’s a great way to do fun things as a family — without breaking your pocketbook (provided you have the money to pay for the deal in your budget!).
Sign up for Groupon deals in your area here.
Missed last week’s post with Part 1 of Fifteen Favorite Children’s Read-Alouds? Read it here.
Picking up where we left off last week, here are four more of our favorite children’s read-alouds:
5. The Story of Ferdinand — The girls never tire of this story and it always produces a plethora of questions on bull-fighting, bees and everything in-between.
6. Keep the Lights Burning Abbie– This is one of Kathrynne’s most-loved stories. It’s a beautiful tale of a girl who shows great responsibility and determination to stick to her commitments — in spite of great difficulty.
7. Caps for Sale — Despite how many times we’ve read this book, it never ceases to capture the girls’ complete attention. They find it fascinating. Plus, it offers lots of opportunities for us to discuss entrepreneurialism and how “way back when” people really had to get creative when it came to earning a living.
8. Bless the Lord: The 103rd Psalm – With absolutely gorgeous and detailed artwork, this book has the rich phrases of the 103rd Psalm contained in it. If your children are anything like mine, they will want to spend a great deal of time just studying the pictures.
Part 3 coming early next week…
This post is brought to you in part by HarperCollins and the Borders Double Dog Dare You Reading program. Kids 12 and under can join the Borders Double Dog Dare You Reading program and earn a free book when they read 10 books. Just fill out this form and bring it in to any Borders, Waldenbooks, or Borders express store by August 26, 2010 to participate in this program. Find more Summer Reading Programs here.
photo credit: Washington State Library
Here’s another great freebie to add to the Guide to Free Summer Fun I posted yesterday:
REI stores have a Passport to Adventure Program which allows children ages 5-12 to earn a free prize when they document their hikes, bike rides and more over the summer.
This is a great incentive for your children to get out and get fresh air and exercise. Plus, reader Lesley, who emailed in about this deal, said that their family participated in this last year and the prize with a cool multipurpose tool with a compass.
Find more free summer activities here.
Looking for some FREE activities to fill up all that extra FREE time your kids have over the summer? You’ve come to the right place! Here is your guide to all things fun and free (or really cheap!) for your kids this summer with thanks to Kaley from Cha-Ching on a Shoestring for compiling this list for us. Have a seat, grab a pencil and your calendar and let the planning begin!
Reading Rewards Programs:
- Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Club: Kids in grades 1-6 can receive a free book from Barnes & Noble by reading 8 books over the summer. They will need to fill out a Summer Reading Journal and bring the journal to a B&N location when they are finished. They will then receive a coupon for a free book.
- Borders Double Dog Dare You Reading program: Kids 12 and under can join the Borders Double Dog Dare You Reading program. They will earn a free book when they read 10 books, fill out this form and bring it in to any Borders, Waldenbooks, or Borders express store by August 26, 2010.
- Hebuddy.com Summer Reading Club: HeBuddy.com is offering ‘cool prizes’ to kids who read 10 books this summer. (Younger children can have parents read to them.) After your child is done reading, just fill out the form here and mail it in by October 1, 2010. (It appears that one of the cool prizes is a free t-shirt.)
- Half Price Books Feed Your Brain Program: Children 14 and under can earn a free $3 gift card to Half Price Books each week they read (or are read to) for 15 minutes at least five days. You can easily find books for less than $3 in their clearance section which will result in a free book per child each week! This program runs from June 1 – July 31, 2010. See more details here.
- TD Bank Summer Reading Program: Kids ages 18 years and younger can get $10 added to their new or existing TD Bank Young Savers Account when they read 10 books this summer. Offer valid May 3 – September 30, 2010.
- Pottery Barn Kids Book Club: Pottery Barn Kids holds story time every Tuesday from 11:00-11:30. (Check your local store to confirm the time and date). After attending 5 times, your child will receive a free gift.
Free or Cheap Movie Admission:
- Regal Free Family Film Festival: Beginning in June, select Regal Theaters will offer free family friendly movies starting at 10 am each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Tickets are only available the day of the show and first-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. Go here to see if there is a participating theater near you.
- National Amusements Bookworm Wednesdays: Kids can get free admission to a select children’s film every Wednesday at 10 a.m. when they present a book report at a participating Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas or Cinema de Lux box office. Accompanying parents or guardians and children under six also receive free admission and do not need to submit a book report. Program begins July 7 and ends August 11.
- Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse: Participating Cinemark theaters are offering $1 family-friendly movies on select weekday mornings throughout the summer. You can opt to purchase an advance pass for all ten movies for just $5 making them only $0.50 each! Find a list of participating locations, dates and times here.
Free Activities:
- Kids Bowl Free Program: Kids can bowl free this summer! By participating in the “Kids Bowl Free” program, children can bowl two free games per day. Go here for more details and to find a participating location near you.
- Free Bowling at AMF: Your whole family can bowl free by joining the AMF eClub. Receive a coupon for up to 10 free games (one for each member in your party). Coupon expires 30 days from signing up.
- Target Arts + Culture: Target sponsors 2200 free or reduced-price admission to arts and cultural events nationwide at over 120 museums and cultural organizations. Find out if there is anything going on in your area.
- Free Admission to National Parks: The National Park Service will offer free admission at more than 100 National Parks on the weekends of June 5-6 and August 14-15. Go here for more information.
- Lowe’s Free Build and Grow Clinics: Workshops are offered on Saturdays at 10 a.m.
- Home Depot Free Kid’s Workshops: Workshops are designed for children ages 5-12 and are offered on the first Saturday of the month between 9 a.m. and noon at all Home Depot stores.
- Apple Summer Camps: Select Apple Retail stores are holding summer camps where kids can make movies, create photo slideshows, write and record songs, put on a show for everyone, and learn how to do new things on a Mac. Apple Camp occurs at selected Apple Retail Stores, and each free workshop lasts three hours. Recommended for kids ages 8-12. More details here.
- BoA Free Museums: If you have a Bank of America Credit, Debit or ATM card, you can get free admission to over 100 participating museums, zoos and science centers the first weekend of every month.
Kaley is the Wife, Mom, blogger, and free-stuff-finder behind Cha-Ching on a Shoestring where she chronicles her family’s journey of learning to live large on a limited budget and helps others do the same. She and her husband Wes are the proud parents of two active, amazing boys and have lived to celebrate their journey through unemployment.
Have you heard of Groupon? It’s a relatively new site which offers local deals. Every day, you’ll receive a coupon offer via email which is up to 90% off an area restaurant, attraction, store or service.
I’ve been really impressed with the offers available. While they do cost something (i.e. none of them are totally free), it’s a great way to do fun things as a family — without breaking your pocketbook (provided you have the money to pay for the deal in your budget!).
Sign up for Groupon deals in your area here.
Kids Bowl Free is a program offering 2 free games of bowling every day this summer to children 12 and under. You just register and then you are emailed coupons for free bowling every week.
There are bowling centers all over the nation participating in this. Just click on the map here to see what centers are participating in your area. You can also buy a very reasonably-priced family pass for adults to bowl, too.
If you own your own bowling shoes, this could mean free or very inexpensive family fun — all summer long!
Thanks, The Homespun Heart!
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