9. Fun and Entertainment
They who are of the opinion that money will do everything may very well be suspected to do everything for money. -George Savile
1) Invite friends over instead of going out: Almost every activity at home is less expensive than going out. Invite some friends over and have a cookout or a potluck meal, then play some cards and have a few drinks. Everyone will have fun, the cost will be low, and the others will likely reciprocate not long afterwards.
2) Don’t spend big money entertaining your children: Most children, especially young ones, can be entertained very cheaply. Buy them an end roll of newspaper from your local paper and let their creativity run wild. Make a game out of ordinary stuff around the house, like tossing pennies into a jar. Even realize that what your children want most of all is your time, not your stuff, and you’ll find money in your pocket and joy in your heart.
3) Replay: Buy video/games that have a lot of replay value – and don’t acquire new ones until you’ve mastered what you have. Good targets include puzzle games and long, involved quest games – they maximize the value of your gaming dollar.
4) Make a quadruple batch of a casserole: Casseroles are nice, easy dishes to prepare, but on busy nights, it’s often still easier to just order some take-out or eat out or just plop a prepackaged meal in the oven. Instead, the next time you make a casserole, make four batches of it and put the other three in the freezer. Then, the next time you need a quick meal for the family, grab one of
those batches and just heat it up – easy as can be. Even better, doing this allows you to buy the ingredients in bulk, making each casserole cheaper than it would be ordinarily – and far, far cheaper than eating out or trying a prepackaged meal.
5) Plan your meals around your grocery store’s flyer: Instead of just planning your meals based on a cookbook or whatever you can dream up, plan all your meals around what’s on sale in your gro