Frugal Friday: Stay Home to Save Money
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One of the easiest ways that we save money in our family is to stay home. Now, before you roll your eyes and whine, “Boooooring…,” hear me out.
- Recreational shopping costs money.
- Restaurant meals cost money.
- Fuel for transportation costs money.
- A night at the movies costs money.
‘Nuf said?
I’m not saying that you should never going anyplace. But, if you think through your proposed outing, there may be a way to curb some costs. I loved reader Danni’s comment the other day,
We were very tempted to go out to eat on Saturday, but didn’t want to spend the money. I had half a bag of spinach that needed to be used, so I threw together a spinach and cheese fritatta with toast and fresh fruit on the side. It was very satisfying and we were glad we didn’t eat out.
There are often many quick and frugal solutions to that entertainment or meal that you are craving.
- Stage a garage sale or do a major ebay-motivated dejunking. Then spend that money on your shopping spree.
- Cook your favorite knock-off meals at home. My friend Lynn has some great recipes that mimic restaurant favorites, like Panera’s Broccoli Cheese Soup or Chipotle’s Lime-Cilantro Rice
- Bake your own pizzas on Friday night.
- Check out a movie from the library for free, or better yet, create a slide show of your family photos and set it to music. My kids love this.
- Walk to a local park. Take bubbles or a kite to fly, weather permitting.
- Play a rousing game of Monopoly.
There is no end to fun and good eats — at home.
What do YOU do to save money?
Share your favorite money-saving ideas today. Leave a link to a post that shares some frugal wisdom. (Please no giveaways or deals posts. Teach us how to fish!)
I totally agree about staying home! This gives cause to make sure your home is fun to stay home in. Investing in games, good family DVD’s, good books, etc. are well worth the money, especially since most of these can be purchased used.
On Wednesday nights, we have “Family Night” at our house. We rent DVDs from Redbox or from the library, eat pasta and have ice cream sundaes. I stock up on toppings from Aldi during the summer when they are cheapest, but splurge on Homemade Brand ice cream. The kids really look forward to it!
I think if we’re honest, cruising around with the kids in the car or doing ‘mindless’ shopping can be a way to escape from actually having to interact with the children….not that I would know personally :)…..this can be an area of self-examination for us moms. That being said, we all get tired and ‘burnt’ sometimes, and a good old-fashioned bounce house can certainly be great entertainment for cooped up children.
Great post!
I couldn’t agree more! And now that summer is here with all it’s heat and humidity, I’ve never been happier to stay home and stay cool. There isn’t much worth leaving the house for when it’s over 100 degrees outside. We love to play board games, do puzzles (our family always has a jigsaw puzzle “going” on the coffee table), and read. We got an ice cream maker for Christmas from my parents, and it has seen a LOT of use. I just found out that you can use it to make homemade ICEE’s, and we’ve done that almost every day lately (using all the free Sobe Lifewater I’ve picked up, LOL.).
I totally agree!!!! And sometimes, the most relaxing weekend is the weekend spent at home, spending time together as a family!
I agree! Staying home builds bonds and saves money. And can I admit something? When I read about families who go out to eat three or more times per week, it doesn’t even appeal to me. It just sounds like work. Seems like I’ve even convinced MYSELF that home is the best place to be! 🙂
That is so true! My husband and I have had so much fun just hanging out playing board games and enjoying all of my new blog friends. 😉
Jessica we do this money saving activity often. If money is really tight during the week we just stay home. We bought a blow-up water slide from Craig’s List last year ($150!) and the kids have gladly used it all summer. They also go on nature hikes with a scavenger list drawn up by my daughter9 for 4year old son to find. Having friends over to play is also a big cost saver and the kids would much rather do that than go shopping anyday! The other day I texted my girlfriends to come over at 3:30 for water fun with their little ones and we all had a blast. We love to stay home 🙂
We live in NH and its pretty hot here this summer, we have been going to the local movie theater like you suggested once before and watch the movies for free, then we go to the library for craft day and pick up some movies while we are there and we have a great bike trail that we are going to start to use just as soon as it cools of a little bit! We also have a park with a small lake only five miles away with a nice playground too, no fee to get in.
Great suggestions and ideas!
I love knock off recipes!
Thanks for hosting Frugal Fridays, Jessica. 🙂
I agree about staying home more! 🙂 Having 1 vehicle means that the kids and I have to walk if we want to go any where during the day, which is always cheaper and healthier than driving, any way! 🙂
We live in Colorado and since God has given us some amazing scenery, we love to take day trips. We basically just go on drives and stop at parks, rivers, etc. to sight see or let the kids play. We plan our trips ahead of time and try to visit places we’ve never seen. We take all of the food, snacks and water we will need for the outing and enjoy finding a spot to have a family picnic. These trips end up being pretty frugal for us since all we’re really paying for is fuel.
We also love having adult friends over for board games, coffee and snacks. We typically reserve this time for after our kids are in bed, for more of an adult fun time.
AND we subscribe to Netflix!!!