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!)
Boy I hate to stay home- LOL- but I find FREE things to do like go to the park, free wading pools, free festivals, farmers markets that give free samples, the library- this year we got a ton of free restaurant coupons from the summer reading program., etc.
@jan, I’m glad I’m not the only one! My 3 year old is high energy and 1300 square foot townhome plus 2 large dogs gets him crawling the walls and then mom and dad start crawling the walls and then the dogs start wrestling…. well, you get the idea! In spring, fall, and most winters, not the past one (we live in SC) we can head outside to our “yard” and grassy common areas and play baseball, Fisher Price golf, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc. We can also ride the tricycle around the block on the sidewalk. Because my son can get energy out, there is not so much of a need to go other places. Enter summer…. 110-120 heat index 25 days in a row (it just broke, hallelujah!). When it is only 90-100 heat index, we hit the water park (we bought a pass with son’s birthday money since he certainly doesn’t need more toys), the beaches, and the neighborhood pool. But 110-120, even the water activities are miserable so, we have used free passes that mom wisely held onto instead of using right away to jump castle places, gone to open gym time at the Y (we are members and it costs $24 for four weekly sessions, so I guess that costs money, but wild man gets to run, climb, and jump in a/c, so it is worth it!!), walk the dogs at 7 am every day which is not activity for the son but is something he enjoys (stroller)–but 7 am was even muggy and warm for a few weeks!, McDonald’s playgrounds–free Smoothie coupon from Parade and only had to purchase juice box for son, you get the idea. I try to get out and give him space to exert energy without breaking the bank although there is always fuel costs (luckily everything but the beaches are only 5-10 mins away)! I also take the dogs to the beach every Thursday a.m. during off leash hours so they can run and swim since they don’t have a yard to frolic in either. But hey, we use our “yard” in the pleasant months, it is just too hot right now and even if we had a huge yard, we’d be seeking out air conditioned activities! During most years (last years’ winter was COLD), we are rewarded with 8-10 months of gorgeous weather for suffering through July and August!
Yes! We are homebodies. I love making our home a place where my family loves to be. That’s the ticket – making a HOME.
I agree it is best to stay home. Not only cheaper, but usually much better for you. Because we eat out so little, we do splurge and eat at great places when we do finally go out. No chains, just great local places using local food. It’s worth saving up for.
Great idea! I’m just now getting used to (and enjoying – which was probably harder) staying home with our 8 month-old while my husband takes the car to work. Never knew being a SAHM was so HARD sometimes!
So many great ideas! It is marvelous to have so many to choose from since the ‘same old, same old’ can be dull. Thanks for hosting and sharing.
I’m working on eating home more on the weekends. For example, tonight we are going to a nearby fair. Instead of just going and buying dinner for 4, playing games, and then desserts, I pulled left over lasagna out of the freezer to eat before we go. We also often borrow a free family movie from library for Friday nights or walk over to our cool playground!
Staying home is awesome especially after a long week. What we like to do is host an appetizer night. We invite friends and family over to play games and hang out and everyone brings a new appetizer to share. It’s fun and really cheap : )
I couldn’t agree more. I have been struggling with the whole staying at home concept. I think I have gotten a lot better over the past few months though. Since I’m a college girl coupon shopping trips take stress away from me. I realized that I was spending far too much time cruising around for all the deals (lots of gas is wasted!).
I absolutely love to stay home! Some times just a bit too much and I have to force myself to be around people. When my kids say they are bored they get to clean for me.
My son made a boat out of wood and spent an hour decorating it with stuff he found around the house. One time my aunt gave me some old clothes and they spent hours cutting fabric and sewing pillows and blankets for their stuffed animals!
We bought a pool instead of going to the local. Even though we pay for electricity and shock, we still come out ahead in gas and food.