Once upon a time I was a single mom struggling to make ends meet. I'd rob Peter to pay Paul and frankly have no idea how I did it. Over time I had to come up with creative entertainment whether it be rewards, fun, or just extra curriculars to keep my little one happy and well rounded. I searched and questioned those close to me who could lend me some ideas. I have found that it's often hard when your budgeting to find means to have fun or entertain your children (depending on age). So, I'm going to share with you some things that I did that we loved that were "frugal-tastic" and quite honestly very basic.
The one that stands out most to me is simply visiting the Fire Department. It's actually a fun activity and free for your family to do. They would give us a tour of the department and show us the big trucks. To a child it's amazing as the trucks are so huge to them. They may even be able to sit in them and honk the horns. I really enjoyed it as well as a parent to see the fascination planted on my daughters face. Not only that, but they learn while they are there. It's a score in my book!
Another thing we'd do is have "jam" out sessions. Back then I was younger and could keep up! We would dance, sing, and just be merry. We'd jam to oldies type music ex. Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire. It was a ton of fun. We'd pretend we we're at our own Karaoke fest with our hair brushes as our microphones. Fun times!
We were fortunate at the time to live near a beach. That in itself is hours of fun for a child. Throw on the sunscreen and you have a free (as long as you don't pay parking) fun filled day and what's best is most of the time the kids don't want to leave. But when you do they are tuckered out and fall asleep on the way home allowing you some much needed rest! We'd pack our own lunches, drinks and snacks in a cooler and have our own picnic while we were there.
Another wonderful resource is to take advantage of what's going on in or around your area. There are so many things communities do that we often times forget about when looking for "frugal-tastic" things to do. For example I don't think I've ever met a child who didn't like parades. Between candy, clowns, bands, and other things at a parade it's quite entertaining.
Around Halloween in the town we lived in, a church would host an event where the kids could come and gather candy and have games which was totally free in an effort to keep the kids safe at night. Plus, they didn't have to wear a costume. At the time I would make a homemade costume as we couldn't afford to go and buy a $20 + costume. It turned out fine, I was more worried about it not looking like a real costume than she was. Kids (depending on age) really don't sweat the small stuff like we do.
Something else we used to do is simple dress up. She'd fix my hair with 1,000 barrettes and we'd take pictures and laugh at how silly it was.
As far as going out to eat we frequented Taco Bell. We we're both fans (maybe because I ate a ton of it when I was prego) and back then every Wednesday night, you could get soft tacos for .49 cents. It may not sound like anything to get excited about but it was a treat back then to be able to have fast food or dine out as we couldn't afford otherwise. Many places have "silent" deals that you just may not have heard of yet. I'm not aware that Taco Bell still does this as this was years ago. Not only that but it was cheaper for us to eat there than it was for me to make dinner that day!
The park is always a good choice also. Again you could picnic and make a day out of it.
The main thing I'm getting to is it's really the small stuff. I think we all tend at one time or another to get wrapped up in money and the way Bob lives. Or, feeling as though we should live up to "standards". Bottom line is it's our kids and they don't care that much. They simply enjoy being with us and love us regardless. And in the end, we survived. And honestly those hard times were some of my most memorable "good quality times" in my life.
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