Low Cost Ways to Party

We are planning to have a birthday party for my youngest son at our house in less than a month. We are in the middle of some chaos at the house (nothing new), so we have our work cut out for us to get everything ready. If money was no option, we might just hire things out, but as it is, we are opting for low-cost or no-cost ways to get it all done. Here are the ideas I am batting around today, as we start to make our plans. Cleaning in Pieces In the last few weeks, we have … Continue reading →

Quick and Easy Holiday Party Ideas

If you want to host a fabulous party but don’t want an equally fabulous bill at the end of it, try one of the following easy holiday party ideas. You can celebrate the season while still staying on budget. Dessert Party Everyone loves desserts, especially during the holidays, when we all want to indulge a little bit. Desserts can be much cheaper than providing a whole spread, especially if you make them yourself from scratch. To save even more money, ask each guest to bring one dessert. Provide the plates, the forks, the spoons and the coffee. Open House During … Continue reading →

How Much Would You Spend on a Moonbounce Birthday Party?

My seven-year-old daughter, or miss popular as we like to call her, has been invited to a number of fun birthday parties, everything from a hip hop dance party to a rock-climbing party. Her own birthday is coming up, and she wants a cupcake-moonbounce-girlie party for all of her friends, whatever that means. The moonbounce idea was actually her father’s, who thought renting a moonbounce might be fun for the kids. I agree that it would be, but unfortunately, since her birthday is in November (and we live in an area that has dramatic changes in seasons), it will be … Continue reading →

Summer Entertaining on the Cheap

Save money when you use the following strategies for summer entertaining on the cheap. Keep the Food Simple Food and drinks are one of the biggest expenses when it comes to summer entertaining. You can reduce this expense in several ways, most notably by keeping everything simple. Do summer favorites, such as hot dogs and burgers with some salad and pasta or pasta salad to round things out. Desert can be inexpensive, too, from freezer pops for the kids to fresh cut watermelon. Reduce the Meat Kabobs on the grill are great because they reduce the amount of expensive meat … Continue reading →

Grilling on a Budget

With Memorial Day on its way and summer not far behind, you may be thinking about dusting off that grill and getting the party started. Here is how to spend less on grilling this season. Skip the Paper Products If you will be entertaining more than once, skip the paper products and invest in some pretty plastic pieces that can be reused. This will make a lot of financial sense. If you score thrift stores and clearance racks, you’ll probably wind up spending less than the paper products even for just one use! Go Light on the Meat Make sure … Continue reading →

Cheap Birthday Cake Ideas

When spring rolls around, it seems as though there is one birthday after another at my house, all the way through to the holidays. Each birthday usually requires cake, and all of those cakes can add up. I remember the year when my daughter convinced my husband to get a store bought and created Princess cake, complete with the princess characters. Since it was offered in the bakery section of the grocery store, he didn’t thin much of it. When he picked it up on the day, he was surprised to find that it came with a $50 cost. Youch. … Continue reading →

Fun, Frugal Challenges to Try

You can have fun and save money too, when you take one of the following frugal challenges. Jump start your frugal lifestyle or just relieve a little frugal fatigue. Track your progress and share it with others, such as on our Families Facebook fan page! Which is your favorite challenge? The Longest Lasting Challenge When you open a new bottle of something, how long do you think you can get it to last? Can you make your shampoo last twice as long? What about your laundry detergent. How far can you make the things that you commonly consume go before … Continue reading →

Craft Projects on the Cheap

Just because you are trying to save a few bucks, doesn’t mean that you have to give up crafting. Here are some ways to save on craft supplies. Buy Off Season Just as clothing and other items go on sale after a holiday, so do many craft supplies. Everything from beads to scrapbooking papers to kids craft kits will hit rock bottom prices at some point if they happen to be seasonal. So forget paying $7.99 for a bucket of pumpkin foam shapes. Wait until the day after Halloween and get them for only $2.99. Store seasonal crafts to use … Continue reading →

Child’s Birthday Party Part 2

Yesterday I shared a number of tips on how you can save money on your child’s birthday party while still creating an event that they will remember always. We talked about the guest list and food. Now let us move on to other money saving ideas. Party Favors and Goodie Bags The party favors and goodie bags that are given out at most kids birthday parties are getting a little ridiculous, I think. You can easily spend a couple of hundred dollars on goodie bags, party favors and parting gifts. There are a couple of ways to save on this … Continue reading →

Money Saving Tips for a Child’s Birthday Party

Our eldest son will be celebrating his 10th birthday next month, so we want to make sure he has a nice party. This is a milestone for him, the first time that he hits double digits! of course, with our getting out of debt goals, we also want to make sure that we don’t spend more money than we have to spend. Here are some of the money saving tips that we will be exploring. Keeping the Guest List Small Guest lists have a way of spinning out of control, so we will have to put a limit on the … Continue reading →