Today I am spending some time working on our summer fun calendar. School will be out soon, so I want to make sure that we prioritize the fun things that we want to do. Of course, we are on a budget.
First I start doing my research to find out what free activities and events are available. There is our town website, the “catalogue” of summer activities from neighboring towns, the events for any museums we are members of, library programs and more. I start with these events, since they often have specific activities with dates (make your own glow-in-the-dark lava lamp, anyone?).
Next, I ask the kids what they would like to spend time doing, whether it is something big, such as an amusement park or trip to the beach, or something small, such as feeding the ducks on the pond at the end of our road or relaxing with video games. I think it is important to build in a lot of down time when they can just play in the creek or visit friends. Sometimes they come up with some big dreams, such as going to London, but that is another story.
We try to fill the calendar mostly with low-cost or free activities, but we may splurge on one or two things. For those activities that cost money, I start doing my research. Where is the cheapest place to get tickets? Are there coupons available? Does buying a season pass make more sense for our family? It is amazing how much you can save just by taking the time to compare costs.
Sometimes the discounts come to me, such as when my father-in-law worked at Six Flags or a friend had some beach passes they weren’t going to use. Other times it requires a bit more work on my part to make an adventure affordable.
Either way, we can look forward to a fun and frugal summer.