Thursday, April 8, 2010

Money Saving Tips #3

It is that time of the week again where I will give you my money saving tips. This week I will give a money saving tip on an activity you may be interested in doing, but just can not afford to do.

Tip #3

Scenario: Your friends call and want to go out to see a movie and have dinner, but its the off week of your paycheck and your strapped for cash.

Solution: Invite your friends over to your house and offer to make them dinner. Ask them what type of style of food they are in the mood for (IE: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, etc) and then create a budget friendly dinner. You can always find deals at your grocery stores or if your lucky enough to have a discount grocery store like a Save-A-Lot you do not have to spend much money on dinner and its a lot cheaper than spending money at a restaurant.

Next ask them if they have a movie they would like to see and you can go to Redbox for $1 or your local movie store. A lot of movie stores have deals since Redbox is in competition with them. If you do not want to spend that extra buck, then ask if they have a movie they would like to bring over. Another cheaper solution would be a board or multi-player video game.

My friend and I have a couple night once a week and we alternate. One night she cooks and we bring over a drink, dessert, or a movie and vice versa. We have saved so much money that way and to be frank, both of us do not have a lot of money to spend on luxuries like movie theaters and restaurants.

Couple Spin:
If it is just the two of you - you can always rent a movie from Redbox, take a "personal fun spin" on a board game and make the dinner romantic by candle-light.

Family Spin:
You can do this with your family as well. You can have a themed night where you make a certain ethnic food dish, decorate with festive plates and other fun decorations you get at the Dollar Store and teach the kids a little about the culture. You can research online games that would go with your theme. This is something I plan to do with my children and it is inexpensive, reusable (my favorite word), educational and keeps the family bondingI hope you enjoyed my money saving tip and stay tuned for my weekly tips.

Cooking on the Cheap Recipes:

Meals under $10 (includes dessert!)
Variety of Cheap Meals from Disney
Easy Meals for Busy Families

You can find a lot of great recipes by searching in Google, Yahoo, or Bing by typing in 'budget meals' 'cheap recipes' and other keywords like that.

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