It’s that time of year parents. The kids are home for the summer. Another school year has flown by and your kids will be home for a couple months and it’s up to you to help them enjoy their summer break. I have lots of money saving advice( http://afreshstartonabudget.com/budgeting-tips-and-advice/) over on my site.
I only have one kiddo and I’m sure many of you have a few or maybe many more than one. I know that if we try to go on lots of day trips or vacations that things really start to add up and I don’t have lots of extra money to spend. Though I do want to make summer break fun for my daughter.
So here are some inexpensive ideas for this summer vacation and even a couple of free ideas. Hopefully, this will get you out of the house more this summer with your family without hurting your budget.
Check out free community events
Go to your local community center, the library,chamber of commerce or any type of place that hold community events or services and see what they offer during the summer. There may be lots of free things to take your children to that you aren’t aware of.
I know that for me locally the library does weekly events for kids, there are movie nights in the park some weeks over the summer that are fun to go to. Also, many restaurants will have special events for families. I know I’ve been to things at chick fil a and Denny’s for kids before.
Budget in one or two fun activities a week
Depending on your family’s finances and how many children you have you also should try to budget in some money for activities during the summer. We will try to go for ice cream once or twice which can be fun and not very pricey. Going to a matinee movie during the week is also a good idea that can be inexpensive and fun.
I try to plan on doing a couple things a month and if planned out I can keep the price down. Going on days where there are discounts or to early showings really cuts the price and it’s still just as fun for the kids.
Keep inexpensive outdoor toys on hand for your kids and neighbors.
This is one of my favorite things to do in the summer. My daughter will spend time outside but after awhile her and the neighbor kids start getting bored and then they want to either come inside and play video games or go on the iPad
I try to keep the electronics at a minimum during the day because I’d rather her be active and play. So at the start of summer I go to Wal-Mart and I stock up on cheap little outdoor toys. Like squirt guns, chalk, bubbles, bouncy balls. I get a bunch so all the kids can play. If I don’t then it’s a lot of fighting.
I try not to spend over $20 a summer and most of it doesn’t make it to next summer because the toys are only a dollar or two. We’ve been doing this for a few summers now and it’s always money well spent and keeps the kids entertained outside during the day.
Come up with a schedule that way you’re not scrambling last minute to find something to do.
One way to avoid having to do any extra spending is to plan out your weeks during the summer. I will see when my daughter has scheduled activities like dance during the week. Then add in any plans we have with friends and family. Then I see what days are blank and we need to find something to do.
The way we tend to overspend on plans is that we don’t plan and then have a couple days with nothing and get bored so we just do something without finding the best and inexpensive option. I don’t think kids need to be entertained 24/7 but if you don’t do anything for awhile you will all start to get a little stir crazy and that’s where poor money decisions come in.
