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When I found myself a very young, very broke single mother throughout my twenties, we couldn't afford Chuck E. Cheese or first-run movies and forget anything like Sesame Street Live. Being broke forced us to be creative. So what we did was go to the free bonfire/marshmallow roast/storytelling at the nature preserve. We went to the free Jelly Belly factory tour. We caught fireflies and played freeze tag with the neighborhood kids.
As my financial situation improved, we slowly added the pay-for-play venues into our leisure time repertoire. Yes, we did the pricey miniature golf, laser tag and an indoor playground called Jungle Jims. And we went to the theater and bought those kiddie packs of popcorn with soda and a candy treat. And it was fun. Sort of. Chuck E. Cheese was always a bit of a bittersweet event. There were tears when the tokens ran out. And disappointment when no one had the bazillion tickets necessary for the flashy $2 trinket. Maybe it was because expectations were so high -- all the expense and excess led us to believe we would reap a greater reward. But with our freebie activities, the kids always seemed to walk away happy. Or at least satisfied.
When I ask my teenagers now about early childhood, they had no idea we were so desperately broke. They have rich memories of home birthday parties with homemade cakes and pinatas that took us many weeks and many pounds of paper mache to make. They know make-your-own-pizza Fridays as a fun family tradition -- not the result of a budget that had zero room for delivery. While they remember the later trips to the pricey venues, they don't have the same great, warm memories that they do about the fun we had to make for ourselves.
I've been happily remarried for nearly ten years now and my husband and I have cycled through financially thick and thin times. And every time we find ourselves feeling flush, we slowly go back to those habits of over-spending on entertainment. Why? Because like so many things that cost more these days, they're a conveniece. We don't have to think about it. Have a sitter? Great, we'll have dinner and a movie and be $100 poorer. And, expensive entertainment venues are marketed so strongly we feel like we need to want them. That we deserve them. The exorbitant theme restaurants and full-price theaters are the Twinkies of recreational activities; they seem enticing, but once you indulge, you're left with a funny aftertaste and a bit of regret.
So now that we're spending more on groceries and gas and practically all restaurant prices are through the roof, we're back to being creative and making better decisions about where our dollars are going. So these are the activities me, my husband and my kids will be doing this summer:
Movies in the park with picnic dinners
Days at the beach
Bike rides in the forest preserve
Books from the library
Movies in the yard shown on a sheet hung from the garage
Free concerts at downtown parks and in neighborhood squares
Checking out museum passes for free admission from our local library
Potluck dinners with friends
What's your favorite way to have fun on the cheap? And are you looking for low-cost ways to spend your leisure time?
