Fun things to do on a budget

JodyBPM

We've made a big financial commitment, which will mean we need to stick to a fairly tight budget for 5-7 years!

We're actually reasonably financially comfortable, but due to this decision we will be asset rich, but very short of disposable income for this fairly expended period. We will have reasonable lump sum savings to cover any big emergencies, but would like to try to keep within our monthly budget as far as possible, which will be tight.

We've done this before, when we were overpaying/paying off our mortgage, so I'm sure we can do it. BUT, for the last 2/3 years we've had really plenty of extra cash, and have fallen into the habit of spending quite a lot on fun/entertainment. I've also had quite a few sad things happen and found it harder to be happy. I think that's added to my "spend on fun" mentality. I'm really worried I'm going to be unhappy again when not having money to spend on treats, days out etc. I'm not really a materialistic person, so probably this is an unfounded fear. I've just fallen into a habit of cheering myself up with things that cost money.

The thing is, I've forgotten how to have fun without spending! I know we used to, but now every time I think of a fun thing to do, its a meal out, or a day at an attraction or a holiday or something that needs money spent!

So remind me, what are fun free or low spend activities? We're a family of 4, 2 adults, 2 preteens. We're not sporty or into overly physical stuff, but do like the outdoors. Not fond of films/tv, but do like arts and crafts.

Suggestions pls!

Jagraf

I find annual passes very useful. National trust, cinema etc. one off payments then you don't have to spend anything.

Mayflower10cat

Some of the most fun we ever had as a family were very cheap or even free. I remember a Kite Contest - we all made and decorated our own and flew them on a very windy hillside - getting extremely competitive but being a right laugh. Especially when Most Competitive Family Member crashed his into a tree and we couldn't stop laughing as he'd been so sure he'd win....

A Quiz (Pop & Rock?) is very easy to write.

A bargain bookshop will usually have craft kits/artists materials etc., cheaply - you can buy a few kits and have a crafting evening or again, something a bit more competitive.


Husband and I had a very productive few hours this weekend making 'Insect Houses' to put around the garden - we cut up a load of old bamboo canes and stood them up tightly inside various little wooden/wicker 'crates' - (you know the sort of thing you get gift packs of chutney/jams in.) Then hung them up around the garden. Lots of info on T'internet as to what various beneficial creatures insects/butterflies/solitary bees/lacewings prefer.

jackyann

Really scour your local library, free newspaper, parish magazine etc. Most councils and voluntary organisations put on free or cheap activities.
Small local music / arts festivals often have very cheap tickets for kids, and I love our local ones much more than the huge expensive & overcrowded festivals
Walks with an interest, or "treasure hunt" for the kids.
Film nights at home with "fake aways"
Do the kids belong to a youth organisation? They usually do cheap, fun activities; and we used to have a good local Ramblers Association that did family walks.

I found that once you get started, you see stuff all over the place, and become part of an informal "club" of families.

onlyroz

Jagraf wrote: »

I find annual passes very useful. National trust, cinema etc. one off payments then you don't have to spend anything.

Was going to say the same. We've joined the National Trust this year - £111 for a 12-month family pass. If you take picnics it's a cheap day out. You get to learn a bit of history and enjoy the English countryside as well.

If there are any theme parks near you an annual pass can work out good value, again especially if you take picnics rather than eating there. We've previously bought Merlin passes, but these are very expensive. In recent years we got a family pass for Chessington, and we treated it like the local park. It's quite refreshing just to pop in for a few hours at the end of the day when the queues are dying down.

onomatopoeia99

Museums are free. In addition to exhibits aimed at children for learning, my local one has a decent section on dinosaurs and another on local wildlife, which may be of interest to children, even if the modern abstract art in a different gallery isn't.

tykesi

onlyroz wrote: »

Was going to say the same. We've joined the National Trust this year - £111 for a 12-month family pass. If you take picnics it's a cheap day out.

Or save some money by buying a National Trust Scotland membership for £95 and get entry to the same places via their reciprocal agreement. Same service for less money!

Spendless

How old are the children? I found finding free/very cheap stuff relatively easy when mine were younger; more difficult as they became adolescents/teenagers. Annual passes are a good idea, but they will require the initial outlay. Different areas of the country might have more availability of things to do than where I live though.

duchy

Vouchers, two for ones ....make a game of it.
Meals, admission fees etc

For local events enter competitions local newspaper and local radio competitions are often surprisingly low entry. I've had free tickets to some very high profile shows that way.

Tesco vouchers can be converted into admission tickets
Nectar points into hotel stays

Use cash back sites and save the cash back into a treats pot as it is essentially free money.

SingleSue

One of our favourite free days out was a visit to Currys to wander around looking at the tech things....yes, I have weird children! :rotfl:

More seriously, we would walk along the prom (we live near the seaside) or on hotter days, sit on the beach and maybe have a paddle.

I would do mystery drives, not too far out but which would take us to a place of interest that would be free to walk around or just drive about the country lanes looking at the scenery (and on one of our more frequent drives, feed the ducks)

We would make forts out of sheets and chairs, outside in nice weather, inside in less than great weather.

Back to weird children, we would go to the local shops and see who could find the best sale deal, which also helped their math skills as they had to work out the biggest percentage reduction. I had to be careful here though as they got quite competitive about it.

We would go and have a look around the art shops and discuss which ones we liked/thought looked silly/thought How much!

We would debate various topics....for hours!

We would go to a cheap local crazy golf place and make a competition of it (amazing how much fun can be had for a tenner)

I would set up an obstacle course in the back garden using chairs and other things.

We would keep an eye out for local music events where entry was free (this was a more awkward one for youngest, if the event was well attended, we would have to find a corner where there were less people)

We would go to the local park.

We would go to a local book shop which has thousands of books down a myriad of corridors and levels. We would get lost in there for hours looking at all the different books and if pocket money/my bank balance allowed, would find lots of cheap but interesting books to buy. We had loads of fun in this place, it was like doing a treasure quest/adventure course alongside being interesting.

TBagpuss

Go for walks
Make picnics to take rather than eating out
Join your local library (most have DVDs and CDs to borrow, as well as books)
Look into local clubs for the children - not free, but may be able to find low cost activitiesd, and as paretns you could volunteer to help out
Gardening? I''m not surethat growing your own veg necessarily saves money, at least in the short term, but it can be very rewarding and you can tie it in with teaching the childnre to cook from scratch. make enquiries - there might be a community garden, or shared allotments in your area.
Let the children be bored. It fuels creativitiy and imaginatation. allow them to make their own entertainm,ent some of the time.
Look at memberships - for things you already do, paying for an annual pass or membership may be cost effective
Look at local facilities - going to your local, council pool or sports facilities may be much cheaper than paying for gym membership
depending on their ages, encouraging the chilnre to join groups such as Guides or Scouts, or whatever is available in your area, may be costs effective. It isn't free, but need not be particualrly expensive and will (if well run) give them options for further activities.
Depending on the children's ages, include them in the planning of activities. Given them a budget for a day out and let them plan it.
Again, depending on age, using buses to get to local sites of interest might be fun and cheaper than driving and parking.
Many museums are free, and you can use what you see as a stating point for other activities at home.
national Trust and/or English Heritgage membership both give you a lot of options for a comparatively small annual cost - I often find an NT place and pop in in passing to break long journeys, for instance; for a samll detour you can have a refreshing break, eat a pre-made picnic in nice surroundings and it can give the children a break in a journey and space to use up some energy.