Summer can leave parents broke and tired. Schools out and they are faced with keeping the kids entertained. Let’s face it sometimes having fun costs money and more money than we’d like to fork out. We bend over backwards for our kids and love to make sure they are having fun.
I am hear to tell ya that you don’t have to spend all the money to enjoy your summer. My husband and I are always looking for ways to save a penny and now that we have a new house to pay for and a new little one on the way, we want to save even more pennies. It’s going to be a busy summer with multiple weddings and travel, and little time for a real family vacation.
Sometimes I find that you can have more fun on a few dollars or on no dollars. I remember Summer’s as a kid with my family and 4 siblings. We didn’t do exotic trips or go to Disneyland. Instead we camped a few hours from home, boated, hiked, went to the creek for the day, and camped in the backyard. I loved my summers and thought that they were always lots of fun, even without the big family road trips.
I wanted to share ways our family saves money while still having fun throughout the summer. We keep it fun and more importantly we enjoy the family, all on a small budget.
- Hiking – This is a great family activity that the whole family can enjoy. Where we reside, there’s more than enough hiking trails within 30 minutes to 1 hour of our home. We can spend the entire afternoon, morning or even day out hiking. You should be able to find family friendly trails in your area that are safe for little children to hike. Hiking costs absolutely nothing in most place and in others maybe a small State Park fee of a few dollars.
- Backyard Camping – As a child I loved camping out in the backyard. Most nights we did it without a tent, just a sleeping bag and a pillow, under the stars. It was so much fun. Most kids love the idea of camping, even if it’s just in the backyard. It’s something creative and new, and for most kids adventurous. And it’s nice knowing there’s running water and warmth near by 😉 What’s best about backyard camping is easy clean up, no packing and money saved.
- Picnics at a New Park – It’s fun to visit new parks in the area and even more fun to have a picnic the old fashioned way. We rarely do this as a culture anymore, but picnics are fun. For some reason eating outside on a blanket is just more fun than sitting at the dining room table. It’s away from the norm.
- Geocaching – Who doesn’t love scavenger hunts?! If you haven’t heard of geocaching you are missing out. It’s even better than a scavenger hunt, because you don’t have to plan your hiding spots and buy prizes. You get clues from an online site of where the “treasure” or as they call it cache is hidden, and then you try to find the said cache using the clues. Most places have geocaching and most kids love looking for hidden “treasure.” You’re out in nature, exploring new areas and before you know you’ve filled your entire afternoon.
- Build an Outside Fort – Sticks, leaves and maybe a few blankets and you have a fun fort. It uses creativity and is fun for kids to play in forts, and maybe even sleep in it for a night. You feel like your living in the wild. Keep it up for a few days for the kids to enjoy.
- Day at the Beach – This doesn’t have to be a ocean beach. Many lakes have fun beaches. We love spending a day at the beach, packing our own lunch and snacks and bringing along sand toys for the kids. Build sand castles, enjoy swimming and frisbee. We have many lakes and rivers near by we can visit.
- Long Bike Rides – As a family we love to stay active and be outside. When the weather is nice it’s not hard to want to be outside. We use a great trail system to bike for miles, stopping to have our packed lunch or maybe treating ourselves to lunch at a local cafe. We see new sites and enjoy a family day.
- Summer Festivals – There’s always some type of festival during the summer months at any given time. From art festivals to children’s festivals. These are fun for the whole family and most are free or only a few dollars. There’s kid’s activities from obstacle courses, face painting, pony rides to building workshops for the whole family.
- Weekend Getaways – Using Groupon is a great tool for weekend getaways that are cheap. This one you’ll spend a few extra dollars, but for a few hundred dollars you can have a nice weekend away, and it’s better than spending thousands for air fare and hotels. You don’t need an entire week to have some fun. A few days out camping or even staying in a cabin in the woods is fun. Or if you like the city, a cute B&B somewhere new. Look at local attractions in the area before getting there, so you have ideas for fun things to do.
- Outdoor Movies – This is becoming more and more popular now. We love going to outdoor movies at the local park, and if you are creative enough and have the right equipment you can do them in your own backyard. It doesn’t matter if the same movie you’ve seen a million times is playing, it’s always fun watching it outdoors. In our area, it’s a local favorite. The park has popcorn for sale and other fare, or you can simply bring your own snacks. In most places it’s free to attend, and you can come and go as you please.
I encourage you to look at your city’s local events calendar. Most cities have Facebook pages dedicated to activities the city is doing throughout the year, from festivals to circuses to day hikes and fairs. You can find fun activities that are cheap or free for the family to attend. Before you know it, Summer is over and you’ve had an adventure packed summer and a few more dollars left in your pocket. There’s so many more ways to enjoy summer without burning through your savings.
If you need some ideas for making a budget visit Personal Capital. They have a great software to help you keep track of your spending. Sometimes its beneficial to see where all the money is going, and where you can save a few dollars. I’ve learned that a budget helps me, and knowing where the money is going each month helps me to see where I am spending foolishly and where I could be saving more.
Disclaimer: I was not compensated by Personal Capital for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Until Next Time Be Whole and Be Fit
How do you have fun on a budget during the summer?
These are great ideas Bry. As you know, my family is very simple and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. When you get down to it, the greatest treasures in life are the small moments that most of let slip past us without any notice. What people want most in life is connection and intimacy– a rare thing these days. Love this list!!
It’s so true!! I loved the simplicity of our family’s summers as a kid and didn’t think they were simple. I didn’t know any different. So much less stressful too!!