Entertainment expenses can take up a large portion of a family’s budget and time. How often have we picked up that new release from our local movie rental store only to be a week late returning it – and paying the assessed late fee. Sometimes entertainment includes eating out, movie theater trips, shopping, and sports and concert events. If your family is a devoted fan of your local pro-basketball team and you go to almost every game without fail, I certainly don’t advocate tossing your season passes to cut your expenses as long as you can comfortably afford them. However, there are some ways to cut down on entertainment costs, no matter what form of entertainment you prefer.
-
Go Outside. Get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors. Whether you have mountains to hikes or waves to surf, outside activities are often free or next-to-free, and far more enjoyable. Go throw a ball, take a walk, or go play at the park. Whatever it is that you enjoy, go do it. The exercise will be good for you.
- Unlimited Rentals. Rather than paying extra money on video rentals and the very common late fee that accompanies them, sign up for either Netflix or Blockbuster unlimited monthly rentals with no late fees. You can get anywhere from 1-3 DVD’s out at a time depending on the subscription package you buy. You also have the option of online streaming that has grown by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.
- Play Games. Traditional board games are still an option, though compared to today’s entertainment options are not as intriguing. There are lots of new games out in additional to other things like puzzles, drawing games, word games, and card games.
- Go Matinée. If you are a die-hard movie goer, try going to an afternoon showing. It will cost about half as much but still be just as enjoyable. Also, be sure to eat before or sneak a few snack in to keep yourself from buying popcorn, a soda, and a box of candy at the theater. In most areas there are also theaters referred to as “dollar theaters”. You can usually watch a movie at one of these locations for $1.00 – $1.50.
And there you have just a few ways to cut entertainment costs to save money each month by cutting down on extra spending.
Tags: Be Frugal, Cut Down on Extra Spending, Save Money, Use Less
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
nice post. thanks.
Big screen tvs, plasma tvs and other large tvs really make home theater the way to watch dvds.