Remember when I said I needed to cut out the premium channels in my cable package to save some money? I thought about this all day and realized that I need to cancel my cable package altogether. Just call up and tell them "No, thank you."
I'm going to invest in some board games for me and the kids. Too many
Americans spend too much time in front of the tv. I rarely watch
television and the kids could do without it. Just say goodbye to it and
don't look back. Don't panic, you'll still have basic cable if you have
a cable ready tv, but you won't have to go crazy with a $190 a month
bill for channels you never watch. Invest in a VCR or DVD player and
sign up for Netflix.
I was spending $2.99 to rent movies from Comcast's On Demand service.
At Netflix, movies are $1 each and they deliver them to your home with
no shipping charges. That's a 200% savings right there.Which brings me to family vacations. The last family vacation I went on is a blur. 3
or
4 days in Maine which was such a nightmare I think my subconscious has
blocked out, to spare me more pain. The kids were 2 and 3, Maine broke
a record that week for rainfall, and we stayed in our log cabin
(pictured) in a town in the middle of nowhere. The closest hospital was
60 miles away. I'm from just north of Boston..NOTHING is 60 miles away.
Buying that log cabin was not one of my smarter purchases. Either way,
sometimes we don't truly "see" what is right in front of us. I was born
in the first city in the United States to use water power. Lived here
all of my life. Last year was the first time I ever took one of the
free tours they offer. We took a boat down the Merrimack River, walked
around inside of mills that are hundreds of years old, rode the
trolley, and truly experienced history. The tours are offered by the
National Park Service and are free of charge! Sometimes we don't see
the beauty and history that's right under our noses. Check with the
Travel and Tourism department in your state and see what hidden gems it
has to offer. I just read that in Dillsburg, PA on New Year's Eve,
instead of dropping a ball, they drop a huge dill pickle. I'd drive to
see that. I don't need a plane ticket or a rental car or a limo to the
airport if I'm staying in relatively close proximity to my home. All I
need is my car and a hotel room. Huge savings. We all dream of these
really exotic vacations..we daydream about Paris and Italy and Rome and
Switzerland and the Caribbean and Aruba. What we don't daydream about
is Mass and NH and ME and VT and NY. Which is a shame..because there's
just so much here to see and do.Family entertainment is no longer cheap..unless you're doing it right! I am a huge
Red
Sox fan (don't hate me, now). To take my small family of 4 to a game it
would cost me about $300 between tickets, parking, food and souvenirs.
Instead, look for things to do with your kids that are free or
discounted. Boston Children's Museum
is just an amazing place to take your kids. The regular price is $10
for adults and $8 for kids. It would cost me $36 for admission for us
to take the kids there. On Friday nights I found out that it is $1
admission for everyone after 5pm. Now, we go on Friday nights. Nothing
is different, you don't miss out on things because it's Friday night,
you just save a lot of money. On Thursdays at the local library they
have story hour. The kids love it and it's free. We have a Quilt Museum
that has shows and exhibits and it is all free of charge. You just need
to do a little bit of research on what you have near to you that you'd
enjoy exploring. How about some bowling? I signed up with Brunswick Bowling
for their newsletter and they send me some great coupons. Free bowling
for an hour, highly discounted lane rates, etc. It's so funny to watch
my kids learning to bowl. Don't forget library hour, either. Every
Thursday at noon our local library has story time and cookie time. The
kids all gather around while someone reads them a story and then they
socialize and have cookies and punch. It's free. Doesn't cost anything
and it's so great to see your kids interacting with other kids. Instead
of an expensive meal at a restaurant with your kids, how about planning
a picnic? My kids adore that. We have a lot of fun packing our picnic
basket with foods we all love and finding a great spot to sit and eat.
Sometimes, it's
as simple as sitting on the big rock in our backyard. We lay our
blanket out, unwrap our food and have a fun lunch. We don't disturb
other patrons (a big no-no) and they learn how to help make their own
lunch. Doing fun things doesn't have to cost anything. You can take
half a loaf of bread (cost of about .50 cents) and go to your local
pond or lake and feed the ducks. Saving money isn't about sitting in
your home with the lights and heat off while you remember the "good ole
days" of when you spent a quarter on a bag of chips. Being frugal just
means being aware of where your money is going and how well you are
spending it!One quick tip on how to save on your electricity bill is laundry. Probably the chore I dread the most. I do love the smell of clothes that were hung out to dry. When we moved into our new house a couple of years ago, our "old" washer and dryer didn't have the newly required 5 prong plug. Instead of having my brother put a new plug on, my husband surprised me (Oh yes, yes he did) with a new front loading washer
and dryer. I want to get as much mileage out of this as I can since he
doesn't shop on sale and I almost fainted when I saw the price. So,
during the spring and summer months I hang most of our clothes out to
dry on a clothesline. Some of my best memories are helping my Nana hang
out her clothes on the line with the basket and the clothespins. No one
in my neighborhood hangs their clothes out..lol. I always make a remark
like "Oh look honey, it's that nice young Boure couple hanging out
their clothes. How passe." I save money on my electricity bill, it
doesn't heat up my house in the summer making the a/c work harder and
I'll get more life out of my dryer. Thanks for all of the support and great comments you all leave! They are truly appreciated. Until next time....Happy Saving!
