How I stretch my entertainment budget

When you’re a family with small entertainment budget, you are quite adept at finding free and inexpensive activities. When you’re working with a limited budget, you know to scour the internet or local newspapers for programs at the local library or at a community center. You sign up for email lists offering cheap tickets to a sporting events or movies. You are a pro at maximizing time at your local park and coming up with art projects on rainy days. You’re so good at stretching your budget, your kids don’t realize you even have one!

I’ve been in that situation. In fact, I’m still in that situation. Even though my and my husband’s financial situation has drastically improved, we’ve learned from our mistakes and now function on an entertainment budget. We have a designated amount that we take out of each paycheck that we have to use for the next 2 weeks. Sometimes, we do much for free that our money stacks up and we’re able to do something pretty awesome like go to the Adventure Aquarium or a day trip to Baltimore.

Our budget goes a lot farther than it used to for a few reasons. One, having a kid means we’re not going out to bars and the movies nearly as much as we used to (in fact, we almost never go. Babysitters cost a fortune!). Two, although we live midway between two major cities (Philadelphia and Baltimore), our state has smaller, less expensive versions of those cities’ major attractions (zoo, sports teams, children’s museums, etc); we frequent those places a lot, especially for our daughter. And three, we live really close to a major university.

Living that close to a major university means there are plenty of free and inexpensive activities for us to take advantage of. For instance:

• Food. Our Main Street is nothing but restaurants and bars with a few stores sprinkled in for good measure. Since it runs through the middle of campus, it’s pretty much the place for students to go to eat. As a result, the restaurants offer specials that are also available to non-students. For instance, I just learned that an already inexpensive restaurant that has the best nachos ever has a special where kids eat free on Tuesdays. That’s a really sweet deal that I can’t wait to take advantage of (my husband works on Tuesday nights).
• Concerts. The student center programming committee does a great job of bringing comedians and other entertainers to the school. Many of these shows are offered for free to both students and the community. If it’s a big name band or act, the ticket prices are typically less than if they were playing at a larger venue in Philly or Baltimore.  My husband and I have been able to take advantage of these on a few occasions. This works really well if you’re able to get out on a weeknight.
• Sports. Living this close to a university means being able to attend college sporting events, which are usually substantially less than professional teams (including minor league). Although we don’t take advantage of this as much as we could (or, ever), it’s nice having it as an option. College sports tend to have a different atmosphere than professional sports (if you sit far, far away from the student section), and where I live, college athletes are pretty much celebrities. It’s a huge thrill for the kids to get to see these players up close.
• Culture. I really don’t know what else to call this but we have access to the student produced plays, concerts, art shows and all of the other things that students gets involved in. These are usually free or have a nominal cost, and it’s a great way to expose my daughter to activities besides playgrounds and movie theaters. We can also sign her up for music lessons, computer classes or a variety of enrichment programs that, because they’re staffed by students and run through the university, are a lot less expensive than taking her to a private company.
• Miscellaneous. This school is extremely diverse so there’s always something interesting around. Whether it’s Ag Day (sponsored by the Agriculture school) or trick or treating at the stores on Main Street, there’s never a shortage of activities. One really awesome thing at this school is the solar system. Several years ago, a bunch of students got together and built a scale of the solar system around campus. They designated one spot as the sun and placed the rest of the planets the scaled distance from the “sun”. It’s fun to walk around campus trying to find all the planets.

It’s also a nice coincidence that the university is our Alma matter. It’s fun to take our daughter around campus and show her different buildings (like the building that housed the class where we met or my freshman dorm). Plus, we need to take advantage of it now, while we can. Before we move.

What are some creative ways you stretch your entertainment budget?