Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

8 Free and Cheap Things to Do with Kids This Summer

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Summertime is here, and if your kids aren’t already out of school, they will be soon.  Summer is the perfect time to make memories with your kids, but if your plans include the local theme park, shopping at the mall, and meals out, plan to spend a lot of money entertaining the kids.  While you can enjoy summer that way, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the summer without spending a lot of money.

Here are some of our family’s favorite low-cost or free summer activities:

Have a Picnic

Pack some sandwiches, chips and some fruit, and take a drive out of town.  Find a nice, rustic place to have a picnic and spend the afternoon.  Kids will appreciate the adventure and change of scenery.

Go to Summer Movies

Several movie theaters, including Harkins and Regal, offer discounted movies for kids during the summer.  For 10 weeks, my kids and I go to Harkins theaters once a week to see a movie.  The best part?  We buy a pass for each of us for $5 apiece.  Yep, if you see all ten movies throughout the summer, you pay just .50 a movie.  The four of us can see a movie for $2 total every week.  Can’t beat that.

Attend Free Concerts

Many cities offer free evening concerts and movie showings.  Just check out the happenings in your town every weekend.  You may be surprised how many free events you can find.

Enjoy Summer Bowling

There is also a summer bowling program, Kids Bowl Free, that you can sign up for.  While the bowling is free, you do have to pay for shoe rental.

Attend Library Programs

Every week, our local library has at least one free program for kids.  This week, my son will be taking a one hour art class.  Next week, my daughters will be taking a free science class where they will be erupting mini-volcanoes.  While you’re there, don’t forget to check out a few books, DVDs, and CDs.

Camp in the Backyard

If your kids want the adventure of camping but you don’t want to pay the camp site fee, why not camp in the backyard?  Kids get the adventure, and if they get scared during the night, the house is only a few steps away.

Go to the Beach

Is there anything better than visiting the beach on a hot summer day?  Bring your sun screen and a lunch and spend the whole day playing in the water, reading a book, and getting a tan.

Have a Movie Marathon

Feeling nostalgic?  Why not watch the Star Wars movies with your kids or the Back to the Future trilogy?  Watch a movie a night until you finish.  Enjoy popcorn and reminiscing about watching these movies in your own childhood.

Summer can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to if you know where to look to find free and cheap activities to keep the kids entertained.

What are your favorite free or cheap activities to do with the kids during the summer?

 

4 Alternative Spring Break Vacation Options

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Spring is right around the corner, and for many, that means spring break.  However, if you are a college student or you have a child who is one, know that spring break for many kids doesn’t mean traipsing off to a beach location to spend the week drinking and partying.  For many others, spring break can be a time to help others.

The best of both worlds is traveling to new locations AND helping others.  There are plenty of spring break options to let you do just that, and the opportunities aren’t just for college students.

While there are many reputable companies that you can choose from, these are a few to get you started.

International Spring Break Options

Alternative spring break vacation
Original img: Kristin Klein on Flickr

GoVoluntouring.  This company lets you choose your volunteer opportunity based on age, the amount you can spend, duration, and what attractions and countries interest you.  GoVoluntouring has projects in many, many different countries from Croatia to Fiji to Iceland, just to name a few, and has opportunities from teaching abroad to environmental programs to wildlife programs.

Earthwatch Institute.  Earthwatch Institute’s focus is on environmental trips including climate change, ocean health, and wildlife expeditions.  They have trips available in every continent.  Another nice feature of Earthwatch is that if you spread the news about the company via social media and other avenues, you can receive a discount on your own travel.  Just sign up to be an Earthwatch Ambassador to take advantage of this program.

National Spring Break Options

American Hiking Association.  If you’d like to volunteer without getting a passport, you might consider the American Hiking Association’s opportunities to travel within the U.S. and volunteer.  You can search by the state you’re interested in traveling to.  Then, you’ll see how difficult the volunteer opportunity is, ranging from Easy to Very Strenuous, with three additional grades in between.  A moderate project (one step up from easy) might be performing trail maintenance at Fort Pickens in Florida.  A very strenuous project might be one that requires 6 to 10 miles of hiking a day in addition to trail clearing and maintenance including removing dead trees and repairing or installing turnpikes on the trails.

If you want to serve here, be aware that each trip generally only has 6 to 13 participants, so space is limited.  They currently still have openings in their program.

The United Way.  The most cost-effective alternative spring break program is with the United Way.  For a cost of approximately $275 to $395, you’ll have the chance to volunteer for a week and work on projects such as building houses, maintaining gardens, and assisting youth.

Of course, you don’t have to go with one of these companies.  There are likely plenty of opportunities to volunteer in your own community or to take a trip to a foreign country to help others through your church.

If you’re going to spend money on a spring break getaway, why not also do good while you’re there?  You’ll likely experience the country and its people more than if you just sat on a beach as a tourist watching the sunset.

Have you ever taken a volunteer vacation?  If so, where did you go and what did you do?  If not, would you consider taking one?

Take an Off Season Fall Vacation and Save Big

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The summer is rapidly drawing to a close, and you may think that your summer vacation window is closing.  However, if you are looking to take a trip on the cheap, now is the perfect time to take a late summer vacation and save some serious money.

For many destinations, the summer is the top vacation season.  Families pack up and take road trips to a variety of locations.  Once school begins, tourism drops off significantly.  In fact, “The Travel Industry Association says that 38 percent of trips are taken during the summer; the number drops sharply to 23 percent in fall” (MSNBC.com).

You can take advantage of this drop off by scoring better rates and benefiting from thinning crowds.  Here are some trips you may want to consider:

Take a trip to the beach—in September.  This isn’t possible for everyone, but if you don’t yet have children or you home-school, September may be the perfect time to hit the beach.  It is still warm, but the crowds have left and you benefit from discounted rates.  Great destinations include beaches on the coast of North Carolina or even Key West, where the prime tourist season doesn’t ramp up until November and December.

Visit Mickey—Take a trip to Disneyland.  Disneyland can be very expensive, but if you plan a trip in the fall, you will benefit from reduced rates and shorter to no lines for rides.  The trade off is that the park closes earlier and that there may not be as many shows being performed.  However, I will take that trade off if it means I will save a few hundred dollars on accommodations and will save time not waiting in line!

family vacation camping

Take a trip to the big city—Cities also experience a drop in tourism after the crisp fall weather sets in.  While New York City, Chicago and Miami may be prohibitively expensive in the summer months, hotels often discount their rates in the fall, making a trip to the city a bit more affordable.  Most of the big city locales, regardless of location around the country, still have relatively comfortable weather.  In Chicago and New York City, you don’t generally have to worry about biting cold weather and snow at least until November, leaving you the entire fall to enjoy.

Go big guns and visit Europe—I made the mistake of traveling in Europe in August, and it was packed and expensive.  Unbeknownst to me, many Europeans have August off and vacation with their families in addition to all of the travelers who come from outside Europe.  Save yourself money and the need to fight the crowds by traveling to Europe in the fall.  The only drawback?  You may have to deal with some rain (or sometimes a lot of rain), especially if you are traveling to a Mediterranean country.  You can defeat this drawback in part by scheduling museum days and other indoor attractions for the rainy days.

While the dog days of summer may be past us, there is still plenty of warmth left.  Take advantage of the lovely fall weather to take an off season vacation and save some serious money.

img credit: librarygroover, on Flickr.