The Frugal Birthday Challenge!
Guest Blog by: Midge
My husband and I ripped up our credit cards and have been (gulp) practicing extreme budgeting and a pay cash only system since January. Ever since my little girl was born we have been living on one income. It was my birthday this week and the first ever Happy Frugal Birthday for me!
We decided to make a $20 birthday blog challenge this weekend to find out if we could spend only $20 on family birthday fun. The biggest part of the challenge was that every one of the activities had to be something that I loved to do, not just be inexpensive or free. I mean, sure, I love feeding ducks old bread crumbs at the local duck pond, but I would not love doing it in 110 degree weather. Frugal = good… but having a heat stroke = bad.
First, we choose to start the family fun in the afternoon. We went to the mall and bought a snack at the Chinese food kiosk. We only got one plate to share and brought along our own water bottles as well as my baby’s snack and drink. We did not want to have to splurge for two meals and sodas during the dinner hour so we saved our money for more fun by having a smaller snack. And… I was craving Chinese food.
I have been trying to get some pictures of my little girl, Sarah, with my husband on the horse at the carousel in the mall. We bought one ticket for Sarah and my husband got to ride free. I took lots of pictures but they did not turn out that great! The best part of the carousel ride was Sarah’s big eyes and smiles.
We did a variety of other things close by our home because we tried not to waste our money buying gasoline, as well. We ended up choosing a movie from Redbox, using a local grocery store ad offering free popcorn with your purchase of a pizza, buying a box cake with frosting and with our left over money we acquired some Icee drinks at the local gas station convenience mart. All in all, we spent a little over our $20 limit. But, having fun while saving money was well worth it.
It was a great birthday and we ended up not spending a fortune. When we told my folks about our $20 challenge, they started sharing old memories from they were first married. They lived on a shoestring budget tied together with lots of love and the Lord. And in the end, that is all that really matters.
What is your favorite frugal date or family fun night? What made the event memorable? If you decide to take the $20 challenge, I would love to hear all about it!
Taking pictures at the carousel proved to be quite difficult… this was one of the “better” pics!
I don’t have a specific fun night but rather a collection of memories from when our oldest four children were small. At the time, we lived in a town rather than in the country as we do now. My husband worked out of town during the week. Every night of the week it seemed as if some restaurant had a kids eat free or at a seriously reduced price. Periodically throughout the summer, on different nights of the week, I would utilize these discounts providing the kids and I with a fun night out. One night all five of us ate out for $5. Another time, we brought home pizza and the equivalent of a pitcher of pop for under $7. We took advantage of a $5 pizza from one eatery and stopped by a quick stop on the way home and filled our extra large refillable mug without ice for the drink. Ah, those were the days.
Midge Says: Thanks for sharing your sweet memories!!
In general, when we think of going out we look for a coupon. My husband recently found an Entertainment Book for our area on sale for $15, which has discounts for everything from food to the fair! What is fun about coupon eating out is it makes us try new places, which is quite the experience. A recent date we had that only cost us about $20, was a lunch date. We find if we go out in the day we can catch a $5 movie (you know what they used to cost), and still have $ left for food.
Midge Says: Great ideas! We love catching the matinee movies too… thanks for posting!
I need to chime in with my son’s 10th birthday party. While it did cost more than $20, it was a lot cheaper than any other party I have done, and the kids really really enjoyed it. We booked into a local campground, and had a sleepover. Some of the boys were not ready for an overnight, but they came until 9pm, so that they could participate in the campfire. The campground was a KOA so had a pool and mini-golf, and a hayride. They also had a movie, but we were too busy with our own stuff. I gave them their loot bags early, so that they could use their waterguns, and periscopes. We had hotdogs and beans, and smores, and they really didn’t even have room for cake, though they managed. They also had water bottles in their lootbags, and there was a big jug of iced tea and lots of water. It was awesome. Now the girlchild wants to have a “1/2 birthday party” so that she can have a campout! LOL
Molly says: What a great idea for a frugal party! What child wouldn’t love a campground experience complete with swimming, mini-golf, a hayride and a loot bag full of goodies? I think you may have stumbled upon a new tradition…