My family loves to do free things.
Does yours?
Of course, finding those free things can take a bit of work, but you can find so many great things that your kids will love (or even adults) which is amazing.
By looking at different places around us we’ve even able to do a lot of things for free like:
- Adults:
o Painting pottery
o Chocolate making
o Higher education programs
- Kids:
o Storytime
o Touch a truck events
o Community outreach w/ emergency responders
o Cookie decorating
o Trick or treating (not just the regular community one but at specific locations)
o Kids day programs
o Races
o Painting
And this is just a small sample of the things that we’ve done throughout the last several years. We are always looking for new activities and things we can try out. And we’re super willing to try out something totally that we’ve never done before whether it’s an activity, food, or anything else.
If you’re looking for free it’s definitely important to be willing to do something different.
It’s important to just be open to opportunities. And that means looking at places like:
- Local libraries (think about going outside your favorite/regular library. I look at libraries in the area surrounding ours, a total of about 4 different libraries).
- Local zoos (not just the largest zoo in your area but small local zoos often have special programs).
- Local state/national parks (these locations often run special programs that are open to the community).
- Local parks (sometimes they have fairs, festivals and more that are open to the public. Some of the events may be paid but some may be free).
What About Low-Cost Options?
Each of these places often has low-cost options that you can choose from too. You might be able to find half price days at the zoo, for example, or get a discount on admission to different locations using your library card.
Those fairs and festivals often have discount days where you might be able to get lower cost wristbands for your little one to do the rides and games. Or they might have days where you get everything included in the cost of your admission (we have a local one that offers a set price for the car and then includes whatever is happening in the grandstand as well as the rides).
What You Need to Know
There are always things going on in the community and some will be paid while others will be free. If you’re interested in events for yourself or your family then you need to be willing to put in a bit of time to find things that are available.
Keep in mind that ‘free’ doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be subpar.
If you have children then you might be tempted to blow the budget so they can do activities and have fun. You might feel like you’re punishing them by not letting them do certain things or because you can’t afford some of the bigger things going on. But that’s not necessarily the case.
You can find events that are 100% as good (or even better) than their paid counterparts.
For example, my family and I have gone to 2 different events by a company called Painterly Pottery. If you don’t have one near you it’s a pottery painting company. You go in and pick out a piece of pottery and you get to paint it and take it home.
This is normally a paid activity that can cost anywhere from $5-10 up to … well, I’m not even sure how much their most expensive piece is but it can be expensive. But once every few months our local library system hosts a program with Painterly Pottery.
The local branch brings in three different pieces that we get to choose from and paint. Entirely free. Then they take them back to the shop, fire them, and bring them back to the library for pickup. The entire thing is FREE!
For our little one we’ve had all kinds of great experiences.
He goes to storytime at the library at least twice a week (there’s a baby one and a family one) and sometimes another one at a different library.
He also goes to playgroup a couple times a month, also at the library.
We go to touch-a-truck events at the libraries.
We have outdoor concerts and activities.
We go to movie nights at the library.
We go to Halloween parties and new year’s events.
We have done so many different things just because we are watching for them. And you can absolutely do the same.
When You’re on a Budget
It can be extremely tempting to break the budget for … well, just about everything.
But the truth is that if you break the budget you’re going to be on a strict budget for even longer. And that’s definitely not something that I’m interested in. How about you?
By looking for free events you can enjoy yourself, have fun with the family and your friends, and still get yourselves out of debt. Which means that you’re going to be able to have even more money available for a few of those bigger events later on.
Looking Forward
I want to be able to send my little one to a nature preschool that I found at a local nature center in our area.
The program is available for 3-year-olds and he’ll be 3 when the next session starts.
But it’s not cheap.
Still, my husband wants our little one to go to preschool (I wanted to homeschool him for at least this period) and this is one that we’ve come to agree on.
I love that it has a lot of free play and outdoor time and it’s a mixed program with 3 and 4-year-olds so he’ll get exposure to older kids too.
I also want to be able to go on big trips so that he can explore on just our city and our state but the entire world.
I want to be able to go to baseball games and basketball games (my personal favorite) and the movies and so much more.
And all of that requires us to have a bigger budget.
So … we’re taking it easier in the here and now to make sure we have that bigger budget later on.
Paying off our debt now means that we can get to that point where those things, like buying the last-minute tickets to a basketball game, are entirely possible.
And if we can make sure that our little one (and us) are having fun even while on a budget, we’re more likely to stick it out. (Not to mention we can continue doing those things even after we have a bigger budget because we’ve found that they’re super fun!)
What Can You Find?
What kind of events and activities can you find in your area?
What type of organizations or locations offer great programs where you are?
I’d love to hear about the type of things you find because I’m always looking for even more opportunities for my family to enjoy.
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