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Pre-game the weekend with some fun with out the funds!
The weekend is here again and we know budgeting for the weekend shenanigans can feel like additional work! Your time is valuable and you deserve some fun so we wanted to lighten the load with a few fun ideas for your weekend. Let's dive in.
Family potluck gathering with some family friendly Pinterest games!
Throw a few family and friends into a group chat and schedule a gathering. If your place isn't clean, don't stress, ask in the thread, "who has the space for a little get together this weekend?" Or weather willing, gather outside at a park! Encourage everyone to bring their favorite dish (potluck) and one two liter. No food costs, no decorations, no venue. Just a good old gathering of loved ones!
Why is this a good idea? According to pretty much every article with the search of "what do most people over-spend on," the answer is food!
Spice it up a little? Add a theme like a family pajama party, favorite team party, or "dress like your spouse party." A little fun never hurt anyone. Check out Pinterest for some family-friendly games for some free entertainment. Our personal favorite? Quiplash! Everyone can play from their phone. Whew wee, no board game pieces to search for or boxes to brush the dust off of!
Make it a routine! Find a few homeowners that would be willing to rotate houses for bi-weekly or monthly gatherings.
Find community provided events
Get plugged in! Google searching "events near me" will search your location for upcoming offerings in your area. Add them to the calendar for, what is most of the time, free and fun and the opportunity to network, build relationships, make new memories, form new routines and habits, and the opportunity to just get outside the normal!
Other ways to stay in the community news and calendar? Sign up for emails from your local Chambers, schools, restaurants. Download the neighborhood app. Or, join community Facebook groups, attend a local church, or even....
Volunteer
It's not very often you have to pay to volunteer your time and on top of it, sometimes lunch is provided. There's that food savings again! Volunteering opportunities will come from plugging in as suggested above but one of our family's personal favorite volunteer opportunities: GLEANING! Never heard of it? Gleaning is the process of scooping up food and crops that didn't quite pass the size requirement to be sold in stores but yet, is still edible! You take that food and you go donate it to local shelter or hunger-relieving effort.
Volunteering naturally gets us into a season of gratefulness where we might start to become a little more mindful of our expenses. Plus, it's fun, it's new, and it's giving back!
Start the weekend with a weekly budget review (We know, we know, you're thinking... "that's an activity?")
How'd you do this week? Better or worse than the week before? Where are there areas for improvement? Where are there areas for a pat on the back? Sometimes a review of our financial trends for the week brings about the opportunity to talk to a parent, spouse, partner, sister, brother, or friend about the next financial goal or milestone and that becomes an activity in itself! How fun! Get out those vision boards.
Starting off the weekend with a quick review also just raises awareness as you head into a weekend of decision making. We said it once, and we will say it again: you deserve some weekend fun! But, you didn't work all week just to get yourself back into a rut.
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We embrace feedback and suggestions. What works for you and your family? Have you tried any of the above suggestions? Interact with us in the comments below! We will be selecting winners every week from our engagements: cash prizes, gift cards, trips, shoutouts, and more! Happy connecting and again, happy Friday!!!