Frugal Friday: Keep it simple
If you've read my blog for any length of time, you'll know that one of my mantras is "keep it simple." I think we all have a tendency to overspend, over-complicate, and overwhelm ourselves and, in the process, miss out on some of the beauty of simplicity.Last night our family enjoyed a wonderfully simple outing as a family which required almost no effort on our parts and cost us hardly anything. The weather was beautiful here yesterday and we were all feeling a bit of "cabin fever" after lots of cold and snow. So instead of our usual evening at home, we hopped in the van and went to the park for an evening walk until dusk.
We were able to show the girls numerous deer up close, got stuck in some mud as we tried to detour off the path (not a good idea!), and Jesse and I found ourselves constantly chuckling over the girls' antics. We also got some good exercise, some fresh air, and lots of family time.
When the last rays of sunlight could no longer be seen, we headed for Taco Bell and bought a few things off the Value Menu to share with lots of laughter and conversation.
The whole evening cost us only a few dollars and it was so relaxing, enjoyable, and simple. These uncomplicated, inexpensive, and quality times together can be some of the richest and most meaningful memories ever... at least we think so!
Has your family enjoyed a simple and low-cost family activity or outing recently? If so, tell us about it!
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Labels: Family fun, Frugal Friday
posted by Crystal Paine at 6:14 PM
17 Comments:
I don't consider myself an expert in frugality by any means, but I have actually come up with another Frugal Friday post.
Thanks for a place to share my meager offerings with others,
Erin
http://delightinginhisrichness.blogspot.com
Sounds like a great time, Crystal!
Check out how my family has been enjoying some simple and frugal fun:
http://free2befrugal.blogspot.com/2008/03/frugal-fridaysimple-fun.html
:)
I love the simple moments the best. Some of our best family times have been feeding the ducks by the lake or just going to the playground.
We too had a fun, simple, Taco Bell family night this week. :) Those are some of the best kind of memories I have of my childhood--its the simple things in life...
The kids don't know if their fun cost anything or not! The things they'll remember are those that didn't cost much, I bet.
Well, Crystal, again today you made me miss when my girls were younger! Maybe I'm just missing that time period!
Well, we haven't done much as a whole family recently. With 3 adult kids and one teenager, it's almost impossible to get us together at one time. This is why I always give the kids plenty of notice to be free on occasions like my birthday.
But when they were little, one thing we loved to do was drive down to the train station. The boys loved watching the trains go by. We also liked to go bike riding together or to inexpensive dinner at IHOP. It was inexpensive when they were all eating off the kids' menu, at least!
Of course, we also hit the local park. Sometimes, we followed that with a trip to 7-Eleven for slurpees.
Simple pleasures bring back the best memories!
I agree about the simple memories. When I look back some of the simple things I remember were young-going out to ice cream and my dad taking me out with him and he let me buy my first deoderant. lol (-: We used to make an oriental meal and set the coffee table up with neat placemats and chopsticks and we would sit on the floor to eat. It was so much fun and a lot cheaper than going out to Chinese with our size family.
I always look out for a way to enjoy family time without breaking our bank. We normally do park, playground or just hang out.
Here is the link to one of my post on Free Things to Do with kids in Atlanta.
http://the-q-family.blogspot.com/2008/03/five-find-for-friday-free-things-to-do.html
Awww, I loved the story of your family outing. It's true - the best things in life are free!
I have a big envelope full of the coupons I won't use and will mail them to whoever leaves a comment requesting them, as I do once a month or so.
I just don't use the makeup/cleanser/etc ones much and hate to waste several weeks worth of 6 or 7 Sunday papers' inserts!
We will often pack our food when we go on an outing. This is a big money saver. These are some of our low-cost or no-cost outings.
1. Hiking in state parks
2. fishing
3. flying kites
4. zoos and museums (watch for
specials on line)
5. minor league baseball games
(watch for special events)
6. local plays
7. library events for children
8. eat out using coupons
9. invite grandparents or
relatives for dinner but have
children design and prepare
with assistance.
10. make a craft
11. visit shut-ins or a nursing
home...they love kids!
12. get a free movie at the
library and make your own
snacks
I love this post! Sooo true...keep it simple. We so often miss the gentleness and the light burden of learning from Jesus by complicating our lives. This is also a truth I seek to stay close to in my day to day and come back to often when things start to get overwhelming.
Peace to you in Jesus!
Sheila
Crystal, my hubby and I were just talking about ways to have simple family times together just like you described here. It really doesn't take much money to have quality time away from home.
We have ALWAYS had our 'frugal friday' on Monday night. Our religion has ask us to set aside EVERY Monday for Family Home Evening. (FHE) We say "from 6pm on Monday till tomorrow is FHE." We usually have 'lesson' of some kind...teaching a value like honesty, integrity...etc. or we read a bit from the scriptures. Then an activity..a game or song (we love to do the Hoky Poky) etc.. and always have a FHE treat! The kids love it and look forward to it. We each take turns preparing the lesson and activity and treat. We try really hard to keep that night for our family. Believe me it is always simple and cheap. If one of the kids have a game or recital...we ALL go. So, we'll modify sometimes. But the constant is we are together. This practice has been a huge blessing in all our lives. And of coarse we close with family prayer
This verse always helps me in my quest for frugality and simplicity:
"Better a meal of vegetables where there is love, than a fattened calf with hatred"
Pr 15:17
We took to the kids to the inlaws for a sledding adventure (all it cost was gas to get there) they had a blast sledding down the hill onto the frozen pond!
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