Cheap Entertaining Ideas and Alternatives to the High Priced Versions

1. Invite all of your friends over to your place for a pot luck where everyone brings a dish to save money. No tips or gratuity payments, and I'm guessing it's cheaper than whatever you get at a restaurant.

2. Try limiting your movie nights to twice a month and go during the matinee hours or wait until it ends up in the cheap theater. Don't buy anything at the concession stand and stop by the Dollar Tree store and stack up on candy there. Sneak it in with a backpack.

3. When you go out to eat, split a meal with a friend and try going during lunch hour when it's cheaper, rather than dinner.

4. Before you go out to eat, have a snack to fill you up, so you don't eat as much. A small salad or some trail mix can do the trick.

5. Don't order beverages at restaurants to save money. Order a free glass of water. If you live in an area with really bad water quality like I do, just bring your own water bottle.

6. Rather than going to a bar for drinks, create your own bar at home. Drinks are outrageously overpriced, not even including tips, for drinks that can easily be made at home. What drinks to stock will discussed in another entry.

7. Come up with cheaper or free entertaining ideas. Go online, and ask all of your friends for suggestion. If you go out every weekend, substitute one weekend out of the month to do this cheaper activity. IDEAS: Hiking, bookstore, coffee house with close friends, movie night at home, festivals, parades, botanical gardens during free admission, attend a lecture,

The Sale Approach

The key to saving money is to buy enough items when they're on sale to hold you over until the next sale. This method works well, and once you develop a system, it's quite successful. But in order for this to work, you have to have money reserved. It saves money in the long run, but if you don't have the money to save money, it won't work. There are many reasons to save, and this is one of them. This approach works especially well for things with a long shelf life such as school supplies, cleaning products, personal care items, household supplies, some dry goods and frozen foods. Sit down one day and really jot down what you need and want. Review it and see if there are cheaper alternatives or other products that can be substituted for a more versatile use. It's always best to formulate a plan, understand exactly what you want and why. It keeps your priorities in focus and reduces your likeliness of going on a careless splurging spree. It's also useful when something's out of stock because you can more easily find a suitable replacement. Remember, it's not necessarily a good deal simply because it's on sale. I wouldn't suggest buying 5 dozen eggs because they're a steal. If you can't finish them or it goes bad before you can eat them all, then it's a waste. Ask yourself if you would buy that if it weren't on sale. If you wouldn't, then it's probably not a responsible purchase. If you overspend because of a sale, you're not necessarily saving money. The key is to spend less money in the long run so that you can live a comfortable life. If you're over exerting your budget over the sale, then it's self-defeating. Sales come and go. You don't have to get everything that's on sale right now. Sales aren't the only way to save money. If a 12 pack of toilet paper is on sale, it's cheaper than the regular price for that 12 pack, but the same brand's 24 pack of toilet paper for the regular price may be a bigger bargain. It's also possible that another brand of 12 pack toilet paper's regular price is cheaper. Always look around for what else is out there.

Live Your Budget

The idea of living on a budget may sound depressing, but it's not as bad as you'd think. More importantly, approach it like you don't have a choice. You may not like it. You just have to do it. Eventually you'll get used to it. Whatever your budget is, live it. Don't exceed it. It's not that having money is the way to go. Just as long as you live within your means, you'll be fine. Don't over stress yourself by spending more than you can afford. You can start by eliminating or reducing unnecessary expenses such as entertainment. How often do you go to the movies, eat out, go clubbing, drinking, etc.? Try limiting your movie outings to twice a month and only go when they're having a matinee. You can also always wait until those movies hit the cheap theater or make it a Blockbuster night. What I like doing is inviting a bunch of my friends over and asking them to bring a couple movies over and enjoying my time that way. Most of us have a bunch of movies at home anyways. I highly suggest staying in to eat more often. But when you do go out to eat, try going during the daytime. You can also have a snack or a salad at home to fill your stomach before going out. If money's really tight, ask to split something with a friend. If you go clubbing enough, you should have enough connections to get by without paying. If not, find them or don't go out as much. Instead of going out for drinks, you can make them at home for a lot cheaper. If you do decide to go out, steer clear of mixed drinks and any of the pricier stuff. Or just get a pitcher of a mixed drink and share it with everyone.

Saving Money

Saving money is one of those things in life that isn't particularly hard to do, but it's often left neglected with the scapegoat that we "need money right now." We have a tendency to focus on the now. The reality is we spend enough energy focusing on the now. What most of us need to do is prioritize more in the future. We can, and many of us do, get by in life without planning our future, but that's not a justifiable reason to put our future in the back burner. I wanted to make that clear so no one will use that to escape responsibility.

Make arrangements to have your paycheck directly deposited to your savings account, instead of your checking account. That way you can't access your money unless you withdrawal it at the ATM or transfer it into your checking account. ATMs weren't always the big thing. People used to carry around cash. Budget a certain amount of money for food, entertainment, and going out. As your bills come in, only withdrawal the amount of money you need if your time and location permits it. This encourages me to walk to my local ATM so that I won't get charged for making transfers. I get to exercise and save money. If you find that you can't pay your bills on time through this method, you can try estimating how much your bills are going to cost and transfer that amount. This is a fairly easy and highly recommended adjustment.

If you refuse to keep money out of your checking account, at the very least, make arrangements to have only part of your money transferred into your savings account. Experts recommend saving 15-20% of your income. If your rent is one-third of your income, you have more than enough money to sustain your living comfortably, in which case you can live without 20% of your paycheck. You simply have to learn to live within your means. If you get paid every two weeks, make arrangements with your bank to deposit 10% of your paycheck into your savings and the rest into your checking account. Some banks also waive the monthly fee if you agree to a once a month transfer into your savings account, which is a good way to build the habit of saving money. If you don't see the money, you won't feel denied . . . after you get used to the change, which I assure you, you will. This method is a lot more foolproof than testing your willpower.

FOOD!

Food is often times one of the highest and most versatile expenses. Hectic schedules, other priorities, poor time management, lack of preparation, and convenient accessibility, sadly, leaves proper eating a rare practice, and, as a result, a substantial expenditure. There are so many choices available. I hope the excessive options don't become overwhelming and disorganized. I want to list off as many selections as possible b/c it's much easier to reduce expenses than people realize. Sometimes, people don't bother to take advantage of the alternatives, or they just don't know any better. Whatever the reason is, we can all afford to open our eyes to the discounts that exist and utilize them.

Create an environment that prevents the likeliness of resorting to fast food and take-out delivery. The improved environment differs from person to person. The best way to save money is to prepare your own food. Not everyone enjoys it, but the money saving benefits makes the self-sufficient task worth the investment. Even just cooking a few times a week or a few dishes yourself with take-out will make a difference. If you're still uninterested, ask a friend who loves to cook to make a few dishes a week for you. You can buy the groceries, and he or she will get a free meal out of it. It's also a great way to stay in touch.

Even with all the money saving rules, people manage to overspend on bread alone and other food groups. Bagels, dinner rolls, biscuits, bread, etc. You don't need to buy that much. In other posts, I'll narrow down what types of bread to get. Ill continue to go down the food group list.

Rent Amount

YOUR RENT SHOULD BE 1/3 YOUR INCOME! On one end, this fact seems so obvious, but, in truth, people who find this to be obvious had to be told. Once this information is shared, it seems so logical and practical, we kid ourselves into believing that it's obvious. But the only way to come up with this number yourself is to calculate it, and people have enough difficulty coming up with a workable budget even when it's already calculated for them. I didn't know that my rent should've been 1/3 my income with my first apartment. I felt so pressured to find a place that I took the first option available to me, believing that not having a place is worse. It is worse, but that kind of fear rushed me into an unfavorable and irresponsible decision. Most property managers look for three months' worth of payment stubs. Before finding a place, you should have a stable income. Based on how much you make, find an apartment that meets your budget! This is so crucial. You can cut corners on other expenses, but if you rent is out of your range, the damage will be hard to manage.

The best way to prevent this dilemma is to prepare, prepare, prepare. Find a steady, stable job, and work there for a good six month's minimum before looking for an apartment. Calculate what YOUR rent should be, and have at least one month's worth of it. Then, start looking for an apartment within your budget. Check online, ask for referrals, go apartment hunting, ask your friends to keep an eye out, and look for apartment listings at local colleges for a bargain. By giving yourself enough time, you'll be able to make a level-headed decision.

FINAL NOTE: Your rent, based on your income, is a flat amount. Don't compromise it! Your rent could be less than what you budgeted for, but don't exceed your budget and then, later try to compensate for it. Don't make following a budget more difficult than it has to be. Even if you have all the answers and all the money in the world, it's challenging. And most of us aren't made of money.

Work With What You Got

Not everyone's income is the same. Stop pretending it is! Acknowledge the truth, and create a budget within YOUR INCOME. Too many people finance blindly by not creating a budget and go over their budget. Just b/c a budget hasn't been created doesn't mean that you don't have one, so, you might as well make the budget work for you. You'll be a lot less stressed and live happier if you come to terms with your situation. There are some useful sites that will calculate your expenses for you. All you have to do is fill in the blanks. This is your first step towards saving money. Check out some of these sites:

www.mapping-your-future.org/features/budgetcalc.htm
www.cccsatl.org/index.asp?pg=tools_debtratio
cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/budget101/budget_101.jsp
www.accessgroup.org/calculators/in_schlbud.htm

*All of these sites calculate your expenses, so, you don't have to go to all of them.