Tightwad Tuesday: Frugal Entertainment

Since we have been living on a very limited income for a long time, we have learned how to entertain our family for pennies. Our entertainment budget is pretty nonexistent but we still have fun. Here are a few of the things we've done over the past year for frugal entertainment:

Petsmart on Sat. morning. A few of the local animal shelters bring their pets to Petsmart on Saturday mornings hoping they will be adopted. Our child loves animals so many Saturday mornings you can find us at Petsmart. This is a highlight of his morning and he really looks forward to seeing the dogs and cats. We already own a dog and have no intention of adding another one so spending isn't really tempting when we are there. The volunteers from the shelters are happy to see us because they say it is good for the animals to be around kids.

Samples at Sam's Club. This one you have to be careful on or you could wind up spending a lot of money. At least once a month we go to Sam's to stock up on apple juice, fruit, and any other necessities we are out of. We make sure to go when the samples are out and we turn it into a fun event. Our child thinks it is a blast that people give him food. We've found a few keepers through sampling which is much cheaper than buying a bunch of items and hoping you like them.

Treasure hunts. My child thinks it is fun to go on treasure hunts around the neighborhood. We are really just taking a walk and getting some exercise but I've disguised it as something fun. Our "treasures" are usually rocks and sticks but he enjoys looking for new treasures each time. We also use this time to talk about the birds, trees, colors on houses, etc. He is getting in exercise and educational time but it feels like play time to him.

What do you do to have frugal fun? I would love to hear more ideas so feel free to leave a comment.