Find Fun Right Around the Corner and Save (on gas and money)

On Saturday my husband and I went down a Resident Appreciation Luau at our apartment complex. In addition to getting a free lunch of grilled chicken & hot dogs, my husband was one of the lucky winners of a door prize. He won a $25 gas car....not exactly a gold mine, considering it cost $40 to fill up my car this morning, but it is 25 dollars more than what we had when we went down there, and that's something to cheer about.

If you're like us, you're probably saving money on gas by simply not going anywhere. Luckily, my husband is doing 2 directed study classes this summer, which means that he does his assignments and meets with this professors one on one, on his own schedule. So he's only having to drive over there once every two weeks. And he's actually in the process of finding a job that's closer to our home, as his delivery business has become less profitable as gas prices have gone up and the delivery rates of the company have works for have stayed the same.

So we basically we drive when we have to do, to go to the store and run errands; otherwise, we've been staying home. We're eating out less and spending less on extra clothes and entertainment that are not neccessities. But we don't like to let gas prices keep us from having fun either, so what to do? Well, the beach is about 30 minutes away from our home, and it's totally free, so we've gone down there a few times for a little r&r. We also enjoy playing disc golf, so we sometimes go down to the park and do that for free.

So while we may not be able to directly control gas prices (& my husband and I couldn't possibly consume less), we've been able to find fun activities that are either free or cost very little, to sort of make up for the high fuel costs.

I think a lot of times we live in an area for so long that we forget what's right in our back yard, and we miss out on a lot of fun activities. Think of what you have in your own area: Perhaps there's a museum you can take your kids to, or you could take the kids to the local pool or skating rink or have a picnic in the park. When I was a kid, we had a park in our area where you could feed the fish & ducks, and they had a little train to ride, putt putt golf, and other activities for kids. I took my neice and nephew there last summer, and they loved it. Or go to annual festivals that are held in your area or free concerts in the park.

You can also check out your local library. They feature summer reading programs for kids, and they often have puppet shows and other activities scheduled for kids during the summer. Local civic centers may also have activities that you can sign your kids up for, for a modest fee.

Check the internet and ask around, and I'm sure you'll find a whole wide world of activities right in your own back yard.