Browsing Tag

entertainment budget

Travel & Entertainment

Make Sure You Have Some Fun Money

Although it is really important to make sure you are saving money and not spending your money foolishly, it is also important that you allow yourself to enjoy at least a little of your money as well.  You should reward yourself a little for your hard work.  I call this your fun money.

Fun money can be used for whatever you enjoy – for some it may be eating out at restaurants, for others it may be used towards a specific hobby.   For a long time my husband and I were too tight with our money and almost never spent it on anything fun.  But recently we have decided to designate a certain amount each month that is designated for fun.  It’s like having our own separate bank account and I keep track of our spending using an Excel spreadsheet.

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Travel & Entertainment

A Cheap Way To Watch Movies

If you are a movie lover, an affordable way to watch as many movies as you want, is to use a company called Netflix.  For just $7.99 a month, you can watch an unlimited number of movies, documentaries, and TV shows, and your first month is free.

My husband recently signed us up and now when we have some spare time we can sign in and watch a movie to relax.  Netflix is great because it offers easy access to a movie with the click of a button and it’s both legal and a really inexpensive entertainment option.

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Travel & Entertainment

Live A Little And Eat Out Once In A While

My husband and I do not eat out a lot because we know it is cheaper to cook ourselves.   However, it is nice to eat out once in a while as we get to try different foods and we don’t have to clean up the mess afterwards.

Lately we have been eating out more frequently, and although my husband’s all time favorite place to eat is at a buffet that serves all-you-can-eat snow crab legs, he was willing to try a Chinese buffet that was half the price.

We were pleasantly surprised by the buffet.  For just $10 per person, the buffet offered a variety of Chinese main dishes, some salads, soup, fruit, dessert, and even a few varieties of dimsum.   Although it was not as good as our classic crab legs buffet, it was a really good deal and we were impressed.

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Travel & Entertainment

Frugal Tips For Video Gamers

If you enjoy playing video games as a hobby, you may find that it can really hurt your pocketbook if you buy all the latest games at full price.  One way to enjoy the games without spending an arm and a leg is to buy used video games online or at stores such as Blockbuster.  Patience will always save you money as well.  Rather than buying the newest games when they are first available and paying an exorbitant amount of money on them, wait for a while and the prices will go down, especially after another version of the game is introduced.

If you would rather not wait, then buy the game at full price.  Play it until you are tired of it, and then sell it on E-bay or on a used website local to your area.  Many large cities in Canada have a site where you can post your item for free such as www.usedcalgary.com, www.usedtoronto.com, etc.  You won’t get all of your money back, but used video games are usually fairly easy to sell for at least half the price you paid for them, and likely more if you are selling the latest version.

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Travel & Entertainment

Enjoy Foods From Around The World For Less

If you are like me, you enjoy trying foods from different countries from time to time.  The easiest way to do this, of course, would be to go to a specialized restaurant that serves that special cuisine you have always wanted to try.  However, going out to eat is often really expensive and may not fit within your entertainment budget.  But that doesn’t have to stop you from trying different things and expanding your menu.

Rather than eating out, check out local markets and small grocers in your area that offer goods from various countries.  Major cities will often have stores catering to their multicultural populations so it shouldn’t be hard to find grocery stores and shops that sell delicacies from around the world.

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