Beating Broke

8 Fun, Frugal Family Activities to Enjoy This Fall

August 28, 2019 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Ah, fall. The weather becomes more comfortable, the kids are back in school, and there are plenty of activities to enjoy before the cold weather blows in. Make the most of your family time with some of these fun, frugal family activities.

Pick a Pumpkin & Carve It

This seems so simple, but kids love picking their own pumpkin and carving it (with help if they’re young, of course). Sure, there are some pricey pumpkin patches out there that charge an exorbitant fee, but there are also mom and pop pumpkin patches that don’t charge as much. These are the ones you’ll want to choose.

For younger kids, stop by the store and pick up the safe carving knives and consider buying a stencil to make the design element easier. Don’t forget to wash off the seeds and roast them for a yummy treat!

Enjoy a Corn Maze

Let the kids try to find their way out. Depending on the complexity of the maze and your kids’ sense of direction, you may be wandering through for a while.

Pick Apples & Make an Apple Dessert

apple picking and pie making for frugal, fall fun

Nothing tastes better than fresh apples that you just picked in the morning. While picking apples from the orchard costs about as much as buying them at the grocery store, you’ll get the experience of picking them as well as a much better taste.

Take your apples home and make some yummy homemade apple pie or apple butter to enjoy later in the year.

Enjoy the Fall Foliage

Take a drive out to the country, preferably to a hilly or mountainous area, and just soak in Nature’s beauty. There is nothing that beats the beautiful reds, yellows, and golds of the leaves changing color.

Go on a Hike

Now that the fall temps are here, it’s a perfect time to take a hike with the family. This is a great way to get exercise and take in more of the beautiful fall leaves changing.

Go to a High School Homecoming Football Game

The local high school football game only costs a few bucks to attend, and you can cheer on the local high schoolers. Make this more fun for your kids by attending the homecoming football game. The homecoming court will be dressed in their fanciest dresses and suits, adding another element of fun to the night.

Decorate the House

Pull out your fall decorations and decorate the house. Or, stop by your local craft store and buy small gourds and other items to make your own wreath for the front door or table arrangement.

Attend a Fall Festival

Most towns host at least one festival in the fall, if not more, which can offer a fun, frugal way to entertain the family. Travel and Leisure has created a list of the best fall festival in each state. Is there one near you?

Fall is one of the best times of the year to get out and enjoy yourself without spending a lot of money. Enjoy one or more of these low-cost fall activities with your family.

What other frugal, fall activities would you add to this list?

5 Strategies to Make Food at Home If You Hate Cooking

August 23, 2019 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

For some, cooking is a joy and a way to relax after a long, hard day. For others, cooking is a daily task that must be done to save money and fuel their bodies. And then for others, cooking is one of the worst tasks they have to do and one they avoid as much as possible by eating out, picking up food, or getting an invite to someone else’s house who is doing the cooking.

If you’re in the latter group of people, you’re not alone. However, if you utilize these five strategies to make food at home when you hate cooking, you’ll find that you’ll save a considerable amount of money on your food budget, and you’ll likely be eating better.

Pick “Dump” Meals

Sure, the name is unappetizing, but “dump” refers to meals where you just put the food in the InstaPot or slow cooker and walk away. One example might be a few chicken breasts, black beans, corn, and salsa. Cook in the slow cooker for a few hours, shred the chicken, and serve over rice.

Pinterest and YouTube have plenty of dump meals; you could make several and put some in your freezer, making dinner prep even easier.

Use Premade Food

Most stores have some type of pre-made food you can use. Down the freezer aisle, you’ll find pre-made meals for a family that you just have to put in your slow cooker or cook on the stove; all of the ingredients that you need are in the bag.

Likewise, you can buy already chopped vegetables from the salad bar and rotisserie chicken that’s already been pulled from the bone to make meal time prep faster.

Premade salad bar ingredients for people who hate to cook.

Order a Meal Kit Delivery Service

There are many meal kit delivery services available such as Blue Apron, Green Chef, and HelloFresh, to name a few, each with their own specialty. In your kit, you’ll receive all of the ingredients you need for the meals as well as a card that tells you how to make the meal. With a meal kit delivery service, you avoid the headache of grocery shopping and get to try a new meal.

Make a Few Meals in Advance on Sunday

Another option for those who hate cooking is to make a few meals on Sunday. Then, when you come home on Monday, you don’t have to cook at all. Simply pull out the meal you already made and reheat it. While you do still have to cook with this option, you only have to cook one day, and then you get several days off when you eat the meals you cooked on Sunday.

Pick Easy Meals

No one says you have to have fancy dinners. Scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit can do just fine and require minimal cooking and clean up.

Easy meals for people who don't like to cook.

If you hate cooking, don’t feel the need to resort to eating out every night. Instead, try one of these five strategies to make food at home when you hate cooking.

If you hate cooking, what strategies do you use to still eat at home but limit the amount of time you have to cook?

How to Practice Self-Care When Paying Down Debt

July 2, 2019 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Dave Ramsey says that paying off debt is more of a sprint (especially when you’re gazelle intense), but if you have a lot of debt, the payoff journey may feel more like a marathon. If you keep your nose to the grindstone without a break, your physical and emotional health may suffer. Practicing self-care will help you not only remain in good health but also have the stamina to see your debt-free journey to the end. Here are some tips you may want to utilize to care for yourself while working hard on paying down debt:

Make Sure You Have a Fun Money Fund

I know, you may feel like all of your money should go on debt repayment, and, yes, almost all of it should. However, set aside a small amount for fun money for the month. When my husband and I were paying down debt, we each got $20 for the month. I used mine to buy treats at the grocery store that weren’t in my budget or we sometimes used the money to get a dessert at a restaurant together. This money should be yours to spend any way you see fit and to give you a little wiggle room in your budget so you don’t feel deprived.

Do Something Just for You Every Day

What do you enjoy doing? Some people enjoy spending time in their gardens, running, doing yoga–the choice is yours. When I was working three jobs in my 20s, I enjoyed nothing more than coming home after a 12 or 14-hour day and slipping into a bubble bath. That was the perfect way to destress and relax.

Start a Pinterest Dream Board

Do you have a major goal when your debt is paid off? Maybe you’ve always wanted to visit France, and that’s how you plan to celebrate being debt-free (after you’ve saved cash for the trip, of course). Why not start a Pinterest board of all the places you want to go and things you want to see? You can create this board for any dream you plan to realize when your money is no longer going toward debt. The best part about Pinterest is that you can make the board secret so only you see it.

Make Your Meals at Home

Let’s face it, paying off debt and working hard to make extra money can be stressful and exhausting. While you may be tempted to grab quick food, know that doing that regularly can have negative effects on your health. Take the time to make homemade food. You’ll feel better, be healthier, and have more energy.

Listen to an Audio Book

You may not have the free time to sit down and read a book, but when you’re driving to and from work, why not listen to an audiobook? It can be a fiction book you listen to just for fun, or it can be a non-fiction book that will help you in your career. Gazelle intensity is exhausting and stressful, so make sure you make time to relax and take care of yourself.

Don’t Take On Any New Debt

Lastly, whatever you do, avoid taking on any additional high-interest debt. Amanda, over at Our Debt Free Family has a very nice review of Click Cash Go, which is an exemplary high-interest debt marketplace to avoid. So, avoid any additional borrowing – that’s a huge part of self care.

What are some of your favorite ways to practice self-care?