It sometimes feels impossible for a college student, young
adult or anyone on a budget to have a money-friendly weekend. A fun dinner and
a couple drinks later and the bill is a day’s worth of work. You end up feeling
guilty and promising yourself you won’t do this again next week, and guess
what, you end up doing the same thing.
It’s okay to splurge once in a while but it’s more
cost-effective if you go into the weekends with a game plan. I’m not saying you
should have a strict itinerary, but you should at least have some boundaries of
what you will and won’t spend money on. You may even try a money-free weekend
which can be a great thing to treat your wallet to once or twice a month.
By simply training yourself not to spend money on
entertainment and food and instead seeking out free opportunities to have fun,
will help you live more simply and not depend on money to satisfy you. You
should never have to sacrifice fun for money. That’s silly. Doing this doesn’t
have to be a bore or be taken to the extreme either. Here are some ideas I have
come up with on how to plan a money-savvy/savings weekend and how to start . .
. while still having twice the fun!
1.
Use Cash!
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I can’t tell you how much easier it is to use
cash rather than swiping your card at every outing. You actually save money! It
visually helps you understand how much you have spent and how much you have
left to last you.
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I don’t like using a card at bars because there
is either a minimum limit you have to buy to use a card, Instead I started to
bring cash. A limited amount at that. I would bring either $20 or $25 out and
that would have to last me the entire night, including cover charges (please
note I’m from NE and we have drastically low prices on drinks than anywhere
else).
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It’s also not hard to go to your bank or an ATM
and get cash. If this is something you want to get better at maybe stock up on
cash for two months so you make less trips to the bank. Just make sure you are
responsible to carry around a lot of cash. Just saying.
2.
Tell Your Friends and Family
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Telling your friends and family keeps you
accountable for your actions. When you tell them you’re trying to save money or
be money conscious on the weekends, they are more apt not to try to persuade
you spend money on entertainment. That’s where the peer pressure came for me.
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Your friends and family may have great ideas for
you to save money as well. They may know places or things to try that you never
thought of. For instance, I told a friend of mine that I’m trying to cut back
on weekend spending and wouldn’t be able to go out twice in one weekend. She
agreed that money is getting tight so we planned an evening of being productive
by catching up on some work, drinking wine and having snacks. We got on tangents
most of the time but we both had just as fun of an evening, and felt better the
next day too!
3.
Cultivate a List Of Free Entertainment In Your
Community
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Use local newspapers/websites/flyers to learn
about free or low-cost parks, museums, film showings, coffee shops, sports
events, etc….
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“Like” community businesses/bars/shops on
Facebook. They continuously post updates about events going on or happy hours
(my absolute favorite).
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I also get weekly email updates to my favorite
coffee shops and bars about upcoming performances. I’m a huge acoustic soul
junkie (no judgment) so I enjoy buying a cup of coffee or a specialty beer and
enjoying the music.
4.
Create a Mind Shift
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Have you every thought about how much you spend
in correlation to how much you work? Think about it in these terms:
o
If you make $10/hour and you worked for 5 hours
in a day then you have made $50, not including the taxes that will be taken
out.
o
Now think about your night out. You went to
dinner, had two drinks ($10-$12) and ordered a conservatively priced entre
($10-$15 with tip) with your friends (Total = about $25 (half your pay)).
Afterward you went to your favorite hangout place downtown and spent money on
two drinks ($10-$12 with tip), one for yourself and one for a friend. At the end
of the night you’ve spent roughly $35, more than half your pay.
o
See how you can correlate hard work with fun?
It’s not meant to be depressing, just a way to visualize making money and
spending money.
5.
Start a Project
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You can do it. Everyone has a talent, you just
have to find your niche and go for it. No one loves their own work, but it’s
fun working toward something you are proud of.
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I find ideas via Pinterest, surfing the Internet
or some sort of inspiration.
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I really like making people gifts. If you know
of someone’s birthday coming up, spend an evening crafting the perfect gift
whether that be a painting, homemade card, or maybe a shelving unit your
girlfriend has been wanting. Whatever it may be, get creative and just start.
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Maybe pair up with a friend for a project the
two of you have always wanted to master. Maybe it’s a cooking class or
mastering a card game. It’s always fun having a partner in crime to keep you
accountable instead of deciding last minute to hit the town with a loaded debit
card.
6.
Host a Party
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A lot of people don’t host parties because they
think it will be too costly, too much work or their living space isn’t good
enough to have a get together. Guess what? You’re wrong. People aren’t as
judgmental as you think. And if they are, then don’t invite them.
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Hosting a party is way more cost efficient than
going out. Ask party attendees to bring their own beverage of choice. Add in a
little comment about snacks. Say you’ll provide some but mention that if a
party attendee wants to bring something that it would be appreciated.
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The cost of drinks and food is much more
cost-friendly at home because you’re getting larger amounts for a better price
(with the chances of leftover drinks and food). We all know how overpriced
everything is when going out. Having the ability to be choosy and decide where
and how you’ll spend you money at grocery stores is way more efficient.
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Have your party on a Saturday so it eliminates
the urge to go out Friday night. Prepare on Friday so you won’t be bustling
around Saturday in a panic. It’s all about a little bit of planning.
7.
Go Outside
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I have a Type A personality. I need to have
activity in my day or else I drive myself crazy, especially on the weekends. I
like to plan at least one activity to do outside, depending on the weather. In
the winter I’ll try to play with our dog on our farm when I make it home, or
I’ll walk to the nearest library or coffee shop and browse around. In the nicer
seasons I’ll bike, go on runs and utilize outside seating. All these activities
cost little to nothing to execute.
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There are also a lot of outdoor concerts and
movie showings that go on in warmer seasons. Many times it’s up-and-coming
performers trying to make their first break, or old movie showings. They do
this to cut the price for all of us concert/movie goers. Take advantage of it
and check out your community listings.
I know so many people who complain about spending money on
the weekends and their solution is to lay in their beds and watch Netflix (been
there, done that), but that’s not very sociable, fun or challenging. Expand
your horizons and try new things. It may give you a new outlook on life and
build better relationships all while making financial changes for the better!
Anyone can turn their financial life around without sacrificing fun or The Good
Life. It just takes that first step which is always the hardest. Saying no to a
pricey weekend option shouldn’t be a negative decision, but a healthy one. You
are making the decision to have fun without the lasting effect of withdrawing
from the bank. The more steps you take the more your life and your financial
status will begin to improve. Life is good when your finances and your mood are
positive.
Spend your weekend wisely . . . with less money and more
fun!
