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FREE FAMILY FUN

How to Have Family Fun Cheap

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Not everyone has enough money to visit places suggested as perfect for family outings. There are a lot of things people want nowadays, but with a family you have got to be budget-conscious to have fun. Here are soome ideas for how you can have family fun on a budget.

Steps

Figure out what matters most to you. Is it:
- your home?
- your family?
- your food?
Prioritize the things that matter. All of these are important of course, but what do you enjoy the most? If it is all of them, you'll need to consider how you can juggle between them, to stretch your dollar as far as possible.
Think about the sorts of things you like to do. It may be learning; outdoors activities; eating out; movies or other ideas. Once you have thought about these things, the next step is to consider the ways that you can do these things without it costing too much, or perhaps even for free.
Look at the following activities and suggested "low-cost" or "free" alternatives. See which ones appeal to you and come up with more of your own alternatives as well:
- Learning activities: Visit the library. Libraries offer several resources that can be of great benefit for free or for a very low joining fee. You can borrow books (fiction, non-fiction, craft, art, hobbies, language, math, science etc.), music and reading CDs, DVDs and videos and even games and toys at some libraries. Save by not buying these things but borrowing them for the whole family; take the whole family to the library for regular visits, so that everyone can make their own choices. Libraries also offer a lot of activities such as "meet-the-author" sessions, book reading evenings and children's clubs. All of these are a great way to meet others and to have an enjoyable time.
- Rent movies and stop cable TV subscriptions: Get rid of cable TV costs through regular movie borrowing or cheap rental from DVD stores. Initially there will be withdrawal symptoms but soon you'll discover that between the movies you can borrow for free or rent for low prices and the free-to-air choices, you'll have plenty to watch. All the extra time you gain to spend together as a family is an enormous bonus!
- Increase your knowledge: You can learn a lot of new things from reading books (the ones you've borrowed from the library). A great way of learning is to base the learning on a famous novel. For instance, after reading a novel like Little House on the Prairie, your family could follow up the reading by borrowing books on farming during different periods of history. Learn together the different ways people have done things and how they are done today.
- Take up craft or homesteading activities: Try craft books, "free fun" books, homesteading books (old-fashioned knowledge and tips), games books and science books (kids love the experiments). You could have a fair in your house - make up the games and have events like balloon dart-throwing.
Make the most of city life. Cities offer a lot of free events - hit every free event imaginable with your family and enjoy them. These include parades, outdoor concerts, national day celebrations, marathons, charity runs, food promotional fairs, art displays, children's events and more. Keep an eye on the newspaper or internet for upcoming freebies to attend. Many museums and galleries have "free days" where you can visit for nothing at all. Don't forget to take a packed lunch or meal and plenty of water. Saves queueing as well as money!
Visit garage sales. What other people no longer want, you might get for a song. make it a day's event to trawl around garage sales in your area. Even the haggling can be fun and you never know what you might find.
Take a "field trip" downtown. Many cities, towns and villages have amazing buildings in their central district. Pack a great lunch (sandwiches, drinks etc) and catch the bus in to go "sight-seeing" as a tourist might. You can glimpse animals outside the zoo on the way, ride the elevator to the top of the biggest building to look out the windows and if you and the kids look presentable and well mannered and you ask the receptionist at the top office nicely to look out the window they'll probably say yes. Learn all that you can about the buildings from plaques on the walls, signs or a library book on the history of your area. If you become really knowledgeable, you might even end up telling tourists in the area more about what they're looking at!
Shop wisely. Visit the bulk buying area at the grocery store and save money on the things you need (don't buy things you don't use just because they're cheap - it's still a waste of money if you won't use it.)
Have a "junk food party" at home. Save on restaurants or fast food places by letting the kids enjoy the fast food at home. When shopping, buy the "junk food" items and store them at home for special days. Another way to make junk food stretch is to only buy some of the junk food (like a burger each) and then cook the rest at home (store brand or homemade fries/soda pop, for instance). It'll taste a lot better and it goes a lot further. If you do want to eat out, buy the burgers and split the fries, take your own drinks and extra food items with you and eat it all in the park instead of inside the restaurant. (Take the picnic gear and it'll feel 100% better than staying in the restaurant!) Do the same with take-out - only order some of it (e.g., the pizza) and make the rest at home (e.g., the salad, the rice, the wings, the sauces etc.)
Be home savvy. Learn some enormously useful skills that 'll save you a lot in the long run. For instance, learn to sew and use your hot glue gun. Visit the dollar stores for bargains and also visit used (secondhand) stores and thrift stores, which have a lot of goodies that people don't want anymore but are still in terrific condition. Learn to dress up old stuff! Finding a bargain can in itself become a real addiction and as you learn more, you'll find more bargains.

Tips

Try this fun home fair game: use an old fridge box, cut out holes for your heads (box laying sideways) and take turns being the "groundhog" sticking your heads out with the rest of the family shooting at the heads with squirt guns and even the hose! See if the "groundhog" can duck back in fast enough.
When you shop, plan an 'at home restaurant type meal'; it'll still be cheaper to make it at home. Buy a bag of shrimp or a fancy fish. Don't buy the stuff and still go out to eat. If you stick to it and make the out-of-the-ordinary meal at home, it will be cheaper than going out.
Another good at-home meal is making burgers and hot dogs but make all of the fixin's: Cut up tomatoes and cook bacon, heat up some hot dog sauce n' sauerkraut. Have it all out to make your own ultimate burger or hot dog.
When reupholstering, you can use a scrap fabric that's "close to", if not perfectly what you want, and staple gun the thing to the underside of the chair or other item that you're doing up.
Curtains are a three step process, anyone who can use scissors and a sewing machine can do it.
To get your hands on a sewing machine: If you think hard, you probably know someone who has one. They could show you how to thread it, if you can do this you can work it. Another place to try is thrift stores; leave you name and phone number with a request for the next one that comes in.
Swags are just flowers you like and that match your home, arranged on anything you can bend into a swag shape (hanger, a stick): Just hot glue them until they look good. It's a great past time to pull apart old arrangements and "refresh" them by giving them a rinsing and gluing them like this.

Warnings

Don't go to a federal or government building asking to look around unless you know in advance that they allow tours. They will only say "no" and they may not be polite about it either.

Related wikiHows

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Natural Remedies For Kids

Running to the doctor's every time you child is sick is not always feasible, or necessary. If your child has just come down with a cold or the runs, a tummy ache or something normal and non threatening, the money for a doctors visit may not be worth the trip to hear "the child seems fine, it's just a bug, watch them for a few days and call if they develop a fever".

I have found some natural remedies to share with all of you.

DIARRHEA:
add yogurt to the diet as soon as possible, it contains a good bacteria that fights bad bacteria.
for babies is for them to eat carrots, rice cereal, bananas, potatoes, and applesauce to help firm the stools. Fruit juices, peas, pears, peaches, plums, prunes and apricots should be avoided until the stools are back to normal. Adults and older children can also eat cheese, crackers, bread, rice and potatoes. During diarrhea outbreaks, it's best to avoid most dairy products, which tend to make diarrhea worse. This includes milk, butter, creams, and eggs. Yogurt is the exception; it will help to stop diarrhea.

Drinks like Pedialyte or KaoLectrolyte can be given to replenish both in babies, and even in older children and adults. These will help to avoid dehydration.

SUNBURN:
cool down the burn first, use ice directly on the burn, not on serious burns, they can only tolerate cold water.
Aloe vera products are often just lanolin with a touch of aloe added, lanolin will hurt, so read ingredients in those aloe vera treatments. Pure aloe vera will not prevent peeling later, so use the following to avoid peeling.

Lavender oil will stop the pain and prevent peeling, saving the skin from blistering and turning white after healing. Carefully drip the oil onto brun then blot (not rub) to spread with a gental tissue. Do not shower immediatly and reapply after next shower.
for more click here http://www.lacetoleather.com/natcurforsun.html

These are just some of the natural remedies I have tried and had success with, see the link above for more remedies.

Penny Pincher's Popcicles and Homemade Frozen Desserts

Cut your summer treat budget in half (at least) with these money-saving recipes. These are not your usual "freeze a cup of juice and put a stick in it" ideas, though even those are great once in a while. Sometimes you want something a bit more fancy and a box of frozen treats can be close to five bucks a piece! if the box had like twenty treats OK, but my kids can polish a box of 6 in one sitting. (I won't mention how many I eat.)

Frozen fruit kabobs
Pineapple chunks
Cherries
Grapes
Banana chunks

Dip in melted chocolate chips for an extra sugary treat. Place on a skewer and on a cookie sheet in freezer. You can put in a freezer bag for storage when frozen.

Make ice cream sandwiches
Chocolate graham crackers broken into the perforated squares
Cool Whip (any flavor) (or use vanilla, chocolate and strawberry to make a Neapolitan)
spread a nice thick layer of Cool Whip (about an inch) on crackers and freeze.
place in freezer bags when frozen

Super easy snacks using prepackaged goodies:
Take any pudding cup or the small yogurt cups and stick a Popsicle stick through the foil lid and freeze
Or just use the yogurt in tubes like Go-Gurts and put in the freezer for a freezer pop.

Frozen peanut butter cups
1 (8 oz.) Container Cool Whip
1/3 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup Chocolate Syrup

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Mix the peanut butter and Cool Whip. Spoon into cups and top with syrup.
Freeze and serve with a spoon.

Watermelon Pops
Slice water melon into small triangles (the size of an average Popsicle)
Soak in sugar water for an hour or two.
Stick Popsicle sticks in and freeze.

Fourth of July Pop

Blue Raspberry Kool-aid
Mystery Flavor Kool-aid (white)
Cherry Kool-aid

Use the small paper cups (like for the bathroom)
Pour a small layer of Blue Kool-aid in each cup.
Top with tin foil and carefully place a Popsicle stick through he foil into the Kool-aid.
Freeze for an hour or until just slushy.
Pour next layer (white) and freeze again until slush.
Finish with the Blue and freeze until frozen.
Peel of cup and serve!

These treats are sure to be a hit this summer and won't break the bank every time your kids' friends are over!

WHERE I GET FREE ARTICLES...well better than free, they PAY ME!

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They have no limit to how much content you can use! Plus, the articles and videos are available on every topic you can think of, celebrity gossip to sports news to cooking, home improvements and more. This is an awesome way to get content for your site that you don’t have to research or write.

After signing up with TheNewsRoom, you can immediately begin placing their articles, videos and images on your site. You can search by keywords, dates, publishing companies, and more. Or, you can simply browse a category, like sports, news, finance, etc. You can find content on every topic! I can’t tell you how great this site is!

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ARE YOU FREECYCLEING, I AM! The place to get a real helping hand.

Are you looking for help finding some basic household needs? Well if you are reading this you have a goldmine of genuine "Helpers" at your fingertips.

Freecycle. You NEED to join your local freecycle group. You need to.

I cannot believe out here in the real world how many people are not taking advantage of, or not even aware of this resource.

It's like signing up for a million friends with extra stuff to give away. No it is just that.

I have seen vehicles given away!

I got a refridgerator a couple of months back of of my freecycle group.

Not only is it a list of "I have....to give away", but you can ask for what you need.

"Ask and you shall recieve" Well this has never been so easy.

You do have to be patient. You may have to re-post your request, but you most likely can find the item you need on your freecycle group. It is free. It is easy and you will recieve emails alerting you every say of what is being offered in your group.

Now think about it. do you know someone without a computer who needs something? Do you belong to a church group and get requests for items familys need? Post for them you may be their saving grace! Do it over and over for area needy people and you can be an angel.

To join Freecyle click HERE. There is no referal program for freecycle.

BLOG BLOG BLOG....I'M JUST GONNA WRITE A BOOK?

I am serious. Why not just write a book?

http://www.lulu.com/ It is a site that lets you write a book and upload it to thier site for free. They will publish and print and bind the book for free.

You can order one, five or fifty books! There are discounts for ordering over 25 books.

You can choose the size and type of covering too.

I think this is a great site for those in the midst of self discovery. Write for self theropy and then give you work to those who you need to let see it.

Write a childrens book and sell it at your local library.

Write your life story and give it to mom for mothers day (assuming you and your mom are on good terms)

Write a childrens book based on the stories you tell your children at bed so thy will always have them.

Geeze,the list could go on and on.

Publish your art work. Publish your kids' artwork.

Lulu also allows you to make calanders and sell downloadabl books too.

You can make cook books as well. This really would have helped out my aunt who once hand wrote recipe books for the family for christmas!

Go write a book and advertise the heck outta yourself and make some money!

I Can't Afford Prom! Charities Can Help or Maybe Just Some Tips on Saving.

Prom is way too important for your teen to miss. Every child should have the oppourtunity to go. I have some tips on saving money for the dress or tux rental and where to shop or even apply for help if you really don't have the money.

Tell your son or daughter to go through all of their clothes and "toys" and have a garage sale to raise the money for the tux or dress and tickets. You could also help out bygoing through your own goods!

Have them start clling relatives to do errands for pay to raise the money. They can offer to mow or weed landscaping. Babysit or clean. They could even organize a much needed garage for a neighbor. Don't limit their customers just to relatives.

Check ALL of your used stores, open your phone book to find the nearest. Often there are plenty of dresses to choose from for under $20.00. Alterations may only run a few dollars if you just need a hem up or if you are creative, you and your daughter may just have fun sprucing up a less than perfect dress.

Next check out the stores. Inform your child that they have X amount of dollars to spend and that is THAT. This way you both won't have to feel bad when you see the prices. You can find a dress for $30.00-$40.00 fairly easy in the stores' clearance. Don't forget how to use accesories to spice up a plain gown. The used stores are almost never out of jewelery. Use several long chain necklaces to form a belt on a plain black dress. Buy some arm length gloves or short lacey ones if they look great. These are fairly cheap accessories.

Look in your phone book or call all of the tux rental stores to see if there are any coupons available. Or see if a discount is available for groups and get your son's friends together to all go in on the same day for rentals.

There are several charities for prom gowns and tux rentals all over the states and even in Canada. I have included links to the lists of them. If you feel you may qualify for any of them plaese click over and check these out.

Remember to go over prom safty with your teens. Each year as I am sure you are aware, many die involved in alcohol and drug related issues. Also remember to find out with who and where your child will be. Let them know you will pick hem up if they get into trouble and to just call you. Most of all enjoy one of your most precious memories of your child's life!

http://wy.essortment.com/waysfindreal_tuln.htm
5 ways to find a cheap dress

Sharon Stone's Charity to help the needy. They offer help to poor students in need of prom gowns and tuxedos.
General Information
Planet Hope is a non-profit 501 c3.
1-800-314-HOPE

Here is a list of state by state individuals willing to help and programs in these states.
http://www.glassslipperproject.org/yostate.htm

An even more extensive list for wikipedia!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_Prom_Organizations

I AM SUCH A CHEAP Mom I Shop Garage Sales For.

I think I may have let on by now that I own very few items that are bought new. I love a bargain, what can I say?

Well my favorite time of the year is here... GARAGE SALES! This is the time of the year I find allot of things that can really run up a tab when bought new through the year.

I always keep track of which child needs summer clothes and keep their sizes jotted down. I look for like new items. Shoes, I usually find the kids sandals and swimsuits used. Summer toys too. pools and sprinklers, bikes and roller skates, I always look for these things.

On a bigger note I look for school clothes and back packs. I have all summer, so I hold out for the right style and newest looking clothes I can find. Allot of times I can find most of their clothes for the next year used. I often find their dress shoes used too. I will usually end up buying under garments, socks and sneakers new. That's quite a deal considering the under garments and other new purchases I mentioned add up to about $100.00 for my two children. (that does include supplies). I also look for pencil cases and pencils and any other goodies I run across that are new looking and fall under school supplies.

I like to look for big toys my kids are wishing for and anything close to them. If I luck out and find the item new enough I save it for their birthday or Christmas, which ever is closest. I have found a Nintendo Game boy with a case and several games in the box. That was a great birthday present and unexpected since we normally don't buy such a big present. I have also found allot of games and cars with race tracks in boxes for our son. Radio control cars too. Those usually cost allot new. I have raised my kids this way so they are thrilled if they get the thing they are wishing for new or near new! The little ones don't even know the difference.

Other great buys are Tupperware. I love Tupperware. I will not buy it new though, it costs too much. Too much when I can buy it at the used store or at a garage sale. I just picked up a ten piece set of fridge containers for $5.00. This is a lot of containers that would run more than $50.00 and it is so new looking I would not be surprised if they never used it! Anyways, I also buy our drinking glasses and dishes. (the kids do dishes) We go through allot of glasses. Even at the dollar store you don't pay a quarter a glass.

The trick is to not just buy junk and stuff. Buy what you need. What is on your list of things to buy? Can you find them at a garage sale? If you're like me, the answer is likely yes.

WHERE I UPPED THE TRAFFIC TO MY PAGE FREE

Making money on the internet can be tricky and I have found the information available to be repetative. One technique I find interesting and promising is setting up a blog and using advertisers to generate money. I the mean time you get to have a voice in the world through your blog. Very theroputic.
I know this post is out of the norm. The frugal living chapters are coming. I was thinking about ways to up my traffic and researching on it. If you are interested in making money online, then you probably know by now that setting up a blog is a great option, free and easy.

Getting traffic is another can of worms. Once you are up and running and no longer "under construction", you can go here: http://www.selfseo.com. This will give you they free and paid ways to get listed in search engines like google and yahoo and so on. (It's free info)
You can also go to Technorati Profile to join for free and get listed on this directory of blogs.
Alot of time and hard work is also REQUIRED. You need to follow forums and post your link there. Do this with taste. Don't ruin your reputation before you start. Look for topics athat relate to your site. Include your link in your signature (if allowed). join forums that relate to your site. Mylot is a good one. Here you will earn for free as you post too. Be careful though it does seem that people get to know each other well fast here, so don't just go in gung ho and post and repost nonsense to get your link out there. Enjoy yourself and make friends.
Placing a "add a link button" is the latest advice I have gotten and you can get that free at brave net. I will try this too. I dunno about it though. I am picky about who i would want to list. I am tring to run an honest wholesome site so we will see.
So far this is the best advice I have found. don't give up, it will be a slow go and take your time at first to get the hits you need. As i stated earlier though, you will feel good about getting a voice out there in the mean time and doing some thing constructive. So boost your confidence and get your blog on!

FRUGAL LIVING I LOVE FREE STUFF

A huge number of people find it difficult to make ends meet today. I am a pennypincher. It is what tickles me the most. Finding that deal, stretching that dollar and most of all making or getting something I NEED for free.

I know there are several hundred sites out there on living cheap and dollar stretching, somehow they always seem to just miss the mark for me.

I am not interested simply in saving a few dollars on a purchase or making a few things for the house out of purchased items. I am talking about supplimenting serious money spenditures with thrifty techniques.

There are a few ideas that may seem too extreme to you to actually impliment in your life, but keep in mind that all of these techniques have originated from my or other's real life experiences.

First things first, throw away your embarassment.
Whenever you, your family or home need ANYTHING from now on, your first thought should be where can I get that for free or can I make it. If it's not possible, the next thing to consider should be where can I get that used. Now if that's not possible, you can see what store has it on sale.
If all of those places aren't workable now you ask yourself, DO WE NEED IT. Some times this is the case, ok fine, now you may purchase it new and full priced.

Your new favorite go to resources for purchases should be as follows:
THE LIBRARY (how too books and do it yourself also see homesteading/how people made stuff back when)
THE INTERNET (same as library how too's)
THE GOODWILL and every other used store within driving distance.
THE DOLLAR STORES
ALL DISCONTINUED AND CLEARANCE BINS at every store you walk into!
GARAGE SALES
BIG GARBAGE DAY PICK UP (yes you can, go to another neighborhood if need be)
http://www.freecyclefinder.org/ (this is a site with local exchanges people list stuff they are giving away!)

Always consider making whatever you may need. You would be suprised at what you can accomplish with what you have and what friends may have that they no longer use. Think about the settlers, where did they get "it" or how did they make "it". I've made a bed, shelves, a tv stand, lotion, a gate, geez, the list goes on. (I will be listing my how too's here too)

Start thinking of your dollars in product form. For example I use a pack of hot dogs. (I can get a cheap pack of 8 hot dogs for a dollar which could be dinner if need be). So when I am not sure if I should buy something I think how many dinners could this amount of money be? Then I decide if I should really buy it.

This series of Frugal Living will continue HOWEVER, keeping true to the site's main goal, if anyone needs ANYTHING, please continue to contact me or post it in the comments. The same procedure should be taken by anyone willing to offer up help contact me with what you can do.

I do hope to publish the very most helpful information for my readers, so also feel free to list any resources you may have as far as referance sites for needy people... and us penny pinchers too! Be sure to look for the new listing of links covering cheap and frugal living!