The two fastest things to slash from your spending are food and entertainment. You apply all that extra money to your debt and in six months, you’re bored and back in the hole.
It’s my experience that you can better manage your journey to debt freedom if you’re enjoying the time. If you’re miserable every minute—you’ll fall off the wagon a lot sooner!
I suggest re-tooling your entertainment budget to accommodate for some frugal fun.
There’s a couple of rules of thumb to consider. First, how much time will it “entertain” and if your “entertainment” can serve another purpose as well (i.e. food, or projects).
We have some friends who are masterful entertainers, and have a gift for hospitality. They also have a very large family. We adore this family, and they keep really interesting company. Meeting their friends has always been a wonderful, enlightening experience, but seldom the same “dinner and a movie” we’ve experienced with other friends.
This family has truly mastered “multi-purpose” entertainment. From holding a “cider press” to themed quarterly potlucks to costume parties, some of the best fun I can recall having in my lifetime has been spent with their family—and required very little financial resources on anyone’s part.
Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
- Canning party (learn to can/preserve/freeze—share equipment, go halvesies on a case of apples or tomatoes or something)
- Hold a card night—and have everyone bring a favorite card game, a bottle of wine or an appetizer.
- Movie night/potluck (dual-purpose somebody’s Netflix subscription).
- Work party (yes, seriously). Call the local church or community group and see if there’s a senior citizen who needs some yard work. Turn up with some friends and a picnic lunch. Work parties or volunteer activities like this can be a very enjoyable way to visit with friends (trust me!).
- Take a class or join a book club through your local community center or library.
- Hold a Bring-Your-Own-Meat barbeque—everyone brings their own entrée for their family and a side dish to share.
- Hold a chili-cook-off among friends (or pasta, or whatever).
- Have themed potlucks (Tour of Italy, Chinese Buffet, Comfort Foods, etc).
