One of our goals this year is to try to bring in a little more FUN into our days, instead of just, you know, waking up, working, and paying bills. Hahaha.
As you know, we are working on becoming debt-free this year. In order to make that happen, we have cut back on a lot of our spending. BUT we still allow a small amount of money in our budget every pay-period for “fun money”. This has been a huge game-changer for our family. It allows us to still be frugal so we can meet our money goals, but also get out and have fun along the way too.
Last week was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the kids didn’t have school and James got the day off from teaching, so we planned on taking the kids out and doing something fun. Here’s how it turned out:
All-in-all, our adventure was a success. We were entertained, happy, well-fed, and stayed within our budget. Win-win.
Are you looking for ways to bring in a little more FUN during your debt-free journey?
Our Top 5 Tips For Introducing More Fun on a Debt-Free Journey:
1. Celebrate Together When You Pay Off a Debt.
Maybe you pay off your car loan, student loan, credit card, or pay back a family member for a personal loan. Whatever the debt is – once it’s gone, CELEBRATE. You choose how you want to do it, but take time to do something fun together to commemorate your hard work and discipline!
2. Budget in “Mad Money” or “Fun Money” Every Month.
You will go CRAZY if you never have any room in the budget to breathe and have fun. (Believe us. We were budget-intense for two years, and it was AWFUL). I’m not saying you have to budget in hundreds of dollars every month to splurge on luxurious restaurants and family fun centers. But you should still budget in some entertainment money for your sanity.
How do you decide how much “mad money” to budget each paycheck/month? What’s a good rule of thumb?
Honestly, you have to decide what amount would work for your personal circumstances. What would help you still meet your financial goals, but also allow you to do some of your favorite fun things still, so you don’t feel like you are sacrificing EVERYTHING?
For us, we like eating out, going to the cheap theater ($1-5 tickets), trying out a new dessert, going to University activities, hiking, camping, exploring. Some of those activities are free, some are discounted (thank you professor discounts), and others are full-price. Since we can generally do ALL of those things for around $20-30, that’s how much we budget. It means we skip the yummy, fancy sit-down places, and get $5 Little Caesar’s pizzas. It means we don’t see movies as soon as they are released in the theater, and we wait a month or two until the cheap theater.
Sit down with your partner, talk about a realistic amount that would allow you to feel like you could still have a ‘little’ wiggle room, and start there. If you find yourself able to live on less, by all means, cut back. And if you find yourself feeling too restricted to breathe, add a little bit more to your budget. But I recommend at least budgeting SOMETHING. Even if that means $2 to rent a Redbox movie.
3. Have Personal Spending Money.
I cannot tell you how many ‘fights’ we’ve avoided with this simple change in our budget journey. We both have our own CHECKING ACCOUNTS with money we get to use HOWEVER WE WANT!
Yep, we have “his & her checking accounts” that we transfer money to every pay period. James gets to use his money the way he wants HIS way, and I get to use my spending money the way I want MY way. We don’t have to give accountability reports. We can spend it however we want, or save it however we want.
The whole point is – its OURS for WHATEVER. It’s our reward for sticking to our budget & being disciplined literally everywhere else. It’s awesome.
How do you decide how much “personal spending money” to budget each paycheck/month? What’s a good rule of thumb?
Again, this should be based on personal circumstances, income, and financial goals. Do a personal inventory of what you would need spending money for, and set a realistic budget for it. Decide how much you would like to keep yourself sane.
For us – we keep our personal spending pretty low at $10 per person per pay period. Yep – only $20 per month. (I still laugh hearing James tell me how his friends react when he tells them he has a $10 allowance.)
I know a lot of people this would be WAY too low for comfort, but for us, it works. We can go out to eat, see a movie, or grab something small from the store. Right now, that number fits our needs. Once that debt-free goal comes along, this amount will change, but for now, we are content with it.
4. Take Advantage of Cheap or Free Activities In Your Area
Every area we have lived in has had amazing cheap and free activities. Once you are searching for them and being intentional to find free events, they start popping out of the woodworks. A lot of times, we find free or cheap activities via the University in our town, small local business events and specials, city events, the library, and more. Join local Facebook groups that advertise these events, join newsletters, and watch for local events advertised in your community.
Another tip if you recently moved to an area within the past few years? Find a friend who has lived their locally and ask them for advice. I’m serious. It’s been a game-changer for us. I have a friend that grew up around here, and she is continually sharing fun things to try out. I honestly wouldn’t even know those things were even an option if she wasn’t so open to sharing with me. She’s shared amazing tips of places to try out, hikes to go on, and more. (Thanks, Kim!)
5. Create Your Own Fun
I don’t know about you, but some days I am just plain exhausted, and that’s when ordering a pizza is about as fun as this mama can be.
Other times, however, I find that I have a little creativity in me, and I can come up with my own unique fun experiences for my family.
Some days I have themed nights. For example, one day, I decided to throw a “blue night”. I had every family member wear blue, and we ate everything blue (blue punch, blue cake, blue mashed potatoes – you name it), we made a ‘blue’ craft, and then we watched Megamind. It wasn’t anyone’s birthday, and there was no point to it – other than it was quirky and different, and my kids LOVED it.
At another time, our family made an indoor camping trip. We set up a little tent in our living room for the kids to sleep in, and we did small “camping” activities together where we went fishing and hunting, made dutch oven cobbler, and ate tin-foil dinners. I even stuck plastic glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, and we went stargazing.
I’m not saying you have to ALWAYS be creative. But sometimes, just doing something out-of-the-ordinary – like having an impromptu dance party in your kitchen or giving the kids two scoops of ice cream instead of one – makes life more fun.
Try it out! Create your own fun! You don’t have to pay someone to find and create fun experiences together.
We hope this helps inspire you to know that even while you’re doing hard things, like paying off-debt or being discplined with spending so you can reach a savings goal, you can still have FUN along the way.
We got this! And so do you!
