Cutting Your Entertainment Costs
Entertainment usually ranks right after housing and food as one of the largest expenses incurred during the month, especially when you are single and young.
While trimming your entertainment costs is fairly easy, the trick is to do it without cutting out the fun. You don't want to sacrifice your social life altogether…
Below are 14 simple ways to reduce your entertainment expenses. These will not only reduce your expenditures but will also provide you with free or low-cost alternatives.
Pick the ones that resonate with you most and start making changes today.
1. Create a weekly “entertainment budget” for yourself to limit how much you spend on entertainment every week. In this regard, don’t forget the power of tracking. Use an online tool, create a spreadsheet, or take notes of each expense.
2. Decline expensive invites - Simply say “no” to costly activities with friends, such as having dinner at a fancy restaurant or going on an expensive weekend away.
3. Borrow books, movies, and music from the library instead of buying them from a bookstore. Libraries have always been good places for more than just books.
4. Downgrade your cable package, or simply get rid of it entirely. These days, there are quite a few free and low-cost online TV/movie streaming services such as Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.
5. Cancel your magazine/newspaper subscription and instead visit the library or simply read content online. You'll also be doing Mother Nature a favor.
6. Meet for drinks (preferably during happy hours) or at coffee shops rather than for meals. Having appetizers at home before you go out might also be a good option.
7. Subscribe to a local events site that will help you find free attractions. Most cities have free concerts and other events of some sort.
8. Start exercising outside if it’s the right season and consider dropping that expensive gym membership.
9. Find information on discount days and specials. Venues from cinemas to museums usually offer discounts on certain days and some even offer free admission at times. Bars and pubs also frequently host game nights that don’t require an entry fee.
10. Stay in - It’s much cheaper to entertain at home. Consider hosting a potluck party where everyone pitches in or have your group of friends rotate for hosting a game/movie/dinner night.
11. Do some research before you go out and look for more affordable options and special deals (expensive does not always equal better).
12. Entertain your kids for less or for free. You don’t have to buy expensive toys to have a fun environment at home. Take them to the park, library or other recreation center instead. Remember, presence, love, and engagement are way more important for kids.
13. Use the internet to get free printables, puzzles, colouring pages, sudokus and other mind games instead of buying them at a store.
14. Take your own snacks, water, and lunch whenever you leave the house to avoid trips to fast food restaurants or vending machines.
That’s it for today. These are only a few ways of saving money on entertainment. Try to see if you can be creative and brainstorm other unique ways to trim your entertainment costs.
* To gain more inspiration and motivation for your personal growth journey, I recommend visiting my SMART goals page, which offers a wide range of goal ideas to help you establish new aspirations and achieve greater success in life. This list was crucial in the development of my own life goals list, consisting of 100 goals that I pursued for ten years.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
