Well, we all know it; the economy stinks! People however, still have to live, breathe, eat, and be entertained. You cut back financially in every way that counts just to survive…but, it is often hard not to resent it. You become financially responsible…but you are bored out of your mind because you can’t afford to seek entertainment on your budget. So, you look for deals when it comes to where you live, the food you eat and last, but not least…you look for ways to be entertained that don’t cost and arm and a leg.
Going out to eat when you are trying to save money means, well, that you eat off of the dollar menu at fast food places. On the rare occasions that you treat yourself, for those who are strapped for cash, you generally can’t find healthy food cheap; so…just know that going in.
Wanting to see a movie; prepare to spend, spend, spend…unless you rent a video/dvd….do people still do that? Going out to the movie theater means spending money for the ticket, for snacks and for drinks; it becomes quite costly. For years, our family just purchased dvd’s and video’s, so that they could be rewatched, saving us a pretty penny. If you happen to do yard/garage sales you can save even more by purchasing your video/dvd’s at a pre-owned price. At the same time, buying things pre-owned is a way of reusing, reducing (trash), and recycling items by repurposing them for someone else’s use. I like that!
The trick to saving money when it comes to your personal or family’s entertainment is to look for coupons, specials, two-for-one deals or even free entertainment. What’s that you say…what is free now days?
When it comes to free entertainment…I believe people are going to go back to the old fashioned entertainments. You will begin to see individuals and families going back to the basics with gardening, picnics, swimming, sports, walks in the park, short sunday drives, and yes, even reading.
What other kind of entertainment can you get as much bang for your buck? With a book you can travel the world, educate yourself, comfort yourself, ride the waves of emotions, connect to people, places and time, have a historical encounter, explore a new culture or career; you will be able to read people’s minds through the expertise of a great writer! A great writer knows how to take you on a trip and make you feel like you could smell the flowers on the page of the most vividly described page in the book. A great writer will make you feel like you have just met the most physically attractive and the most impeccably dressed individual you have ever known. You will grieve when you have to part at the end of the book. A great writer, or word specialist, will take their time to make you feel, see, and hear the story that they have to share with you. It is their skill with descriptive words that takes you to the world between the pages.
I recently heard, on a Good Morning America video piece, that sales in the romance book industry is flying high. http://www.abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7603141 It is cheap entertainment to pick up a romance book/or other paper back books for a mere $5-$8.oo investment. It is a book…it can be read over and over again; or, creative people can do book exchanges with one another. Those with a real frugal personality, and maybe a greener nature than the average bear, can be found at the library…checking out books for free; just so that they can occupy themselves with the cheapest form of entertainment there is: reading! Let’s not forget the techie who often reads books/novels on their kindle…therefore wasting little money and no trees that were cut down for printing of the book. Ok people, go amuse yourselves!!!
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Books are one of the best frugal ways to entertain yourself, and perhaps even learn a thing or two. If more people are picking up reading, I can only consider that a good thing, and I think they will see how much more fulfilling it is than sitting on the couch watching TV. There are a bunch of ways you can get cheap books also. You mentioned a 5.00 – 8.00 price tag, but they can be bought for a lot cheaper. First, I would suggest trying a book swapping website such as paperbackswap.com. The most you’ll have to pay for a book is shipping. If you cannot find what you want there, try a book price comparison site like Compare-Books. Finally, e-books are getting cheaper by the day if you already have the equipment to read one. Even old cell phones can display e-books!