Financial Cookie Jar

Since we talked about free summer activities yesterday, it’s been all I could think about. There are so many fun things to do in the summer even if you don’t have the time and money to get away on a big vacation.

Start the summer by focusing on the family. One spring break when I was young, my family didn’t have any money so my mom got creative. Eveyday we rode our bikes to the grocery store that was close but not too close. We would get to buy a can of pop out of the vending machine which back than was like a quarter. We’d sit in the sun and enjoy our sodas as we all talked. Once we were done we’d recycle it and get our 5 cent deposit back and ride home. It was simple, but its one of my favorite memories. Even if kids don’t say it or show it, all they really want is to spend a little bit of time with you.

Camp out in your backyard or in a local state park. Many national forests or state parks are free to camp in. They usually have great hiking trails and its a chance to get away from the distractions of the world.

Go through the kids rooms and your house and get ride of all the junk and clutter thats been collected. Get the kids involved. Not only will it help teach them responsibility and how to clean but its valuable time together. Not to mention it’s one more thing to scratch off your list that needs to be done. If the kids are too little to help, make them the “runner.” Have a place where you put stuff that goes somewhere else and have them be in charge of putting it away. When you’re done you can donate your stuff to a thrift store or be adventurous and have a yard sale. Also consider selling stuff on sites like craigs list.