Summer Savings

It's starting to warm up here (temporarily, I'm sure) and today is the 100th day of school, so some of us are starting to think about summer projects for ourselves, our kids, our houses . . .
As you're planning, I have a few thoughts - see if any of them work for you:

• kids making present - my kid loves crafts - why not have the crafts be things she can show off and use as gifts for friends and relatives? One of her classmates melted pieces of crayons & put them in heart molds as their Valentines Day treat - brilliant and cool!
• kids making wrapping paper - when I was little, my mom got rolls of butcher paper & spread it on the kitchen floor. She'd cut potatoes into stamp shapes & let me make the decorative wrapping paper. There are fabulous stamps at most craft stores - I like Joann Etc for these. . . I'm not into the carving potatoes part, but my kid has made soem fabulous wrapping paper with markers & original drawings in the past - the pride when the gift is delivered is precious, there's less waste & the play produces something practical.
• goals with friends - do you have a goal of getting into better shape? Spending more time with friends? Don't we all?!?! Why not schedule a regular time to walk with someone - a spouse, friend, whatever, and talk about life in general and how the getting into better shape is going - combine the goals & the socializing to multiply the fun!
• playdates vs activities - we have one child & it's nuts!!! I'm starting to battle chaos the way I use to attack the budget. This summer, I'm actively seeking out ways to plan activities at times that friendships can continue to develop and/or playdates can immediately follow swim lessons, or whatever your thing is
• activities vs date nights - both!! Many places offer kids programming at times you could get a little alone time with your partner - hopefully, you remember how to relate without the kids :-) If you're a single parent, use it as social time with a friend or sanity time on your own or whatever. Plan those activities with your kids' friends too so everyone gets the benefit without fitting 3 separate categories of things into the schedule. Oh, and using the activity as the baby-sitter combines the cost as well as the time for overall savings of both.
• See out free stuff & simplicity. There are fabulous free beaches around here. Last summer, we were too scheduled to enjoy them - really messed up, I know, but true. This year, some of the free activities (like working on our garden - FINALLY) will be part of the schedule so that they actually fit. I realized I spend a lot of time & energy in ways that don't make a lot of sense - this was one of them.
• Free concerts - many cities offer free concerts throughout the summer & farmers markets, etc. Put them into the schedule but not the budget - pack a picnic for a cheap & festive addition to the activity or splurge on some really good ice cream when you go :-)
• Cheap/free days: Summer offers some weekday discounts and sometimes free days for many things - check out what they are & do those activities when it's cheapest. You work weekdays? If you're planning to take some time off here & there, why not use that to do something cheaper & less crowded than a weekend day the same place? I heard one mother telling another that they don't plan summers - this was a year ago & I remember clearly. The kids wanted less structure, but wanted to go to the zoo & the beach, etc. Instead of planning other things, they planned to do one of the "bigger" things once a week or so & that was the plan - brilliant! Sounds more relaxing & fun to me!
• Gardening - it's therapeutic - relaxing if you like it, you can see it grow & develop & see the accomplishment, and it can be really cheap. Check out garage plant sales, start seeds early (like now), thin out or rearrange what you already have - friends have given me stuff they had too much of & my mom, etc. . . .
• Grow food - if you're into it, this makes a lot of sense. Our kid loves plants - at least watching me do it - can't get our hands dirty - at least watering gets done apart from me . . . This year, we're putting in more tomatoes and lettuce and probably some peppers cause that worked for us last year. No yard? No problem. The edible stuff we planted off the deck got eaten by deer anyway - a total waste. I got some big reusable plastic pots in neutral colors at Home Depot and got some good advice on tomatoes & we had lots of yummy red sauce for the winter & gifts. Our kid started to like salad - it was "pick-your-own" and we just added hard boiled egg, chicken cheese, dressings, etc. to mix things up. Suddenly, it was the favorite choice for lunch.
• Let me know your brilliant (or even a little smart) ideas - I'd love to hear them & with your permission, share them here without disclosing your name (first name only will be listed unless you'd rather not have that).