Below are some ways to save money while entertaining yourself, your family and friends:
- Check DVDs and videos out from your local library. Save by not going to the video rental stores. Also, consider hooking a laptop with high-speed Internet connection to a bigger flat panel digital TV screen via HDMI cable. You can now watch YouTube, streaming video, even free on-line movies over your TV set, avoiding commercials and unsatisfactory broadcast or cable programming.
- Play music at home on your boombox or speaker system. Whether you play CD’s or mp3’s or other formats, you can get away from commercials on the airwave radio stations and exert some control over what you listen to.
- Instead of going out to a bar or tavern, or ordering drinks from a restaurant, buy beer, wine or liquor (on sale whenever you can) and just drink at home. Invite some folks over for company. Mixing cocktails is easy. Look up drink recipes online.
- If you decide to “eat out”, you can opt for buying carry out food, saves you a waiter tip, also makes for homier and more casual dining. You need not worry about a waiter hovering over you, trying to get you to settle up and get out.
- Make at-home meal making a group or social activity. Either you and your partner can make a meal together, while talking, or get company to pitch in. One person can be the leader-facilitator, explaining the different tasks to be done, such as cleaning fruit and veggies, chopping produce, watching a pot or saute’ pan, minding a timer, etc. One can also have a group of people making espresso together, or even cleaning and chopping fruit and putting it into a juicer.
- Have a group of people who are musically inclined play instruments together, either an arranged/practiced piece or a “jam”, improvised number. Have folks join in by singing, pass around lyric sheets. Tape it, audio or video, consider posting it on-line if its a memorable performance.
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