Save On Your Entertainment Cost and Get More Entertained

Don’t cringe on the subject, by looking at the title.

I won’t ask you to stop watching TV and movies.

In the world of frugality, some people can take “saving money” too far.

If I’ve learned something from penny-pinching – extreme saving isn’t sustainable over a lifetime for most people.

To make it stick, you need to have some fun and feel like you can still enjoy your favorite things while on your journey to financial independence.

You shouldn’t scrimp and save and be miserable now just to spend all your money in your golden years.

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to have good entertainment to enjoy.

You just have to get a little creative and be willing to try new things.

Here are 5 easy tips to save some money while still having some fun.

Cut the Cable and Subscribe to a Streaming Service

Did you know the average monthly cable bill is over $100 a month?

That’s $1,200+ every year! I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a lot of money to spend on cable.

Consider cancelling your cable for some massive savings by signing up with subscription services instead.

You can sign up for all the popular subscription services for less than half the cost of cable – and they won’t automatically double the price on you in a year!

Did I mention you won’t get commercials anymore with subscription services either?

How can you save even more on subscription services?

Share with friends and family.

This is a great benefit of subscription services, you can share your account with other people!

For example, you could sign up for Netflix while your sibling or friend signs up for Hulu.

Then, you share each other’s accounts and get two services for the price of one.

This is what we do:

My wife’s brother pays for Netflix and we play for Hulu.

Then, we share the account information with each other and it works quite well.

Some may call this mooching, we call it sharing 😉

You can actually have several people on each account and the price per person is even less 🙂

If you want to save on entertainment and you have cable, then cut the cord and go online for streaming services.

Most subscription services have free trials so you can try before you buy.

Have a Game Night

I love board games. Always have.

My personal favorite board game is Risk (there’s just something so appealing about world domination and all that ;)).

Board games are super cheap and you can use them over and over again with friends and family.

You can have a board game night instead of going to the movies and paying an exorbitant amount on fattening popcorn and soda (which are my downfall).

Not only are board games cheap, but you can look to see if there’s a board game bar close to where you live.

There’s a bar in my city with hundreds of board games you can play for free –

all they ask is that you buy a drink while you’re there to play the games.

How cool is that?

Imagine how much money you can save by playing board games instead of going out on the town every weekend.

Or, if you don’t like the idea of going out and finding board games you may like, there are hundreds of apps that allow you to play a group game like trivia – and some are free to use!

Invite Friends Over for Dinner

Instead of going out to eat with friends, what if you just invited them over and cooked at home?

Some of my favorite memories are having people over and cooking them a meal.

My favorite thing to make when we have people over are hamburgers. We season the ground beef with dried onion, garlic powder, and pink salt.

Then, we cook them up on a George Foreman Grill and they turn out really well. Fry up some french fries in the air fryer and then you’re all set.

Everyone gets to talk and enjoy making (and enjoying) a great meal together.

It’s great fun and makes for fond memories that you’ll have forever.

Plus, you’ll save at least half the money you would have spent on eating out by eating-in instead.

In addition to eating at home, you can also play board games after dinner or watch a movie (on a streaming service perhaps).

Enjoy the Great Outdoors

I’m originally from Colorado and I grew up hiking and camping in the Rocky mountains.

Imagine hiking for a couple of hours and gaining 2,000 vertical feet in elevation!

Hiking is something you can do no matter where you live.

Plus, it’s free unless you want to hike in a state or national park.

You can usually find trails close to where you live or take a short drive to find them.

These events can occupy your otherwise lazy weekends and make them beautiful!

You can also find bike paths to simply go for walks on and get some good old vitamin D from sunshine.

Not only is hiking entertaining, but it’s fantastic exercise.

Going out solo or with some friends, you’re able to enjoy breathtaking views, get some great bonding time in, and get your blood pumping all at the same time.

Hiking and camping are my favorite ways to enjoy the great outdoors and save money on entertainment.

Read Free Books from the Library

I believe one of the best things ever invented was the library (in addition to the printing press and airplanes).

The fact that you can go to a library and check out books on literally almost any subject is mind-boggling.

I’m definitely a Fantasy Fiction reader and Finance books are also my bread and butter.

In addition to books, you can usually rent free movies from the library!

They probably won’t be the latest releases, but I’m always surprised at the good DVD’s you can check out.

Good news:

Libraries are going digital too.

If going back and forth to your local library isn’t your thing, there’s probably an app for that!

There are thousands of options out there, so you’re bound to find something you love.

So, get ready to snuggle up in your favorite place and dive into a good book.

Summary

Saving money doesn’t mean you have to live under a rock. There are many ways to save money on entertainment while still having a good time.

You just have to get creative and be willing to try something new sometimes.

These money-saving tips are proof that you can be frugal while still having high-quality entertainment in your life.

About the author: Hi, I’m Eric. I’m a dog lover, food junkie, and the owner of Flip n Finances. I’ve been writing about finance since 2012 and my goal is to help people flip their financial lives around.