Five ways to cut entertaining expenses
Entertainment expenses are often one of the cutbacks that people make when they’re trying to save money or reduce debt. While this is a good plan that can help you reach your financial goals, it’s often hard to sit at home and do nothing all of the time. If you want to have some fun, but are looking for ways to save money, here are 5 ways to cut your entertainment expenses.
- Assess what benefits you the most (and what you use the most). For example, if you love watching movies, but taking the whole family out to see one is getting too expensive, a cheaper option would be to wait until you can watch the movie from home. On the other hand, if you never watch movies, but are paying for expensive streaming services, it may be time to cut the cord. The key is cutting back on the things that you don’t use and keeping one or two things that you get the most out of.
- When cutting entertainment expenses, try changing up what you do for fun with cheaper options. For example, rather than renting movies, pick up a few used books and enjoy a relaxing evening or weekend reading. Even if you don’t have a lot of money for entertainment, simply changing up what you’re doing can help alleviate boredom.
- Rather than spending a lot of money going on vacation, find other family members or friends who like to go to the same places you do. By combining vacation expenses, you can easily save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars when you take a trip.
- If you tend to read a lot of magazines, check to see if you can purchase an online subscription instead of paying for the printed copy. You get most (if not all) of the same material for often a fraction of the cost.
- Finally, if dining out is your favorite way to have fun with friends and family, it may be necessary to scale back - but there are still ways to save money when you do decide a night eating out is in order. The first thing to do is check out if the restaurants in your local area offer coupons or specials. Another option is to rotate who picks up the check when you do go out. Just be careful that others in your party are not taking advantage when it’s your turn to pay.
To keep it simple, a good rule to follow when saving money on entertainment is to decide if you really need what you’re paying for in the first instance, and then finding cheaper options. Then, where possible, look to combine or share the cost of that entertainment with others (most people will happily agree to split the bill).
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