How to Spend Less Money at Bazaars & Festivals
Enjoy Cheap Weekend Fun With Community Events for the Family
Oct 6, 2009
Local festivals, carnivals, and bazaars are excellent choices for weekend family fun. Some places advertise modest fun and entertainment to last a few hours or more. Other places go all out with rides, events and food to last an entire weekend, drawing thousands of visitors. Whether it's a carnival, school festival or church bazaar, the idea is to bring the community together for a celebration and make money for the sponsor. Without a plan, consumers quickly learn an afternoon of inexpensive family fun can cost a bundle.
Save Money on Outings before Leaving Home
Kids make it tough when it comes to saving money, but adults can just as easily get caught up in the mood of a spring fling or fall festival. How can a family or individual attend local seasonal events for less money?
- Eat before leaving home. Eating beforehand will reduce the temptation to binge at the festival or event.
- Plan a budget and stick to it. Give older kids a limited amount of funds and tickets to spend. Period.
- Bring filled water bottles from home. Soft drinks can run 2 to 3 dollars a cup. Multiply by a family of five and see how much can be saved on just one round of drinks.
Save Money at a Bazaar, Festival, or Carnival
No matter what the season, the atmosphere of food, vendors, and rides entices people to join the crowd. The best excuse for spending money: "It's for a good cause." Once a person arrives at carnival or festival, what's the best way to save money?
- Don't buy family packs of tickets. Purchasing a lot of tickets may save a few dollars at the ticket booth, but the savings are lost if any tickets are left over when it's time to go home.
- Avoid vendors who sell expensive items. Buying a 100.00 leather purse on a whim is going to put a big dent in the family budget. Plus, there is no way to return an expensive item if it's faulty once the event is over and the vendor is gone.
- Don't get hooked on playing a game over and over in hopes of getting lucky.
- Keep tabs on how much money is going out of pocket so there is no shock when it's time to count what's left in the budget.
- Take pictures. Memories of the day's fun can go into online photo collections or printed and placed in scrapbooks.
- Take advantage of free events and exhibits, especially artwork and craft booths for kids.
- Take it easy on raffles. While it's fun to win, it's no fun going overboard and coming up empty-handed.
- Decide on a time to leave. If the family is splitting up, then decide how long to stay and plan where to meet to go home. Waiting around or calling everyone's cell phone trying to round up the gang allows for idle time – time to check out the vendors one last time or make one last visit to the bakery booth.
It doesn't take much effort or sacrifice to save money attending community events like farm festivals, school carnivals, and church bazaars. Planning ahead and a little willpower will keep the family budget intact. Neighborhood events are great for family fun, and spending money responsibly will make seasonal outings a pleasant experience for everyone.
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