The Money-Free Weekend

Posted by: Lauren Young on July 25

Considering that this blog is called Working Parents, I’m assuming many readers work for pay. If that is the case, why do you work? For some people, work is a passion. For others, it’s simply a way to pay the bills. Whatever the case, paying those bills is a lot harder these days.

So that’s why my ears perked up when my son’s preschool teacher told me her family is embarking on a money-free weekend this weekend. Instead of gorging on ice cream cones from the local parlor or seeing The Dark Knight, their weekend lineup includes visiting the library, playing board games, using up stuff in the kitchen cabinets, and decluttering the basement. Cleaning out the basement is her hubby’s idea—coincidentally, he is the one who suggested this experiment, which makes me a wee bit suspect. But I digress…

We are going out of town to see family, so it will be impossible to avoid spending money since I am driving and gas sure ain’t free. But it’s an interesting idea, and one I’d like to try in the future. For ideas on ways to do it, click here.

Money is always top of mind for me, since I am BusinessWeek’s personal finance editor. In fact, I was interviewed earlier this week on the CBS Early Show about the “latte effect” as well as ways to trim spending. Some of my recommendations were, how shall I put this, not exactly embraced on the blogosphere. I won’t take it personally.

In fact, some other readers wrote me with great tips, including the ones listed below.

Leah Ingram, writer of the Suddenly Frugal blog, says: “We just gave up HBO and part of our premium cable package ($240/year), because we realized that we didn’t need to spend it anymore, now that The Sopranos and The Wire are over, and we’ve asked our daughters to give up one of their online gaming subscriptions ($80/year). Later this month, I’m giving up the second phone line in our house ($756/year), which I’ve used for my business, and will use my cell phone instead. In addition, my husband has stopped eating with his staff at the corporate dining room ($936/year) and instead they bring in loaves of bread, jars of peanut butter and cans of soup to eat lunch on the cheap.

Vicki Mote Bodwell, author of From One Mom blog, says: “I’ve lost lattes due to our new family budget. My morning ritual was to swing by our local Starbucks on the way to work and order a tall latte. Yet with our grocery bill increasing 22% and our utilities going up, we were forced to cut corners and give up some of our ‘little luxuries.’

“These included: sending our boys to a local camp in Central Park; packing a snack for the park vs a visit to the ice cream man; making all our dinners at home vs ordering in; limiting clothes purchases to essentials (new shoes for oldest son/hand me downs for the younger two); reducing the number of trips to the grocery store (twice a month vs 4 times). I have transformed into a complete Budget Betty!”

Kimmelin Hull, author of A Dozen Invisible Pieces and Other Confessions of Motherhood, says she used to be a once-a-day Vanilla Chai Latte girl. “I filled and turned in that lunch card once every other week. Now, I buy my own chai mix, shake up the carton of soy milk before I add it to the cup, pop it in the microwave and pretend that it tastes as good as the real thing. But for a savings of thirty bucks a week…I’m willing to do it! But that’s just the start.

“I get my hair cut once every six months. Yep. For real. I’ve discovered that: wearing my hair longer, and getting plenty of layers cut into it…plus avoiding using gobs of “product” in my hair, and rarely blow drying (I’m a mom of three young children…don’t have time to blow dry and style anyway!) keeps my hair in great shape…so I can get away with the bi-annual luxurious trip to the beauty salon. The budgetary result? I spend $80 a year on my hair! (Ok, so this doesn’t include the John Frieda shampoo and conditioner that I love, love, love and buy religiously!)

“Pedicures? Manicures? Who needs ‘em? (Ok, I’d love to steal a couple hours to enjoy this rare luxury…but I’ve figured out how to do a darn good pedicure on my own) With a little investment…I’ve got myself stocked up with all the basic tools and do my own toes!

“Oh, and don’t get me started on what we are doing as a family to cut down on fuel costs. With three kids, my husband and I have spent many an evening scheming about what we can do to cram ourselves into a smaller car—one with greater fuel efficiency—for our errands and activities runs in and out of town. And my hubby? He now commutes to work on his bike eery day. (We live in Bozeman, Montana, so for him, the eight mile ride means he’s pedaling down country roads looking at mountains and white-tailed dear. His only question about it all? Why didn’t I do this sooner?) By keeping his car in the garage during the week, we’re saving at least $200/month in fuel costs.”

You can check out her blog here.

How are you saving money these days? Are you brown-bagging it? Are you cutting back on entertainment? How much will you spend this weekend?

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