Living Within One's Means

Never underestimate the power of a bargain. Which brings me back to a memory from a few year's ago: Jon and the boys (just two boys at the time) were working through the 'Swordfighting' series and activities. Each week they would carefully measure out one perfect sword and put a bible verse meticulously inside of the sword. One day Gable came up with a 'bible' verse of his own. I will never forget Jon's face as he dutifully crafted the sword to Gable's specifications, then penned Gable's verse inside the sword:

'Never underestimate the power of underwear.'

Gable was so proud of it and we hung it in a spot of honor for years.

But, alas, I have digressed. The power of a bargain was my original thought...

I have been told many times (okay, maybe 'many' is an exaggeration) to write a book with 'cheap' ideas for family fun.

Sounds like a yawner book to me.

I have, however, compiled a list (in my mind) of all the things we have or are currently doing during the break from school. Things that are free or low cost. Some that are a bit pricier, but we believe them worthy enough to spend more on.

Make sense?

Without further blah, blah, blah (Jack says that he loves how I say blah, blah, blah.), here they are:

-Ice Skating: In Lawrenceburg, it's free. Not only the ice skating, but the skates are free as well. There is a snack bar there with hot chocolate and popcorn. Perfect for a cold night. The skating is outside in a small (hey, it's Lawrenceburg) area. The snack bar is inside in a portable, heated tent. Great fun. Open to the westsiders as well. Hours are 3-8 or 9 on weekdays, 12-8 or 9 on weekends. Take Rt. 50 to Walnut Street. (St. Lawrence chuch on one corner, Lawrenceburg High School on the other corner) Turn left onto Walnut Street. When Walnut dead ends, it dead ends right into the parking lot of the skating rink. Open until mid-January.

-Community Center: Again, located in Lawrenceburg. Seriously, Lbg isn't as far as one may think. Okay, it's Indiana, but we're right over the border here. The Community Center is like your local YMCA without the swimming or membership. There is a gym for basketball as well as a fully-loaded workout facility, pool, air hockey, ping pong, arcade games. Oh, did I mention that it's all FREE as well? Located on Walnut Street (see directions above) just off Rt. 50. As you turn onto Walnut, it is almost immediately on the right.

-Toy stores, department stores, Once Upon a Child, Best Buy: We still use this one, but we used it much more when the boys were really young. Just hang out Target or Toys 'r Us. Sit on the floor and play. Play with all the toys that you can get your hands on. Buy nothing, just play. This is what we do when the walls at home are closing in on us. We can play video games at Wal-Mart or Rock Band at Best Buy for at least an hour. Hey, we didn't pay a thing and we had a blast. Stores usually don't care and we've had several workers hang out with us. They get a little worried when you start pulling out your sleeping bags though...

-The Library: Ah, comfy chairs, coffee (at ours, we're so progressive...), and great books. An amazing assortment of kids books and toys. Very, very relaxing and cheap. If, however, you owe too much on your card to check out any books (why are you looking at me??), you still can hang out and read books and magazines. It may just be the most overlooked building of the city for a relaxing afternoon out of the house.

-Half-price appetizers or kids eat free promotions: Ah, Willie's, the home of the half price appetizers from 1-7 p.m. We eat like kings, ordering huge orders of boneless chicken wings and cheese sticks and shrimp cocktail and quesadillas...all five of us for under $20. Most restaurants, even nice ones, have kids eat free on certain nights or Sundays. My favorite is Buffalo's in Lbg, where kids eat free on Sundays and kids meals consist of a full meal, a drink, and an ice-cream sundae. Once you have a few kids, eating out quickly becomes a huge expense, even if it is McDonald's. We've found that we can eat at a nice restaurant with promos cheaper than a meal at the golden arches. Not that I don't love my plain cheeseburger from MacDonny's though.

-Museum passes: Oh, Lordy, Lordy, my grandparents got us a pass to Union Terminal museums this year. We've had these in the past. For around $100 (less if you are a teacher), you can use any of the three museums and have free parking for a year. If you know anyone with a membership to the Creation Museum, they should have several guest passes that are for unlimited uses. These pass-holding creation gurus are usually dying for someone to use their guest passes. We've had friends gladly share their passes with people they don't even know. Several have said that they hate that their guest passes just go to waste. You just have to return the passes to the owner when you are finished and the greatest thing is that the owner does not have to go with you to the Creation Museum.

So there is my starting list of ways to keep busy and not spend a fortune while you have some time off or have family in town. No, it's not a book and yes, it's boring as watching paint dry, but daggone it, it may just save you some money and let you have a great time as well.

Now, go ice skating and then tell me how much fun you had for FREE!