Here lately, we have been trying to come up with winter activities to add to our collection of frugal family fun night ideas. While making trick-or-treating rounds on Halloween night we noticed several families with fire bowls burning a campfire. That looked like a lot of fun, as we don’t get the opportunity to do much camping, and my kids haven’t seen many campfires.

The Fire Bowl Search Begins

We scoured the sale papers and Craigslist over the last couple weeks, but couldn’t find any particularly good deals this time of year, until yesterday.  We had looked at a couple fire bowl models are Target, but I was convinced they were overpriced (not that I had much to base that on, but this was Target, and they aren’t exactly known for their deals on large, household items).  On Saturday night we looked at one, even put it in the shopping cart for closer inspection.  It was $79.99.  We decided to put it back, convinced that just wasn’t in the budget.  The next day it was on sale for $55.00!  I dashed back the store on Sunday and picked up the last fire bowl on the shelf.

My wife had already picked up a set of pokers for the four of us from the dollar store.  I stopped by the grocery store and grabbed a bag of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, and found a three-pack of Hershey bars on sale.  I also grabbed a small bag of firewood, though I’ll be rounding up some free wood from now on.

Assembling the Fire Bowl, and the S’mores

On Sunday night we assembled the fire bowl.  It was a snap; we simply had to attach the four legs and the handle for the screen cover.  I rounded up some kindling and an old brown paper sack to get the fire going, while my wife prepared the trimmings for hot dogs.  When the fire was hot I added two pieces of firewood and we sat around and roasted our hot-dogs and marshmallows.  The kids loved making S’mores, and best of all, enjoyed being outside cooking on a campfire in their own backyard!

Fire Bowl Safety Reminders

1. Follow manufacturer recommendations on how far the fire bowl should be from a structure, such as your house.
2. Use a pot holder of the hook end of a poker to lift the handle on the screen cover.  I only learned this myself after burning the fingerprints off my left hand when grabbing the fire bowl’s screen top handle.  Doh!
3. Do not set the fire bowl down directly on grass, particularly in dry conditions.  While the fire remains well above the ground, hot embers could drop through the drain in the bottom of the bowl and ignite the grass.  Consider a small paved area, or kill back the grass and put down a few bricks to keep the fire bowl up off the ground.
4. Watch small kids! Do not leave small children unattended around the fire bowl.  Curiosity could get the best of them and if they get too close they could inadvertently ignite their clothing.

Basically, apply the same rules you would for an inside fire in a fireplace, but be a little more vigilant since the fire is accessible from all sides. A backyard campfire is a great way to spend a fall or early-winter evening, and once you have the basic supplies it is an inexpensive way to entertain your family.

Photo courtesy of Rick Audet

This past weekend my wife and I enjoyed a meal out.  It has been a long, long time since we celebrated a date night.  My mom’s hospitalization has played a part in that for a couple reasons.  One, her or my mother-in-law usually play babysitter when my wife and I have a date night.  Two, traveling back and forth to visit my mom has us on the road a lot.  I usually make a daily trip to visit her (roughly a 45 minute round trip).  But, she has made significant improvements in just the last ten days or so, and I decided to take a night off from visiting to enjoy a dinner out with my wife.  Her favorite restaurant is Olive Garden, so deciding where to eat was the easy part.

Bread and Water

Having not eaten out in a while, I was a bit shocked by the menu prices.  It seemed like each item was a couple dollars higher than it was the last time we ate out.  I looked over the menu in search of the cheapest item, but plain old spaghetti at $9.95 didn’t sound appealing.  My wife noticed me scanning the menu.  Wondering if it was the right time to be a cheapskate, I asked, “Is it alright if I order salad and breadsticks?”  She had a better idea. We ordered the Tour of Italy (which looked more like the tour of Little Italy) and shared the portions.  I ordered unlimited salad and bread for $2.95.  We skipped a glass of wine, opting for a glass of iced tea (my only splurge–I should have ordered water), and skipped dessert.  For less than $25 we enjoyed a meal at Olive Garden and were able to still leave a generous tip.  Just a few months ago we would have easily spent well over $50.

It’s Nice to Have a Spouse on the Same Page

Of course, all this was possible because I am married to a “frugal wife,” who isn’t ashamed of her frugal husband.   We weren’t always this way.  I remember early in our marriage we enjoyed a Valentine’s Day dinner at Outback Steakhouse where the set menu was prime rib, baked potato, and a glass of wine for $60, plus gratuity.  Back then we were still busy trying to impress each other, and those around us.  Now, we don’t waste as much time or money trying to impress others, because we know what our goals are, and are not concerned with what others think.

Guys, don’t misunderstand–it is still a good idea to occasionally “wine and dine” your significant other.  Just don’t make a habit of it, and if dating, be a little wary of someone who expects it.  This is about as close to anything resembling relationship advice you will read here at Frugal Dad.  After all, I’m no Dr. Phil!

Photo courtesy of lobo235

This year’s scary economy has many folks terrified at the thought of spending $40 on a costume, so frugal ghosts and goblins across the country have decided to go with homemade Halloween costumes.  We typically do this in the Frugal Household, although this year my son HAD to be The Incredible Hulk so we caved and bought him an inexpensive costume for Halloween.  My daughter is more creative, and each year enjoys coming up with her own Halloween costume ideas.  With her help (and a lot of input from my wife) we offer up the following frugal homemade Halloween costume ideas, along with the supplies needed for each:

Hobo/Bum

• Old tattered clothes with a few holes (maybe some of Dad’s old work clothes)
• An old, beat-up hat
• An old pair of well-scuffed shoes
• Worn canvas sack on a stick over the shoulder carrying belongings

Spa girl (My daughter dressed as a “spa girl” last year)

• Green face paint to simulate a mask
• Towel for head or curlers
• Sleep mask
• Bedroom slippers
• Bath robe
• Pajamas

Nerd

• An old pair of eye glasses with black electrical tape for reinforcement
• Too-small pants (short ones/high risers)
• Shirt tucked in with pocket protector and a handful of pens
• Hair slicked down with gel
• White socks
• Black shoes

Ghost (a frugal Halloween classic!)

• Sheet with holes cut out for the eyes
• White, long sleeve shirt to wear underneath
• White gloves
• white pants, socks and shoes

Hunter/Soldier

• Camouflage clothing
• Dark green (olive) paint for face
• Black face paint for under the eyes
• An old Army belt with canteen
• A green backpack

Scarecrow

• Flannel Shirt
• Overalls/Jeans
• Rope belt
• Wheat straw to stuff under the cuffs of the jeans and shirt
• A straw hat
• Paint a few freckles on face

Present

• Big box wrapped in festive wrapping paper
• Large bow to place on your head
• Cut holes on sides of box for arms, and in the top of the box for your head

Bunch of Grapes (This one reminds me of the old Fruit of the Loom commercials)

• Purple sweatsuit
• Purple balloons pinned to sweatsuit

Chef/Cook

• Tall chef’s hat or hair net
• Apron
• White button down shirt
• Black pants and shoes
• A big pot to collect candy in (with a big wooden spoon)

Kitty cat

• Black clothes
• Black shoes/socks
• White cardboard for the belly
• Tail (can use an old sock or buy one)
• Ears (headband with felt)
• Facepaint for whiskers and nose
• White gloves (optional)

Most of these Halloween costume ideas can be put together with items from around the house, or for less than $10 by visiting a consignment shop or Dollar Store.  Remember the basic trick or treating safety tips and have fun!  For more frugal Halloween ideas from The Life Skills Network, visit one of the links below (if you dare!):

8 Tips for Saving Money at Halloween @ My Dollar Plan
Make That Candy Last! @ The Wisdom Journal
Frighteningly Frugal Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas @ Frugal Dad

 Tell us, what do you plan to be this Halloween?

Photo courtesy of hoyasmeg

Fall is my favorite time of the year.  The summer heat is finally breaking, replaced by crisp days with a cool breeze and a crystal blue sky.  Backyard grills are busy cooking up tailgating meals on Saturday afternoons as friends and families gather to take in a college football game.  The milder temperatures make for a great time to be frugal because there are so many cheap activities to be enjoyed outside of the house.  I’ve included a few of them below, along with a very special frugal activity to mark Museum Day.

• Visit a museum, for free!   Hundreds of museums across the country are celebrating Museum Day 2008 by offering free admission this Saturday, September 27th.  Museums offer a great frugal entertainment option.  We may visit a nearby arts and sciences museum where they have an area dedicated to children’s activities.  Check out this link to find a participating museum near you.

• Plan a picnic.  With the weather finally cooling off around the country it is a great time to plan a picnic at your favorite spot.  Pack up a few homemade sandwiches, some bottled water, and your favorite fruits to enjoy a meal in the great outdoors.  Don’t forget to pack a blanket to sit on, and a frisbee, a kite, or maybe even a football for some post-meal entertainment.

• Go for a bike ride, as a family.  Me and the kids all have our own bike, but my wife does not currently own one.  We would like to change that in the near future, but for now we may have to settle with renting her a bike at a park with a bike trail.  For just a few dollars you can rent a cruising bike all day and explore the trails and the park together as a family.  Don’t forget your helmets, Dads!  Remember, your kids will think they are cool only if you wear them (note, this is only applicable through the preteen years–after that, nothing you do is cool!).

• Host a “Field Day” at home.  One of my kids’ favorite days of the school year is Field Day.  I remember enjoying events like the 100-yard dash and the softball toss.  Why not recreate some of those events at home?  Have a family relay race–kids against parents, or boys against girls.  Find some old potato sacks and have a sack race, or stop by a dollar store and pick up a few hula hoops for a hula hoop contest.

• “Old school” game night.  Today’s kids do not know how to entertain themselves.  Without the help of a video game, a television, or a parent, most kids would be bored out of their minds.  Teach them some “old school” games and compete against them.  Start out with some classics like Simon Says, or Red Light/Green Light.  Then teach them a little Hide and Seek and Freeze Tag.  I remember playing games like these for hours in neighbor’s yards, and even inside on rainy days.

Spending a lot of money is not a requirement for having a lot of fun.  The two most important ingredients for family fun are creativity and togetherness.  As long as we can think up fun stuff to do together we can avoid expensive entertainment such as movies, arcades and amusement parks (which are a lot of fun, too, but in small doses).  Have a great frugal weekend!

Netflix or Blockbuster Total Access?  That is the question.  Or is it?  A new question has emerged in the land of frugal movie watchers.  Are online DVD rental services actually costing more than traditional movie rental services?

If you include late fees from brick and mortar movie renters it probably isn’t even close, but let’s assume you are a good renter and return those movies well before midnight the day they are due.  Many local movie rental stores now offer 5/$5 deals, like the one mentioned in Debt Defier’s post at The Happy Rock (via MSN Smart Spending).  Debt Defier recently canceled his Netflix plan after analyzing his rental history of the previous months.  Turns out he spent $100 watching 10 movies–that’s $10 a movie!

What is the Lesson Here?

Besides the lesson that often times you can go broke trying to be frugal, there is a lesson in breaking down expenses to individual units.  How much is a “cheap” subscription service really costing you per item of enjoyment?  Would it be cheaper to watch less movies, and buy the ones you really want via eBay?  Maybe.

The lesson from an online DVD rental perspective is that if you are going to sign up for either Netflix or Blockbuster’s Total Access plan, you better be prepared to watch a lot of movies to get your money’s worth.  That’s not a problem in our household, because we cut back to basic cable some months ago and find most television program boring.

One of the benefits of the Blockbuster Total Access plan is that you can return movies to the local store and check out a new one, limiting the wait time to turn around movies.  For every movie you rent each month you are effectively driving down your per movie costs.  Netflix has started offering movies on demand, a feature that allows you to download movies to your computer as part of your membership.  With this feature, the only additional wait time is the amount of time it takes your internet connection to download the large files.

Online movie rentals can be a frugal entertainment option, but as Debt Defier found out, you certainly have to keep close tabs on your expenses, all the way down to each DVD rented.  For some, the compulsion to get the most out of the deal could lead to increased movie/television viewing, which could be detrimental in other ways.  My advice?  Give one of the services a try, and if you find yourself not taking advantage of the memberships, cancel it or put it on hold for a while.