Ideas To Help You Give BIG!
Date Night
Instead of an expensive date, pack a picnic and enjoy a day in the park.
Family Night
If your library doesn’t offer DVDs, get your movies from Red Box. The DVDs cost just one dollar per night. You can find
Red Box locations here.
Cut back and be frugal. Apply your savings to your BIG GIVE gift.
Get your books from the library. Lots of people love books and read every day. While we want to buy some of the books we read, some can come from the library. Simply put, it’s hard to beat free.
Read magazines at the library or online. Too many magazines can cost a fortune. And how many times have you bought a magazine based on the cover and been disappointed by the lack of substance. At the library you can read magazines for free. And many magazines now offer their content for free online.
Subscribe to magazines that are must reads. If you must have a certain magazine each month, subscribe. Subscriptions offer substantial savings over the cost at the newsstand or grocery store.
Get rid of your home telephone. This is a great way to save money. Many don’t do it because of the 911 service, and that’s understandable. But if you’re comfortable relying on a cell phone, there’s no reason to keep a land line. If you do, consider reducing your service to the minimum and only use the phone in an emergency.
Car pool when are where you can. With HOV lanes you may save on gas and time.
Holiday Season
Agree to limit gift giving. At Christmas sometimes gift giving can go overboard with extended families. Agree in advance to limit the gifts and save everybody some money.
Ask for a donation. Everyone loves receiving a gift, but are there items you really need this Christmas? Ask you loved ones to make a donation in your name to the Big Give instead of a gift. Let your gift supply the needs of others this season. You'll be surprised it's the best gift of all.
Ideas for Kids
Make your own gifts. Some of the best toys are made by parents. From kites to blocks to forts, if you get creative, you can make some fantastic toys and only spend a fraction of what it would cost to buy. And the best part: your child could help, especially with the decorating. Check out this article for some ideas.
Use their imagination. Kids can be amazingly creative. Sometimes they enjoy playing in or with the box the toy comes in more than the toy itself. Give them some paint or beads or glitter and glue, and they can have a blast. Let them play outdoors, and make toys with sticks or other things they find in nature. Make a fort out of bedsheets or a refrigerator box. Let them use their imagination, and old toys can become new again.
Dining options
Cooking for yourself can be fast and easy, as well as surprisingly cheap. Try online recipe finders for meals that use what you already have in your fridge. Make enough for a few days, and then use the leftovers in sandwiches for work the rest of the week.
Take your lunch to work one more day a week than you do now. Eating out at lunch is fun, so don't eliminate it completely. But taking lunch just one more day a week will keep money in your pocket. Bringing lunch to work consistently could save you more than $100 a month.
Go for lunch specials. Lunch specials will be cheaper than dinners, and breakfasts are even cheaper, generally. Always ask about the daily special, as it can often be a good deal.
Drink water. You go to a restaurant for the good food, not the soda. You can get those for much cheaper at a grocery store. Drink water, perhaps adding a slice of lemon for taste.
Skip dessert. If you're eating at a sit-down restaurant, dessert is often unnecessary. Pick up a carton of ice cream on the way home, and save a bunch.
Conservation
Save your aluminum cans and recycle for cash. It helps save the earth and lives! - submitted by Jen Jensen