Disclosure:  I received compensation for sharing my thoughts with you today on how we have family fun on a budget.

I love that our family is able to go out and enjoy so many different things that life has to offer us.  I love the looks on the kids faces as we check out new adventures.  However, with John only working six months of the year, we are on a really tight budget for half of the year.  We have to be smart with our money but we still want to enjoy the family time we have.  Here are a few ways we stretch our budget to include family fun.

We live across the street from a wildlife refuge so we try to stay up to date on any upcoming events.  It’s especially fun for us to check out the winter stuff.  Last year, that included snow shoeing as a family.  So much fun and it was all FREE.

Memberships.  We have a membership to the Science Museum so we can go as often as we want during the winter when we are really broke.

Groupon.  I love Groupon.  It has provided so many opportunities for our family.  If you aren’t familiar with it, Groupon offers discounted tickets on events and things to do or places to go.  With Groupon, we are able to head to the community center nearby and swim during the winter when we can’t get outside to burn off energy.  Since that is my four year old’s favorite thing to do, it’s awesome!  We recently picked up a Groupon for the Crayola Experience at the Mall of America and can’t wait to go.  Plus, I love knowing that it is risk free.  I mean it.  If you ever have a problem, Groupon Goods will make it right.  This happened once and I was so surprised by their immediate help with it.

Just get outside.  Winter gets pretty brutal in Minnesota but we make the most of the good days.  Sledding is so much fun and great exercise but we also love ice skating.  The best part is that it’s free and the fresh air really puts us in a better mood during a long winter.

These are some ways that our family has fun on a budget during the winter months when we are strapped for cash.  You can bet we’ll be out having fun even without extra spending money.  What are your favorite ways to have fun on a budget?  Let me know below and maybe we’ll see you at the Crayola Experience.