If you ask a child what the best day of the year is, most of them are going to tell you Christmas Day, and they aren’t speaking from any religious convictions. Most of us grow up with the idea that “he who dies with the most toys wins”. So how can learning to live frugally ever be fun?

Turn Saving Money into a Game

When I first began to trim things from our family budget, I’ll admit, it was a chore. It was easy to convince myself that I needed everything we were paying for. The 500 TV channels were necessary even though I had never really watched TV before I was put on bedrest with my second son. The weekly pizza gave us a much needed break on Friday nights after a long week. All the things that were going to save money seemed to be taking something fun out of our lives.

I’ve never been a  big spender but putting the time and effort into saving money on basics like groceries and new clothes for the kids sounded even less exciting than a trip to the dentist. It wasn’t until I started challenging myself by setting savings goals that I actually started to enjoy the process of cutting back. I started with my grocery bill since that was the most flexible bill in our budget. My first monthly grocery goal was just slightly lower than what I had been spending so that I wasn’t overwhelmed and I’ve gradually cut it back from there. I now feed a family of 5 for under $300 a month by combining sale prices with coupons (including long term food storage) and get far too excited when I find a high value coupon for a favorite product. Couponing has become a kind strange hobby for me but my kids, already used to me taking pictures of their dinner before they eat it have adjusted to my new habits beautifully.

Get More for Less

One of the main reasons my family has gotten so excited about our transition into a more frugal lifestyle is because they have discovered that making thrifty choices allows them to get more for less. We eat out more, have a bigger food storage, go to the movies more, and explore more local attractions than we did before we cut back on our family budget. That probably seems like a strange statement but it’s true. In our pre-frugal life, we would spend money we probably couldn’t afford on little extras just because we wanted to. Now, we spend a little bit of time each week researching deals and take advantages of sales, coupons, and local freebies. We spend less money but are able to do more.

Just recently, my children got free zoo tickets through our local summer reading program, I won a free toddler bedroom set and $30 in movie gift cards from entering a blog giveaway, saw The Last Airbender for free BEFORE it came out in the theatre, and I got $300 worth of groceries for $75. We do more, we get more, but we spend less. We have more fun as a family and spend less, which makes frugal living fun for everyone.

Teach Frugal Habits Early

I’m fairly certain that if my parents had asked me if I wanted to get one toy now or two toys later I would have gone for the single toy. I’m all about instant gratification. Fortunately my kids are learning to make wise choices early. My 7 year old son loves mangos and asks for one nearly every time we are at the grocery store. The other day when he asked for a mango they were nearly $1.50 each. There was no way I was going to pay that. I asked him to make a choice – buy 1 mango then or wait until they were cheaper and buy more. A few weeks later mangos went on sale at a local grocery store for 3/$1. We stocked up on more mangos than any of us could ever eat and filled our freezer with sliced fruit. My son was in heaven and smart enough to see that the bowls full of mango were a much better reward than the one, slightly shriveled mango that he almost settled for.

Learning to live a more frugal lifestyle does take some adjustment but it can improve more than just your family budget – it can improve your quality of life. How do you make frugal living fun?

Photo by Daniel Y. Go