5 Free or Inexpensive Activities to Do During the Week With Children Under 5 Years Old!

As a one income family,  just like many, we are on a tight budget.  We are trying to save money and cut loose ends in the budget.  The temptation is real when you've been home for days and want to go to Target and start throwing money at them.  I sometimes just want to get out of the house and  find excuses to spend money. Anyone? No?  

The boys get $15-$20 a month in the budget.  This budget is for out of the home activities, toys, or if I forget their lunch and buy them Chick-Fil-A while we're out and about. Yes, that's totally happened. Purposefully? Maybe. Both the boys and I do well by being away from the house for at least an hour a day. So we get out and I try my best to choose activities that our budget friendly. 

Here are 5 Free or Cheap activities we do during the week to save money and get out of debt. 

1. Local Parks and Nature Trails

I know this one is kind of obvious, but it counts. I pack the boys' lunches and we'll go to a park for two hours.  I switch up the parks we go to weekly. So it's a new(ish) experience everytime. Completely Free.

2. Library
If you stay at home and don't take your kids to the library, start now! I love the library! One of the best parts is that they have a  Baby Time, Toddler Time and/or Preschool Time.  They'll do a few songs and then we'll do a craft. Afterwards, we'll go play with the library toys and then pick out some books.  Normally, there's a park with a picnic table nearby where we'll eat a packed lunch.  If the weather isn't good, we may eat in the car. Completely Free.

3. Mall
Houston has two indoor mall play areas that we go to. We'll go play for a an hour or two. Then we'll go to the food court and I'll feed them a packed lunch. Completely Free

Anyone else have children that never look at the camera? Lol.

4. Memberships
This one is not cheap upfront.  However, it's super inexpensive if you use it all the time like I do. We have a Houston Zoo Membership and a Children's Museum Membership. Both cost around $100.  We pay for these by asking family members to, instead of buying gifts, help us purchase memberships to last the entire year.  I don't know about your kids, but mine play with a toy for one week and never touch it again. However, Benaiah asks to go to the zoo daily.  It's his favorite.  We've gone at least twice a month if not more the past year for our zoo membership. In the month of April, we went once a week. 

5. Fast Food Play-Place aka Chick-Fil-A
Now, I know this one seems like it couldn't be cheap. Etc. Spending money eating out... and then I'm paying for my meal.  You might find this really cheap of me. Lol. I do this one of two ways.

A. I get the boys a meal to split and have extra snacks.  The kicker and way I save money is by not buying something for myself. Instead I eat at home or eat the stuff I've packed. Normally this costs me $5

B. On a rainy day, I have literally gone to Chick-Fil-A purchased a small fry for the boys to share and had their packed lunch in my bag.  This costs me $2

Do you have any more ideas?! Share them with me. What are your go to cheap or free activities to do with your children? Comment below or comment on Facebook!

All my love,

Leah