There are many things that we do which would be considered as entertainment. This could be anything from going to the theatre, concerts or movies, listening to music or audiobooks, reading or watching the television. All of these things are likely to cost us money. If we are looking for ways to cut back, perhaps because we are short of money, want to save more money or have a loan to repay, then considering ways to reduce spending in this area could be worthwhile. There are many things that you can consider which might help you.
- Try using free resources – if you find that entertainment is costing rather too much then you might find that you will be able to take advantage of some free resources to keep the costs down. For example, if you enjoy reading then you could join a library and read books for free. You may also be able to watch movies and plays if you have a television package which has relevant channels and possibly not end up paying more than you are already for that. If it is the television that is expensive then it could be worth seeing if there is anything free that you could watch to replace it.
- Find deals – there are often deals around for different things and this expands to things in the entertainment sector as well. This means that it is worth searching around to see what you can find. Keep in mind what you want to do as you will find deals for all sorts of things and make sure that the deals really are as good as they seem. It is wise to always have a search online to see if there are any deals or coupons where you are able to save money.
- Try not to pay for more than you need – often when we buy things such as television packages we find that we are offered a big variety of things that we do not need. It is really important to think about what you really want and find something that gives you only that. If there is not that option then see whether you can negotiate with the provider to get what you do want. When you go to a show or the movies then you could be tempted to spend extra money of refreshments such as popcorn and soda and these can be really expensive to buy. Take your own or have some when you get home or before you go so that you do not have to pay out the extra money.
- Compare prices and choose the cheapest options – it is so important to compare prices. It can actually be so easy to forget about doing this and just renew your contract or go to where to where you normally go without looking at all of the options. You can often compare prices quite easily online and so it is worth doing this to find out whether you can find something better than what you normally do. This might not only help you to save money but you might even find some new places to go or new activities to do which are more fun than what you were doing before.
- Set a budget – if you need help in making sure that you do not overspend then it can be good to set yourself an affordable budget. Then you can make sure that all of your entertainment costs do not add up to more than this. It might mean that you will have to post phone activities or save up for things that go over budget, but it can be a great way of making sure that you are not spending too much.
- Tell others – if you tend to go to the movies with friends or watch tv with your family, make sure that they are aware that you need to cut down. If they know this then they may be less likely to try to persuade you to spend more than you can afford. Your friends may even be pleased as they may be struggling too and may need to cut down themselves.
These might all sound quite obvious, but it is wise to try to keep them in mind. It can be easy to forget about them and then end up spending more money than necessary. It is also worth planning carefully so that you do not end up doing more than you need to. It can be that we might easily spend more on entertainment than we need to because we are doing more than necessary. Consider whether you can cut back on some of your activities so that you end up spending less. It might feel difficult to cut back, but if you are spending too much, then you may need to do this. It could be that you could replace some of the more expensive ones with cheaper ones.