What can you do on a $25 a month entertainment budget for two?
At the time I devised this plan, I had about $38,000 of debt remaining. This debt included a student loan, car note, and credit card debt. Between 1999 and 2006 (I paid off all my debt around 2008), I had refinanced my mortgage and paid off some of my student loans. I still had car loans and credit card debt and a smaller student loan debt.
However, before I set this $25 a month entertainment budget, I realized that I had spending problem.
Eating out was costing me $600 a month for me and my daughter. That was $7,200 annually that could have gone towards debt.
My decision to set a $25 a month entertainment budget wasn’t popular with my then nine year old daughter. To appease her, I explained that once I got out of debt I would be able to do more things. I also used the cash envelope system. Whatever I didn’t use that month for the cash envelope, for example, maybe I saved on gas or groceries, went into the entertainment budget.
Some months we had $25 a month and other months we may have had $50 or $75. We were living in Philadelphia at the time so I could count on the cold months putting a damper on us going out. I was able to build up a good amount of money over time.
Use Coupons to Help Your $25 A Month Entertainment Budget
The bulk of my entertainment budget was used on eating out. I reduced our eating out budget to the $25 a month budget. Since I had gained a lot of weight as a result of spending the tune of $600 a month, I wasn’t necessarily sad about this change.
There was an IHOP near us. IHOP had different deals on breakfast so I would use the coupon and take us out to breakfast for about $7 or $8 if that.
The average price of a movie ticket in 2006 through 2009 was about $7 to $8. On that price, I could take me and my daughter to the movies for about $15 and use the rest of the money for snacks from the supermarket.
I know that movie prices have gone up but there have been more opportunities to pay for movies without paying the high prices. With the invention of MoviePass, Sinema, AMC $5 Tuesdays, etc, you can do a lot on your budget for two.
For more about discount movies, read The Floozy Biddy’s Guide to Dating a Cheap Bastard and 22 Ways to Save on Almost Anything.
Check out Dining Deals to Help Your $25 A Month Entertainment Budget
There is a plethora of eating out deals out there. I am not a big person on dining out because I feel like it can cause a lot of weight gain. There are places that have $2 Taco Tuesday. If you have a child there are a lot of restaurants that have child meals for free or a reduced price. Even for two adults, you can eat well on $25 a month entertainment budget.
Focus on Indoor Activities to Help Your $25 A Month Entertainment Budget
You can dine in and save your $25 a month budget. I know that groceries for two will probably cost more than $25 a month but you will have left overs by cooking and staying in. The term Netflix and Chill means something completing different than watching Netflix and literally chilling. But you can cook, eat in, watch a movie and relax.
Other Things I Did On A $25 A Month Entertainment Budget
Not too far from where I lived in the Philadelphia metro area was a community pool. I paid for the family membership and was able to go to the pool for the entire summer. I would often pack a lunch and drinks for me and my daughter and read a book while she played.
There are a number of things you can do on a $25 a month entertainment budget for two. While you do not think it can be done, it can. Think of things you can do to create a $25 a month budget and make it work.