To make myself feel better, and since I love to plan, I wrote down some things we can do this summer so we can still get out of the house and give our daughter fun experiences while still sticking to our budget.

1. We have a pool that I am sure will get a lot of use this summer plus there is a community pool when we want something a little bigger – FREE

2. A short drive away is Tempe Town Lake and the beach park which has a little water play area for little kids and it is FREE!

3. Continue going to story time at Barnes and Noble and the local Library- FREE

4. Shamrock Farms is a local dairy that does farm tours. Adults – $9 Children – $6

5. We can drive to the many mountain ranges that are only 1-2 hours away to escape the Phoenix heat for a day. FREE except for gas and food.

6. Harkins Theater (which is 2 minutes away) has a summer movie program. $7 for 10 movies

7. Since we just bought Disneyland annual passes a couple weeks ago and since my in laws live about 20 minutes from Disney we can drive out to California and stay with them a couple of times this summer. If gas prices stay low it will cost us about $40 in gas and food for the whole weekend will be about $100.

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Now that I am staying home with my daughter I have a lot more time to do fun things with her but not a lot of money to do them with. Here are some things I have found that do not cost a ton.

1. The park – living where I do it is very family oriented and there are a lot of cool parks, many of which I have yet to discover.

2. Story time at either the library or Barnes and Noble. I love books and want to instill that love in her too. My downfall could be that I can not walk into a childrens book section and not want to buy everything I see!

3. Lunch with daddy. There are many inexpensive places we can go, but if money is really tight I can bring lunch and we can have a picnic.

4. The zoo – we have an annual pass which wasn’t too expensive. Usually we will only go for a few hours in the morning and the most I will spend is about $10. $3 for the carousel and the rest for snacks and drinks.

5. Play area at the mall. Eva love’s going to the mall and playing in the little area they have there. She also LOVES going into the Disney store so that can be dangerous for my wallet.

6. Play date at a friends house. Cost = $0 Time for mommy to chit chat with an adult = Priceless.