A Day Out on a Dollar - Salt Lake City

Summer vacation is a great time to make some wonderful memories with your kids. Sometimes, however, those memories can be expensive. A typical family outing to a water or amusement park can cost upwards of $200 for a family of 5. This doesn't include lunch, snacks, and if you are anything like me, souvenirs. If you are going to splurge on a family outing make sure you check out sites like Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com for a better price.

As for me, I'm striving for a as cheap as possible. Here is a list of free or almost free things to do this summer. This list is specific to the Salt Lake City area, but things like this are available nation-wide.

Moderate Makeover: Kids Room Edition

We recently moved our two oldest children from toddler beds to bunk beds. The bunk beds looked great, but the old dresser looked out of place with its crayon scribbles, chipped wood, and missing knobs.  I don't know about you, but I have better things to spend my money on than new furniture that my kids are going to destroy in 6 months anyway.  That being said, I decided to give the old girl a makeover. 








It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do. I bought mine from Walmart on clearance for $5.00. They can match it to any color in their selection. Next, I purchased some stencils from their craft section. For everything, including new knobs, brushes and a tarp, I spent a little over $15. 


This improvement inspired me to spruce up the rest of their room. I headed to my friendly, neighborhood dollar store and purchased some wall stickers to match my kids' comforters. I spent more than I would have liked, but only $3.00 of it was on decorations. :P  Overall, I spent less than $20 on this little improvement project. Can you beat that? Spruce up one of your rooms and post your results. 

Baby's corner of our room