At the beginning of Summer I wrote a post about 5 Frugal Summer Activities and I thought I would kick off Fall with a post on 5 frugal Fall activities. After reading mine, don’t forget to share your ideas in the comments. Here’s to a frugal Fall!
Carve Pumpkins
Photo by Victoria Carlson
Carving pumpkins in the Fall was a family tradition growing up. I can remember from a very young age going to the pumpkin patch, picking out my pumpkin, and carving it the night before Halloween. My wife and I started to carve pumpkins when we first started dating and have continued the tradition every year. It’s a relatively inexpensive activity – pumpkins range from about $3 to $12, but most are around the $5 to $7 range. You can also find inexpensive patterns if you are ambitious and want more of a challenge.
Go to an Apple Orchard
Photo by Beatrice Murch
If there are apple orchards in your area, it’s a must visit for a fun and frugal weekend activity. While you can certainly spend a ton of money at an apple orchard because there are so many products for sale, you can also get by spending $10 or less. I personally try to make it to an apple orchard at least once each Fall because apple cider is one of my favorite drinks.
Host a Scary Movie Night
Photo by ailey Weaver
Watching scary movies is a Halloween tradition for many people. There is no shortage of scary movies (I found this list on imdb) for your viewing pleasure. How can you make this a frugal endeavor? Check out movies from the library instead of renting or buying them. Watching movies at home is frugal in and of itself compared to going to the movies and paying $12 a ticket.
If you don’t like scary movies, you can always just host a regular movie night. Nothing like staying in on a chilly Fall night – says the introvert in me :P
Corn Maze
Photo by City of Albuquerque Open Space
Corn mazes are another Fall staple. Unfortunately, this will only be relevant for places that actually have cornfields. If you live in the Midwest there is no shortage of cornfields (have you ever driven through Iowa?) and therefore there are a ton of corn mazes to choose from. A few years back a group of us went to a corn maze at night that was supposed to be more of a “scary” maze. It definitely was a bit more difficult than doing a maze during the day (it took us a couple hours to finish) and the scarecrow turned guy with a chainsaw didn’t make it any easier.
Watch Football – at Home
Photo by bradleypjohnson
If you’re a fan of football, I don’t have to tell you twice about the high cost of tickets to college football and NFL games. My suggestion? Watch the games at home with friends. While it’s fun to actually be at the game and feel the energy of all the fans in the stadium, you have to ask yourself whether it’s worth the money. Instead of going to a game, watch it at a friend’s house or have friends over at your house. If you need food, consider buying some inexpensive pizza and splitting the cost. Affordable and much more comfortable than going to the stadium.
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I definitely plan on taking my own advice and doing as many of these frugal Fall activities as possible.
Now I have a question for all of you: What frugal activities do you do in the Fall? What are you most excited for this Fall?
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Great activities.
Fall is a beautiful season, so anything where I can get outdoors is good for me!
I also like the idea of the scary movie night – I think I’ll steal that!! :)
moneystepper You should steal it! I like the outdoors but only as long as my allergies don’t act up too much, so I will probably still be doing a lot of indoor things in the Fall.
All of this is making me so excited for Fall. WOOHOOO!
SenseofCents I can’t wait for Fall! Summer went by quick tho. Definitely bittersweet.
When I was around 17-18, I would ALWAYS say I was bored. Thankfully, I learned to be creative. Suggestions like the ones you gave today are great for those who think there’s nothing ever to do. There always is, if you are creative enough.
With that said…….I can’t wait to carve some pumpkins now. Probably should wait until it’s “technically” fall though.
Have a good day DC!
The Warrior
NetWorthWarrior.com
NetWorthWarrior Haha yeah I’m not sure the pumpkins are ready quite yet. I hope you aren’t bored anymore, it’s one of my pet peeves!
Great ideas DC. This post makes it feel like it’s October already. It also shows that with a bit of creative thinking you can have a good time without spending vast sums of money.
Living in Scotland, pumpkins weren’t as widespread, so when we were kids, my brother and I used to carve turnips instead. Tougher, smaller but cheaper.
Stuart @ DailyMoneyBucket Hmmm I have never heard of carving turnips, definitely sounds interesting. I make it sound like it’s Fall already but it’s going to be in the 90s this wekend here haha.
I cannot wait to carve pumpkins and take my girls to the corn maze. One of the places near us has these big slides and at the bottom they are enclosed and have corn feed for the kids to fall into. The girls love it! I love fall!
SingleMomIncome Nice! Definitely sounds like a great place to spend some time with the kids. The pumpkin patch we go to recently added a kids section with something similar to what you described. I don’t have kids but when I do I’m sure they will enjoy it.
My activity really isn’t frugal – going to football games! Though with how my team performed last Friday night, I don’t know how many games I’ll be going to this season, Lol. We love going out for pumpkins, as long as you’re not paying $10-15 per head to get into the place. Many local farms will gladly let you go pick their pumpkins for a fraction of the cost.
FrugalRules I think it’s sometimes worth it to actually go to the football game, but like you said it really isn’t a “frugal” activity. I’ve never paid to go to the pumpkin patch, I don’t think I would be amused if I was paying for admission!
I like fall and spring when the whether is not too hot or too cold. We went to an apple orchard last year and enjoyed it…definitely love apple cider. My wife wants to go to a pumpkin patch this year…you know how new parents love to dress their baby up as a pumpkin and take pics of them in a pumpkin patch…that will be us. And for football…I’m definitely excited. Go Giants!
Andrew LivingRichCheaply Haha yep I definitely know what you are talking about as far as the dressing the kid up as a pumpkin. I can share your love of football but not the Giants – skol Vikings!
DC @ Young Adult Money Andrew LivingRichCheaply I had to google skol! I’m an Adrian Peterson fan…too bad you guys don’t have a better QB.
I am all in for the football and soccer seasons. That’s what makes my falls fun. And yes I watch all at home with friends and family. I have no experience with the rest but visiting apple orchards would be fun because I love apples.
BorrowedCents I like soccer as well! I probably watch a little TOO much football and soccer on the weekends in the Fall.
DC @ Young Adult Money And it is a problem that most football and soccer comes on TV over the weekend and so my wife feels like I am taking over the TV all weekend when we are home.
Sounds like we do a lot of similar fall activities! Football season is about to start – (Go Vikings!), and soon that fall chill will be in the air here in Minnesota. We love going to the apple orchard (we go to Minnesota Harvest orchard in Jordan, or Aamodt’s in Stillwater, a bit closer to you), and down in Shakopee near us there is the Siever’s corn maze. It’s always a good time and our little kiddo loves it! If you’re not careful, you can end up spending a bunch of money though, so beware! Another frugal fall activity – if you like horse racing Canterbury downs has free admission right now at the end of the year. A great time to check out a few horse races!
moneymatters Skol Vikings!
moneymatters If I went to horse racing I’d end up gambling or playing poker in the card room so it’s probably best if I avoid Canterbury ;) Aamodt’s is where I usually go.
DC @ Young Adult Money moneymatters ah, if you like to gamble, maybe not the best place to go. We’ve only been to Canterbury once recently, and it was actually a lot of fun – and since we don’t really gamble – not a temptation. Just cool to see the horses, watch the races, and some days they have rides for the kids as well. Nice cheap fun!
I love carving pumpkins! I never do it but I always say I will. Thats a good cheap activity to do especially if you have children.
DebtandtheGirl You really should consider doing it this Fall! Look for a difficult pattern if you want to be challenged.
I choose football and ironically you’ve posted a picture of my team – the Minnesota Vikings! Unfortunately, for me, this is NOT a frugal activity since I don’t live in the local market and have to essentially pay to watch their games (by going to a restaurant/bar since I can’t get Directv – which would still be expensive anyway).
PFUtopia Not too ironic – the Minnesota Vikings are my team as well! Skol!
I’m not really into Holloween but I love watching scary movies from the 80’s and early 90’s around the fall. Also, I like to walk around the park and watch the falling leaves. Doesn’t sound too exciting but at least its free.
MonaSez Hey it sounds exciting enough to me! Gotta love free activities.
I love Fall! It is my favorite season and I can’t wait for the cooler temps because it has been crazy hot this past week in LA. We love carving pumpkins and trick or treating. I love the scary movie idea but that would have to an adults only gig since the girls are a little too young. :)
TheHeavyPurse It’s been in the 90s the past couple weeks here in Minnesota so we are all ready for a change here as well.
I love cooking all the fall foods! Apple crisp, squash soup, pecan pie…yummm.
I love Fall mountain bike rides here in my neck of the woods. Free, cool, and beautiful to get out and see the colors change.
These are all great ideas, David. I really enjoy going to the apple orchard. It’s fun to get out there and pick your own apples while getting a hay ride.
I love fall! I plan on doing the pumpkin and apple picking, and possibly the corn mazes. Out east where I live, there are tons of fields dedicated to all of this. It is a great way to spend a day outside in the crisp, fresh air. I think I am most excited about the weather and leaves changing colors!
Best part about carving pumpkins is you can take the seeds, coat them in oil and salt and then roast them. So you get a great activity and decoration plus some delicious snack food.
I am watching the Broncos right now with our new antenna. I can’t believe how plain it is. I think the picture is even better than with satellite TV! I also love pumpkins. Wait until you have kids. They are even more fun to carve. I can carve any Disney princess.
Great list, DC. We LOVE the apple orchard! We’ve always thought about doing a corn maze too. Maybe this year will be our year. :-)
I LOVE fall and miss living in the midwest only for this season. One of my fave activities is movie nights and/or potlucks with friends. I make a big batch of soup because the weather is cooler. I also love baking pumpkin muffins from trader joes. It makes my whole house smell so cozy.
My favorite thing about fall is football season! I think I’m gonna try my hand at pumpkin carving this year, too…