Cheap Fun for the New Year

Happy New Year Everyone! Want to have a good time with some friends doing something entertaining tonight? Try hanging with friends playing some board/card games! Wait wait wait, whaaaat?! I don't have to go out to the bars and drink to have fun? That's crazy talk!  But rest assure, it's true. This is what I'm going to be doing into the New Year.  I'm going to beat the craze and start my year off right saving money while having fun!  Who doesn't like a cheaper option to entertain a group? Sure, it may sound like child's play at first, but definitely give it a shot. You'll be surprised how much fun you can have. Most importantly, these games have replay value! One time fee to buy the game, and you have it forever. A night at the bar or bowling on the other hand, it's pay to play, every time.

Here are a couple games (recently new to me) that I recommend trying:

1) Monopoly Deal ($10)

Ok, so now that I'm older, I've lost a little bit of patience to play a long-drawn out game of Monopoly. Thank goodness that made a Monopoly spin-off with only cards! The game is easy to learn, and very fast paced.  The game can last anywhere from 5-30 minutes a game. There is more strategy involved than the normal board game so it makes playing extremely interesting time over time!


2) Sequence ($20)

Fantastic team game where you can't talk to your teammates. Interesting huh?  Imagine playing Connect-Five with cards taking turns with your teammates without collaboration.  Not only do you not know what your opponent is doing, but you barely have a clue about what you teammates are doing! Definitely awesome when you somehow plan a win without communication.

Remember, there's more ways to have fun than what Jersey Shore shows you on TV. Yes, I understand that you have to mix it up once in a while and do other things that cost money, and that's fine. No matter what, you're likely wanting to spend quality time with your friends anyways, so it shouldn't really matter what you do. But note this, every time you spend a night with friends playing board games, imagine the saving versus going out and doing what you otherwise would have planned. Add it up over time and see the $$$ in your bank! Get off on the right foot with your financial life this coming year!