How has your summer been so far?  Are the kids having fun? Or, are they super bored and ready to go back to school?  Regardless of what your answer to those questions are, I’m sure you want to finish off the summer strong and have a great time together!  But what if you don’t have to budget to go all out? What if you need to find free and/or inexpensive ways to spend these next couple of weeks?  I’ve got you covered!

FREE and/or Inexpensive Activities to Finish Off Your Summer Strong

• Go for a hike! Even if you live in a hot climate, you can wake up early with the family and hit the trail.  Hiking is such a great way to exercise as a family, enjoy nature together and it rarely costs more than just a couple of dollars for parking.  Just be sure to not go in the heat of the day and take lots of water!
• Play in the Water.  If you have a yard at your home, why not grab a sprinkler to attach to your hose and run through it with the kids?  Some of my favorite childhood summertime memories involve being barefoot in the grass and running through the sprinkler.   
• Go to the park.  You know, making memories with your kids really has nothing to do with spending money.  Did you know that if you just take your kids to the park and play with them (no, that doesn’t mean to sit on the bench on your phone while they are playing, it means you actually need to play with them), they will remember these moments for their entire lives.  This time with mom and dad is the best time of all. 
• Check out local museums.  Check out the local museums near you and find out when they have free and/or cheap days.  Some museums are even free, you just need to look into it. I recently took my children to our local county museum.  It cost $1 per person to get in and it was a couple of hours of fun learning all about our local area.

What fun, free activities do you still plan to do this summer?