A Guide to Summer Fun & Fabulosity on an AmeriCorps Budget

by Robert Taylor, Literacy AmeriCorps
Friday, 12 June 2009 08:27 (but worth reposting!)

Don’t buy those books on your summer reading list! Support your local libraries. If you read books quickly as I do, go to Borders or Barnes & Noble find a quiet spot and enjoy a book by your favorite author!

Clubbing is important!!! It’s your time to party with your closest social circle, but it can be expensive. SAVE THAT MONEY BY SAVING THOSE WRISTBANDS! Saving wristbands can save you the cost of those expensive cover charges most clubs tend to throw at you. You are fabulous but broke so stretch your money to the limits!

After a busy week of service, you deserve a cocktail or two or even ten! Put on your best threads and take on the town! You are destined to find someone who will buy you drinks all night as long as you show them a little attention. So just flash a fake smile and work the room. IF YOU GOT IT FLAUNT IT!!! (Just not on AmeriCorps time!)

It is summer time and it is HOT!!! Find a style that can save you money! A summer cut usually does the trick. Try styling your hair at home. Find a great styling product and experiment. The goal here is to save money. Besides, your stylist may offer you a discount to get you back in the salon!

Before you shop, do an inventory of what you already have in your closet! Organize your closet by color, type of clothing item, and what you wear most often. How many times do you buy the same style of clothing, same color, and even the same item? Doing so will save you some money. When you have too much of the same thing in your closet, you not only limit the variety in your personal style, but also find yourself having price tags on many of those items. Take what you haven’t worn in over a year and go to a clothing exchange or better yet donate it to a charitable organization and write it off on your taxes!

Host spa parties! Invite your girlfriends over and have some fun. Everyone must bring their favorite color polish, moisturizer, and other spa essentials. You can have your own spa day or night. Don’t forget the wine and of course the FUN!

Make your day at the movies a weekday! The price of a movie ticket has skyrocketed. The price for an adult ticket Mon-Thur is $4.75 all day at any AMC Theater. Another great addition to a lower ticket price is a more intimate movie experience. The theater is not as crowded as it is on the weekend, so you have the feeling of being in your very own living room. So let’s make it a unity event and enjoy some great summer blockbusters! Don’t forget to sign up for a FREE movie watcher card for more GREAT SAVINGS!!!

Birds of a feather flock together!!! Get with your close friends and put those similar tastes in music to work. Take turns buying the latest greatest summer CDs. You can always burn them a copy or to save money on blank CDs, they can load it to their FREE i-tunes account. If you have to have the CD in your collection, just wait a few weeks and the price will definitely decrease!!!