Zero Dollar Activity

So, this is my last entry about my shopping spree at the Dollar Tree. It involves two things, a coloring book and a box of crayons. And with this purchase, I spent the very last of my Fun Dollars for two weeks, a record, just three days into the new pay cycle. (I am writing a little out of order here.)

So what am I to do without any Fun Dollars for the next 11 days? Zero Dollar Activities, like coloring with my son at the table, using the crayons I just bought him. Sometimes the best time we can spend together is doing Zero Dollar Activities. Coloring, walking, dancing, watching a movie in the family room, playing an actual board game are all examples of Zero Dollar Activities. They involve things that we already have, so we don't have to spend any money to do them.

A few favorites at the Sheridan house include Dance Parties and Evening Walks. Lately, we have taken to walking around the neighborhood after dark. We put coats on the kids and pull them around in the wagon. They each get a flashlight, and Corey and I have some uninterrupted adult time to just talk. We have had some amazing conversations lately.

The Dance Parties started back when Carrick was just beginning to walk. Corey came home one night and wanted to play this "really fun song" on youtube. Carrick, just starting to cruise the furniture started bouncing to "Boom Boom Pow". It later became the anthem for him and his best friend, as new toddlers, they would run in circles in the living room whenever it played. The one song turned into a request show of youtube videos (including "You Spin Me", 1980's version, which pretty much left everyone on the floor laughing hysterically.) The Saturday Night Dance Party became a regular thing when Carrick was about 2, and slowly faded away as Corey's work became more and more involving. But every once in a while, we will queue up the youtube videos and jam out.

And on this occasion of being out of Fun Dollars so early in the pay cycle, I took the opportunity to color with my son several times this week. He has been an artist on fire lately. He'll draw pages and pages filled with Angry Birds. He draws them in all different ways, telling stories about them as he marks the papers with lines and curves. So, when I saw an Angry Birds coloring book at the Dollar Tree, I couldn't pass it up. This kid jumped out of his skin when I gave it to him.

There are so many things we can do together that don't require us to spend any money. It's nice to be reminded of this fact. It is so easy to get caught up in the trappings of "I want" especially when there is money to be spent. But taking a step back and not spending money can give us a new perspective on spending.

Have your own dance party! 

Coloring book- $1.00
Crayons-$1.00
(Tax from all the Dollar Tree Purchases)- $2.00

Balance this pay cycle- $40.00