Father's Day means Netflix weekends and leaner lifestyles for more dads

Inflation is taking a toll on family budget, so dads opt for smaller celebrations closer to home.

from the June 9, 2008 edition

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Those attempting to trim expenses should consider focusing on three elements that account for almost 40 percent of the family budget: food and beverages (15 percent); transportation (18 percent), and recreation (6 percent).

With that in mind, these budget-saving tips should help you save some money without diminishing your enjoyment of Father's Day weekend or any other celebrations this summer:

•Plan family celebrations at lunch versus dinner. Lunch meals often cost 30 to 50 percent less than dinner fare.

•Barbecue fish, chicken, hot dogs, pork, or ham – none of which have risen more than 4 percent in price last year. Feature fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid rice, cheese, eggs, pricey snacks, take-out foods, and expensive cuts of meat, which have soared in price. Before shopping, beyond checking for coupons and specials, you might even check the Consumer Price Index at bls.org to learn about best food buys.

•Replace weekend car trips with family bike rides or long nature walks. Visit the Nature Conservancy at nature.org to find nature walks near you.

•Instead of splurging on tickets to the ballpark, organize a backyard sports tournament including croquet, frisbee, badminton, basketball, and dodgeball. Invite the neighbors to join you and to bring their sports equipment.

•Make Dad homemade coupons offering your services for car washes, lawn service, and other household chores – don't buy retail gifts.

•Check out free programs offered by local parks and recreation departments, community colleges, and museums.

•Produce a digital family photo collage of your weekend and send it to relatives and friends who cannot afford to travel to the weekend celebration. Give it to Dad as a special screen saver to revisit weekend memories. Find out how to create a collage at www.parenthacks.com/2007/01/use_your_my_pic.html

•Buy a Netflix subscription for $4.99 a month and save the $30 to $50 movie ticket/concession/parking costs to bring a family of four to the movies.

As inflation continues to dent family budgets, a Netflix weekend can become part of a comfortable, lean lifestyle. But perhaps the best gift you can give Dad this Father's Day is not having him pay a huge credit-card bill next month.

• Dr. Kathleen Connell is a professor at Haas Graduate Business School, University of California, Berkeley.

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