Disneyland, Magic Mountain – amusement parks in general are not cheap these days.
Anyone who’s ever taken their family to an amusement, or water park, knows how expensive food can be, and most parks prohibit you from bringing in outside food and drinks. So families are often forced to purchase meals from the park — whose menu prices tend to be on the heftier side.
TikToker Shay (@shaynddream) gained over 3.2 million views, 415,000 likes and 6,200 comments when she uploaded the budget-friendly idea to her account. Unlike some amusement park-goers — like the Disney Adults who are revealing how much their “no budget eating” costs them in Disney parks — Shay and her family try to make summertime fun affordable — hence her now viral hack.
If you’re looking to feed everyone without spending a small fortune, Shay’s family came up with the perfect solution: a birthday party, complete with wrapped presents. Wait – what? But it’s no one’s birthday! Well, it’s all about what’s inside one of those presents. Not toys or clothes — but warm, home-cooked, idividually wrapped hotdogs – all ready to go!
https://www.tiktok.com/@shaynddream/video/7220620647846759722
Over 6,000 TikTokers applauded Shay’s money-saving summertime hack in the comments. ‘I’m taking a present every where I go now’ “This is the best mom hack I’ve ever seen in my entire life, such a brilliant idea” one user wrote.!! Cheered another user, “This as opposed to an $8 hot dog, brilliant!”
Another VERY SMART user said, “Ok We saw it now delete this before they start banning wrapped gifts lol brilliant!” Exactly! So if you share this, do it in private, so as not to ruin in for everyone! Thanks to Shay, maybe a lot more families will be able to save some money on summer vacation this year, while still making great memories with their families!
-Carla Rea
Here are some other funny money saving hacks parents have used to save money – and yes, they are totally legit!
Re-using Coffee Grounds (not all money-saving hacks are good ideas...)
Noooo! Why on earth?? Coffee grounds should not be reused. Isn’t the whole point of drinking coffee to get some of that much-needed caffeine? By running water through the grounds twice it dilutes it way too much. BUT Mom and Dad totally just saved 75 cents, so that’s a win in their book!
Unplugging all appliances nightly, or when you leave the house
Unplugging every appliance in the entire house every single night, or when you leave the house, has to take a good 10-15 minutes. And how much money could it possibly save to do this every single night? Sometimes, parents take the savings game to a whole new level.
Taking extra napkins from the restaurant - and leaving them in the car, etc
Kind of a genius way to save a buck, and never having to buy more napkins. Those glove compartment napkins can be acquired from anywhere with napkins! Don’t forget to also steal some disposable cutlery, too. You know – for emergencies.
Late Holidays to take advantage of clearance sales
“Kids, the Easter Bunny must have gotten lost!” Smooth Mom and Dad. .Though, after-holiday clearance sales can definitely be a great way to stock up on essentials for next year- just need to be able to plan ahead, and have somewhere to store your new decorations, and hide your gifts.
Making your two-ply toilet paper into one-ply
This just sounds like a ton of work. If someone has this kind of time to separate, and then reroll an entire thing of toilet paper then more power to them! Just buy the good one-ply. Better for your toilet in the long run!
