I Fancy a Frugal Fourth of July Celebration

It’s about family, not finances

Behold, my favorite part of Fourth of July.

Three things come to mind when I think of reasons I like the Fourth of July: barbecues, family and it’s not Christmas. The Fourth of July is a relatively inexpensive holiday, unless you go all out on the fireworks.

Still, you are not really obligated to spend a bunch of money on fireworks. You don’t have to find out how much your significant other, mom or cousin is spending on fireworks and then try to spend roughly the same amount. In general, Fourth of July is a stress-free, low-cost holiday — and for that, I love it.

Barbecues are the bomb

I love barbecues. This makes sense because I love summer and food. However, despite the fact that I hate the cold, if I were invited to a barbecue when it was 14 degrees, I’d probably go. Lucky for me, barbecues are a very inexpensive thing to love. I’ve never wondered if I needed to get a cash til payday loan in order to be able to afford to attend a barbecue.

Sure, it can get pricey if you provide all of the food and drinks yourself and invite 25 people, but who does that? Every big barbecue I’ve been to since I can remember was potluck style. The host generally provides protein, and guests provide beverages and side dishes. I’ve even been to some barbecues where the host basically said “I’m firing up the grill. Come over if you want to use it.”

Free fireworks

Sure, you could end  up spending lots of money on fireworks pretty easily. Fireworks can get pretty expensive pretty fast. But if you plan ahead for this expense and remind yourself that it’s an option, not a necessity, there’s no pressure and you won’t end up totally depleting your bank account and maxing out  your credit cards like you might at some other (cough, Christmas, cough, cough) holidays.

Of course, for the people who create those big, elaborate fireworks in the sky, they are very expensive indeed. But, hey, we don’t have to worry about that do we? Really, we just have to worry about charcoal, ground beef and ketchup. Let everyone else worry about everything else. That’s the spirit of the Fourth of July!

Travel is a tough one

Of course, the place where you’ll run into big expenses is travel. Many people want to travel to be with family for Fourth of July, but this is another area in which there’s not a whole lot of pressure. Of course, this depends on your family. It all depends on the amount of pressure they put on you to attend family holiday gatherings in general. The equation is roughly:

Pressure to come home for Christmas* X .5 = Pressure to come home for Fourth of July

*Can substitute Channukah or other appropriate late-winter holiday

As you might have picked up by now, I am basically opposed to the commercialism, pressure and stress associated with Christmas. Lucky for me, I have arranged a trade with my family. I have agreed to always visit for Fourth of July as long as I never have to visit for Christmas. So the travel expenses are tacked onto the cheap holiday, Fourth of July, and subtracted from the expensive one. Another winning equation.