How to Spend a Frugal Day at the Beach

The following is a guest post from our frugal friend, Lindsay Bateman.

Being on a sandy beach and breathing in that breezy salty air is a welcome change of pace for me. That is until sometimes, if I let it, I see my “fun” budget spiral out of control. The cost of moped rentals, arcades, hand-scooped ice cream cones, and go-kart racing can really add up, especially if you have your whole family to fund.

I’ve found that even just a little bit of preparation goes a long way. Before you head out you’ve got to consider where you are going (gas, parking fees?), how long you’ll be gone (how much will you need to eat, basically), what could go wrong (sunburn, need a change of clothes?), and what you might need to stay occupied (books, music, sports equipment?).

Let’s say you and three of your favorite buddies decide to take a trip to the beach for the day. You could make a game out of who could spend as little as possible that day, or maybe just choose a moderate budget and stick to it. What does a frugal day at the beach look like anyway?

8:00 am. You pick up your three friends and head to the gas station. The cost of a filled tank being split four ways is a lovely advantage of carpooling.

8:30 am. You all sip the coffee that you brought from home and the conversation flows easily as you make good time on the highway.

9:30 am. You arrive just in time…for the annual beach clean-up! You and your friends realized that the best day to visit the beach would be the day that it would be the absolute cleanest. Look on the web for local clean-up days like this one for SOLV in Oregon. And don’t forget to set some dry driftwood and paper aside for your bonfire later.

11:30 am. After all that hard work you are absolutely famished! Instead of dealing with a long line at a street vendor, or pricey meals at the beachfront diners, you and your friends thought ahead and each made one of these cooler-friendly dishes to share:

12:15 pm. Whoa. Did you even remember to put on sunscreen? Check out this Tip Hero’s suggestion for getting cheaper sunscreen.

12:30 pm. You’ve had a busy morning and your belly is full. Now is the perfect time to rest your eyes. Take a load off. Relax. There is no cabana rental for this crew. Unroll your beach towels and blankets (or old tablecloths and bed sheets) and set up your big umbrella or camping tent for some shade.

1:30 pm. It’s time to get up and wander down the beach. Collect seashells along the way and take them home to create one of these magnificent seashell projects submitted by Tip Heroes.

2:00 pm. Meet up with other beach-goers for a game of beach volleyball and to make some fast friends to join in your bonfire later.

3:00 pm. Take a dip in the ocean to cool off.

3:30 pm. Time to head to the cooler to dry off, hydrate and munch on some of these easy snacks:

4:00 pm. The beach is clearing out a bit as beachgoers look to beat the traffic. As it becomes peaceful you realize it’s a great time to pull out your library books or your Kindle that is loaded with free digital copies of library books and escape into their story lines.

5:00 pm. You can fly a kite that you made yourself using this template from SquakFox.

5:30 pm. The kid (architect?) in you has taken over. It’s sandcastle time. Good thing you and your friends brought your lunches in cottage cheese tubs and yogurt containers because now that they are empty they make perfect building materials! And the plastic cutlery you saved from lunch will make excellent precision tools.


6:30 pm. It’s time to hit up the shops before they close, and if you’re like me, you don’t find it absolutely necessary to buy anything at all. Go look for that special treat. For me it would be fudge, salt water taffy, or funnel cake because I just don’t think they taste nearly the same anywhere else.

7:30 pm. You probably should have gotten that bonfire going a little while ago, but that’s ok. Are you roasting weenies or just having s’mores for dinner?

Because you were prepared, you spent a fraction on this one-day getaway than you could have. And if you got sunburned then I will leave you with these homemade sunburn remedies.

How would the Tip Heroes out there spend a day at the beach on the cheap? An earlier start for some sunrise yoga? More time spent window-shopping on the boardwalk? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!

Photo credit: tim phillips photos, neloqua jensen chua