I prefer not to use these for family night since my oldest daughter likes to go to rink on “teen night” The rink socks it to them at $6 an entry. They know where money is! This is a social event that many teens in area just can’t miss! This way she can get in free if she goes with a paying friend. Sometimes, just to be fair, we share savings with her friends and each of them only has to pay $3. This way she doesn’t feel like she’s taking advantage of anyone.

Bowling: this can be a great low cost avenue for FUN if you don’t get carried away. Usually you have to pay by game, per person. So set your limits and have fun. Most lanes have bumper guards now that prevent little ones from excessive “gutter ball blues” It helps put fun back in it for very young children. A great feature. Even for fumbling adult. Who am I kidding, I love those bumper guards! Most alleys have a discount night. So, try to plan your activities so you can enjoy benefits of discounts.

Just a Note: Both of above businesses usually offer birthday party rates as well. If you’re not into planning your own party at home (by far most economical way) then consider checking out party packages.

Cookouts and Picnics: Cookouts don’t have to be for special occasions. We have several wonderful parks in our area that sport wonderful playgrounds and scenic walking or biking trails. So take boredom out of lunch one Saturday or Sunday afternoon and throw together a cookout or picnic at your local park. My kids just need to get out of house sometimes. They don’t really care where they go, as long as they go somewhere!

As I mention on my Family Entertainment page (www.simpledebtfreeliving.com/family-entertainment.html) , parks are a great resource for free fun! The internet is a great resource for finding new, different, and exciting parks in your area. Just do a simple search and you will probably be amazed at numerous parks within driving distance from your home. So keep it interesting and travel a little bit to get to exciting new places!

An extra bonus . . . . You will be making great memories for your kids!:)

Museums and Historical Landmarks: Don’t think you have any near you? Bet Ya’ do! Why even in far out sticks of nowhere you might be surprised to find a museum within a reasonable distance. I am blessed to live in a highly cultural area between Washington DC and Baltimore. So museums, tourists attractions, and historic landmarks (yes many of them Free) are abundant.

But, no matter where you live, do a little research (yes, again) and I’ll bet you’ll find some interesting attraction or museum convenient to your home. If in a rare case you don’t, then plan to visit an area on a weekend trip where you can enjoy these types of historic attractions.

This is a great way interact with your kids. It’s fun, educational, and provides an opportunity for conversation (Now that’s something those teens don’t offer up much). Choose games that everyone enjoys and is capable of doing. Games that suit family’s entire age span are always more fun. And, there are many out there.

If you have a large family with some large age differences, you can opt to have two game nights so you can include games suited for younger children that older ones might get bored with. Of course, always provide option for older ones to be included. Sometimes, believe it or not, they just enjoy quality time with parents and siblings. :)

Well, that should keep you busy for now! And Remember, it doesn't have to cost alot to be alot of FUN!

You can go public in States, without doing an IPO. Doing so may reduce your registration costs, it may reduce time it takes to trade your shares or it can improve odds of your becoming a public company. The reason to consider this option is that odds of raising money as a public company increase to an average of around 1-in-100. The improved odds relate to facts that (1) you are offering investors liquidity since they can sell their shares to public and (2) leverage, in that shares usually command a better price than that reflected by your public company's balance sheet.

Whenever you employ someone to help you, you must pay him or her. Someone raising money for your private company will want to gross between 25% and 30% of money they raise for you. They will expect their overhead costs paid in advance. While there are tens of thousands of these "Boiler Room" brokers, most of them operate outside of U.S. Law. Their successful funding percentage is usually low.

Most business owners and entrepreneurs think there is a Fairy Godmother who funds businesses, without regard to logic or reality. They spend years searching for this mythical figure. She doesn't exist. So instead, business-funding seekers settle for dealing with fools with money.

In general, businesses start on a shoestring. Successful businesses are oriented to making money from their conception. They grow by re-investment of their profits. If company's management is wise, company goes public to use their shares in acquiring cash producing assets. The insiders exit by having their public company acquired by industry giants. The only role of outside investors is to augment acquisitions with cash and company stock.

Seeking risk capital to start a business is an exercise in fools searching for other fools and paying professionals to make hunt an occasional success. If you are going to take this path, be prepared to pay toll and accept risks.

About Author: William Cate is an Equity Finance Consultant and Managing Director of Beowulf Investments [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/]. In his Venture Capital Profits, he offers a low cost way to raise money and grow your company into a multinational corporation.