Don’t let Spring Break “break” your pockets, enjoy it while on a budget

Spring break is right around the corner and most students have already booked flights, planned road trips, or scheduled cruises. However, all students are not financially equipped to spend hundreds of dollars on trips to places such as New York, Florida, California and other nice vacation areas. Who would not love to enjoy the bright sunny weather that Florida and California has to offer or the great shopping venues in New York? As we all know, money is not at a surplus and instead of spending your last dime on “keeping up with the Jones’ ” how about plan a few days of fund activities with a group of friends who are also trying to save money by reducing traveling cost for spring break.

Who said college students had to be all about the books all the time? Frankie’s Fun Park is a place where everyone can go enjoy and release their inner kid. Frankie’s Fun Park, 11190 Fun Park Drive, Raleigh, N.C., has a lot to offer for every one of all ages. It is filled with rides, go-karts, miniature golf, bumper boats, laser tag, arcade area, batting cage, and much more. Frankie’s Fun Park is a placed “sized up for little kids, big kids and those who still think they’re kids.” There is no admission fee to get into the park and you just pay as you play. So for those of us who are on a budget, you can set aside a specific amount of money to spend and once that’s gone there is still tons of fun you can have if you are with a group of friends. The games at Frankie’s Fun Park range from $2 to $8. They also have group rates available and this is another way to cut back on the cost if you are visiting with a group of ten or more friends. The most expensive group package is $25 per person but this $25 will be well worth it because it will be jammed packed with fun as long as you stay.

Another fun and inexpensive activity that you and a group of your friends could enjoy could be paintballing. Gotcha Paintball is Raleigh’s largest paintball complex located 3029-103 Capital Boulevard, Raleigh, N.C. Yes I know, it sounds a little dangerous but who does not like living on the wild side at times? You and four of your friends can go to Gotcha Paintball and get an all day pass for a group rate of $60 meaning that each person only pays $12. Gotcha Paintball has many obstacle courses set up that will be fun and exciting to maneuver around as you and your friends aim at hitting each other.

Ice skating is also a fun social outing that is cheap but tons of fun. In my opinion, it is not about how well you can ice skate but rather how well one can recover from the many falls. The Cary Ice House is a public ice skating rink that is located at 1410 Buck Jones Road here in Raleigh. The deterrence fee is $6.50 and the skate rental is $3.50. This is an activity that has to be done with plenty of friends because it adds to the laughter and excitement.

The most important thing is to take lots and lots of pictures! This will be an easy way to capture all of the fun and exciting moments during this year’s spring break. Even though you may be on a budget you do not have to miss out on all of the memorable moments that are shared between you and your friends. No one every catches the same picture so this is a way to swap pictures with friends and have some in your own collection.