Ok, so we know that a decent day at a major museum can exactly do what we are trying to avoid here. I recently discussed with a spokesperson for the Field Museum in Chicago the ridiculous ticket price of more than $20 per person, in addition to $15 for parking, and was told that the museum felt its prices were “very competitive”.

Fine. But there are plenty of places out there that promise fun and education for much less money, sometimes even for free.

With Halloween ante portas, what weekend fun tip would you expect? Of course, we would suggest something scary: There is a wealth of information about haunted places in the United States on the Internet, some of which are enticing enough to be explored.

You really don’t need to do much more than open your web browser, select one of the many haunted places websites and pick a few haunted places in your area. If you haven’t looked into this topic before, I am sure you will be surprised how many of those locations might be close to you.

There are plenty of weekend activities that will not cost you a small fortune. Every week we will post an idea for single parents how to spend quality time with your children without worrying about a huge expense. Our first idea is not only cheap, but you can actually make money on it: Clean out your closets, drawers, basement and have a garage sale.

A garage sale can be a fun activity, especially if you get your kids involved. Have them go through all of their old clothing, toys, books, CDs, movies, etc. Put everything in a designated place and decide what you want to sell.