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" We&amp;#039;re all making cuts in our budgets these days, and for some of us it has gone far beyond the usual &amp;quot;cut out your daily latte&amp;quot;. One especially painfulpart of cutting costs is when it means disappointing your kids. Below are some money saving ideas that will help you cut costs while avoiding falling faces.   School lunches In a hurry in the morning? Rather than resorting to prepackaged school lunches that cost more, make a little extra at dinnertime, then go to a dollar store or a craft store and get Chinese food containers. Package last night&amp;#039;s dinner in these and throw in a leftover fortune cookie from the last time you got takeout. This is more fun, more nutritious and more affordable than prepackaged lunches.   Use the library for DVD rentals Money saving ideas that get you something for free are the best. The good news is there&amp;#039;s no reason to ever spend money on a video rental again. Most libraries are online now and are part of cooperative systems, meaning you can request a movie just as you would via Netflix and usually get it within the same amount of time. Libraries tend to have a good selection of blockbusters, arty films and kids&amp;#039; movies, as well as older favorites from decades past.   Save money on kids&amp;#039; clothes As busy as most parents are, they usually end up doing all of the shopping at the last minute, including waiting until back-to-school time to update their kids&amp;#039; wardrobes. Purchasing clothes during slow shopping seasons, such as after the holidays and mid-summer, can mean better deals on the same clothes that less strategic shoppers pay top dollar for.   Video games Is that new DS or Wii Game coming out this week? Does your kid have to have it? Does spending nearly $40 on it mean that you&amp;#039;ll be eating mac and cheese for dinner three times this week? Make your child aware of budgetary concerns and let him or her come up with money saving ideas. Brainstorm about how to get the video game\u2014does he or she have some games to trade for credit? That can cut off a significant chunk of the price, or even get you Super Mario Kart Seventeen for free.   The great outdoors  Parents can spend a fortune trying to entertain their kids at amusement parks, fun centers and the like. Kids can have just as much fun doing cartwheels in a park or exploring their natural surroundings on an adventurous hike as they would on any roller coaster or in any ball pit. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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