Best price for hotels.

Check with hotel registries to see what's their lowest price in the area. Be sure to mention any affiliations you have such as teacher, military, USAA, senior. Also check online to see if there is another price available that they are not offering you. As the evening gets later on the day of travel, you may be able to get the best price by walking into the hotel in person. Be prepared to walk back out, though, and make your reservation on your Smartphone in the parking lot.

Stay with friends and family en route.

Whether you are visiting said family or not, most family and friends will happily accept your family for the night. You might even be able to ask friends if they have friends where you are going.

Cooler and fridge space on trips.

When you are traveling, pack a small cooler to travel with you. Place in it some fresh fruits and vegetables, deli cheeses, meats, and beverages or bottles of filtered water. By keeping these fresh foods available while driving, you can keep yourself safe and focused by not being hungry. You can also avoid fast food black holes that are bound to suck you in otherwise. By making sure your accommodations have at least ice if not a small fridge, you can place your food in overnight to keep it better longer. Be cautious of what to include considering the temperature of your cooler may not be food safe for some foods after a long drive.

Enjoy a stay-cation and spend travel FUNds on the fun.

There is no rule that your vacation days must be spent away from home. There is no rule that your kids must go on a vacation to some super fantastic great and expensive place. Enjoy a stay-cation at home. Invest the funds you would have spent traveling on family fun, entertainment, and tools that will be around for longer than just the weekend. Buy an Xbox or a PlayStation and a really special game. Plan a day at a local fun shop instead of going far, far away, maybe go-carts, putt-putt, or even just pizza. Ask members of the family in advance what they would like to do.

Save on pets.

Don't get a pet. I didn't say to get rid of your pet because that pet is a member of your family. Don't get one in the first place and avoid all pet support and food costs associated with said pet.

Keep your pet healthy. A sick pet can easily become an expensive pet. Feed your pet properly, keep them at an appropriate weight, provide fresh water, exercise regularly, and make sure they get the shots and essentials they need.

Break apart flea drop packets. A rescue group clued me into this one. Take a small glass bottle with an eye dropper top. (Ours came from cleaning drops that belong to the fish tank I believe. health food stores may also sell them for essential oils.) Purchase the pack of flea drops for the absolute biggest dog available at your store in the bulk packaging. Make sure the jar is clean, then break open and pour the individual applications into your jar. Typically the price is nearly the same no matter the size of the dog and we were able to get 2 years of appropriate drops out of a 6 month package. Here is a much more precise explanation. http://www.starlightbostonterriers.com/fleamedchart.htm

Make your own treats. This can be a super fun and creative hobby as well and a bonding experience with your pet. Here is a nice compilation of biscuit recipes for your dog: http://www.thekitchn.com/cookies-for-canines-homemade-d-135078

Spay and neuter your pets to help limit the pet population and to prevent you from supporting additional unplanned pets.

Make your own party decorations and invitations.

 Themed Birthdays with something you can supplement from a recent holiday (closeout sale) or a current trend. By using the available products for something trendy, like a current movie, you'll save a lot of money on shipping and on the products themselves. This can also be really exciting for the party goers because they are familiar with the theme of the party.  Capture big item concepts to use in your decorations and stick to a main color theme. Buy one set of themed plates and use your color theme to buy additional plates that you  need. Go online, find, customize, and print designs for all of your needs; design your own wall decor, invitations, welcome signs...

Don't buy what you can make.

Don't underestimate your creativity or overestimate the need of your child. Often parents could make an accessory or toy at a fraction of the cost. The comparison is hilariously more dramatic when the items we're talking about are seemingly homemade. Make your own hair bows. Make diaper covers for your diapers or just for under dresses. Create costumes of all kinds out of scrap fabric. You can even go to a neat store to shop for what you want to make.  Here are some wonderful princess inspired aprons: http://giggleberrycreations.blogspot.it/2012/10/princess-dress-up-aprons.html or superheroes: https://www.etsy.com/listing/111711716/kids-superhero-apron-for-girls-or-boys

Netflix

It's tempting to subscribe to a cable package when you have kids. There just isn't enough entertainment for kids (maybe they should go OUTSIDE!). Get a Netflix subscription. I understand that now they have more of a family package understanding which allows more people to share together to pay the $8 per month between friends, family, roommates, and neighbors. Netflix is a cheap alternative to constant movie rentals, theater trips, or cable packages.

Swap-out, trade, and borrow kid toys.

Whether this is through an official toy swap circle where each mom passes two toys to the next parent on the list or a swap meet where you go and pick a few, find a way to trade kid toys. Meagan of http://www.joytroupe.com/ created toy sets and would switch out the toy sets occasionally to keep toys interesting.

Borrow books, videos, puzzles, music… from the library.

Kids are such wonderful creatures. Save your family budget from purchasing shelf after shelf of new books by going to the library regularly. Check out videos and music, too. Our library also had a checkout section for wooden puzzles, audio books, and curriculum packages. Many big libraries even have a variety of tech gadgets that you can try out to see what you like.

Join a playgroup.

Sometimes playgroups and MOMS (MOMS Offering Moms Support http://www.MOMSclub.org/) clubs come with a required cost while others do not. Don't let this deter you if the amount is reasonable enough. Mom's groups can be a great source of last minute help, resource suggestions, free entertainment, and even a meeting ground for cooperative preschools. 

Garage sales

Garage sale with the kids or without them, each is their own experience. Look for new toys, books, and clothes but you might end up hooking up with a fun mom of kids who lives nearby, too. Often you'll be able to haggle down prices if you are reasonable. Consider offering a bulk price for several things that you are wanting.

Comparison shop for your regular subscriptions and contracts occasionally

Consider everything on your spending log and highlight anything you pay for monthly to annually. Whether it's cable, cell, internet, car insurance, life insurance, health insurance, banking, or electricity, take a few minutes each day to evaluate your subscriptions to see if there is a better deal to be made. This could mean signing up for the package that's available right now that suits your needs better or switching to another company for a lower rate.

Celebrate holidays off schedule.

If everyone in your family can plan to celebrate in the same off schedule way you can make many of the holiday stresses and expenses practically vanish. This can help you stock up on after holiday sales to use for your holiday. This can also help you avoid the holiday rush travelers and the expenses the market produces.

Elope! Or have a simple/small wedding.

The cost of weddings is just too much. Consider a small ceremony, a simple ceremony or a thrifty ceremony. This savings can be immediately captured by the bride and groom setting their family up for financial success. If family members who would have contributed to a wedding were to give that money to them, this could easily make a nice down payment for a home.

Get a season pass - if you'll use it.

 Season passes can often be a discount, only costing the amount of a few visits. The places make a killing, though, on people who plan and hope to come back so they invest the money and end up paying for 3 trips but only make one. Even gym memberships have been surveyed to show that most people pay a year of membership fees for what they could have paid for a few non-member visits. Pay the trial for a few times to see if it's really something you will do.

Be on the lookout for a great "cheap date."

 What a great date that would be to walk in the park, go Frisbee golfing, walk through the art exhibit, take a hike, or a moonlit walk on the beach. These dates are all out there but going to dinner and a movie is frequently the option chosen. Be the cheap date and take your love for a picnic then a walk on a moonlit beach with a beautiful sunset. I'm sure she'll never say, "Honey, you're so cheap."

Athletic - Basketball or baseball with a league, bowling, Frisbee golf, swimming, bicycling, running;

Nature - walk through the woods, hiking, walking the beach, gardening together, paddleboats, geocaching, fishing;  

Artistic - take pictures of somewhere beautiful together, walk through a museum;

Musical - a serenade, a local singer, rent a musical, a school production or performance.

Look for alternatives to memberships.

 Instead of paying a pretty penny for memberships, look for free options. Consider the high cost of a kids' gym membership versus the full spectrum experience of a free playground. You can purchase books and storytelling devices or you can go to library story times. The YMCA may not be free but it's a much better price than most local for-profit gyms, especially at family rates. If there is a charge to enter, consider if there is an alternative.

Summer free bowling and free movies for kids and for families.

Many of these ideas may only happen in specific parts of the country/world but these are some great events. Check your local bowling alley and movie theatre to see if they have summer specials. Also check your city events. We've had two cities who hosted "movies on the lawn" showing pretty recent movies free of charge on a big screen at the local park. These are GREAT - just remember your drinks, snacks, and bug spray but check the rules ahead of time to know what you are not allowed to bring with you.

Work where you want to play.

If you just love movies, consider volunteering to be an usher and bouncer at the movies. Working the popcorn and candy stand won't let you watch the movie so don't be fooled into doing that for free. Putt Putt golf attendants may get free access to the course while no one is playing. If you have a passion, find a way to be paid to play.