Video games can be incredibly awesome ways for your kids to pass the time on dreary days, and even meet new people online that share their interests. The only problem is that video games can be expensive, especially during the holiday season. But before you start giving up buying groceries to buy video games, there are a few ways that the resourceful dad can get her kids the games they want without spending a ton of money.
Use a Game Rental Service
In most cases, your kids want video games that they have never played. They have seen the awesome commercials on the television, but they have no clue what the game really is.
The cheapest way to avoid buying brand new games that your kids lose interest in after a couple of hours is to get a subscription to a video game rental service. You can get games in any format you need at a low monthly rate. Plus this gives your kids a chance to try the games before you buy them.
Take Advantage of Downloads
Playing free games online is a great way to save money. If your kids have to have that newest game the day it comes out and renting the game is not good enough, then you can get the PC download version of the game and save more than half off the retail purchase price.
Trade Video Games
If you have a game that your kids no longer want, then you could try and see how much the local video game store will give you for the game. The chances are pretty good that you will only get offered a fraction of what you paid for the game.
A smarter move is to find a good video game trading website and offer to trade that game to someone who has a game that your kids want. You only pay for the postage, and your kids get a new game to play.
You can also set up a network of local parents to swap games with as well.
Buy Used Games
It could be argued that the market for used video games is almost as large as the new game market.
Your favorite online auction website has pages and pages of used video games for sale. There are also websites dedicated specifically to the process of buying and selling used video games.
These websites can save you money when you purchase used games, and you can also use these sites to sell your kid’s old games and get a lot more than the retail store down the street would give you.
If your kids love video games, then you need to be creative with how you buy games. There are plenty of ways to get the games your kids want without spending a small fortune.
“Some trees flourish, others die. Some cattle grow strong, others are taken by wolves. Some men are born rich enough and dumb enough to enjoy their lives. Ain’t nothing fair.”– Red Dead Redemption
Video games online could be a great way for kids to pass the time, especially now, and free online games would be even better! These suggestion will be very helpful for so many parents! Thanks for sharing!
There are a lot of free computer game websites. The graphics aren’t the best but they work!
I was hoping this would tell me how to get a Switch cheap, lol. My kids are dying to have one.
Yes, the (aff link) Switch and other consoles can be expensive. For the cheapest you will probably need to go used. Or, what we sometimes do is let the kids combine what you would spend for a birthday party and birthday/Christmas presents to buy one big thing. You’d be surprised at how often they chose this option.
Yes, I agree that renting the game is a good idea. Redbox and other places sometimes have the games kids want for rent. That gives both child and parent a chance to check out the game before putting down a lot of money.
Yes, it’s always great if you can test out a game first especially if your kids are young and don’t know what they like yet.
Thank you for the great tips. You have to pinch pennies to survive nowadays.
Yes, COVID makes saving money even more important
Video games online could be a great way for kids to pass the time, especially now, and free online games would be even better! These suggestion will be very helpful for so many parents! Thanks for sharing!
Yes, kids need distraction more than ever now with COVID, we just need to throw in outside time too with the gaming 🙂
Thanks I needed this! My daughter is obsessed with video games, mainly Roblox and she spends way more money on it than I’d like too admit! It’s really hard especailly when we are living on such a tight budget.
My youngest is a Roblox fan too. We try to keep him from wasting his money on it. His older brother got scammed on it before.
We buy used games sometimes. It certainly saves money!
Any little bit helps. What video games do your kids like?
My kids have been all about the video games since Rona, so this article was VERY much appreciated!
What are your kids’ favorite video games?
My kids are mostly Roblox fans! My daughter go in her room and play and my son go in his room. Yet they are playing together along with several cousins and friends. I usually have to make them get off the electronics.I only buy Robux every couple of months so it’s not expensive. They have a PS4 and Xbox also, when they play those systems, Minecraft and Just Dance are their favorite games to play.
How old are your kids?
My kids like Minecraft on PS4, Just Dance on Xbox when they want to work up a sweat, and they play Roblox nonstop.I only purchase Robux occasionally, so that’s not expensive. When I purchase video games I look for clearance first. I save my cashback for to use for Christmas, therefore I know I’m not going to have to put out as much money on video games etc.
My son is a huge Roblox fan but we try to avoid Robux if we can. Our older son got scammed on the game and lost his money.
I had no idea there were websites where I could trade video games! That is nuts! How did I not know that with 3 gamers in my house? Thank you so much for the tips!
Sadly, those sites will probably come to an end before long with most games going to digital
These are great tips, thanks for sharing! I personally love buying used, depending on who you get it from. A lot of them will allow you to return it if something is wrong and it doesn’t play. I also like to look for free versions of games online, or even trial.
Very true – buying video games used can save you a lot of money
My teen daughter likes digital copies sometimes but I try to get her to buy used games so that she can at least resell – digital copies can’t be resold.
Totally feel you on that! I always want the physical copy of the game too if I can get it
I like the idea of trading- I bet we could start up our own trade group in my town
Creating a video game trade group in a neighborhood is a great idea!
I recommend using the Allkeyshop plugin on Firefox.
It has saved me a lot of money.
Thanks. Game comparison websites are always a great help!
Thanks for the helpful tips!