Okay moms, close your eyes if you will and imagine for a moment that you are lying on a beach somewhere with just the sound of the waves, a good book, and some sort of tropical drink in hand.  Sounds like heaven doesn’t it?

I know that for my family, (currently on a strict budget), we are always searching for fun yet inexpensive things to do with our family.  With spring break around the corner I have been researching ideas in order to plan for a fun and eventful spring break.  Here are some budget-friendly ideas as seen on couponmountain.com that you may consider doing with your family.    Mind you, some of these ideas may not sound very exciting but it’s all in how you make it.

Spring Break on a Budget

Family projects are always admirable.  I know, you may hear whines and groans as you propose something be done around the house, but this is a way to strengthen a family bond.  It can be a lot of fun too, you’d be surprised.  Consider painting the house, cleaning out the basement or garage, landscaping, etc.

Have each family member find things to donate.  Donating to others less fortunate is so rewarding and everyone will feel better about themselves.  And hey, your house will be cleaner and clutter-free.  Well, one can only hope right?

Allow everyone to re-decorate their room.  You can get creative by making a trip to the craft store and brainstorm some really fun ideas. You can get some decorating tips on the homeandfamilynetwork.com.

Take a family camping trip.  These are fun trips that definitely won’t break the bank.  You can find some very beneficial family planning tips on the familyfunshopt.com.

Visit family out of state.  If you are lucky enough to have family members living in warmer climates, maybe consider calling them and planning a visit for a few days.  Free room and board is always nice.  You may only have to budget for an airline flight and food.  If flying is not an option consider driving though you will have to budget for gas.  Interested in saving money for your road trip? go check out the top 5 money saving road trip tips on About.com. 

 If you are on a very tight budget consider planning fun activities per day or evening during spring break.  Maybe one night you could do a family skate night, then another night do a family bowling night, have a game night, a movie night, etc.  The ideas are endless what you can do with your family over spring break, especially with not a lot of money.  These are great alternatives especially if you still have to work while everyone else is home.

Family recreation centers, picnics in the park, children’s museums, the zoo, are just a few other ideas to help spark some ideas for planning spring break with your family.

How about you? What are your plans for spring break?  Do you have any fun family-friendly ideas for families on a budget?  Please feel free so share with us.

Some state legislators told the news provider that there is too much wasteful spending in higher education. As a result, Senator Dan Patrick, R-Houston, is proposing that colleges offer bachelors degrees for only $10,000 and suggests that they use more online programs to achieve that goal.

Officials found that tuition and fees for 60 credit hours at the Austin Community College cost $3,480. Meanwhile, the same number of hours at the University of Texas costs more than $18,000.

"It is time for a bold, Texas-style solution to their challenge that I am sure the brightest minds in their universities can devise," Rick Perry, Texas governor, told the news source. "I am challenging our institutions of higher education to develop bachelors degrees that cost not more than $10,000 including textbooks."

Perry added that goals can be reached by using online classes and innovative teaching techniques, which could help drive down the price of earning a bachelors degree. Furthermore, the proposal aims to freeze college tuition costs and fund an incentive plan that would award colleges for the number of students who graduate rather than the amount of enrollees at the institutions.

According to the 2010 Sloan Survey Learning, out of more than 2,500 colleges and universities in the U.S., nearly 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one web-based course in the fall 2009 semester.

The University of California, California State University, and many other schools have seen tuition hike between nine and ten per cent this month.  State officials have stated the plan would save California $623 million in the next two years.  These cuts would especially hurt low-income graduates wanting to attend colleges or career institutes.

The Cal Grant program was created in the 1950s and has expanded through the decades so that in 2001 it covered nearly all low-income graduates.  The program had previously been ranked among the best in the nation.  The cuts would affect nearly 281,000 students that had planned on receiving Cal Grants during the 2009-10 school year.

By wiping out these grants, young graduates will face difficult choices, such as not pursuing a higher education, being forced to work more, living at home, asking their families for help, or going deeper into debt.  Some students will still be able to go to college in the fall but some student’s dreams will be crushed.  They might be forced to postpone their education or forget it altogether. 

These actions will not help students improve their lives, and will end up costing California’s economy later on.  By eliminating Cal Grants, California will save millions now, but will eventually lose millions because the work force will  grow and require even more highly educated individuals, which may not be available because of the grant elimination.

If California ends up cutting this nationally ranked program, there might be a domino effect and other states might follow suit.  This action could cause thousands of students to rethink higher education.  Studies show that higher education enrollment increases during a recession and if students are not able to get grants and financial aid, enrollment might plummet.