Celebrate Game Day on a Budget

Minute Read

Everyone celebrates March Madness differently. A basketball-themed get-together is an excellent opportunity to celebrate with friends, eat snacks and cheer on your favorite team. If you are throwing a party on a tight budget, we have some ideas to help you out.

Email the official bracket as the invite.

Emailing the bracket ahead of time serves two purposes: one, it ensures everyone has their bracket in advance, and two, you can invite people to your March Madness event at the same time.

Make the pool optional.

Especially for the people who are confident in their bracket decisions, potentially winning a pot of money is something they look forward to every season. However, not everyone has the luxury of contributing $20. Maybe they are on a budget, too! This year, try an optional buy-in, in which the cash will only be awarded to a guest who contributed to the pot. Guests who opted out of the pool can compete for dollar store prizes.

Choose a simple theme.

Instead of spending a large portion of your budget on decor, choose an easy theme. Solid colors, such as orange and black—the colors of a basketball—would fit any March Madness get-together that you host. Grab streamers (always budget-friendly), hang them everywhere and call it a day.

Use your wholesale membership.

Costco, BJ's or Sam's Club—take advantage of these stores' discounts. Snag those napkins and paper towels in bulk and grab drinks and appetizers that you can have at the party but also enjoy over the next week or two if you have leftovers.

Host a potluck.

Encourage everyone to bring their favorite March Madness-themed drink and favorite game day snack to share. Having people bring a dish to share makes it less expensive to host a party and provides many different options for your guests.

Plan some fun (free) games to play.

During a long commercial break or in between games, pull out some activities you prepared ahead of time: basketball trivia, a free-throw competition or Pictionary with a March Madness theme. Think of team logos, top athletes or anything related to basketball.

Save money with a Visa® credit card.

We offer several different types of Visa® Credit Cards give you cash back on your purchases. Our Visa Platinum® Rewards Credit Card gives you 2% cash back on all groceries, so when you are buying those snacks, you will be saving money, too. It also gives you 2% back on gas and 1% on everything else. Save a little more on the "everything else" by applying for a Visa Signature® Credit Card. It gives you 1.5% cash back on everything, no matter what you purchase.

At Members 1st, we are always here for you. Get in touch with us if you have any questions about applying for a credit card or our predictions on what teams will make the Final Four.