5 Tips For Throwing a Super Bowl Party on a Budget

Who doesn’t love the Super Bowl? 🏈 Even if you have absolutely zero interest in the game itself, the event has become a must see for even the biggest introverts 🥷As well as the guys throwing the ball around and hitting each other, you’ve got the spectacle of the halftime show and the commercials, which companies spend literally millions of dollars on (what inflation crisis?) 🤡

And of course, these days you might even spot a certain country-turned-pop superstar in the stands. Yes, it’s definitely a whole new ‘Era’ for football right now.

And what better way to enjoy the spectacle than by throwing a Super Bowl party. Pairing the ultimate in American pop culture with enough food to feed a football team? Sounds like a winning plan. 

There’s one little problem though. Food is expensive. And while you might want to throw a Super Bowl party of your own, you shouldn’t need to go into debt to make it happen. That’s why in this blog, Cleo’s giving you five top tips for throwing a cost-effective game day celebration 💁‍♀️

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Make it a potluck

This is the easy one. The biggest cost when it comes to hosting a Super Bowl party is the food. Sure, you could ask everyone to Venmo you $20, but that can very quickly turn things pretty awks 😬 Instead, why not get everyone to bring a dish?

Not only does it spread the cost without making it weird, but it adds some extra fun to the day as you sample the goodies from all your guests. Make sure you’re still a great host by getting the vibes right with the decorations, seating arrangements and pre and post game playlist.

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Keep it cozy

Even with everyone bringing a plate, you’re probably still going to want to head to the grocery store for supplies. Chips and dips, soda, as well as things like napkins and disposable cups are going on the list, and all that stuff adds up.

To keep costs down, keep the guest list down too. If you try to cram 50 people into your apartment, not only are you going to need to drop some serious cash on stuff for the party, it’s also a heap more likely that someone will break a lamp or ruin your rug. 

Basically, stick to your besties.

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Buy in bulk and buy generic

Speaking of grocery shopping, stick to generic brands for all the goodies that you buy for the big day. Honestly, no one’s really going to care if they’re eating brand name chips, and you’re probably going to pour them all into a bowl anyway. 

Staying away from name brands can bring down costs a lot. In fact, sticking to private label brands can save you up to 40% on your grocery spend 🤯 That $100 spend just became $60 💅

If you can, make a trip to Costco or Sam’s Club. Not only can you pick up some discount groceries, but buying in bulk can save you even more money. Just make sure it’s stuff you actually need for the day, or you might be stuck with 15 pounds of candy all to yourself  🐷

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Mix up a signature drink

Our next tip for hosting a frugal Super Bowl party also centers around food and drink, but hey, so does the day itself right? If you try to cater to every possible taste, you’re going to need to buy a lot of different drinks. Whether you’re having alcohol or not, getting enough bottles or cans of 10 different drinks isn’t cheap.

Enter—the signature cocktail and/or mocktail 🍹Let everyone know beforehand that you’re going to be whipping up a special punch for the day for everyone, but that they can feel free to bring their own drinks if they want as well. That way you don’t look like a cheapskate, but you can cut a whole bunch of items off your grocery store list. 

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Take it online

Ok, this one is not going to be for the extroverts, and it may conjure up memories of the time that shall not be named but rhymes with shmandemic 👩‍💻 But, if you’ve got a group of friends spread around the country or world - maybe at different colleges or your gaming crew - you can consider going online for your Super Bowl bash.

Load up Discord and watch the game, half time show and commercials together, and you can get the experience of sharing the day with other people, without the need to clean up chip crumbs for the next 48 hours.

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Need more help sticking to a budget? Hi, it’s Cleo 🙋‍♀️

Hosting a frugal Super Bowl party is one thing, but if you really want to get your shit together when it comes to money, you’re going to need to stick with it for much longer than a day. But, we get it, saving money can be tough.

That’s where Cleo comes in. The AI-powered savings app gives you a huge range of tools, challenges and features to help make saving easier and…dare we say it…kinda fun. Cleo’s super power is her ability to act as a personalized money coach, helping you look after your own financial future, while you’re still paying for your landlord's kids braces 🙃

To try it out, just type ‘Roast me’ in the chat - but be warned, Cleo doesn’t hold back 😈 Prefer a positive boost instead? Type ‘Hype me’ instead and Cleo will show you some love.