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by Terri Gruca
(WCCO) Between admission, parking and the food -- a day at the fair can cost your family a bundle. A family of four could easily drop $200 in a day, so WCCO-TV decided to find the best ways to do the state fair on a budget.

As a mother of five, Jennifer Heinen has figured out how to budget her way through the fair and take full advantage of the freebies.

"We just enjoy people watching. We go check out all the barns," said Heinen.

Avoid The ATM

It turns out Heinen's family is doing a lot of things money experts say other families should do -- for starters, avoid the ATM.

"Come with a budget in mind -- so if it's a $100, $500, $800, whatever ... come with that cash available," said Financial Advisor Nicole Middendorf.

Involve Your Kids

Another smart money strategy is to involve your kids.

Victoria McNamara gives her kids a set amount of money.

"They usually have a $20 limit," she said.

Once the money's gone -- no more food, no more fun. Middendorf said that can teach your children to think more about how much things cost and what they really want to spend money on. It seems to work for McNamara.

"I look at everything else first and then I will pick what I want," said McNamara's daughter Lexi.

A lot of vendors at the state fair sell the exact same thing at very different prices, so it definitely pays to not only walk around, but to shop around.

WCCO found a 20-ounce bottle of water selling for as little as $1.25 at the Rice Krispy booth on Judson Avenue. The same bottle can cost you twice as much a few tents away.

You can still drink all the milk you want at the milk barn for a dollar.

Pack The Cooler

Avoid paying for drinks entirely and do what the Heinen family does, pack the cooler.

"I have snacks in there. I've got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in there," she said. "That's how we can make it through the day."

Pick Up A Deal Brochure

The deal brochure located at any information booth is chocked full of bargains. There's an entire section of freebies, another with items that cost a dollar or less. Where else are you going to learn about the dollar shrimp cocktail on Judson Avenue?

Blue Ribbon Bargain Book

Cub Foods also sells the Blue Ribbon Bargain Book which has 101 coupons. It'll cost you $5.

"I would look through it to make sure that you're actually going to spend at least $5 before you buy this," said Middendorf.

One of the best deals might be admission for a second visit to the fair for only $5.

Reason To Look For Bargains

You'll want to grab every deal you can because prices are up this year. A bucket of Sweet Martha's cookies will set you back $13. For the first time in a long time, they also increased milk prices at the cookie counters. The French Fries are up 50-cents, even cheese curds cost a buck more.

Jerry Hammer, State Fair General Manager said, "Dairy ... for instance is up a dollar a gallon for milk versus what it was this time last year, which means dairy based sorts of things are going to cost more to produce."

"There are things I know they would like to be able to do, but it's like no it's not in the budget. If you want sweet corn and the corn dog then you need to not do that," said Heinen.

Perhaps the smartest thing the Heinen family did was to come to the Minnesota State Fair on Kids Day. That allowed them to enjoy all-day discounts and still get their fill of fun.

Wednesday's Fair Deals

Wednesday, Aug. 29 is one of the last days to enjoy some of those discounts. It's Hop on Transit and Save Day. That means the State Fair Express Bus fare is just $3 round-trip. Express or regular route bus-riders can also get a coupon for $2 off admission.

There are all day discounts on Mighty Midway and Kidway rides, games and concessions.

And one note for next year, remember Cub Foods always sells fair tickets at a discounted price leading up to the state fair.

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