5 Tips for Saving Money on a Super Bowl Party

It's Super Bowl season, which means a lot of households are planning parties for this weekend. Of course, a big party can mean big expenses, but if you're smart with your planning, you can save money and even increase the fun without detracting from your party. Here are five strategies to incorporate into your big party.

Host a potluck. Just because you're hosting doesn't mean that you need to provide all the food and beverages for your guests. Simply ask guests to bring a simple item -- a beverage or a snack food.

Doing this not only reduces the amount of food and drinks you have to provide, but also increases the diversity of items available for people to eat and drink. My family tends to set out a buffet of snack items and beverages for everyone, and if every person brings a beverage or snack, that offers more options without any additional cost.

Make a variety of simple snacks instead of a few expensive ones. There are a lot of great simple snacks out there that aren't hard to make, so focus on those recipes rather than trying to make one or two "great" dishes that are hit or miss.

We usually put out a vegetable tray with dip, which is easy to pull off, as well as some kind of bite-sized wraps. The wraps are usually either thin slices of deli ham with cream cheese inside wrapped tightly around a thin pickle spear (usually sliced into discs) or a tortilla with refried beans, salsa, cheese and sour cream wrapped up tightly and sliced into discs. We also often make a dip in a slow cooker and pair it with chips. A big bowl of popcorn is also a great idea. We put out our snack plates from the cupboard and we're done, spending about $10 to $20 depending on how many people are coming.

If you have a variety of simple snacks, it's likely people will find one or two that they like. If you bet the farm on more complex things -- like a Super Bowl party I attended a few years ago where the hosts made some great chicken wings but nothing else -- some of your guests will love it, but others will be out in the cold, and you will likely have spent far more money.

Move multiple televisions into the same room. This is an inexpensive way to make the Super Bowl more fun. Having lots of televisions spread around your biggest room is similar to the effect generated by a sports bar. No matter how people are sitting or spread out, they have at least a screen or two with which they can watch the game. No one has to crowd around together and watch in the same direction.

If you're like us and only own one television, you can use computer monitors to add screens. You may need some help hooking everything up, but you can usually get several displays showing the same channel without too much trouble by using splitters.

How does this save money, though? It keeps everyone more or less in the same room, which means there is less cleanup time and less chance for damage to furniture or other items.

Use cheap plates from the thrift store. This is one of our favorite strategies for parties. We have a set of plates from the thrift store we bought for a pittance that we pull out for these kinds of parties. If one gets broken, it's no big deal because it only cost us a quarter or so.

After the party, we just collect all these cheap plates, wash them in the dishwasher and put them aside for the next party.

The advantage here is that you never have to buy another paper plate. If you start to run low on these cheap thrift store plates, just buy another set. These plates are also sturdier than paper plates, meaning that food accidents are less likely to happen, keeping your carpet and furniture clean and extending their life.

Bag up leftover snack items, and save them for side dishes. We will often eat leftover Super Bowl party snacks as side dishes over the next few days. Our dinner plates will include things like leftover tortilla roll-ups or Buffalo wings or vegetables from the vegetable trays. Therefore, we only have to worry about the entree and save money on the side dishes.

These simple steps can reduce the cost of your Super Bowl party in a lot of directions -- food, beverages, plates and cleanup. Those savings can add up to a lot without taking away from the fun of the event.

Trent Hamm is the founder of the personal finance website TheSimpleDollar.com, which provides consumers with resources and tools to make informed financial decisions.