Welcome! I’m glad you found us!
Wichita on the Cheap is all about living the good life no matter your budget. We help by spreading the word about fun, family-friendly events, local places, and deals you can get online or right here in Wichita. We also pass along friendly advice or helpful tips for saving and other content that makes life better. You don’t have to live outside your means to live a full and fun life. You can totally do this!
How It All Started – the Backstory
The website started in 2009 by Carolyn Erickson. She attended a Free event at Botanica one Mothers Day when they had free admission for moms. It was such a treat. But she would have completely missed it if a friend hadn’t happened to mention it to me the day before. Back then, she would usually hear about a great deal or event after it had already happened and people were buzzing about how much fun they had. There wasn’t a website like Wichita on the Cheap to keep track of all the affordable things to do in Wichita, but she really wished there was! In 2022 Carolyn had a great new opportunity and need to hand over the website. She called her local advertisers to let them know the news. She called Jimmy Spillman the owner of the Wichita Flea Market who was a long time advertiser. Jimmy mentioned to her that his wife might be interested in a new endeavor but she was currently the Director of Special Events at Botanica. The light bulb went off and it was almost too good to be true. Carolyn started this website because of an event at Botanica and now the Director of events is interested in continuing her website. The rest just fell into place and Kathy Spillman shortly bought the website. Carolyn wanted to make sure the website stayed local and the Spillman’s were long time fans of the website and excited to keep to it going.
About the new owners
The new owners Kathy & Jimmy Spillman were both born and raises in Wichita and are very excited to continue this website as a community resource. Kathy will be the one running the website while we raise our daughter Ella Grace. If you are new to the Wichita on the Cheap community it is a website about everything our town has to offer. It provides the community with a local guide for living a good life on a budget. The website covers events, deals, daily happenings, food specials, Kansas travel and so much more.
The new owner Kathy Spillman was previously the Director of Special Events at Botanica, the Wichita Gardens which is the second largest attraction in Kansas. She was there for 9 years providing the community with experience and helping them create memories. Her biggest event was Illuminations, a holiday light display that brought in 125,000 guests each year for the winter holiday season. Before Botanica she was the Education Director at another popular attraction in Wichita called Center for the Arts which is now called Mark Arts. She had the privilege of working with thousands of students, hosting summer camps and working with art exhibitions. Running the website brings everything she loves into one site. She is excited to research, write and promote all the unique activities happening around town. She is also a big fan of all the holidays so she is really excited to share all the traditions, events and an all-inclusive guide to holiday happenings. She has been a fan and follower of Wichita on the Cheap for years. She feels so blessed to continue providing our community with a local FREE source for everything Wichita has to offer and how to live a good life.
Photo: Owners Kathy and Jimmy Spillman
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No matter what your income level, there’s good, clean fun to be had here in Wichita, on the cheap.
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