When preparing your monthly budget, you may wonder what percentage of your income you should set aside for entertainment expenses. Many experts say 5 percent to 10 percent is a reasonable starting point.

But remember that entertainment covers a wide array of expenses such as cable, movies, going out for ice cream and so on. It’s basically anything you do for fun.

That also makes it an easy category to cut back on when you need to save money. After all, there are lots of opportunities for free or low-cost events around town.

Among the possibilities:

■ Williams-Sonoma’s store at Fayette Mall offers free cooking classes at 11 a.m. Sundays. They usually last about an hour and include generous samples of the featured dish as well as printed recipes for you to take home.

Participants also receive a 10 percent discount on certain store purchases that day.

■ You can make movie night free when you cash in $5 or more in change at Coinstar machines in Kroger groceries. When you pick the gift card option, you’ll receive a voucher for a free one-day DVD rental from Redbox. The offer is available through Feb. 16.

■ The Lexington Public Library offers a wide assortment of classes and activities for people of all ages. Visit the Beaumont branch from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 20 to meet me and learn about coupon strategies.

■ West Sixth Brewing Company offers free tours of its brewery, 501 West Sixth Street, at 2 p.m. Saturdays. The tour includes samples.

■ Both Home Depot and Lowe’s offer hands-on workshops for children on Saturdays. Projects are often small items such as birdhouses.

■ Get ready for the spring gardening season by taking any of a number of free classes at the Fayette County Extension Office at 1140 Red Mile Road.

■ On the last Tuesday of each month, Whole Foods offers a “Value Tour” of the store. Learn about healthy food choices that don’t cost much. Each registered guest receives a goodie bag and one wins a $50 gift card.

Freebies

■ Louisville-based Papa John’s Pizza is running a contest to guess whether heads or tails will be flipped during the Super Bowl coin toss. Cast your vote online and you’ll get a free large one-topping pizza if you’re correct.

■ Receive a free 20-page soft cover photo book measuring 5 inches by 7 inches from Snapfish when you enter promotional code “hpreward” at checkout. You will have to pay $1.99 plus tax for shipping. The offer expires Thursday.

■ Oscar Mayer is asking customers to post their thoughts about its Carving Board Pulled Pork product on the company’s Facebook page. When you do so, you’ll get a coupon for $1 off the product. If enough people post comments, Oscar Mayer plans to send a coupon for a free pulled pork product to each participating customer.