Short answer: Park free at the Colyton end of the tramway rather than paying on the seafront, and the wetlands are free with a £1 parking donation. The tram is the main cost and it is hop-on hop-off all day, which makes it good value rather than a single ride.
Parking is free at the Colyton terminus of the tramway, and chargeable on the Seaton seafront. Start at Colyton and you have saved the day's parking before you have done anything. There is a good café there with proper scones, so it is not a sacrifice.
The tramway. Day tickets are hop-on hop-off, which changes the value considerably — this is not one ride, it is transport for the day between the town, the wetlands and Colyton. Dogs are £2 each way. Treated as a day ticket rather than an attraction, it earns its price.
The Malt House does a Sunday roast at good value and is a friendly local; it also lets you bring chips in when the kitchen is closed, which is the sort of arrangement that keeps a day cheap. Coast Cafe Bar is the best on the seafront and good on coeliac, though it is tight inside when busy.
The Old Picture House is a converted cinema doing good Sunday lunch, closed Monday and Tuesday. That is the one to spend on, and doing it on a Sunday makes the rest of the day easy to keep cheap.
Free parking at Colyton, scones at the terminus café, tram down with a day ticket, free wetlands in the middle, a walk along the flat esplanade, chips in the Malt House garden, and tram back. Only the tram and the food cost anything.
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