I used to wonder why my colleagues’ blogs became strangely silent when they were working on their books. Haha. I don’t wonder anymore. Writing a book is an all-consuming process that’s difficult to describe. I’m thankful I recruited April and Baker as staff writers before I began working on my own book.
Progress on Your Money: The Missing Manual actually ground to a halt this week. Well, that’s not strictly true. I did miss my deadline on Monday, but it’s not for lack of trying. I’ve already written as much (~12,000 words) for the frugality chapter as for two normal chapters combined. The problem is that there are too many ways to save money! So, I’m producing a ton — I just didn’t finish the chapter on time.
The topic I’ll be tackling this morning is frugal fun. As I plotted the section last night, I realized we haven’t discussed this subject much at Get Rich Slowly. Why not? There are lots of cheap ways to have a good time.
While I finish pulling this section together, I thought it would be fun to poll you for suggestions. How do you have fun without spending a lot of money? Better yet, do you have hobbies or pastimes that actually make you money? I’ll go first.
Here are some of the ways I’ve learned to find maximum fun with minimum cost (and yes, some of these will be in the book):
- Take a class. Community ed classes usually cost about $50. Classes at the community college might run up to $200. While this may not seem frugal, remember that you’re not only having fun while you take your course, you’re (theoretically) picking up a skill that you can use to improve your life.
- Read a book. Boring, I know, but this is still one of my favorite ways to relax. For the past few years, I haven’t had much reading time. That’s changed in recent months. (Well, until I started the book, anyhow.) Now I remember how much I love Dickens and Twain and, yes, even Proust. If you use the public library or a used bookstore, this can be a frugal hobby, indeed.
- Exercise. I love activities that do double duty. When you find an exercise you love to do, you’ll not only enjoy yourself, you’ll also enjoy improved fitness, which in turn will save you money.
- Volunteer. I admit that this isn’t something I’ve done yet, but I’ve heard of other who have. The idea appeals to me. Find a way to do something that you love while also helping others.
- Make use of what you already have. Ah, this is a big one for me. I’ve shared before how much Stuff I have. At one time, I owned over 3,000 books. I still have about a thousand volumes, many of which I haven’t read. Plus tons of comics and music and movies. If I started using the stuff I already own, I’d probably never run out of things to do.
Last week, I interviewed Trent from The Simple Dollar to get his suggestions for simple pleasures. He had some great ideas. My favorite thing he said was this:
The mistake most people make is looking for the free stuff first. Look at the things you really enjoy doing. Once you know what you like to do, there’s almost always ways to do these cheap.
This is very true. If you know what it is you like to do, there are always people doing the same thing for very low cost. (Well, maybe not if you’re into boating. I’m not sure how you make boating a frugal hobby.) If you’re patient and clever, you can find out how others are doing what you want to do without going broke.
So, how about it? What sorts of frugal things do you do for fun? What info should I pass on to the readers of my book?
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When I started working part-time (vs. full time) I looked around for a Nature Center to volunteer at. Natural history and the outdoors has always been a passion of mine. It is great fun for me to learn more about the world around me and I get an endorphin rush from hiking, kayaking, and otherwise being active in the great outdoors.
I found a nature center to volunteer at and this gave me:
1. a feeling of contributing
2. the nature center provides great training and activities for it’s volunteers – both of which I’d pay for but that are free to volunteers. Some of these activities are actually “insider” activities that aren’t available to the general public.
3. teaching others helps me to learn more myself
4. new friends who share my interests
5. information about educational opportunities and activities that have small cost but also feed my interests
6. discounts on books and materials – and occasional free items when I’ve given a certain number of hours.
I highly recommend volunteering as a nearly free way to have a wonderful time and give back to your community. My only expense is for gas. If I’m traveling aways to an activity, I try to carpool.
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Just seconding the local college suggestion, one of mine even does second run movies for free, so you are only about three months behind the latest release, and they even have a lecture before hand on the content. Think ancient Roman history before a Star Wars film.
College or even High School sporting events are another great frugal activity.
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Does anyone else had a Dollar Theater by their house? Both in Pittsburgh and Dallas I have been fortunate enough to have one of these.
The movies are a few weeks older and the theater isn’t as nice but for a dollar who cares? I don’t recommend taking dates there though, they might think your interest in them only extends to a dollar. =c)
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Visit your local humane society. They are usually very welcoming and like when people visit with their animals. We enjoy spending time with the cats. They all want to be petted and are usually very playful.
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Book Sale Finder will send you an email when there’s a used book sale going on near you. There’s a library only a quarter mile from my job, but it’s in a direction I don’t travel, and BSF has thrice told me about sales I didn’t know were happening. On my last visit, I got 2 unread hardcovers, one a bestseller, for a buck each.
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@ Rosa, you’re welcome! Dragonboat races are free to attend and a lot of fun. At the local Portland events in June and September you can bring a picnic and sit in the sun watching the races all day for nothing.
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Well… I play piano and sing for fun, and that’s “free” now. But it wasn’t cheap for my parents… ; -)
Backpacking – once you have the equipment is a great inexpensive way to get some serious vacation time in. For the cost of gas, a national parks pass and food that’s cheaper than what you’d probably eat that weekend anyway you can enjoy views that no $300 a night hotel room could ever give you. Great exercise and probably one of the most relaxing things for you mind you can do. Now for your aching muscles… that’s another story.
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Hiking
Taking walks around nice neighborhoods where people have pretty landscaping.
Playing games with friends. We play lots of board games and a few of my friends have video game systems (I don’t) and we play those sometimes too.
Loaf around online
Read a ton of books, mostly from the library.
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November is National Novel Writing Month! Writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days is free and fun (though I do donate some money since they are a non-profit and run a robust website).
Over 100,000 people around the world do it each November. It aint too late to start.
Or, I suppose you can write a book on personal finance.
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My family and I love to watch movies so we rent from Redbox. $1.00 a night. Even if we keep it 2 nights it’s still cheaper then other services. It’s also very convenient for us since they are almost all over the place now.
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One of our family’s Frugal Friday night activities is to have “DJ” night. We have snacks and drinks and my husband is the DJ. We play music all night long and we eventually end up dancing. It’s a fun way be together and sneak in a little exercise and it is one way to keep the TV off.
I also like surfing the net and reading blogs – like this one.
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I also go on walks or talk to a tree.
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The library for me is the ultimate entertainment! Everyone knows about the books, movies, music etc. However, did you know that most libraries can get virtually any book for you that is available in another library (USA only) for free! I heard others charge a small amount but mine doesn’t. My library also offers cultural passes (Washington County, Oregon). You can reserve a pass for free entry for a family of 4 to several places like museums, gardens, exhibits etc.
Free days – museums, zoo, etc just check out their website.
I also like hanging out at Barnes and Noble and sit on the couch to read a few books.
Minor league baseball – $9 each at my local stadium.
Netflix – but you have to use it enough.
Googlebooks
hiking, biking – free
demo days for sports gear – try them for free or low cost. kayaks skis etc. try rei.com
game night with friends at our home. cost of drinks and snacks from the grocery store.
going to the dog park – free
strolling the hip neighborhoods in portland. – free
gardening/cooking
blogging is also free and I enjoy it.
karaoke night – at home. minor investment on the machine.
drive to the oregon coast – just cost of gas and picnic lunch
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Have to agree with a few other posters – potlucks are fantastic. Ten people, five bottles of Two/Three Buck Chuck, and lots of shared food goes a long way when you’re on austerity.
In addition to that, the Husband-Elect has a karaoke system hooked up through his computer and a couple of old guitar amps. We invite folks over, get a few beers, and wail away. It’s a good time, and we found out one of our friends is a surprisingly good rapper. Who knew?
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When the weather’s decent, my fiance and I enjoy spending the afternoon walking and talking on the trails in nearby parks.
Piggybacking on another suggestion — learning to take better pictures with your existing camera — photography is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, too. You really learn to stop and look at things more closely.
For evenings in with friends, we really like the game 1000 Blank White Cards. All you need is index cards and pen/pencil (although colored pencils, markers, or crayons add to the fun). It’s a card game where the players create the cards and the rules as they play. It’s kind of difficult to explain briefly; check out the rules and description here: http://www.elsewhere.org/discordian/bwcards.html/ (fyi, a couple of the sample cards there are somewhat adult in nature, but this is not a necessary part of the game).
Essentially, everyone gets five blank cards. They create, by drawing with a pen/pencil on the blank cards, cards with point values, effects, or actions. You go around the table and play cards with either yourself, another player, or all players as your target. You can create a card that changes the rules at any time, or changes the effect of another card.
We’ve played this game with kids as young as ten, and with older people. Because the players make the cards, the game content is totally up to you. It’s also never the same game twice.
Regular card games can also be a ton of fun for spending time with family and friends. My favorite is Kierki, or Polish Hearts (rules here: http://www.pagat.com/compendium/kierki.html). It’s like hearts, but each deal has different points-bearing cards and thus different strategies, which makes it much more interesting than hearts to me.
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Reading-Not boring at all. When I come to a new great author’s books it’s really exciting.
Reading to my wife or grandchildren.
I get a ton of books every week or so from the library.
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You can even boat for very low/no cost. If you live in a city close to a yachting harbor, there are usually clubs or sign-ups where you can ‘crew’ for free on a weekend. In San Francisco you can go down to the harbor and volunteer to crew on a sailboat for the day. Great way to learn sailing and also very cheap fun.
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My big thing is “do it online”.
Enjoy comics? There are thousands of webcomics out there, all available for free. You have to look around to find good ones but some are really amazing. And free.
Enjoy watching TV? Many cable channels have free videos on their websites, so you can catch your favourite show for free.
Enjoy reading? My library has a website that allows download of ebooks and audiobooks… Not only rfee, but if it’s raining, snowing or you’re sick, you don’t have to actually go there, which is nice.
You can find free courses online for almost anything, with videos to show you how to do it (or so you can hear, if it’s a language for instance).
But if the weather is nice, you can also go for a walk, picnic, go to the library (I love browsing for books/DVDs in and on itself. Kind of a shopaholic thing, except whatever you get will be free).
Depending on where you live, you can also find some other neat stuff. When I was in New York, there was a theatre which was free one night a week, for comedians to try new material in front of an audience. It was a lot of fun. And their other shows were cheap, too.
If I’m feeling social, I can invite friends over and play video games, board games, card games… We actually started up a table-top RPG group in our small town and managed to find people thanks to an add in the library.
You can also play with your kids or your pets for fun + exercise (hide-and-seek, tag, etc).
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My wife and I watch a Redbox movie at home for a $1. Sometimes our children join us.
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I joined the kids up at a local school swimming club, which is run by volunteers.
By getting involved with other like minded parents to run the Club, we are able to keep fees down to AUD$200 per 3 month block for four or more 1 hour lessons per week.
Going to a privately run swim school, I would be paying that much per month.
I give up about 6 hours of my time each week and in return I have made quite a few new friends, gained skills I use at work and with 4 kids who swim save AUD$4,000 over the six month swimming season.
My wife helps out with our eldest girls netball team and saves over 50% on the fees.
So to repeat I not only save money but I gain friends and skills that can be used at work. And most importantly my kids love swimming, I can afford for them to train to their hearts content with it bankrupting me.
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One of my favorite things is listening to podcasts from iTunes. They’re all free, and they’re great for listening while you’re at the gym or in the car. Why not be learning when you can’t be doing anything else. My favorite podcasts are all tech-related are available at TWiT.
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This is only frugal in a relative sense, but everything is relative, right? There’s a hotel we love in Portland, Maine that is not inexpensive, but they offer great weekend get-away deals in the winter. A group of us goes up for a weekend every January, and we have a wonderful time. It’s a very walkable city with a good art museum, docks, old architecture, great shops and restaurants, etc. We all really look forward to it, and it is way cheaper (not to mention far less crowded) than in the summer.
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Volunteer at stuff you love: I love cooking, so I volunteer at food events and often get to be the chef’s assistant; I love art, so volunteer at the museum, and get previews of upcoming exhibits with the curator; I love reading, so I volunteer at the author’s fest and get to attend all kinds of literary events (plus I get 20% off books “I just have to have,” Bonus: often when you volunteer, you get reciprocity: with my museum volunteerism, I get free admission into other museums, at the zoo, and a at whole lot of other local attractions.
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Cat (22):
Just to clarify, Texpad is indeed shareware, but that doesn’t make it free – the idea is that you can evaluate it free of charge, but then you’re supposed to pay for it if you keep using it. Granted, nobody will catch you if you decide to use it without paying for it, but that’s the same logic as downloading pirate software.
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Making love is always a good way to spend your spare time.
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Frugal fun? Well, reading Get Rich Slowly of course!
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John (124) – you’re right of course, and I have paid for it : )
I guess I worded my comment badly – was just pointing out that Textpad is a much more frugal option than pricey WYSIWYG editors such as Dreamweaver & the like which may only have a limited evaluation period, since it gives you the freedom to really test it out for as long as it takes to decide if it’s the best option for you. To me it goes without saying that an ethical person would pay for it if they decided to use it long term.
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Online poker…you can play for free or you can wager pennies…cheap entertainment.
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We shop in consignment stores! Not only does it get us out of the house and paying bottom dollar for a necessity (clothing) but it also enables us to satisfy the spending bug.
After thrift shopping for a while, I’m of the opinion that we aren’t addicted to spending, so much as to acquiring. If we can do that for far less money, then we’ve killed two birds with one stone.
Other frugal habits–blogging, walking, and meeting with friends at a coffee house over a $2 cup of coffee.
The cool thing about entertaining yourself on the cheap is that not only have you kept yourself busy doing things you enjoy, but there’s so much less stress knowing it’s cost little to no money. I don’t know about most people, but I don’t find a $100 and $200 entertainment activities common these days to be very de-stressing in most cases! If I have to spend that much money to unwind, I’ll be creating stress in other areas of my life, mostly the bank account and the paycheck…
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JD – Maybe you could volunteer to teach literacy at your local library. This plays to your love of books and writing and your ability to teach and explain. Best of luck finding whatever volunteer opportunity suits you – it will open doors for yourself as well as others.
LG
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I have an art/craft night at my house. I have lots of supplies and it’s fun to sit and sip a beverage while painting or making a card or glitter pen. Even the non-creative friends I have enjoy this.
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Music shows given by students at local colleges, Coupon clipping – all kinds of web sites devoted to this, save hundreds on groceries.Join a running or walking club or better yet form one with neighbors and hold pot luck parties with them.
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Retro gaming! It’s cheap, and time consuming.
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SURFING!. Sure, there isn’t always waves… nothing’s perfect.
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Library – great for books, but also movies, magazines, music, books on CD, and activities for kids.
Cooking and Baking – especially baking is fun for me.
Exercise – I recently found some free yoga podcasts (just google it) and can now round out my yoga practice for free!
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Dog training is a fantastic frugal activity.
Getting started is very cheap. All you need is a healthy dog and something to motivate your dog. I use a clicker to mark desired behaviors and they can be purchased for a couple of bucks and they last forever. I use his regular food, dog treats, and some healthy human food as motivation. Other dogs are play driven and can be motivated by a game of chase, a ball or a frisbee.
Dog training has great benefits for dog and owner. It strengthens the bond between dog and owner. It stimulates your dog to keep his mind active. Behavioral problems are by far the number one reason that dogs end up in the pound which leads to 3-4 MILLION dogs being euthanized each year. Last, dog training is FUN!
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My husband and I are huge board gamers, like Trent from Simple Dollar. While I used to balk at spending $50 for a good quality German game, now I see how inexpensive that is for 10-20 years worth of entertainment. We have board game nights with other couples, instead of doing dinner, movies, or other expensive outings. We share dessert for cheap and play games, talking and having frugal fun. To get new games inexpensively, we swap with others, shop on Ebay or yard sales, and resell those we no longer want.
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Getting a degree is expensive, but learning is for free: there are free lessons on anything on the Internet, such as BBC languages or Yale free online courses: zillions of things to learn: what you never had a chance to do: math, architecture,decorating: it is all there!
Free or cheap stuff: lots of sports, nature (walk, birding, observing) lots of home games, volunteering (read for the blind, Habitat,museums, help Army people, help kids…), some crafts are cheap, lots of reading (almost anything with expired copyright is for free on the Internet, for instance at Gutenberg.org); note that many book clubs get the books at a reduced price,organizing a monthly feast day with neighbors (disguises, dances, games,role playing, projecting a movie on the wall outside at night, sharing cooking tips, writing a book,illustrating together); brewing and also wine making are cheap, making your own sausages (small investments, big rewards), growing your own veggies. Learn a bit more plumbing and electricity: it comes handy and it costs just a book and very little material. I know people who amuse themselves by going to the marriage of unknown people!
Have a blog: it is free!
Worth it in cultural towns: season tickets to a favorite museum or theater or opera: it forces you to go out and have fun (priceless)and you go out at a bargain price.
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Take dog to dog park.
Play catch with a friend.
Teach someone how to make bread (no bread maker for me!)
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I like walking in the park near my home.
In summer ride on the bike> and in winter skating.
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to Simon (112)
Talk to a tree: President Truman did that too. He used to rest under a gingko tree and tell it; “You are doing a good job.”
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Letterboxing -
It is great fun and entirely free!
“LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming “treasure hunt” style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels.”
http://www.letterboxing.org/
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I work events for my local bookstore, which means I get to see 4 to 5 excellent author appearances a month and get paid while I’m there! Just this past weekend we hosted Al Gore and I got to meet him and take a picture with him! I know for sure other stores that have events series need workers for them, it might be something to look in to if you have something nearby.
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-Exercising at home. I exercise 2-3 times per week. It’s really fun!
-Reading books. I keep new books that I didn’t read yet somewhere in my room and when I feel that I need something new I grab one of them and start reading.
-Photography
-Learning something new!
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