Cheap thrills
November 17th, 2007Three years ago, we were flat broke. Being used to a good lifestyle, the three of us learned to have fun with no money.
If you need to save money, but still want to have a good time, here are a few tips.
1) Buy a deck of cards. There are dozens of fun games you can do with cards, and each game can last a night. I’ve learned poker, bridge, pinochle, hearts, and spades. When I have nobody to play with, I’ll play free cell by myself. No, not on the computer, but with my deck of cards.
2) Walk everywhere. Walking costs nothing and can be lots of fun. Walking also gives you time to just chill, and eases up stress. It gives me time to think. Walking at a slow pace allows free conversation. I love walking and talking with my family or friends. You know how alcohol loosens up the tongue? Well, walking does too.
I hate jogging. Not only do I not have the knees for it, it’s kind of anti-social, because you can’t really have a good conversation and jog at the same time. Walking is the antithesis of jogging. It’s easy on the knees and you can have the best talks.
3) Learn to cook. Cooking saves a lot of money. We stopped eating out completely when we were broke. Instead, I cooked. We saved so much money that way. I also intentionally cook too much food so we all have leftovers the next day. Saves a lot of money. I often have enough leftovers to share with friends at work. They all think I’m generous. They don’t realize how little I spend because I buy in bulk.
4) Get a library card. My wife and I both read a lot. The library is free as long as you remember to turn the books in on time. For me, I read almost 700 words per minute, so I often read an entire book in a few hours. To tell you the truth, I don’t have a library card. I just read the book there. I also hit the newspapers and magazines at the library as well.
5) Find out where the rich people get rid of their clothes. You’d be surprised. People think I spend a lot on clothes, but I don’t. I get everything from friends or from Salvation Army. I personally own several shirts from Nordstrum worth well over $100 each. I just don’t tell anyone I bought them at Salvation Army for $4 each. They’re in spanking brand new condition too. It’s amazing what rich people get rid of.
6) Find some friends to hike with. Hiking is also free, and it’s fun. You get the benefits of walking and get to see the outdoors. You can birdwatch when you hike too. I used to think that’s an old lady thing to do, but I’ve found it’s quite fun. Junior and I picked up some cheap binoculars and now can identify a bunch of different birds here.
All these things are cheap, or even free. The thing is, you don’t have to spend much money to have fun in this country.
If you have other tips, feel free to share ‘em.
You know, you can apply these to virtually anywhere in the world - it is certainly true for this part of the world too.
Miladysa - Your part of the world is great for a digital camera. I love your architecture.
you are spot on in all the suggestions. another beenfit of cooking enough for leftovers is the time aspect. if i know one night will be very busy i double the recipe the night before so we can have it again the next night and it is a quick meal. or you can freeze extras for another time.
i love to play cards, it’s also another opportunity for conversation, but so are board games. there are some terrific board games out there that stimulate conversation as well. our family likes ‘apples to apples’ and ‘imaginiff’ i’m a big fan of al lthe word based ones too (scattergories, taboo, scrabble) but no one else in my house will play them with me.
Lime - I’ll play Scrabble with you. I love that game.
Cards are great, but sadly, solitaire gets lonely after awhile and I find the cats aren\\\’t very good at cards at all. If you can find yourself a few midwesterners out there (I know they\\\’re there), have them teach you euchre. It\\\’s huge fun and quick and easy. Think pinochle but less technical and a lot more fun.
Kathleen - I’ll have to look up euchre. If you take out the meld in Pinochle and start the bidding at ten, it’s a lot more fun. Meld puts too much luck into your hand.
ZS, once again our lives run parallel! The only thing I’d add to your list is a paperback edition of Hoyles Rules for Games. We’ve learned a LOT of fun card games from that book.
Lime, feel free to come to our house to play those games. We LOVE Scattergories, Scrabble, and Taboo. We NEED a 4th person for Taboo since our daughter left home.
Don’t recommend this lifestyle to everyone or there won’t be designer clothes for the wealthy to donate to the Salvation Army store. Also, we don’t use the term “cheap”, we say inexpensive and we call ourselves frugal.
Tshsmom - I’ll definitely have to look into that book.
Granny Annie - Nah, too many people think they’re “too good” to shop at the Salvation Army. Or at least in this area. And yes, frugal has more of a kinder, gentler ring to it.
haha, so true!! one suggestion i would ass is:
We often have family picnic on holidays. No order from outside. Basically take cooked food from your house, pack it nicely and enjoy a sunny day outside with the ones you love.
i mean i would add… sorry not ass…hehe the d and s key are so close together.