Looking for a little entertainment but are short on cash? Learned how to make a budget and have to stick with it? No worries. Here’s a list of 25 low cost entertainment ideas that will keep the money you do have in your pocket. By the way, some of them are absolutely free!
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Low Cost or Free Entertainment Ideas
- Sign up for Netflix.com. What beats the cost of cable? Netflix! Hands down! Even after the recent Netflix pricing change, Netflix is still a great option with thousands of movies to choose from streaming to your computer or TV. So grab some popcorn won’t you?
- Sign up for Hulu Plus. If TV shows are your thing, Hulu Plus offers many of your favorites for about the same cost as Netflix. You might want to give it a whirl!
- Take a long romantic walk on the beach. It was on your dating profile anyway, right? Long walks on the beach are actually pretty fun, especially if you’re taking them with someone you love.
- Make a few sub sandwiches and have a picnic. You’re paying for your local parks with your tax dollars anyway, why not get a little out of your money? Buying sandwich fixings from the grocery store will save you a lot of money.
- Ride your bikes around town. Biking is just fun. Explore new places, take a look at some homes for sale (you might find a good deal), and stop for a ice-cream cone while you’re at it.
- Watch a cheap movie at your local “run down” movie theater. In my city, we have a movie theater that only charges $1.50 per ticket. Talk about screaming good deal! Who needs IMAX anyway, right (although if you ever get a chance to see an IMAX movie, I’d recommend it)?
- Go to a museum and learn something new. Who knows what amazing knowledge you’ll walk away with!
- Play a good round of Monopoly Deal. My wife and I love this game. Think Monopoly, but played with cards! A round only takes 10 to 15 minutes, and it’s easy to catch on to the rules.
- Send the kids on a treasure hunt around the house. Write a few clues on scraps of paper, place them all over the house, and let them find a snack as their treasure.
- Pick berries or other produce at your local family-owned farm. You can use your grocery fund, support small businesses, and have fun all at the same time!
- Take your dog on a walk. Exercise is important for animals! Bring water in the summer.
- Have a good old fashioned squirt gun fight. This one’s a blast. You can have so much fun cooling off during the summer this way.
- Go on a drive through the countryside and crank up the music. As long as gas prices aren’t too high, I suppose you could consider this one low cost.
- Download Spotify and have a dance-fest at home. Spotify is a great way to listen to streaming music free of charge. They have a few paid versions, but the free version is pretty full-featured already.
- Checkmate a friend in a game of chess. This one takes awhile. Add a few smoothies and you’re bound to have some fun.
- Attend a high school or college play. High school and college plays or skits are actually a lot of fun! Tickets are cheap and you can find some great talent out there.
- Turn on your iPod and run as fast as you can as long as you can while listening to upbeat music. This one will get the blood pumping!
- Go geocaching – it’s like a treasure hunt for adults who love to hike. You can find all kinds of treasure when you go geocaching. All you need is a GPS or smartphone with GPS capability and something to leave at the geocaching site. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to take whatever someone has left you!
- Rent a movie from the library. I hear there are quite a few movies at local libraries. You probably won’t find the latest releases (again, Netflix comes in handy), but you might find a classic!
- Call an old friend and chat it up – preferably on Skype. Skype.com is cheap and pretty easy to use. Reminisce with friends about the good old days.
- Play charades with a group of good friends. You’ll get a lot of laughs as you act like a firefighter, a tightrope walker, or a superhero!
- Camp out in the backyard and make s’mores. All the glory of camping without the fees. Enough said.
- Play hide and seek with your kids. Your kids will love to play this classic game with you. Who doesn’t know it?
- Make a fancy dinner by candlelight for your spouse (especially if you’re not the cooking type). Surprise them, it’s a great way to say “love you honey!”
- Play a game of WikiWars with a competitive friend. Watch the video below for explanation of how this hilarious game works. (Viewing this in an email? Click here to load this article in your browser to watch the video.)
Whoa. You have so many low cost and free entertainment ideas now, how will you ever choose which to do? Don’t be a bump on a log, go have some fun!
While you’re at it, leave a comment below with a few of your own low cost or free entertainment ideas!
