Wondering what you can do instead of spending money? Getting out of debt means making some very worthwhile sacrifices, which usually includes cutting back on our spending. But that doesn’t mean we have to live the life of a hermit in the meantime.
Here are 26 free things you can do instead of spending money:
- Play cards (here’s a list of game rules)
- Go for a walk around the block and admire the pretty flowers
- Play tourist in your own town by using a digital camera to
photograph interesting things - Work out (joining a gym not required)
- Play backgammon
- Invite friends or family over to watch a DVD you have on hand (or pick one up from the library)
- Do a sodoku puzzle
- Treat your dog to a game of fetch
- Sort through old photos
- Hold an Angry Birds competition, or go one-on-one in Words with Friends
- Visit shut-ins at a nursing home
- Read Gone with the Wind or Moby Dick (Or heck, any of the Harry Potter books
— you don’t have to stick with classics)
- Camp out in your backyard or living room
- Make a cake from scratch (it’s surprisingly easy)
- Rearrange the furniture
- Check out your local museum on their free museum day
- Teach a child to fish (kids don’t usually require a license to fish, but check your area)
- Check out a new book, movie, or game from your local library (some libraries let you check out free passes to local attractions, too)
- Google “Free things to do [your area]” and pick something from the results
- Play frisbee or catch
- Write an actual letter or note to someone you love. You know, with paper.
- Have a picnic in the park
- Wander the house and find 10 items you could sell at a garage sale or on Craigslist
- Have a water fight or a three-legged race
- Go hiking
- Empty your closet and create new wardrobe combinations or rediscover something you’d forgotten about
I'm Jackie Beck, personal finance writer and creator of 
I love going through my closet and getting rid of old clothes. It seems like every few weeks I can get rid of a few more articles that I never wear.. It’s a great feeling to have a smaller closet. And card games are so fun !
It is a great feeling, isn’t it? In fact I need to do that myself :)
Many of these old are old fashioned and really fun that are not as common to do today. I’m going to revisit some of these wonderful ideas. I love to play catch!!!
Have fun :)
Oh, how I ADORE Gone with the Wind… probably my favorite book of all time. Is it free, though? At the library, or did the copyright expire and now it’s a free eBook too?
It’s free to check out from the library. No idea about elsewhere…
I always love lists of free things to do. I have kids, so my list has to be a little bit different, but you reminded me of a couple of great ones. I particularly like the “wandering and look for stuff to sell” bit. I could use to pick up 20-30, though!
Boy I could too!
Great list. We have lots of games days with friends. We have a real blast and we don’t get broke from it.
Game days are fun :)
I must say it’s a great list. There are plenty of things to do without spending any money.
Sometimes we have a lot of free time, and we don’t know what to do. Now I have got the list and ready for try them.
Yes, it’s easy to forget about all there is to do.