Americans spend more on the weekends than during the week. This Gallup poll showed that we spend about $76 each Saturday.
*This is an older survey (but the only one I could find) so once you account for inflation, the current weekend spending would be even higher.
So if you are looking to save a bit of money, look to your weekends.
-How much are you spending each weekend?
-Could you try some new activities that cost a bit less?
Happiness
Cutting costs for our weekends doesn’t have to mean less joy! We are lucky that the most of the best things in life are free. Spending time with family, enjoying nature, rest and relaxation can cost very little. Create beautiful memories with your loved ones and save more money at the same time!
No such thing as a free lunch
Now of course, few things are 100% free. Even an activity that seems completely free like hiking may have hidden costs like gas to drive to the trail-head, parking fees, sunscreen and bug repellent costs. However, for the sake of this post, we are looking at activities that are very inexpensive. (sorry, my accountant is showing)
Here are 10 fun weekend ideas that don’t cost any money:
#1 Blanket Forts and Camping in the House.
Blanket forts…fun everyone can enjoy! Maybe it’s just because of my childlike sense of wonder, but I still love building forts.
For one of my monthly memorable moments last year, my husband and I had “Port in a Fort” night. We had never had Port wine and after hearing Anthony Bourdain talk about it on an episode of Parts Unknown came up with a plan to make a new experience even more fun. Wine is optional here, really just the act of building the fort was the most fun part.
I’ve also heard people doing variations like deploying a camping tent in the living room or backyard.
#2 Go for a Walk.
Whether it’s in your neighborhood or out in nature, walking is a great inexpensive activity. Humans were made to walk. Something about it just makes us feel good.
They say exercise stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. Plus, it will make your dog really happy.
#3 Enjoy a Picnic.
I was raised by picnic people. A picnic is simply: “A meal taken outdoors as part of an excursion.” While our picnics were never fancy (packed in backpacks and grocery store plastic bags instead of wicker baskets) it was always fun to throw out a spread at a park picnic table.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit are great easy choices. So don’t feel pressure to make it fancy, just focus on making it a fun adventure.
#4 Document life today in pictures.
Sentimental much? Me too. It amazes me how my brain can forget about the activities I’ve done and places I’ve lived. So I love looking back at old pictures to reflect about how different my life is today.
That’s why I love this tip so much. Run around and take photos of your life today.
Take a photo of: your favorite room in the house, that piece of furniture you painted, the stack of books you are reading, your husband sitting at his computer working, the view from the couch or the contents of your fridge. It doesn’t have to be particularly noteworthy, just anything that will remind you of what your life is like right now.
P.S. Sorry in advance to the spouses and kids that don’t love having their photos taken.
#5 Movie Night at Home with Salt And Vinegar Popcorn.
Put that streaming service to use! We love having at home movie nights. Especially because of the popcorn.
One time when I was cruising the internet, you know, as one does, I discovered a tip from Oprah saying that air-popped popcorn is one of her favorite healthy snacks. Now I make it all the time and you might not know that you can actually make popcorn for much cheaper and healthier than the bagged variety by popping the kernels in regular brown paper lunch bags.
Just throw the kernels in a bag, fold the top over a few times and cook with the “Popcorn” setting in the microwave. Then pour the popcorn into a bowl and top with seasonings.
Warning: Do listen for the popping to stop so it doesn’t burn.
I like to spruce mine up with avocado oil, salt and some vinegar powder I bought online (salt and vinegar popcorn!!). 5 stars, highly recommend.
Salt and vinegar not your thing? You can put any kind of topping on when it comes out of the microwave; honey and cinnamon, melted butter and pepper, taco or ranch mix… Just don’t add wet ingredients like pickle juice or liquid vinegar; liquids make the popcorn melt.
Enjoy on the couch with one of those movies you’ve been meaning to watch for ages!
#6 Play Board and Card Games.
Since we haven’t been able to host any game nights at our house due to Coronavirus, we have discovered more online games.
Popular choices include Jackbox games, Cards Against Humanity and Words With Friends. Most importantly though, we discovered that we can play our favorite game, Dominion, online ( https://dominion.games/ ) with up to 4 players. Most of these options are completely free but some have a small fee (still much less than the cost of a physical board game anyway).
#7 Arts and Crafts.
Arts and crafts! Always considered myself a crafter so had to include some art-related activities. While it is easy to spend a pretty penny getting setup for certain arts (*cough* oil painting *cough*) some are very affordable.
Coloring and drawing are great options. Right now, I’m working on better doodling which costs nothing but a little pencil lead and paper (well honestly, the expense is probably mostly for erasers).
There is a whole category of trash-to-treasure crafts that are fun to make, good for the environment (re-using and recycling) and very affordable! Wall art out of cardboard toilet paper rolls? Sure! Besides, I’m sure there are plenty of those floating around right now…you know who you are…
#8 Treat yourself to a Home Spa Night.
Who among us actually takes an appropriate amount of time to treat ourselves and relax? Very few, by my estimation.
I like to do DIY facial recipes, body and lip scrubs at home. My favorite is a face mask made of just oats, banana and honey. So get concocting! There are many cheap (and tasty!) ingredients that you probably have on hand already.
If you are into scrubs (and I think you want some scrubs…), you can even find recipes for scrubs that use used coffee grounds.
#9 Make a Digital Goal Board.
Time to dream big! If you have never heard of a vision board it is a collage of words and pictures that represent your goals. Typically they are made on cork or poster boards with images either printed off the internet or cut out of magazines. I enjoy making vision boards because I like designing the boards (similar to scrap-booking) plus I find them very motivating.
Want to make one but don’t want to pay to print photos or buy magazines? Make a digital board! You could use Pinterest for this or there are several apps that allow you to import and rearrange images easily. Then you can save it as your phone’s background or your desktop image!
#10 Write or Journal.
I’ve come to enjoy writing more and more and it costs very little. Whether it is writing a short fictional story, poetry, journaling, or writing letters to loved ones, writing can be a very enjoyable process.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea and curl up with a notebook (discbound notebooks are best if you are wondering) and express yourself through the written word.
Get out there, have some fun and save some money this weekend!
FOR DISCUSSION:
What are your favorite inexpensive weekend activities?