If you feel you need to have a lot of money to really enjoy life, I am afraid you are sadly mistaken.
The greatest things in life are those worthwhile experiences and subtle occurrences that sometimes most individuals simply take for granted. While Madison avenue may think that having expensive “stuff” and the like are what lead to happiness, below are some ways you can still enjoy yourself without spending a fortune.
1. Walk The Beach
Taking a walk along the beach not only clears your head but it is a great way to relax yourself amid your stressful life. Feeling the sand beneath your feet as you navigate the coast feels so good!
2. Explore Unknown Places Around Where You Live
If you have the need for adventure, taking the time to explore around where you live is always fun. You never know what you are going to find.
3. Take a Forest Nature Walk
Following a path in and out of the woods is always a fun way to escape from the world and have some great time to yourself. If you wanted to take it to the next step, pitching a tent and spending the night is also a great alternative.
4. Ride Your Bike
Not only do you get some exercise but even better you get to take your bike off some sweet jumps! Doing this activity with friends or family is also a fun as well!
5. Hangout At The Boardwalk
Bringing you back to your childhood days is always a fun thing to do…even if you don’t spend any money. As you walk along the boardwalk with some cotton candy and a hot dog, you can’t help but keep a grin from ear to ear on your face 
.
6. Read A Book
Getting hooked into a book is always fun as each new book you pick up opens an entirely new journey to experience as you turn each page.
7. Surf the Waves
For those on the west coast, this is something that is very common. Even if you don’t have a surf board, body boarding is a great alternative.
8. Play a Board Game With Family
Remember how much fun you used to have when you beat family members in the game of Monopoly or Chess? Relive that past time as you relish the classical way to entertain yourself before the almighty video game machine or computer was born.
9. Spend Time With Family
Spending time with loved ones is always a great way to enjoy youself, as each new experience you have with them becomes a memory that you can cherish forever.
10. Play an Instrument
For those who love music, playing an instrument is not only relaxing but it also helps to keep the mind focused and sharp. What a great way to entertain and relax yourself at the same time as you enjoy the sounds of classical music.
11. Take A Friend Out For Ice Cream
Having fun with friends, especially when sharing a great treat is definitely fun…even if you gain a few pounds here and there. The experience you have with friends is something that is truly priceless.
12. Surf The Internet
With all of the sites to kill time on, spending time finding cool stuff on the internet is simply enjoyable. With one internet connection, the entire world is at your fingertips.
13. Walk The Mall
Hey, even if you don’t have any money to spend, “Looking without spending money” is a great way to still enjoy yourself without dealing with the burden of that future credit card bill in the mail!
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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
All great stuff except for the boardgame one…ugh I hate board games.
I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. I make some extra money blogging and I often ask myself what I want to buy with it. I go to Best Buy and browse the aisles and realize I can pretty much buy any of this stuff if I want to. I have the money (except for those HUGE TVs) but nothing really fires me up.
There is nothing I want that excites me. Which is a weird feeling after all those years of wanting this and wanting that.
Maybe I should just to take a walk on the beach with some ice cream or something…Actually, what I’m battling with now is motivation to start my own business or push the blog to the next level.
THAT would be more exciting than any 50-inch plasma TV.
Pushing your business is rather addicting, but I definitely encourage you to join the crowd.
Agreed. I wouldn’t dismiss an even a 32 in LCD outright and I’d probably go as far as to say yes, it’ll make me happy but the fulfilling joy I get from spending time with my loved ones or reading a good book is far better (and cheaper, no need for fast cash for these).
Might be cliche but sometimes we get too materialistic and because of this, tend to overlook the simple joys in life, which are really the things we should be focusing on.
LOVE the suggestions. Are you describing my home city of San Francisco by any chance?
We have the beach, the mountains, Lake Tahoe, the great Redwood Forrest, Monterrey Bay, mountain biking, and so forth. Oh yeah, every single company you may want to work for is based here too.
Happy Holidays.
Definitely agree that I’d rather go for a fun trip with my girlfriend or take her out somewhere fun for a night than have the newest gadget. Sure, it will keep me occupied, but I won’t look back and think about the great time I had tapping on the screen.
You are so right about these no-cost ways of enjoyment. I will do some today. Have a great Thanksgiving.
John DeFlumeri Jr
Volunteer.
Do this with friends and family or make new friends while volunteering.
- Often volunteering causes no expense besides
- Sometimes it does.
I volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). It does cost me some to volunteer with this group but it is more then worth every penny. The satisfaction I get from helping teens, doing Search & Rescue and disaster response and adding to my education through free Air Force and CAP Professional Development and Career Development courses is invaluable.
- I have volunteered with varying commitment levels over the last 7 years…
Check it out: http://www.gocivilairpatrol.org :
“Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 91 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 23,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years.”
No waves or beaches nearby, and I don’t own a car. Limits the options quite a bit- now spending time with the family and surfing the internet, that I can do in style. I’ll also second writers coin in that I hate boardgames 99% of the time- there are more enjoyable activities to do with the people you care about.
There is a lot of nature (explorable nature, anyway) in the area we live, so many of your suggestions fit perfectly. It’s definitely good to get out of the house, because if you stay in, you’ll just end up in front of the computer, TV, or cleaning.
You mention board games as a way to enjoy your family, but we’ve also found that it’s a great way to get a core group of friends together for some free fun. The art of board/activity games has definitely been lost in recent years, and we’re fighting to get it back.
Two of my favorites that really get the crowd going are Pictionary and Catch Phrase.
I completely agree with you about the fact that you don’t need a lot of money to enjoy life or those subtle moments, but imagine adding money to those already enjoyable moments…
Sure, walking on the beach is enjoyable, but how much more enjoyable would it be to DUNE BUGGY down that thing? Riding your bike is nice…through the Sahara Desert. Walk the mall…and buy everything in sight.
All you really have to do is make making money enjoyable. Too many people hate their work nowadays…it’s too bad really.
Ah yes, walk on the beach…Priceless.
Yeah, priceless… except for the gas or airfare or bus fare to get there… and the food and drink once you’re there… and the gas or airfare or bus fare to get home…
I love walking along the beach shore, especially in the beautiful islands of my home country – the Philippines.
Watching for the cool and peaceful waves is mesmerizing. I can’t wait to take a summer vacation.
I’d like to add my all-time favorite. >>> ‘Stargazing on a clear night sky’.
I completely agree there are so many things you can do around where you live or nearby that don’t cost a lot of money, but are still great to do on your own or with family and friends. Great article.
Yeah I totally agree. Let’s be positive about little things that mean so much to us. Be happy.
I have to say I really agree with numbers 8 and 6. Picking up a paperback book at the local bookstore and spending less than $10 will provide at least 5 or 6 solid hours of entertainment. As opposed to going to a movie theatre where you’re charged about $10 per ticket for a little over 2 hours worth of entertainment, a book is an incredible bargain.
And does anyone really have any idea how fun Monopoly can be with a couple of friends (especially with a few beers)? I mean, when you invest 3 or 4 hours into a board game like that, it really starts to get intense.
Wonderful suggestions. I love board games and will enjoy that one tremendously. No matter how broke a person is he/she should find little things that will enable happiness and enjoyment in his/her life.
Unfortunately, in order to live in Santa Cruz, you’re also going to need $900-$1000 to split a poorly-constructed beach house from the 1950s with 4 other individuals. Plus an additional 20-30% increase in grocery budget above that to shop at Safeway in California vs. Jewel-Osco/Schnucks/Meijer in the Midwest.
It’s A LOT not ALOT. Fire the editor..
Wow, fantastic blog layout. How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is excellent, as well as the content.
“Spendy Alot of Money”?
Seriously, spell check? Editors? How does something like that slip by?
Also, I live 30 minutes away from the ocean, but most people don’t live at the beach. Walking the beach AND the boardwalk AND surfing? Come on. Three out of the 13 ideas are not possible for people who don’t live in the coast.
“Walking the forest” might be good for people who live near a forest, but again, many people don’t.
How about a shorter list with more generally applicable, less specific ideas…like “Go for a walk?” No matter where you live, you can go for a walk. City, desert, beach, woods, suburbs.
Playing an instrument…does it have to be classical music? Why so narrow a focus?
This could have been a good list, but it is not well thought-out or well-written.
I agree. I have read articles with the same theme but 100% better content (and editing). No offense intended toward the author, but this article sounds as if it were written by a 9th-grader.
Uhmmm, I actually need money to do all that!
Them spellchecker, is no worky.
Not one of these helped me!
The problem is that you need a lot of money to be free from those things that make life miserable (health, bad job and/or boss, hypocrisy… queues… you name it)
I appreciate the idea of the list, though most of it seems to be for coastal residents. I’d like to add: making something. Over time I have become an expert seamstress, making clothes, home assets like curtains & slip covers, luggage, costumes, and quilts. I also learned to cook, over time, a satisfying way to make cheap ingredients into delicious occasions. Some of my retired friends are wood workers, weavers, metal sculptors, garden designers, stained glass designers, and book artists, as well as painters, storytellers, and volunteer instructors. It is a satisfaction in improving skill and creating something better from basic beginnings.
“Without Spendy?” Where are the editors? Do news web sites not use editors anymore? It seems that for every web site I visit, there is at least one article with horrible grammar on a daily basis. This is getting a tad tiresome.
Having fun with friends, especially when sharing a great treat is definitely fun
The greatest things in life are those worthwhile experiences and subtle occurrences that sometimes most individuals simply take for granted.
MAJOR FAIL guys! I’ve been poor for a long time and I’m bored shit-less with doing all those things all the time. If that’s all there is I may as well end it now! Why would one be sadly mistaken to fall into the trap of contentment with shit. Try to progress people, you must drive yourself to succeed in your dreams, not rest on your laurels enjoying simplicity.. That’s stuff to do when you’re 80 and can’t handle the excitement any more! Money is a huge help to happiness sadly enough, you’d be a fool to think otherwise. Take it from an actual poor person, not some column writing rich bitch who thinks she’s wiser than everyone else.
i enjoy walking especially going to work. I save money, my form of exercise and give a time to meditate. I also like reading and lately, I’m into handicrafts using recycled materials.
I think it’s all about appreciating simple things that give you and your love ones happiness. My friend and I enjoy exchanging handwritten letters.
but even better you get to take your bike off some sweet jumps! Doing this activity with friends or family is also a fun.
For those on the west coast, this is something that is very common. Even if you don’t have a surf board, body boarding is a great alternative.
Are you kidding?
If you don’t live near the beach, it could cost hundreds or even more than thousand dollars to get there. Even if you do it’s probably at least one full tank of gas or greyhound ride away unless you’re already rich enough to own property nearby.
Walk the mall and do nothing? Walk the boardwalk and do nothing? What happens when you get hungry and that corn dog or cotton candy price is jacked up 10 times more than it should be because it’s basically an amusement park?
Play an instrument? HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT AN INSTRUMENT? THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. Plus if you want to be any good, you’ll pay an arm and a leg weekly for lessons!
Surf? Again… do you even have any idea how much surfing equipment and lessons cost?
Face it. There’s basically not shit to do if you’re broke. You can go for a walk. Then go home. Watch some TV. People need to just cope and stop making these pretentious, ill-conceived posts about “things you don’t need money to enjoy.”
Hah aha this is extremely hilarious to all the nay Sayers of this blog….the best and approved way of being happy is to laugh off the little funny things that occur in life. It refreshes your soul and uplifts your spirit and you appreciate life more. Try to have at least some sense of humor in you, don’t be serious in everything.
However, great blog though.