169. P
LANT
S
HADE
T
REES
Planting shade trees on your property not only increases property value, but a well-placed shade tree can block direct sunlight from hitting your house, providing a direct reduction in the amount of energy you’ll need to use to keep your home cool. Find a fast-growing tree that can provide ample shade for your home in your climate and plant it to the east or to the west of your home. Not only does a shade tree add property value and reduce energy use, but it also provides enjoyment for the family, like a great place to lounge on a lazy day.
C
HEAP
T
ACTIC
$
FOR
F
UN AND
H
OBBIES
170 Cut Back on Hobbies That Constantly Require Buying More Stuff
171 Check the Community Calendar
174 Stop By Your Town’s Visitor’s Center
175 Check Out the Library—Not Just for Books
177 See What Your Local College or University Has to Offer
178 Start a Natural Collection
179 Dig Through Your Media Collection
180 Shop for Used D
VD
s, C
D
s, and Books
181 Swap Your Used D
VD
s, C
D
s, and Books Online
182 Play Games for Free Online
184 Teach Yourself a Skill You’ve Always Wanted to Learn
170. C
UT
B
ACK ON
H
OBBIES
T
HAT
C
ONSTANTLY
R
EQUIRE
B
UYING
M
ORE
S
TUFF
Hobbies that require a constant influx of money—golf, for example— are dangerous to your financial well-being. In order to enjoy the game, you have to pay for greens fees, cart rentals, balls, clubs, and so forth, and playing regularly can become a serious drain on your money. Many collections are the same way. In order to increase the size of your collection, you often have to spend additional money. Cut back on these hobbies, which require constant money and resources, and instead find other hobbies that don’t require that money influx.
171. C
HECK THE
C
OMMUNITY
C
ALENDAR
If you’re looking for free or low-cost entertainment in your community, look for a community calendar that provides a listing of all of these events. You might have to do a little footwork to track one down. Try visiting city hall, the chamber of commerce, the visitor’s center, the library, or the post office, or visiting the city’s website. They will list lots of free activities going on in your town, many of which you likely aren’t aware of. If you start choosing an evening activity or two a week from the community calendar, that’s time you’re not out and about spending money.
172. V
ISIT THE
P
OST
O
FFICE
Most communities have a vibrant community bulletin board at the local post office. Stop in and see what’s on the board. You’ll often see notices of interesting community events, notices of people selling items extremely cheaply (many times just before a move), new local businesses and organizations, job opportunities, and countless other items of interest. Whenever you’re in your local post office mailing a package, it’s worth your time to take a serious look at the bulletin board. You might just save yourself some money or find something useful for cheap.
173. R
EAD THE
L
OCAL
N
EWSPAPER
Another venue for finding out about local activities and organizations is the community newspaper. Newspapers often include announcements of upcoming events, descriptions of the activities of local organizations, and countless other little things that you can use to get involved in your community. Even better, many alternative local newspapers are free on the newsstand. Check near the entrances of community centers and local grocery stores for a free copy. These papers are a treasure trove of engaging and interesting activities of all kinds that won’t pinch your wallet.
174. S
TOP
B
Y
Y
OUR
T
OWN
’S V
ISITOR
’S C
ENTER
Towns and cities often have an interesting cultural or historical heritage that many residents are only remotely aware of. Spend a few minutes at your town’s visitor’s center to find out about these interesting local resources, and spend an afternoon or two visiting them. You might be surprised at the genuinely interesting and engaging historical and cultural elements around you. Many of them can be enjoyed without spending any money at all.
175. C
HECK
O
UT THE
L
IBRARY
—N
OT
J
UST FOR
B
OOKS
The local library has become an absolute treasure trove of entertainment options. Beyond the enormous collection of books, most local libraries have extensive C
D
and D
VD
collections that can be checked out for free or at low cost, and many have extensive magazine collections so you can catch up on your interests. Many community libraries also have movie nights, where you can watch a film in a theater setting for free. Libraries are also often hubs for all sorts of special-interest groups, from gardeners to people who enjoy playing bridge. In many communities, libraries are also a source of free Internet access. Most communities give out a free library card to anyone who lives in the community and often give free memberships to anyone living in adjacent cities and towns as well. Take the time to visit your local library. You might be genuinely surprised at all they have to offer.
176. H
AVE A
M
ONEY
-F
REE
W
EEKEND
Transform the idea of living cheap into something fun. Challenge yourself and your friends to spend this entire weekend without spending any money. Look for free activities to do as a group. Eat using the stuff you already have in the cupboards. Engage in personal activities that don’t require you to spend money, like curling up with that book you’ve had for a while that you’ve been intending to read or going through the junk in the downstairs closet. Get into a routine of having money-free weekends once a month, or even once every other weekend, and you’ll find your entertainment expenses (and expenses in other areas) will go down rapidly.
177. S
EE
W
HAT
Y
OUR
L
OCAL
C
OLLEGE OR
U
NIVERSITY
H
AS TO
O
FFER
If you live near a local college or university, particularly a large one, there’s almost constantly a string of interesting speakers and activities happening on campus. Visit the school’s website (or call their general information number) and find out what’s on tap in the near future, then attend a meeting or a lecture on a topic that’s compelling to you. Many student organizations are open to the community at large and often welcome people who are not students to participate, so if there’s a group focusing on an area of interest to you, don’t be afraid to dive in and get involved.
178. S
TART A
N
ATURAL
C
OLLECTION
If you enjoy collecting things but are finding that your collections are costing you a lot of money, start a new type of collection. Spend your time collecting things that can be found in nature, like rocks of a particular color or type, leaves of particular trees, or pictures of birds. Think about what interests you, then look around in your natural environment for examples that you can collect.
179. D
IG
T
HROUGH
Y
OUR
M
EDIA
C
OLLECTION
Many people have extensive collections of books, magazines, D
VD
s, C
D
s, and so forth. You can utilize these resources to earn some extra money, but you can also use them for a great deal of entertainment as well. Whenever you find yourself bored and itching for entertainment, go through your collection and pull out a few items that you may have forgotten about and dig in. Usually, you’ll find an item or two that, when you see it, will make you feel a bit excited and think, “I’d forgotten all about that! Cool!” When you have that feeling, you have instant entertainment in your hands without any cost at all—a great way to save money on entertainment.
180. S
HOP FOR
U
SED
D
VDS
, C
DS
,
AND
B
OOKS
When you decide to make an addition to your D
VD
, C
D
, book, or video game collection, start by looking in the used stores—particularly if what you’re looking for is not the latest release. If you can find the item you’re seeking in a used form, you’ll save yourself money versus buying it new. Even better, if you’re browsing for inspiration, start off browsing in the used section so that if you do find something, it won’t cost you nearly as much. Used selections often include items that you’ll have a difficult time finding new, such as out-of-print books and obscure C
D
s and D
VD
s. Start there, and you might find a cheap gem.
181. S
WAP
Y
OUR
U
SED
D
VDS
, C
DS
,
AND
B
OOKS
O
NLINE
One way to keep yourself awash with fresh material to read, watch, or listen to is to participate in online clubs for swapping these items. PaperBackSwap (
www.paperbackswap.com
) is an excellent resource for swapping books. Just list the books you’re willing to trade on the site and when someone requests the book, you send it out and earn a credit. You can then spend that credit on the site to have a book shipped to you. Swap-A-C
D
(
www.swapacd.com
) and Swap-A-D
VD
(
www.swapadvd.com
) offer very similar services online for C
D
s and D
VD
s. It’s a great way to give yourself something fresh to listen to, watch, or read on a regular basis without leaving the comfort of your home.
182. P
LAY
G
AMES FOR
F
REE
O
NLINE
If you enjoy playing classic games like chess, checkers, bridge, canasta, and so forth, there are many places where you can play the games for free against an opponent in another town over the Internet. Just sign up at Yahoo! Games (
http://games.yahoo.com
), make up a username, and join the game. The site offers a wide array of games that you can play against online opponents for free. If you like playing video games, try Kongregate (
www.kongregate.com
), where you can sign up and play a huge variety of games of all kinds, from puzzle games to action games and strategy games. These games cost you nothing and can provide nearly endless hours of entertainment if you have a home P
C
with Internet access.
183. L
EARN A
N
EW
C
ARD
G
AME
Card games are another incredibly inexpensive way to enjoy an evening with friends or a rainy afternoon at the kitchen table. Spend some time to learn a new game, or call some friends and invite them over for an evening of playing an old familiar card game. In either case, you’ve got hours of fun, social entertainment for just the cost of a pack of cards. Cards can also be a social opportunity to meet new people. See if your community has a bridge, canasta, or pinochle club. Such clubs can be a very inexpensive way to meet new people, have a great deal of fun, and stretch your mind a bit, too.
184. T
EACH
Y
OURSELF A
S
KILL
Y
OU
’V
E
A
LWAYS
W
ANTED TO
L
EARN
A lazy afternoon is a perfect time to teach yourself a new skill. Why not spend an hour learning how to knit a scarf ? Perhaps you can spend an afternoon learning how to play that musical instrument in your closet, or maybe you’ve always wanted to tackle making an egg soufflé. Don’t put such ideas off. Learning a new skill, especially with friends, can be fun, and many skills can also end up saving you a lot of money over the long run.
185. G
O
E
XPLORING
Another great way to spend time without spending money is to go exploring, even in your own neighborhood. Visit areas that you’ve never been to before, just to see what sorts of interesting things are there. This can be a great family activity. Take a “wandering walk” in your neighborhood by merely going out your front door and going in whichever direction looks the most interesting. Alternately, visit the nearest state park and spend some time exploring the wonderful outdoors, going on trails, and admiring the beauty of nature.
186. R
EAD
M
ORE
Reading is perhaps the cheapest hobby you can have. The library provides a nearly infinite supply of reading materials for free, plus the time invested in reading costs only as much as the energy cost of the light bulb over your head (or nothing at all, if you read outside). Even if you’ve never read much before in your life, try picking up a book that looks interesting and start digging in. You might surprise yourself and find something truly compelling. If you already read regularly, try trimming some time away from other expensive hobbies and devote a bit more time to reading. It’s a healthy and mentally invigorating hobby.