Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to plan a great weekend
Speaker 1: for free. After the holidays and with the clean slate
Speaker 1: of the new year, brushing up against tax time, lots
Speaker 1: of people pledge to be smarter about their finances. One
Speaker 1: common approach is too drastically cut spending. Sometimes people even
Speaker 1: declare a spending freeze. And sometimes that's wise and it
Speaker 1: can be fun as a talent, but if you're not careful,
Speaker 1: it can also lead to feeling like life is no
Speaker 1: fun and a no fun life is not sustainable. I
Speaker 1: think moderation is often wise. But the good news is
Speaker 1: that if you spend some time thinking through options and
Speaker 1: making plans, it is quite possible to dream up really
Speaker 1: fun free weekends. Here's what you do. First, you need
Speaker 1: to do some research. Many communities have free events going
Speaker 1: on that people don't know about because they don't bother
Speaker 1: to think ahead or look beyond their own TVs. Carve
Speaker 1: out sometime maybe on a Wednesday, to pick up an
Speaker 1: arts or events newspaper, or scroll through online Facebook groups
Speaker 1: or local news sites. Flag a few events that look
Speaker 1: most promising, when will they be happening. Make yourself a
Speaker 1: game plan now. Think about who might like to spend
Speaker 1: time over the weekend with you. Socializing is one of
Speaker 1: the most fun things people do, and even introverts like
Speaker 1: myself generally like to see one or two close friends
Speaker 1: here and there. By proactively inviting people to your free events,
Speaker 1: you don't put yourself in the position of having to
Speaker 1: say no when other people invite you to more expensive things.
Speaker 1: You might also take the initiative to invite people over
Speaker 1: for cheap get togethers. A pot luck costs almost nothing
Speaker 1: if you pull your contributions together from what already in
Speaker 1: the house, assign food and drink options to your friends,
Speaker 1: and you'll have a grand party with basically nothing going
Speaker 1: out the door. As you plan ahead, you might also
Speaker 1: think of how you can be of service. Volunteering is
Speaker 1: a great way to do something purposeful and socialize, and
Speaker 1: of course, since you're volunteering your time, you're generally not
Speaker 1: paying to do so. Done right, this can even get
Speaker 1: you into things you might normally pay for, such as
Speaker 1: ushering for a community concert that you can then see
Speaker 1: for free. Exercise is a great mood booster and running
Speaker 1: or walking tends to be free. Organize people to go
Speaker 1: for a hike together on a local trail, Bring your
Speaker 1: own snacks and water so you're not tempted to load up,
Speaker 1: or even bring a picnic. To make it a bigger occasion,
Speaker 1: you might also make this the weekend to cash in
Speaker 1: on any coupons, gift certificates, or i O use you
Speaker 1: happen to have. Use that Starbucks gift card you got
Speaker 1: in your stocking, or the coupon for a pedicure you wanted,
Speaker 1: a sign in auction, call in a favor from the
Speaker 1: neighbor you babysat for last week, and finally think about
Speaker 1: freeways to spend your downtime. If you've got a library card,
Speaker 1: go to the library and satisfy any shopping urge by
Speaker 1: selecting a huge hall of books or DVDs. If there's
Speaker 1: no convenient time to drop by, see if your local
Speaker 1: library is plugged into the libby app so you can
Speaker 1: borrow e books for free. When you've got something really
Speaker 1: interesting to fill your downtime, you're gonna be less likely
Speaker 1: to serve the web, where there's ads for online shopping opportunities.
Speaker 1: Can so easily find you. Then, at the end of
Speaker 1: your free weekend, spend some time reflecting what did you
Speaker 1: like most, what didn't work out. You don't need to
Speaker 1: try a spending freeze every weekend, but with a little
Speaker 1: bit of foresight, you can have a ton of fun
Speaker 1: without spending a lot, and that means more cash stocked
Speaker 1: away for fun in the future too. What's your favorite
Speaker 1: fun weekend activity that you can do for free. You
Speaker 1: can let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four then
Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
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