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