You can have fun on a budget – Here’s how

Taking the current state of economic affairs into consideration, handling money can be very nerve-wracking. Today, many people can’t even spend on gas, bills and groceries without breaking the bank. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of avenues for having fun that don’t cost a lot of money and here are some tricks to that:

Usher work

If going to plays, concerts and stage dances is your passion, you could easily volunteer as an usher or look for usher job openings at your favorite theaters

Last minute tickets

If you want to go to a ball game, specific concert or performance, one trick you could do is wait until it’s down to the last two hours when the scalpers will be out and the arena or auditorium will start selling rush tickets at half of the price that they normally cost. They would rather generate the extra business by seeing every seat filled than just letting some go unjustly empty.

Sport and exercise

If joining a gym is important to you, wait until the spring and summer months when the new memberships go down and don’t be afraid to get friendly with the sales representative. Although if you prefer to workout with DVD, TV channel or book instruction at home, there’s no point in joining a gym. If you do decide to invest in an exercise equipment and then get bored with it, you could easily sell it. Although if you’re the type who tends to try out a routine temporarily and then stop once you grow bored, it’s probably not wise to try to invest in a machine. For example, you could easily follow Yoga or aerobic DVD instructions at home with just a flat but sturdy blanket.

Wine

If you love wine and drink it regularly and/or would like to use it for an upcoming special occasion, you can go to a site such as about.com or wine.com for listings of those under $10. Forget about the clubs, having drinks and/or hosting karaoke night at home with your own machine is often just as fun.

Dates

If you’re planning to go on a date and are looking for inexpensive avenues here are a few things that you can check out: having a picnic at and then exploring a local or national state park; tour a nearby museum (or the Statue of Liberty if you live in New York); if you live near a college, there are many free or very inexpensive opportunities and events

Movies

Host a movie marathon night at home

Blogs

Have your own blog, share your passions through writing (try www.blogger.com)

Photography

If you own a camera, you can make an art out of photographing whether it’s for a website or just for your own personal enjoyment. You can also edit your own pictures afterward through free sites such as www.lunapic.com

Video games

If you’re into videogames, there are many available on many free sites, watch out for malware and other viruses, though.

Having fun does not mean having to spend a lot of money and in fact, it’s not really about how much money you spend but how much you enjoy something. All of us are born with creative capabilities and if we put them to use, our experiences just might be better than it otherwise would have been. Just remember, having fun is not about your obligations or being pressured into doing something you don’t want to. In fact, the whole point is to de-stress from all of that.

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