The kid in me still enjoys the freedom and relaxed mood of summer.
Summer is the time to hang out with friends, visit with family, read a good book, just relax and reconnect with the people in your life.
My wallet, however, doesn’t like the expense of all these summer activities. A few years ago, my husband and I started to focus on finding low cost summer activities. These are some of our favorites:
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Take In A Concert In The Park
In our old hometown, there was a free concert in the park every Friday night. We never missed one. It was great, relaxing entertainment, and the price was definitely right.
Star Gaze
This was actually one of our favorite activities when we were dating, and we’ve just recently tried to pick up the habit again.
We put down a blanket and lay down and just gaze at the constellations above us. Not only is it fun to see a shooting star and recognize the constellations, but there is something awe inspiring about staring at all of the stars and realizing how small we are in this great big world.
Go To The Beach
Is there anything more relaxing than the beach in the summer? Enjoy the refreshing water and soaking in the sun. This is likely a free activity unless you have to pay for parking. Bring a picnic lunch so you can stay longer.
Cook A Fancy Meal Together
Sure, you could go to a restaurant, but you’d have more fun and save a lot more money if you choose a fancy meal to make together and eat at home. If you’re cooking challenged, you could choose something more simple like Italian or Chinese. But you could go fancy and make lobster, too. The choice is yours, so you can make your meal fit in your budget.
Take A Drive
Too often we get stuck in our routines. We drive the same route to work, the bank, the grocery store. Why not get in the car and drive somewhere different?
You know that road that you use to get to work and you always turn right? Why not turn left and see where it leads? Just take the time to drive and explore. You may be surprised with what you discover.
Attend A Lecture Or Book Reading
If you live near a university, this is an especially good option. You can attend a lecture by an expert in her field, or you can attend a book or poetry reading. You’ll likely be more inspired than you would think you’d be.
Have A Potluck Gathering
Invite friends or family to your home for a potluck. Everyone will bring a dish to pass, and you can supply the sides like fruit and chips. Enjoy chatting and spending time together, or play cards or croquet, or baseball, or basketball, or volleyball. The choices are endless.
Go To A Free Museum Day
Many museums offer days when admission is free, usually once a month. Head out to the museum and feel like a tourist in your own hometown.
Stroll Through A Local Garden
Most local areas have beautiful public gardens that you can visit for free or extremely low cost. Take the day to stroll through the local gardens, relax, take pictures or just hang out with your loved ones.
Within 20 miles of us there is a Japanese garden, a traditional rose garden and an indoor tropical garden – all free, and beautiful.
Learn A Language
Inspired by a show I was watching set in Germany, I decided to study German. For the last 100 days, I’ve been using Duolingo German for free for 10 minutes a day. While I am no where near fluent, I know a lot more than when I started three months ago.
Summer is the time to kick back and relax, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. You can have an enjoyable summer without spending a lot of money.
What are your favorite free or low cost activities to do in the summer?
Taking a drive is as American as apple pie and baseball! There have been many times that I just hopped into the car, pointed it in a direction, and drove. I knew what was roughly in the area, but the fun part was finding new, cheap places to eat, cool parks to visit, and places to swim in the summer. Who says fun should be expensive?
My all time favorite summer activity is going to the beach! With a few frugal tricks, we can keep costs to a minimum (for instance, parking for free a couple miles farther from the ‘hotspot’). Too bad we can only go on weekends, it’s an hour drive.