Dicas de compras de supermercados Atualizado em 12 de dezembro de 2016 Os supermercados são brilhantes ao fazer-nos gastar o nosso dinheiro arduamente ganho, no entanto, com algumas técnicas focadas você poderia economizar 1.000 por ano. Nós juntamos 33 maneiras de descontos máximos, incluindo como comparar custos on-line, aumentar os ganhos das políticas de verificação de preços, viagens temporárias para obter as melhores reduções de adesivos amarelos e muito mais. 33 dicas de compras de supermercados, incluindo. 3 Você pode cortar 1.500 da sua conta de compras 4 Assista ao vídeo Downshift Challenge 8 Caça para marcas próprias disfarçadas 11 Recebi 48 de compras para 20 14 Coma comida de vizinhos de graça com a aplicação 19 Saiba quando a BOGOF 21 Recupere os velhos cartões Clubcard 22 Exploit preço Políticas de correspondência 27 Comprar além das melhores informações em grandes descontos 30 Ferramentas astutas para usar restos Um trabalho de supermercados é para nos fazer gastar Supermercados são catedrais de consumismo. Eles são perfeitamente aprimorados ambientes de marketing, beneficiando de milhões de libras de pesquisa sobre como incentivar e seduzir-nos a comprar e gastar mais do que deveríamos. Isso significa como consumidores, devemos aprender movimentos de contador. Se você quer ensinar um filho de oito anos sobre dinheiro, o melhor lugar para começar é um supermercado. Pergunte o que eles podem cheirar. Ele geralmente é pão ou uma padaria, pois o cheiro nos faz com fome e provavelmente comprar mais comida, então o supermercado ganha. As outras táticas de supermercados incluem o seguinte: Doces e revistas colocados até o depósito. Esses são compras de impulso, então, colocá-los perto do depósito até as lojas uma última tentativa de pegar nosso dinheiro. Os layouts de lojas nos fazem caminhar toda a distância. Os itens regularmente comprados tendem a ser espalhados pela loja, então precisamos passar muitos outros brindes tentadores para concluir nossas compras. Os produtos de nível de olho são lucrativos. O estoque mais lucrativo é colocado no nível dos olhos (ou o nível dos olhos das crianças se for direcionado para eles), mas os bens lucrativos tendem a não ser as melhores ofertas para os compradores. O velho ditado parece alto e baixo para algo realmente se aplica. Sinalização de tipo de vendas para itens não vendidos. As uvas sem semente e outros tratamentos atraentes são geralmente perto da entrada da loja, muitas vezes abaixo do preço de custo, para nos atrair. Sinais e exibições semelhantes são usados em outros lugares para promover negócios, mesmo quando eles não estão à venda. As cores brilhantes e as palavras desconto e venda nos fazem sentir bem, mas a redução pode ser moedas de um centavo e equivalentes mais baratos escondidos em outro lugar. Dirigir seu próprio carrinho Para aqueles com um orçamento rígido, é importante entrar na mentalidade certa. Não pergunte: qual é a maneira mais barata de obter todos os presentes que eu quero. Em vez disso, pergunte: quotOn meu orçamento XYZ, o que posso pagar? Claro, um orçamento faz parte de uma estratégia mais ampla e quanto priorizar as compras de alimentos depende de suas outras despesas. Use nossa ferramenta de Planejador de Orçamento grátis para ajudar. Faça o Downshift Challenge - você pode cortar 1.500 da sua conta de compras anual. Não acredite na hipnose da marca. Seja seu bacon, biscoitos, feijão assado ou molho bolonhês, se algo custar mais, é melhor ser melhor, certo errado. A linguagem de fraseamento e promoção utilizada nas lojas hipnotiza-nos em pensar mais caro é o melhor. Enquanto a embalagem parece mais opulenta, olhe abaixo para o produto real que você está recebendo e às vezes você não será capaz de dizer a diferença. Os supermercados separam seus produtos em diferentes categorias, usando linguagem carregada para lhe dar a escolha de quão luxuoso ou básico você quer ser. À medida que você subiu, os custos do nível da marca aumentam, assim como a apresentação e às vezes ingredientes. Muitas vezes, uma marca de fabricantes e marca própria podem ser feitas na mesma fábrica pelas mesmas pessoas (embora seja difícil de provar com produtos específicos). Prêmio . Palavras como melhor ou extra especial implicam um deleite. De marca . Produtos como McVities Jaffa Cakes ou Kelloggs cereal. Própria marca . Estes tendem a ser apresentados de forma semelhante às marcas dos fabricantes, mas com os próprios supermercados assumem. Valor . Com nomes como básicos ou poupadores, a apresentação é deliberadamente rígida para implicar seu corte de volta aos ossos. Faça o Downshift Challenge Para lutar e salvar grande, tente o Downshift Challenge. A teoria é simples: tente deixar um nível de marca em tudo. Então veja se você pode dizer a diferença. Caso contrário, fique com o mais barato. Na próxima vez que você comprar, troque um de tudo para algo, apenas um nível de marca mais baixo. Então, se você costuma comprar quatro caixas de suco de laranja da marca própria da Tescos, desta vez compre três desses e um Tesco Everyday Value. Se você usa creme de dentes de aloe vera, deixe cair para a marca própria da Asdas. O objetivo deste sistema não é forçar você a soltar um nível de marca em tudo, mas para garantir que você não gaste dinheiro sem motivo. Se você não pode dizer a diferença entre os produtos de baixo nível da marca, então por que pagar mais por isso. É muito melhor provar com a boca do que os seus olhos, então tente dar aos membros da família um teste de gosto cego sem embalagem para garantir a sua justa. Claro, não vamos ficar extremos nisso. Se houver um 2for1 em uma marca superior (e você use ambos os pacotes) tornando-o mais barato do que downshifting, fique com a marca mais alta. Experimente a ferramenta Downshift Challenge Para inspirá-lo, experimente a nossa ferramenta divertida Desafio de Deslocamento. Diga-lhe onde você compra, quanto você gasta e a proporção de cada marca que você compra (premium, fabricantes, marca própria ou básica) e itll crunch os números. Muitos podem economizar 1.000. Deixe cair um nível de marca em tudo o que comprar e, de acordo com o site de comparação Mysupermarket, você costuma reduzir a conta em 30. Para uma loja de 100 famílias que seja mais de 1.500 por ano. Mesmo que você solte a metade das marcas porque pode distinguir a diferença entre outras pessoas, isso ainda é uma economia de 750 por ano. Vale a pena notar que as maiores economias de downshift não são de marcas premium para marcas de fabricantes, mas para aqueles que já são mais baixos na cadeia da marca. Receba nossas dicas de dinheiro grátis Email Para todas as últimas ofertas, guias e lacunas - junte-se aos 10m que a obtêm. Não perca Get trade-down sugestões de produtos Site de comparação de supermercado Mysupermarket inclui uma opção de troca e salvamento com base na teoria Downshift Challenge. Então, quando você entra no seu carrinho de compras, além de comparar o preço de todos os seus itens nos supermercados on-line, ele também oferece a opção de downshifted. Este é um sistema rápido e uma ótima maneira de ver a escala das economias, mesmo que você não compre online. Artigos de higiene de produtos de limpeza de baixa qualidade. Mais estranhamente, os relatórios mostram que as pessoas são mais propensas a ficar com pós de lavagem de marca, gel de banho e outros produtos de limpeza do que alimentos. No entanto, esses produtos nem precisam de degustação e a economia é enorme. Então tente diminuir isso também. Então, novamente, os MoneySavers de estilo antigo não nos perdoariam se não disséssemos que você pudesse limpar toda a casa com vinagre branco e suco de limão (leia mais sobre a limpeza de estilo antigo e informações completas no livro Thess Thrifty de caridade). Encontre as marcas próprias mais gostosas. Tudo, desde sabouretes até Chardonnay, é coberto pelo Guia de marcas próprias do supermercado. Que analisa marcas próprias de supermercados. Ele coloca-os contra seus rivais de marca e dá uma marca de 10. Os comentários são escritos pelo crítico de alimentos Martin Isark. Hes gradualmente se abriu caminho através dos grandes supermercados e revisou mais de 10 mil produtos de Aldi, Asda, Co-operative, Lidl, Marks Spencer, Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons e Waitrose. Ele diz que as próprias marcas podem bater no fundo de faixas finas, mesmo quando se trata de provar. Você definitivamente nem sempre consegue o que você paga. Caçar por marcas próprias disfarçadas Após o Downshift Challenge, muitas pessoas ficarão tentadas a perguntar, em geral há alguma diferença entre as marcas normais e as próprias marcas. Muitas vezes elas são feitas nas mesmas fábricas. Para ajudar a superar isso, há uma discussão no fórum, que pede a qualquer operário atual ou passado para preparar a sujeira se há realmente alguma diferença. Claro que não há garantia de que é verdade, mas faz leitura divertida. Para um programa ITV, Martin obteve um cientista para examinar algumas marcas próprias e compará-las às principais marcas. Surpreendentemente, quase nenhum deles era nutricionalmente idêntico. A conclusão foi de pequenas diferenças foram deliberadamente adicionados para que ninguém possa dizer quottheyre o mesmo. Mesmo assim, eles são muitas vezes muito semelhantes no gosto, então não importa demais. Receba nossas dicas de dinheiro grátis Email Para todas as últimas ofertas, guias e lacunas - junte-se aos 10 m que a obtêm. Não perca nunca comprar quando está com fome OK, então pode parecer óbvio, mas é verdade: se você está com fome, você provavelmente irá comprar coisas que não precisa. Além disso, tenha cuidado com as lojas de pick-up. Se você entrar em sua loja local no caminho de casa para comprar uma garrafa de leite como um catch-up no meio da semana, não pegue uma cesta. Faça isso, e você geralmente irá preenchê-lo. Se você quer uma pinta de leite, compre uma pinta de leite e então vá embora. Compare o custo do seu carrinho Compare o custo do seu carrinho de compras nos principais supermercados online com Mysupermarket. Olha para os biggies, incluindo Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Ocado, Aldi, Morrisons, Islândia, MampS e Sainsburys. Para artigos de higiene pessoal, ele verifica Superdrug e Boots, e também verifica Amazon, Poundland e Poundstretcher para alguns produtos. Os preços que mostra são muitas vezes refletidos na loja, então, mesmo se você estiver indo pessoalmente, vale a pena fazer um cheque para ver qual é o mais barato para você. Ele diz que seus preços são atualizados pelo menos uma vez por dia, exceto Aldi, que é atualizado semanalmente, pois os dados são coletados manualmente. Ao inserir seus dados, Mysupermarket também sugere opções alternativas que podem ser mais baratas. Por exemplo, se você está comprando dois pacotes de seis cola e um pacote de 12 é mais barato, isso permite que você saiba. Quando você clica em um item, você mostrará o preço em outras lojas, além de outros produtos similares, e um gráfico que mostra o preço médio nos últimos 12 meses. Você também poderá ver o preço total do seu cesto em comparação com O que seria em outras lojas, mas cuidado com os itens em falta e verifique se sugeriu substituições. Há também um aplicativo para celulares Android e Apple para que você possa comparar os dados com os preços na loja enquanto compra. Tenho uma boa sugestão que não temos listados. Reencaminhar as 30 maneiras de cortar a discussão dos custos do supermercado. Recebi 48 compras para 20 - pegue o cupom na fonte do máximo Extreme couponers, ganhe e acumule centenas de cupons de produtos e lojas, em seguida, combine-os para grandes descontos de empilhamento de código. Muitos têm um sucesso surpreendente, como o forumite Purple Sarah: obtive 67 de compras para 11p após ofertas e cupons. Eu usei 39,50 de cupons Clubcard, 5 de desconto 40, uma promessa de preço e outros cupons. A Supersavingmummy da Forumite encontrou que funcionou no Tesco: quototeie um pacote gratuito de manteiga Clover, livre Sempre forros, bem como outros itens com desconto. O preço total deveria ter sido de 48,32, mas com os meus cupons chegou apenas 19,60 - um 59 de poupança Poucos chegarão a tais alturas, mas muitos podem reduzir os custos com nossas Dicas de cupom Extreme. Não receba anúncios por ofertas especiais Em fevereiro de 2013, que investigou o preço de 700.000 itens à venda nos cinco grandes supermercados e descobriu que algumas ofertas especiais eram mais caras do que os produtos que não estavam à venda. As táticas de supermercados incluíam aumentar o preço por item quando os produtos entraram em uma oferta de compra múltipla e exagerando os preços originais para fazer ofertas especiais parecerem mais baratas. Para obter uma coleção de ofertas absurdas dos supermercados, consulte o nosso guia When Promos Go Wrong. Os usuários nos enviaram seus melhores locais, por exemplo, ambientador 75p ou 2 para 5, e na melhor forma de Tony Hart, compilamos uma galeria. Acompanhe se é realmente uma barganha A maioria de nós sabe apenas porque um supermercado lista um item como em oferta, isso não significa que é barato. O problema foi classificar ofertas incríveis de promoções de calças. Para ajudar, o site de comparação de supermercados Mysupermarket apresenta gráficos de preços de produtos para mostrar se um supermercado era preço realista. Como fazê-lo: basta inscrever-se no Mysupermarket de graça e depois procurar um item. Em sua página, desça para baixo e você verá um gráfico dos preços médios dos supermercados para esse produto no último ano. Os resultados podem ser fascinantes. Configure um alerta de preço. Você pode obter alertas de preços em seus mantimentos favoritos ideais para estocar em itens favoritos que não saem. Procure um produto, clique em adicionar alerta de preço e Mysupermarket dispara um e-mail assim que o preço cair em uma ou mais lojas. Coma comida de vizinhos de graça você se atreveria Se seus hambúrgueres, cerveja ou morangos, um novo aplicativo de compartilhamento gratuito de comida e bebida oferece gratuitamente grub de qualidade, se você for o suficiente. As idéias, em vez de armazenar alimentos excedentes, as pessoas se inscrevem no Olio e oferecem a sua comunidade local pensam que a Freecycle é comida. Uma vez que você encontrou algo que leva a sua fantasia, solicite-o e mensagem para organizar um levantamento. As pessoas também adicionam itens que não são alimentos e bebidas, embora na maioria dos casos estes sejam outros mantimentos, como o desodorante. Como obter o aplicativo Conecte o aplicativo ao seu Facebook e procure produtos gratuitos de vizinhos e restaurantes perto de você (algumas postagens podem pedir uma doação para a instituição de caridade). Como usá-lo, Olio diz que o aplicativo funciona melhor nas grandes cidades, onde é popular, como Londres, Brighton, Bristol e Edimburgo, por isso há muitas pessoas que oferecem comida e pegando isso. Mas, é claro, quanto mais pessoas se inscreverem, mais ela vai pegar em outras áreas. (Está disponível em 38 países, incluindo a totalidade da UE.) Obteve algumas salsichas que estão sendo feitas. Para desistir de um item, basta encaixar uma foto, adicionar uma breve descrição e fornecer detalhes de pick-up. Não é todo manico. Nem tudo. Quando olhamos, encontramos alguns brindes de qualidade de alto nível. Por exemplo, MSE Jenny pegou quatro pães de passas livres, originalmente comprados em uma elegante padaria no norte de Londres (veja a foto à direita). As pessoas podem adicionar qualquer alimento que eles gostem, desde que eles estejam dispostos a comê-lo. Você pode adicionar alimentos que estão além da data do melhor antes, mas não a data de uso. (Veja o nosso guia de datas de validade de alimentos para obter mais informações sobre a diferença.) Obter vouchers de supermercados online Os supermercados on-line geralmente trazem vouchers de desconto introdutórios para capturar novos clientes, por exemplo, 15 de 50 passados em Waitrose. Para obter uma lista detalhada de códigos e vouchers gratuitos, consulte a lista de ofertas de Vouchers de compras. Todos os novos vouchers vão em nosso e-mail semanal gratuito. Oferta especial acabou Obter um voucher de cheque de chuva Se você chegar ao supermercado e achar que um item em venda que você estava comprando está esgotado, você pode pedir um voucher de cheques de chuva. Normalmente, este é algum tipo de desconto ou cupom para compensar não ter o estoque. Na maioria das vezes, é o critério dos gestores da loja, mas não tenha medo de dar uma chance. Algumas lojas da Asda distribuíram Vales Smiley na mesa de atendimento ao cliente no valor de 1 quando os clientes tiveram uma experiência ruim na loja. Sabe-se que coisas semelhantes aconteceram também na Tesco, mas, qualquer supermercado que você use, é sempre necessário perguntar, pois ele tende a ser discricionário dos gestores de lojas. Considere menos opções, supermercados de preços mais baixos Ao comprar na loja, considere Lidl e Aldi também se você não tiver antes. Isso muitas vezes pode ser mais barato do que os outros grandes supermercados, muitos compradores vão uma vez por mês para comprar todos os seus produtos básicos, depois usam os quatro grandes para o resto de seus bens. Receba mais dinheiro de volta com cashback Uma vez que você encontrou os mantimentos mais baratos, você poderá receber reembolso pago no topo. Uma série de sites são pagos por lojas on-line para enviar tráfego, em seguida, dar-lhe um corte de informações completas e avisos em Top Cashback Sites. Saiba quando a BOGOF Bogof No, você não quer que BOGOF compre uma, obtenha uma grátis. Muitas vezes, para explorar nossos impulsos, isso pode ser uma ameaça ou um anjo. A hora de agarrar eles é quando o BOGOF (ou um acordo de três para dois ou meio preço) está em algo que não vai sair do que você deve comprar de qualquer maneira. Os exemplos clássicos incluem pasta de dente, rolo e baterias. Para localizar as ofertas atuais de cracking, consulte o fórum Food and Grocery Shopping board. Todas as melhores ofertas de supermercados e lacunas também vão no e-mail semanal gratuito. Os esquemas de fidelidade não dão nada por nada. Os supermercados usam táticas fraudulentas para nos manter na loja e não aproveitamos os mercados competitivos. Não pense que esquemas de fidelidade, como Tesco Clubcard e Nectar, lhe dê algo por nada. Os esquemas de pontos de fidelidade são incorporados nas políticas de preços. Então, a regra de ouro é: escolha onde comprar no preço, não porque você obtenha pontos, mas sempre obtenha pontos quando estiver indo lá de qualquer maneira. Recupere os velhos vouchers do Clubcard. Deslize seu cartão Club na Tesco e tire um ponto por libra. Então, a cada três meses você é enviado os pontos como vouchers 500 pontos é igual a um fiver para gastar na loja. Muitos perdem ou esquecem de usá-los. Mas há uma maneira fácil de recuperar os últimos dois anos de vouchers não utilizados (alguns relatórios de sucessos de mais para trás). Faça o login no site Tescos e aninhado é uma área do seu Vouchers mostrando seu histórico de vouchers, incluindo aqueles que não foram resgatados. Veja os Vouchers Reclaim Tesco para mais informações. Observe também que um voucher de 500 pontos vale um fiver na Tesco, mas você pode trocar por três ou quatro vezes (ou seja, 15 ou 20) através do Tesco Clubcard Boost. As recompensas incluem dias, vouchers de restaurante, membros do RAC e muito mais. Para obter informações completas sobre os cupões de resgate, consulte Tesco Points Boost. Receba nossas dicas de dinheiro grátis Email Para todas as últimas ofertas, guias e lacunas - junte-se aos 10m que a obtêm. Não perca as políticas de concorrência do Exploit. Três grandes supermercados prometem reembolsar a diferença quando os mantimentos são mais baratos em rivais. É geralmente feito pela cesta em vez de itens individuais, então os truques reais para dividir sua loja em pechinchas e itens de preço total para maximizar a economia. Quando você está comprando, separe os uber-deals dos itens de preço total. Você poderia organizá-los na frente e atrás do carrinho, ou mesmo usar cestas diferentes. No checkout, pague as duas pilhas de compras separadamente. Com sorte, você terá uma cesta cheia de itens de preço total que, com expectativa, marcarão um desconto ou comprovante de preço. Então, a cesta separada de mega-barganhas não arrasará sua despesa média para baixo. A tabela abaixo apresenta cada política de supermercados. Promessas de preço de supermercado comparadas. A maioria das equipes de lojas têm autoridade para reduzir os preços a seu critério, então mantenha o seu olho para os produtos que estão danificados em suas datas de venda. Seu choro esmagador foi: reduziremos os preços para clientes amigáveis, mas se você é rude e exige uma redução, esqueça isso. Não seja um desperdício Você conhece a diferença entre um melhor antes e exibe até a data Se não, a probabilidade é que você esteja descartando inúmeros alimentos desnecessariamente. As datas de uso significam alimentos para mandioca depois desta data, pois, de outra forma, é um risco para a saúde. O melhor antes das datas significa que o alimento geralmente é bom para comer depois desta data, então não desperdice dinheiro jogando produtos perfeitamente comestíveis. A data de uso: Bin it Use-por significa apenas isso. Comer nosh além dessa data é arriscado, mesmo que pareça e cheira bem. Os alimentos típicos a observar incluem leite, leite, peixe e ovos. A melhor data anterior: Ainda comestível após a data. O melhor antes que os rótulos geralmente não tenham nada a ver com a segurança, eles são apenas a visão dos fabricantes quando eles estão com a melhor qualidade. Normalmente, estes alimentos são mais duradouros, como refeições congeladas, latas, açúcar, macarrão e cereais. Você pode comer depois do melhor antes. Use sabor e visão os únicos desvios que o alimento pode perder algum sabor e textura. Display-until and sell-by: Instruções para o pessoal das lojas, não para você. Estas datas são instruções para a equipe da loja para dizer-lhes quando eles devem tirar um produto das prateleiras. Verifique o uso por e melhor antes das datas em vez disso. Encontre mais ideias sobre como salvar alimentos no LoveFoodHateWaste. Obtenha uma impressão gratuita de memorando de geladeira Experimente o nosso Memorando de economia de comida gratuito para imprimir e ficar em sua geladeira. Como acima, a chave é que, ao comer além do uso, é um risco para a saúde, não há risco de segurança explícito apenas de comer alimentos além das melhores informações (exceto os ovos). Pegue grandes descontos para abandonar sua cesta de compras virtual. É possível retirar grandes descontos de supermercados online simplesmente para sair da loja (virtual). Quando você não completa um pedido, eles geralmente lhe enviam um desconto como forma de incentivá-lo de volta. Para experimentá-lo, coloque algo na cesta, sem comprar. Você pode encontrar um código ou oferecer terras em sua caixa de entrada alguns dias depois. Entre com sua conta no entanto, ou eles não saberão quem você é. Embora não tenhamos nenhuma prova concreta, os tribunais acreditam que eles tiraram 5 na Tesco, 20 fora de Ocado e 22 da Waitrose dessa maneira. Para mais truques de compras insider como este, consulte o nosso guia 13 Shopping Secrets. Compre além das melhores informações em grandes descontos Não só costuma ser seguro comer comida além das melhores informações, é legal vendê-las. Existem especialistas locais e até mesmo uma loja online, Approved Food. Que se especializa em estoque desatualizado. As ofertas típicas incluíram potes de estoque Bp de 29p (quatro pacotes), cinco Snickers para 1 e 170g de mostarda francesa para 29p. Existe uma taxa de entrega de 5,99, portanto vale a pena comprar a granel. Como não há regras finitas sobre o quão além de uma melhor data antes, ainda é seguro comer produtos, você precisa tomar a decisão sozinho. Geralmente, porém, quanto mais longa a vida de prateleira da mercadoria antes da melhor data anterior, mais tempo você pode ir além. Use um dispositivo de rastreamento linear 2D. Os supermercados são ótimos em alvejar nossos impulsos, por isso agora é mais poderoso do que uma boa lista de compras antiquada, esperançosamente ao dar-lhe um nome pretensioso, isso será mais importante. As razões são óbvias. Ao planejar o que você precisa antes de sair, é mais fácil cortar tudo o que ultrapassa o orçamento e cumpri-lo. Compre apenas o que você planejou, com um pouco de flexibilidade para as promoções. Escreva um plano de refeições A melhor maneira de tornar sua lista de compras super efetiva é escrevendo um plano de refeições para o horário de semana. Dessa forma, você pode descobrir o que você vai comer todos os dias, incorporando os ingredientes que você já possui. Para ajudar, há um recurso incrível, onde o MoneySaving Old-Stylers econômico criou planejadores de menu de vários níveis de economia para copiar e fazer o download. Ferramentas nítidas para usar as resfriadoras de larder Para parar de desperdiçar alimentos que você não sabe o que fazer, use sites como o Supercook, o que sugere receitas para os itens que sobraram na sua geladeira ou armário. Diga às ferramentas do Supercook ou BigOven quais itens estão em sua geladeira ou armário e eles sugerem uma receita para eles de 1.000. Alternativamente, basta ir para este índice de receita de estilo antigo e deslocar-se para baixo até o ingrediente relevante. Receba nossas dicas de dinheiro grátis Email Para todas as últimas ofertas, guias e lacunas - junte-se aos 10 m que a obtêm. Não perca Obtenha um impulso de trole a cada Xmas Muitos supermercados pedem que você economize até 4 bônus em seus esquemas de poupança-selos. É importante entender isso. NÃO tenha a mesma proteção que as economias em um banco (consulte o Guia de poupança segura). Na verdade, isso é exatamente o que aconteceu com o desastre de Farepak em 2006. É a razão pela qual sempre advertiu contra clubes de poupança. No entanto, muitas vezes eles são pagos unicamente devido ao que você obteve em uma data definida, por isso é possível comprometer um interesse de um ano em um dia. Nosso resumo completo do supermercado Xmas Boost é atualizado a cada novembro com os principais esquemas. Verifique as bancas do mercado local. Os supermercados podem ser convenientes, mas as bancas do mercado local podem chutar seus vagabundos nos preços das frutas e verduras. Uma investigação do Channel 4 Dispatches em janeiro de 2013 encontrou que os mercados locais e os mercearias eram até 35 mais baratos do que os supermercados. Os compradores misteriosos visitaram mercados locais, lojas independentes e grandes supermercados de marcas em 32 locais ao redor do país. Os grandes supermercados eram 12 mais caros, e as pequenas agências de Metro 35 mais caras. Como os preços variam em todo o país, você precisará fazer algumas comparações próprias. Mantenha os recibos da sua loja de supermercados e anote o quanto você gasta no mercado local pelas mesmas quantidades. Como reclamar Se você não está satisfeito com seu produto ou com o serviço que você recebe, você deve primeiro entrar em contato com o revendedor pessoalmente, por telefone ou por escrito. No entanto, se você ainda não está satisfeito, então. Ferramenta gratuita se você estiver tendo um problema Esta ferramenta ajuda você a redigir sua reclamação e gerenciá-la também. É totalmente gratuito e oferecido por uma empresa chamada Resolver, que gostamos tanto que trabalhamos com ela para ajudar as pessoas a reclamar justiça. Se a queixa não for resolvida, o Resolver irá escalá-la automaticamente para o ombudsman relevante ou o órgão comercial. Ferramenta de reclamações de compras grátis para Resolver Notícias relacionadas Ferramenta gratuita para parar compras de impulso on-line lançado 4 de janeiro de 2017 Planejando ganhar ou gastar pontos de néctar na Homebase Faça antes de 1 de janeiro como as lojas abandonando o esquema 29 de dezembro de 2016 Os fraudeiros segmentam contas de Groupon para fazer cheques de compras não autorizados AGORA se você está afetado 20 de dezembro de 2016 O que os meios acima Se um link tiver um por isso, isso significa que é um link afiliado e, portanto, ajuda o MoneySavingExpert a ficar livre para usar, como é rastreado para nós. Se você passar por isso, às vezes pode resultar em um pagamento ou benefício para o site. Vale a pena notar que isso significa que o terceiro usado pode ser nomeado em qualquer contrato de crédito. Você não deve notar nenhuma diferença e o link nunca impactará negativamente o produto. Além disso, a linha editorial (as coisas que escrevemos) nunca é afetada por esses links. Nosso objetivo é analisar todos os produtos disponíveis. Se não for possível obter um link de afiliado para o melhor negócio, ele ainda está incluído exatamente da mesma maneira, apenas com um link não pagável. Para mais detalhes, leia como este site está financiado. Duplicar os links dos links acima por causa da transparência, mas esta versão não ajuda MoneySavingExpert: Mysupermarket FREE MoneySaving e-mail Obtenha este e-mail semanal gratuito cheio de ofertas, guias amplificador de spam grátis 200 grátis contra 3 em 15k de economia vs 600 de seguro 50m de concessão Para criar 9 mil lugares gratuitos de enfermagem para pais trabalhando. Seu carro foi afetado pelo escândalo de emissões da VW. Você poderia reivindicar 1.000 por meio da ação judicial (se ganhasse) Os pais deixaram incapaz de pagar pelo cuidado de crianças depois do provedor do esquema de voucher por problemas técnicos Cartões de viagem Ukash para Fechar no próximo mês Você levaria 500 agora ou 1.000 em um ano E o que isso diz sobre você O que a Brexit significa para suas finanças em 2017 O questionário MSE Pub 2016 Respostas O teste MSE Christmas pub 2016 O modo (moralmente questionável) de ganhar 2.25 em cima Para 50.000 poupanças Os melhores códigos de desconto de supermercado online para reduzir sua conta de compras Pagar 1ish por 34 jogos Assassins Creed para PC (enquanto apoiam instituições de caridade) 6 FREEBIES que qualquer pessoa pode cla Estou agora incluindo passe de ginásio gratuito, velas e calendário 30 vôos para menos de 30 dias Como bagar voos baratos europeus este janeiro Ofertas favoritas de MSE Jordons de 2016102 Coisas para fazer em um fim de semana livre de dinheiro Algum tempo atrás, ofereci a idéia de O fim de semana sem dinheiro: nos últimos meses, minha esposa e eu fizemos qualquer outro fim-de-semana, pelo que chamamos um fim de semana de 8220money-free8221, em um esforço para viver de forma mais frugal. Na verdade é bastante divertido, como é que fazemos isso. Não devemos gastar dinheiro em nada, não importa o que. Em outras palavras, não podemos correr a loja para comprar comida, não podemos gastar dinheiro em nenhum tipo de entretenimento, e assim por diante. Como muitas vezes fazemos nossas compras nos sábados, em um fim de semana 8220money free8221, atrasamos até segunda-feira ou terça-feira. Podemos usar nossos serviços públicos, mas não há despesas extras nesses utilitários. Sem alugar filmes a cabo, sem mensagens de texto que já estão cobertas pelo nosso plano de telefone celular, e assim por diante. Desde então, muitas pessoas me enviaram idéias para atividades para fins de semana livres de dinheiro, além de ter descoberto um monte de nós próprios. Ao mesmo tempo, muitos leitores pediram uma lista principal de todas essas idéias. 102 Coisas para fazer de graça Então, aqui vamos 8211 cem maneiras divertidas de gastar um fim de semana livre de dinheiro. A lista abaixo inclui os primeiros 45 (com duplicatas removidas) e mais de 60 novos. Se você se inspirou para tentar seu próprio fim de semana sem dinheiro, espero que este guia possa atuar como uma lista principal de coisas para fazer para torná-lo mais agradável. (Além disso, outra maneira produtiva de passar esse tempo é trabalhando em seu próprio negócio. Aqui estão 50 idéias de pequenas empresas nas quais você poderia trabalhar durante um fim de semana sem dinheiro). Por favor, note que todos os interesses de 8217 são diferentes. Você provavelmente ganhou. Esta lista é divertida e nem outra pessoa, mas as duas listas não se sobrepõem (eu posso pensar em inúmeras coisas que outras pessoas acham divertidas que considero absolutamente terríveis). De qualquer forma, aqui vai 1. Confira o calendário da comunidade. Olhe para o site da sua cidade8217 (assim como para as cidades e cidades próximas) ou pare na prefeitura para encontrar uma lista de eventos que acontecem na comunidade, muitos dos quais são gratuitos. Muitas vezes, você ficará surpreso com quantas atividades interessantes (e gratuitas) estão acontecendo agora em sua área. 2. Visite a sua biblioteca local. Não só é uma biblioteca um armazém de livros, mas a maioria das bibliotecas também possui extensas coleções de CD e DVD que você pode verificar. Muitas bibliotecas também têm 8220 tempos de tempo8221 para crianças pequenas, noites de cinema, clubes de livros, concertos, leituras de autor ou palestras, e muitos outros eventos que você pode desconhecer 8211 completamente gratuitamente. Pare e veja o que eles têm para oferecer. 3. Participe dos esportes comunitários. Muitas cidades têm campos de esportes comunitários onde as ligas e atividades esportivas para jovens e adultos estão acontecendo regularmente ao longo do fim de semana. Pare, assista um jogo ou dois, e se algo o intriga, procure juntar-se como participante ou como voluntário. 4. Confira alguns podcasts. Os podcasts são maravilhosos: programas de áudio de alto nível disponíveis para você gratuitamente. Dê-lhes um tiro 8211 it8217s fácil de fazer usando o iTunes. Apenas visite a seção 8220Podcast8221 da iTunes Store e experimente alguns (aqui, um guia para aproveitar podcasts para você começar). Os meus podcasts favoritos incluem The Splendid Table (sobre tópicos alimentares), Marketplace (em economia e negócios), RadioLab (idéias científicas e filosóficas), Fresh Air (entrevistas de interesse geral), This American Life (itens peculiares de interesse geral) e This Semana em Tech (notícias tecnológicas), entre muitos outros. 5. Jogue jogos de tabuleiro. Temos uma pilha de jogos de tabuleiro. Principalmente recebidos como presentes, que muitas vezes retiramos e jogamos nosso amigo mais próximo também tem algumas escolhas. Jogos clássicos como Monopoly e Pictionary podem ser muito divertidos, mas nossos favoritos são os Settlers of Catan. Cartagena. Porto Rico. E especialmente Ticket to Ride. (Aqui estão alguns outros jogos de tabuleiro que são ótimos para grupos.) Basta cavar os recessos do seu armário, encontrar um jogo de tabuleiro antigo que você não jogou há muito tempo, e abri-lo. 6. Faça um bolo de pão caseiro. Você provavelmente tem tudo o que precisa para fazer um pingo de pão na sua cozinha agora (exceto por talvez o fermento). Qualquer um pode fazê-lo, e o pão fresco é delicioso. Here8217s um guia visual detalhado para fazer um pão simples com ingredientes mínimos ou complexidade. 7. Ensine-se a fazer malabarismos. Tudo o que você realmente precisa é de três bolas e um vídeo mostrando como fazê-lo. Not only is it a fun activity to learn, it8217s something that8217s fun to bust out as a party trick on occasion (trust me, you can always get people to smile if you juggle three fruits in the kitchen while preparing something). Once you know how to juggle, you can always win a smile. Photo: Elvert Barnes 8. Learn how to change your car8217s oil. If your car8217s due for an oil change, just bring home the oil and oil filter you need and teach yourself how to do it on your own. All you really need is an old pan to catch the used oil and a funnel to refill the oil tank and pour the old oil back into the canisters for later disposal. (Make sure you dispose of the old oil according to local laws most gas and service stations will accept your used motor oil.) Use your car manual as a guide for the procedure and you might just find it8217s both a lot easier than you thought and a useful skill to have 8212 plus it8217s cheaper than taking your car to Jiffy-Lube (or wherever you go for oil changes). 9. Meet your neighbors. Make an effort to introduce yourself to your neighbors if you don8217t know them very well. If you meet any interesting people in your neighborhood, invite them over for a cup of coffee and a chat, just to get to know each other better. Your neighbors could not only become your friends, they could also be a valuable resource 8211 a friendly pair of eyes on your property when you8217re away or a helpful set of hands when you8217re trying to complete a challenging task. 10. Clear out your media collection 8211 books, DVDs, CDs, etc. Go through your collection, determine which items you8217d actually like to keep, and get rid of the rest. You can either sell them at a used media shop or swap them online using services like PaperBackSwap and SwapADVD. In either case, you8217ll get rid of stuff you don8217t watch or read or listen to any more in exchange for either some money or new media to enjoy. 11. Have a 8216cupboard potluck.8217 Go through your cupboards and find any items that might have slipped to the back over time. Invite some friends to do the same, then get together for a potluck dinner prepared from only these ingredients and whatever else you have on hand. Besides making for a 8220free8221 meal, it generates what I call creative success through constraint and a lot of fun for everyone involved. 12. Make a 8216101 Goals in 1,001 Days8217 list 8211 then start on some of them. A 101 Goals in 1001 Days list is an effective way to codify all the things you8217d like to do in one place, so that when you have spare time, you can just turn to the list and do what8217s next on it. On your money-free weekend, spend some time thinking about what belongs on this list: your biggest short - and near-term goals, both personally and professionally. When it8217s finished, you8217ll be ready to get started turning your goals into reality. 13. Make decisions about and write out your will. This is a thought process that many people put off, but it makes you feel quite relieved when it8217s done, adding to your peace of mind and relaxation. Spend some time thinking about what you want to happen to your personal assets when you die, particularly in terms of the personal mementos that you want others to have and where you want the value of your estate to go. Do you want it all to stay with family members Do you want to remember a charity Then, when you8217ve figured it out, sketch out the basics of a will. Later, you8217ll likely have to hire a lawyer to prepare it for you or use a site like LegalZoom. but just having those decisions made doesn8217t cost a thing and is a big mental relief. 14. Do a household maintenance walk-through. Go through your home and look for any little maintenance tasks that need to be done. Do filters need to be replaced Are there any burnt-out light bulbs Here8217s a maintenance checklist that can give you some ideas as to what to look for. It might not be the most fun activity you can think of, but it8217ll add subtly to your enjoyment of your home when it8217s done: cleaner air, light bulbs in place, and peace of mind. 15. Start or join a fantasy sports league. With baseball season just getting underway, you can go to Yahoo Sports. CBS Sports. or ESPN and easily start a free fantasy sports league for you and your friends. Even when you8217re just playing for bragging rights, a fantasy league can spur competitive banter and endless discussion between your friends as the season unfolds. 16. Organize a self-guided walking tour. Research the interesting historic and cultural sites in your town, then go on a walking tour of them. Pack a lunch in your backpack and have a picnic on the village green or in the park. You can easily turn this into a full day if you live in a compelling area. 17. Teach yourself how to knit. Learning to knit requires two needles (a dollar, or probably free if your closet looks anything like ours), some yarn (extremely cheap and also likely laying in the closet if your home is like ours), a lot of patience, and an instructional video or two . Try making a scarf for a friend or a small blanket for a new baby in the home of a friend or a family member. While it8217s not quite free, you8217ll learn a useful new skill 8212 and if you stick with it, you8217ll make things much more valuable than the input cost of a bit of yarn. Before long, you might even be able to sell your knitwear on Etsy. 18. Take some digital photographs. Take your digital camera out with you and take pictures of anything you find interesting. Take lots of them, then go home later and see if you8217ve taken anything beautiful and compelling. Great images can lay the groundwork for homemade greeting cards (yep, keep going downwards for more on this), nice desktop wallpaper, screensavers, personalized gifts, or other interesting uses. 19. Share those digital photographs with others. Sign up for a free Flickr account, then upload some of your most interesting pictures to share with others. Spend the time to title them appropriately, add interesting captions, and allow them to be used under a Creative Commons Attribution license so your images can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. 20. Start a blog on a topic that interests you. You can get a free blog using WordPress or Blogger. Join such a service and start a blog on a topic that interests you. Not only can it be a ton of fun, it also helps you improve your communication skills, reach out to others, and perhaps earn a bit of income down the road as well. 21. Organize a potluck block party. Get permission from the city to do this before you try it 8211 ask if you can block off a street for a block party on a certain date. Then throw yourself into organizing it. Go door to door, telling people about the block party, and inviting them to bring something. Ask if they have tables andor chairs that can be used for it. Then, on the day of the party, set out the tables and chairs you borrowed and dig in. Since you8217re the host, just contribute one of the 8220cupboard potluck8221 dishes you made from idea 11. 22. Visit a free museum or a zoo (or find out when you might be able to get in for free). Many cities and colleges have free educational attractions, such as museums or zoos. Make an effort to enjoy these free attractions. If your community doesn8217t have free zoos or museums, call them and ask about opportunities for 8220free to the public8221 exhibits or 8220free days8221 8212 many museums open their doors for free or charge 8220pay what you can8221 admission one day a week. You can even ask whether they issue free passes upon request. Local libraries sometimes loan out museum passes for the day as well. You8217ll often find there are many opportunities to enjoy museums, zoos, and science centers without any cost at all. The Smithsonian Museum in Washington is free to the public. Photo: Don DeBold 23. Learn the basics of a new topic. Just go to MIT8217s OpenCourseWare. find a topic you8217re interested in, download a bunch of MP3s of lectures on the topic, and listen to them while you8217re doing household chores. Some great suggested starting points: microeconomics. basics of philosophy. western philosophy. and introductory physics . Another great option: Fire up iTunes, then click on the 8220iTunes U8221 option on the left hand side. You8217ll find tons of material there to teach you the basics of countless topics. In fact, you can get a college-level education on virtually hundreds of topics for free online. Great options include Coursera. Khan Academy. and edX. a partnership between Harvard and MIT. 24. Cook some meals in advance. If you already have a bunch of basic food staples on hand, spend some time cooking some meals in advance to store in the freezer. It8217s easy to prepare casseroles, soups, pasta meals, breakfast burritos. and many other items all at once, then store them in portion-sized containers in the freezer for quick and easy reheating on a busy weekday. Not only is this way cheaper than eating out or buying convenience foods, it8217s also healthier 8212 and it can be more social, too. Missing some ingredients but have an abundance of others Team up with friends and make it a social event 8211 share ingredients so that you can all take some casseroles or other dishes home for the freezer. 25. Build a basic net-worth calculator for yourself. One great way to ensure that you8217re consistently making financial progress is to build your own net worth calculator. Once you have it set up, updating it is easy, and it can provide a great snapshot of your financial situation as well as show off your progress. Here8217s a detailed guide to making one with any basic spreadsheet program. 26. Have a quilting bee. All you need is a bunch of spare cloth (old shirts will even work, as will old curtains, old sheets, and so forth), some needles, thread, scissors, and some friends. Just get together, cut out squares of interesting cloth, and start sewing. You can stuff the inside with soft excess cloth, like t-shirts and such, instead of buying batting, and you8217ll create a warm and interesting quilt over time. 27. Practice origami. All you need is some scrap paper and a bit of time. Start with the simple things, like cranes and frogs. then you can try harder stuff like an origami iris. A well-made origami piece constructed from interesting paper can be a beautiful decoration. 28. Make a how-to video for YouTube. Share your knowledge All you need is a digital camera that captures video or a smartphone and (optionally) some video editing software. Just create a video to demonstrate how to accomplish something interesting and useful. Start off by writing a script for yourself, then turn on the camera and follow your script. When you8217ve got a take you8217re happy with, upload it to YouTube and let others enjoy it. If it8217s useful and entertaining, the viewers will come. 29. Do a 8216bill reduction.8217 Spend a few hours trimming your monthly expenses. How Find ways to lower your regular bills. Ask for credit card rate reductions. Think about what monthly bills you can completely eliminate, then do the footwork to get rid of them. This might be a boring task now, but if you can invest some time and trim 50 from your monthly bills for free, your future self will be very happy. 30. Play footballsoccer. All you need is a ball. some open space, and some friends. Designate whatever is available as goals, then kick the ball around. Don8217t worry about being terrible at the game 8211 as long as everyone8217s just having fun, it really doesn8217t matter how bad you are. Trust me 8211 I8217ve played football with Europeans who spent their entire lives playing while I8217d played perhaps an hour of serious football in my life, yet I had a lot of fun (albeit with a lot of falling down and jumping out of the way). 31. Make a time capsule. Find a small box, and then walk around your house gathering items that represent the reality of your present-day life: A newspaper or magazine, photographs, recent receipts, last week8217s grocery store list, letters or greeting cards, and so on. You could even include a digital flash drive with photos or a video you and your family make for your 8220future selves8221 to watch. Put it all in the box, tape it up securely, and write a date on the outside saying when you8217re allowed to open it 8212 say, 10 or 15 years from now. You8217ll probably have fun compiling a slice of your daily life, and you8217ll enjoy reflecting on those items in the future even more, when your lives and the world have changed. 32. Open up a 8216time capsule.8217 You may not have set out to make an official time capsule 10 or more years ago, but chances are you have some old photos, high school notebooks, or other mementos stuffed in a box somewhere, whether in a closet, under the bed, or in the attic. Pull them out and grant yourself the time to revel in those old memories or share them with your kids. 33. Scan your old pictures. If you have a digital scanner at home, put it to use and scan that pile of old prints you just dug out. Don8217t have a scanner Taking a photo of a photo with your smartphone is a viable substitute (make sure there8217s ample natural light). Digitizing these memories is a good way to safeguard them, since photos left in an attic or basement can deteriorate or get stuck together after a while. If you have a rotating screensaver of pictures. scanning in old prints and adding them to the rotation will make your screensaver all the more amazing. Plus, it becomes easy to just attach them to emails and send them to friends and family 8212 or post them on social media on 8220Throwback Thursdays.8221 34. Have a film festival. Invite some friends over and ask them each to bring one of their favorite DVDs. Then just settle in with some snacks (whatever you have on hand) and burn a lazy afternoon and evening just watching movies together. It8217s a ton of fun and it doesn8217t cost anything at all. 35. Seduce your partner. Really, is there any way to have more fun than that for free It8217s fun, romantic, great exercise, and it can help heal any relationship problems you might be having. An afternoon in your partner8217s arms will make both of you feel better, and it won8217t cost a penny. 36. Do some networking. Spend an afternoon drafting emails to professional contacts, just to see what they8217re up to and to let them know what you8217re up to. Set them up to send en masse on Monday morning. While it might sound boring, it can open up countless doors for your career if you do it consistently, and help you build new relationships and friendships 8212 and all it takes is a little bit of spare time. 37. Practice yoga 8211 or try it for the first time. All you need is some floor space and a blanket to do most yoga poses. Try out a basic yoga session to see if you like it. It increases flexibility, improves concentration, and holding some of those positions for long periods can be a powerful workout. 38. Try Geocaching. Part outdoor adventure, part treasure hunt, Geocaching 8212 hiking in search of hidden 8220caches8221 you can track by their GPS coordinates 8212 is one of our family8217s favorite frugal activities. If you have a GPS device or a smartphone, you don8217t need to buy anything else to get started. Just visit Geocaching and type in your home address (or the address where you plan to be walking or hiking), and you8217ll likely find a few geocaches stashed in the area. Pick one, add the coordinates to your GPS (or just use the app on your smartphone), and head out the door, letting your device serve as a treasure map. Geocaching is part outdoor adventure, part treasure hunt. Photo: Rona Proudfoot 39. Do a neighborhood cleanup. No need to organize a formal activity. Just walk through the shared spaces in your neighborhood (parks, sidewalks, etc.) with a trash bag and a pair of gloves, and pick up the litter. Not only is it a pleasant way to get your blood going, it also beautifies your neighborhood and the surrounding area, not just for your own enjoyment, but for everyone. If you want to really get into it, invite people that live near you to get involved as well and make an event out of it. 40. Build some paper airplanes. Design and build a bunch of different paper airplanes, then have a competition in the back yard to see which one flies the best. This is a great way to use up some scrap paper, particularly old newspapers. You can easily turn it into a contest 8211 the winner gets to pick what activity to engage in next, or gets to choose what you8217re having for supper. 41. Rearrange the furniture in a room. It8217s amazing how much you can refresh a room just by moving the furniture into new positions. Try moving the couch to a different wall, then moving the entertainment center elsewhere. Take your bed and turn it 90 degrees, then move the dressers to match the new configuration. It can completely refresh the look of the room and give you a good workout to boot. 42. Read an entertaining book. Look around your house for a fun book to read, perhaps something loaned to you by a friend or something you received as a gift, and curl up and let yourself be sucked into the story. I8217m a sucker for Stephen King novels 8211 I can just pick up any one and quickly be sucked straight into the plot for a fun afternoon8217s read. 43. Build a giant blanket fort. If you have kids, there are few things more fun than an afternoon spent building and playing in a gigantic fort in the living room. Use chairs, blankets, and tables to make an enormous hidden structure, then hide in there and play games and read books. If they8217re a bit older, build two forts (on opposite sides of the room) and have 8220fort wars8221 8211 toss small beanbags and pillows back and forth. No cost, but an afternoon that8217s a ton of fun. 44. Call a family member or a friend you haven8217t spoken to in a while. Not only is this a chance to catch up with another person who8217s important to you and firm up your relationship, it can also be a very entertaining and enjoyable way to spend an hour or two. 45. Start a natural collection or an observation notebook. In other words, spend some time in nature collecting items of interest (like particular rocks) or making observations of things. Perhaps you8217ll want to look for birds, or maybe your passion is rocks or feathers. Whatever it is, get your hiking boots on, get out there, and see what you can find. Here8217s some advice on how to get started . 46. Start a compost bin. All you need is a barrel or a large bucket (or, if you live in the country, some open space). Put your vegetable waste, coffee grounds, and eggshells in that bucket you can add some yard waste such as grass clippings and leaves, too. (Don8217t put meat, fish, or dairy products in your compost pile.) On occasion, scoop in a bit of dirt from the ground. Move the contents around regularly and keep it a bit moist. Over time, the compost will turn almost black. At that point, you can let it dry out and you8217ll have powerful, perfectly natural fertilizer for your lawn or garden. 47. Have a yard sale. Hosting a yard sale or garage sale is a great way to spend a money-free weekend 8212 and a potentially lucrative one at that. Not only does it give you an excuse to clean out unwanted clutter from your home, it8217s something the whole family can participate in, offering an entire weekend8217s worth of entertainment and activity (and a nice little wad of money at the end to boot). Yard sales are a great way to turn excess clutter into extra cash, and thats a win for everyone involved. Hosting a yard sale can turn your money-free weekend into a money-making one. Photo: Sierra Tierra 48. Learn a foreign language. Doubt this can be free There are a lot of ways to learn a foreign language online, from podcasts that teach language skills, to apps like DuoLingo and Language Zen. to YouTube videos and many other free language learning opportunities. You can often find popular self-taught foreign language courses like Rosetta Stone at your local library, too. Search around for resources for any language that you might want to learn 8211 you8217ll find tons of materials to help you. 49. Deep-clean the room in your house you spend the most time in. One great afternoon project that will provide aesthetic value for years is deep cleaning a single room in your house, ideally the room you8217re in most often. Getting that room pristine will subtly add to your enjoyment of that room for quite a while. This means going the whole nine yards 8211 moving everything out, scrubbing the walls, thoroughly cleaning the floor, cleaning all of the items in it, and so forth. When you8217re done, the room will feel fresh and new in a very subtle way. 50. Make some homemade greeting cards. Whether you want to make homemade birthday cards, thank-you cards, or Christmas cards, all you really need is some card stock or some cheap blank cards from your local dollar store, plus some photographs (or a desktop printer). You might also want to have some other creative printed materials on hand 8211 I like to keep old New Yorker covers for purposes like these. Use your pictures and other elements to create unique greeting and holiday cards, then save them for the appropriate occasion. Here are some tips on what to write on the inside . 51. Take a nap. A sério. Most people do not get adequate sleep during the week. Why not just kick back and take a snooze for an hour or two It8217s the ultimate free energy refresher. 52. Get things done. Almost everyone has a long list of things to do 8220when they have time.8221 Use the fact that you8217re intentionally spending a money-free weekend to in fact get some of those things done. Clean up the house. Dust the front room. Sweep the basement floor. Fix that old toaster. Go through the stuff that8217s accumulated in the garage. At the end of the weekend, you8217ll have accomplished something useful that you can feel good about, plus your wallet will be fully intact. 53. Dig up your family tree. Take a peek at Genealogy or Ancestry and see what you can find out about your ancestors. If your family has been in the area for a long time, your local library can help you track down centuries-old birth certificates and other records. And don8217t forget to ask your oldest living family members what they remember about their own parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Try to assemble a family tree, and see if you can link to any distant cousins or long-lost family members. Doing this can give you a much clearer picture of your heritage and help you get in touch with your family roots. 54. Sit down with your partner for an afternoon and talk about your goals. Spending some time with your partner discussing goals can go a long way towards getting you both on the same page in your relationship. Find out what your partner wants out of life and what you can do to support it, then share your own desires. Find areas where you8217re working in concert toward something bigger. Doing this can only lead to more clarity in your relationship. Here are some tips for getting started . 55. Play 8216Calvinball.8217 To play the wonderfully disorderly sport often portrayed in 8220Calvin and Hobbes,8221 all you need is a ball (or a few balls), some number of children, some open space, and a good imagination. Just kick the ball around (or throw it) and make up rules as you go along. With three or more kids, a game of Calvinball can go on for a good hour with everyone having a great time. 56. Do some puzzles. I enjoy doing both sudoku puzzles and crossword puzzles. You can find a huge number of these puzzles online for free, and they8217re a great way to stretch your mind a bit at the kitchen table. 57. Volunteer your time. There are countless volunteer projects out there that need nothing more than your time. A Saturday working for a volunteer cause is a Saturday well spent: You can meet other people in your community while making a positive contribution to society and working your body and your mind for the benefit of others. You may even pick up a new skill, and either way, it will leave you at the end of the day knowing you used your gifts to help out others. 58. Get your financial papers in order. This may not sound like a fun activity up front, but the peace of mind it gives you will make your life a lot more relaxing. Spend an hour or two organizing all of your statements and other financial documents. This is a perfect time to start your own filing system. If you8217re more adventurous, try initiating an electronic filing system. as it will save you significant space and make information retrieval easier (though it requires a bigger time investment up front). Everyone loves a sprinkler on a hot day. Photo: Rain0975 59. Turn on the water sprinkler. This is another great way to have family fun with kids. Just run out a hose in the backyard, attach a sprinkler to the end, and turn it on, shooting the water up into the air. Darting back and forth through the cold water on a hot day is a ton of fun for kids 8212 and for parents, too. 60. Try a basic meditation technique. Meditation is a spectacular way to push stress out of your life and calm yourself. Knowing how to meditate effectively and doing it regularly can be a major part of your stress management, and it costs nothing. Here8217s a wonderful basic meditation technique to get you started 8211 there are countless others out there. Try a few and see which ones work well for you. 61. Get involved in an open source programming project. If you8217re a computer programmer, there are few more intellectually stimulating ways to get involved in your passion than to be involved in an open source programming project. One role that almost every project can use is a person who8217s willing to fix mundane, boring bugs 8211 finding that one line of code that8217s causing a minor issue and fixing it. Look for a project that8217s compelling to you and dig in. 62. Teach yourself a card trick. Card tricks are a fun way to entertain people in almost any situation. Many tricks rely on knowing a specific pattern, some basic sleight of hand, or a combination of the two. Learning a clever card trick and mastering how it8217s done can be a great way to spend an afternoon, especially since you can use the skill again and again as a party trick. Here8217s a great one to learn 8211 it8217s really clever and can utterly baffle people. 63. Attend a religious service. Even if you8217re not a believer, attending a religious service can be a worthwhile educational experience. I really enjoy attending services of different faiths, as the varieties of religious experience are quite fascinating and incredibly insightful. Plus, most religious services 8211 if you pay careful attention 8211 offer a ton of intellectual food for thought no matter what your beliefs are. A religious service is always a worthwhile experience. 64. Start a workout routine. Most basic exercises 8211 push-ups, sit-ups, jogging, and so forth 8211 require no extra equipment at all. Spend some time doing research into fitness and figuring out a basic workout routine that will work for you, then do the basic 8220stress tests8221 you8217ll need to do to figure out where you8217re at. For example, the one hundred push-ups routine is very useful, but you need to couple it with other exercises, such as leg lifts, prone lifts, and jogging. You can also try this 10-minute cardio workout that gets progressively more intense, incorporating jumping jacks, push-ups, burpies, and other free exercises. 65. Read a 8216Great8217 book. By this, I mean a book that genuinely challenges both your beliefs and ideas as well as your language skills. Reading a great book is always a good mental workout. I recommend trying out any of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels or any essential work of philosophy to get started. Try hitting the library and checking out A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, The Executioner8217s Song by Norman Mailer, Sophie8217s Choice by William Styron, or Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison 8211 all of which deeply challenged and moved me. These books are deep, challenging reading 8211 read them slowly and you8217ll grow as a person. 66. Go swimming. Almost every town has a community swimming pool, public pond, or some sort of area where residents can swim 8211 lacking that, go to a state park with a public swimming area. Swimming is wonderfully invigorating and often makes me feel very peaceful 8211 best of all, it8217s something you can often do for free. 67. Get involved with public access television. If you8217ve ever wondered what goes into the process of producing a television show, most communities offer the resources for you to do just that. Stop by your local public access station and see what opportunities are available there. You can usually get involved for free in an ongoing program as an extra hand and learn a great deal about the whole process. 68. Blow bubbles. Just mix one part liquid dish soap with 15 parts water to make a homemade bubble solution. One quick way to do this is to just mix 14 cup dish soap with 3-34 cups of water. Use filtered and fairly soft water if you can. Then, take a wire coat hanger, bend and twist it into a small loop or two, and you8217re ready to go. Another idea: Take a tin can or coffee can, remove the top and bottom and hammer down any sharp metal edges, then dip the end in the solution and wave it in the air. Blowing bubbles is even more fun if you have small children who love to chase them or are just learning to blow them. 69. Start a journal. Let8217s face it, we start to forget some things 8212 especially the little details 8212 as we get older. A journal can be a powerful way to recall the events that happened in your life that made you who you are. Getting in the habit of writing down the events of your day each night is a great way to remember the specifics. Entries on what you8217re thinking about now can be the basis of powerful memories and reflections in the future. Plus, it can offer a release from the tensions of the day. All of that for just a pen and an old notebook It8217s a great free way to spend some time. 70. Write a letter to your future children or grandchildren. All of us have some advice or some stories inside of us that we want to someday share with our children, grandchildren, or other loved ones. Take some time to write these things down with the intent of giving them to that person some day. In the event that you pass on, you can be sure that they8217ll still receive the story or advice you wanted to tell them. This can be a very powerful way to consider your feelings and memories as you format them in a way that they can be shared with the ones you care about the most. 71. Make Christmas gifts in advance. If you know already that some people will be on your Christmas list, why not spend some time now making them interesting and thoughtful gifts and saving yourself some money over the long haul Make them some homemade soap, some homemade hot chocolate mix, and maybe a bottle of homemade beer as a gift. Prepare all of these items, then go ahead and box and wrap them, since they8217ll stay good for months. Not only is the gift less expensive than what you8217d spend at your local department store, it8217s also more thoughtful, and it8217ll save you time during the harried Christmas season. 72. Go 8216coupon scavenging.8217 If you get the Sunday paper, scavenge the coupons out of it, see if there are any for products you normally buy, and chuck the rest. If you find several coupons, then it might be worthwhile to scavenge. Stop by any friends or neighbors who also get the paper and ask if you can have their flyers when they8217re done with them, then clean out the useful coupons in those, too. For example, if you buy V8 Fusion as the default fruit juice for your kids (it8217s far healthier than almost anything else like it that you could give them) and you spy a 1-off coupon for a bottle, every coupon you scavenge is like finding a dollar bill, and it costs you nothing. 73. Pick up a musical instrument and learn it. Yes, you can find an instrument for free 8212 and learn how to play it for free as well. Just hit Craigslist and Freecycle looking for freebies, then utilize YouTube and other resources for tutorials. Here8217s a detailed guide to learning an instrument for free. With a bit of diligence and effort, you can start from nowhere and learn to play a song on your own instrument for no cost. 74. Plan next year8217s summer vacation. Think about some options for your next trip and what you want to do in general, then start researching the specifics online. Do some detailed comparison shopping for airfare, lodging, or vacation packages, and even set up alerts for cheap deals and tickets. Gather up all of this research, then have a family meeting about the trip to make any final decisions. Not only will all this advanced planning save you a ton of money, it can actually be a lot of fun researching a potential trip and it gives you more time to get excited about it. In fact, studies show the anticipation of a fun experience typically brings more enjoyment than the event itself. 75. Pick up (and read) a copy of the town8217s free newspaper. Many cities have a free newspaper that you can snag at the grocery store 8211 some cities have quite a few of them. I love them 8211 they8217re free reading that keeps me informed about the local area and also lets me know about free upcoming events. Around here, we have several free newspaper options 8211 Toons and Cityview are both well worth reading. Try looking in the front lobby of your local library for your free newspaper, or in the front of your local grocery store. 76. Play with a pet 8211 it doesn8217t have to be your own. An hour spent playing fetch or Frisbee with a dog or rubbing its belly is an hour well spent, and the same can be said for time spent curled up petting a cat. Spend some quality time with your pet or with the pet of a neighbor or a friend animal shelters are sometimes in need of volunteers to walk or play with their rescue pets as well. Every pet loves attention and a bit of exercise and interaction, and petting an animal can lower your blood pressure and reduce stress hormones. Most pets long for human attention, and they8217ll return the favor by lowering your blood pressure. Photo: Mitchell Jones 77. Go on a wandering walk. Step out your front door and go in whichever direction looks the most interesting. As long as you have some basic navigational skills, you won8217t get lost, and you can turn around or backtrack whenever you get bored or hit a dead end. All too often, we tune out our immediate surroundings during our rushed commute to work or school. Who knows what kind of interesting stuff you might notice in your neighborhood if you take your time meandering 78. Hold a baby. To me, there are few things more enjoyable than holding a very young baby. They smell wonderful, are usually warm and soft, and often drift off to sleep right in your arms. I don8217t even mind the crying ones, as some whispering in their ear can usually calm them down. There8217s nothing better than sitting all relaxed in a chair with a soft, sweet-smelling newborn in your arms. If there8217s a new parent in your circle of friends or family, why not offer to relieve them with a couple of hours of free babysitting 79. Exchange massages with your partner. A great massage is incredibly relaxing and enjoyable, but they can also be really expensive. Instead of shelling out the cash, just stay at home and exchange massages for free with your partner. Agree to spend 15 minutes or a half an hour massaging each other deeply and you8217ll find that you8217re both quite relaxed and happy afterward 8211 and perhaps ready to try other free and fun activities. 80. Help out an elderly or disabled friend or neighbor. There8217s always a person or two in your life that could use a helping hand, but often are too proud to ask. One great way to bridge this gap is to just stop in and visit and pay attention 8211 if they need something, you8217ll usually find out. Then just volunteer to do it and get started on the task. Quite often, you8217ll find that it8217s the simple things that really help 8211 reaching something on a high shelf or managing a simple household task. And that little effort can make all the difference. Few things can make you feel more fulfilled than helping someone you care about in their moment of need. 81. Start a book club 8211 or find one to join. If you like reading and know other friends that enjoy it, too, consider starting a book club with them where you all read the same book for a week then meet to talk about it. It can transform reading from a solitary activity into a more socially oriented one, and with a library at your disposal, it can be a free activity as well. 82. Play a card game. A deck of cards and a few friends are all you need for a fun afternoon. Games like bridge. canasta, pinochle, pitch, euchre, hearts, spades, and 500 are not only intellectually challenging, but are intensely social activities as well, drawing you out to interact with others around you. This is a perfect activity for an afternoon with friends and relatives, and it costs basically nothing at all. And you don8217t have to stop with cards. Here are 20 great games you can play with stuff you probably have lying around the house already . 83. Have an 8216entertainment swap8217 with a friend. This one8217s pretty easy. Just have a friend bring over a pile of their own DVDs, CDs, books, and video games that they think you8217d like. When they arrive, exchange an item for an item as a temporary swap. This will not only refresh your media collection for a while, but can provide a great opportunity for you to talk about your interests with a friend. 84. Take a child to a playground 8211 and actually play with the child. Take your child, or a child of a family member or a friend, to the local park. But instead of just watching the child play, dive in and participate, too. Go down the slide. Swing in the swings. Climb across the monkey bars. Not only will the child adore you for it, you8217ll find playing like that is simply exhilarating 8211 a little taste of childhood all over again. 85. Explore a blog you like. If you8217re reading this, you8217re probably at least a casual reader of at least one blog. What you might have forgotten, though, is that most worthwhile blogs have tons of useful and entertaining stuff in their archives. Dig deep in the archives of one of your favorite blogs. You can start with The Simple Dollar by visiting my author page 8211 a listing of all of the articles I8217ve ever posted 8211 and clicking through to the ones you find interesting or browsing some of the categories those posts fall into. Many popular blogs also have 8220best-of8221 indexes or similar features. 86. Explore Wikipedia. You can also allow yourself some time to get lost down a Wikipedia rabbit hole 8212 when you look up a tidbit of history, then start clicking deeper and deeper to learn more about related events and interesting historical subplots. Since each entry cross-links to so much other information, you could go on forever. Wikipedia, despite its imperfections, is like candy to the curious mind. 87. Work for a political campaign. Really interested in politics There are a lot of ways you can work for a campaign from your own home whenever you have the spare time (like during a money-free weekend). One great way is to get involved with a phone bank. Basically, you call up people to provide information about your candidate of choice. You can do this using the free weekend minutes on your cell phone or by using software provided by the campaign. Other volunteers are often needed to go door to door handing out flyers or collecting signatures. Just contact the campaign you support, and ask how you can help out. 88. Clean out a closet. We8217ve all got spaces in our living areas that accumulate junk, and it8217s often a small psychological burden 8211 we dread going in there and digging for something we need. Well, why not get rid of one of those burdens Clean out a closet in your home. Find out what8217s actually buried in there and get rid of the unimportant items. You might even find some interesting things you8217d forgotten about, and you8217ll feel a lot better about your organization when you8217re done. 89. Play Frisbee at the park. Get a friend (or a pet) and dig out that old Frisbee from your closet, then head out to an open field and toss it around. It8217s a lot of fun, a great excuse to run around and stretch and jump, and it doesn8217t cost a dime. 90. Take a long, soaking bath. You8217ll notice many of these suggestions don8217t cost money 8212 they simply cost time that you may not otherwise grant yourself. When was the last time you treated yourself to a long, relaxing bath Fill up a tub with warm water, strip down, get in, and relax. I like to do this with a bottle of wine, and I8217ve even read a book while in the tub. Just stretch out and soak for a while and your stress will melt away. 91. Binge-watch a great TV series. A cold or rainy weekend is perfect for plowing through episode after episode of an addictive or amusing show. If you already have a Netflix or Amazon Prime subscription, you have unlimited access to thousands of movies and commercial-free TV shows 8212 including some critically acclaimed TV series perfect for 8220binge-watching8221 if you8217ve never seen them before. Many libraries also loan out complete seasons of TV series on DVD. Popular series available for streaming on Netflix include 8220Breaking Bad,8221 8220Mad Men,8221 8220Arrested Development,8221 822030 Rock,8221 8220Orange Is the New Black,8221 8220House of Cards,8221 8220Gilmore Girls,8221 8220Sherlock,8221 8220Lost,8221 and even old favorites like 8220Cheers8221 and 8220The Wonder Years.8221 (While we8217re on the subject, here are 75 things worth watching on Netflix .) With Amazon Prime you have access to 8220The Wire,8221 8220The Sopranos,8221 8220Downton Abbey,8221 822024,8221 8220The Americans,8221 8220Broad City,8221 8220Veronica Mars,8221 and many others. And many series, like 8220Louie,8221 8220How I Met Your Mother,8221 Ken Burns8217s 8220The Civil War,8221 8220The X-Files,8221 and 8220Parks and Recreation,8221 are available on both sites. 92. Attend a dress rehearsal. Many performance groups hold dress rehearsals before opening night that are free and open to the public if you call in advance, particularly if you have young children. Give the theater a ring and ask if there are open dress rehearsals for a particular show, and then enjoy the show for free It8217s a great way to give your kids a taste of theater at no cost. 93. Attend a free community class. Many institutions and stores offer free classes on the weekends on all sorts of topics. Stop by a local food store and catch a free cooking class, or a hardware store to learn about a home repair topic. Got kids Try something like the Home Depot Kids Workshop. where they offer free how-to clinics, crafts, and projects for kids ages five to 12. I8217ve seen these going on while stopping by Home Depot on a Saturday morning, and they look like a lot of fun 94. Donate some unwanted things to charity. If you8217ve sorted through your stuff to clear out the clutter, but don8217t want to have a yard sale, consider giving the stuff you don8217t want to charity. Not only will you have a cleaner house, you8217ll have the good feeling of knowing your items are going to be used by someone who actually needs them. Get receipts for your donations, and you8217ll have some extra tax deductions next April, too. 95. Discover new music that you like. Try out free music services like Pandora or Spotify. Pandora allows you to enter a musical 8220seed8221 8212 your favorite band, song, or album, for instance 8212 and generates a radio station based on that information, playing songs with similar 8220musical DNA.8221 Give it a whirl 8211 you8217ll be surprised at the amount of good music you8217ve yet to discover that you8217re able to listen to for free. 96. Revisit a favorite book or favorite movie. Most of us have some works of writing or film that simply resonate with us on a very deep level. If a certain book brought you to tears, restored your faith, or shook your core years ago, it might be worth reading again. It can be a reinvigorating exercise, and you8217ll be amazed at the little details you8217d forgotten or even missed the first time. I like to re-read 8220Self Reliance8221 by Ralph Waldo Emerson. and continually draw new inspiration from it. 97. Build a cardboard castle. This is a great one if you have kids. Stop by an appliance store and ask if they have any extra appliance boxes you can take home, then flatten them and load up your vehicle. When you get home, use them to build a giant cardboard castle in your living room or in your backyard. Cut out doors and windows, and attach multiple boxes together to make rooms. This can be a great afternoon of fun for free 98. Dig an old video game console out of the closet and play some of your favorites. A lot of families have old video game consoles in the closet 8211 an ancient PlayStation or Super Nintendo, long forgotten about, with a controller and a few games. Dig out that old console and hook it up to a television, then relive some of the memories of the games you used to play for hours. I did this not too long ago and found myself replaying a good chunk of Final Fantasy IX . 99. Do some amateur stargazing. Go outside on a clear evening, preferably away from city lights, and look up at the sky. Use some handy star maps or an app such as SkyView Free to know what you8217re looking at. Spread out some blankets on the ground, lay flat on your back, stare upwards, and realize how magnificent the universe is around you. 100. Go on a hike or a long walk. Look up some local hiking or walking trails, and just take off. Let yourself get absorbed into nature and simply enjoy the journey. Go at your own speed 8211 this is for your own personal enjoyment, after all. 101. Take a stab at writing poetry (or other forms of creative writing). The basics of poetry are easier than you might think 8211 just try writing down what8217s on your mind. Whatever you8217re thinking about, just write it down. That can provide the basics of any poem. Then, just read through the stuff you8217ve written down, choose the words that seem beautiful to you, and assemble them until the whole work means something. This can be a deeply enlightening and personal experience, actually, and one that really stirs the creative juices. 102. Go on a bike ride. If you8217ve got a bicycle and a helmet in your garage or closet, you already have everything you need for some good exercise and some good fun. Head outside and bike away. Almost every town and every state park around here has an extensive array of bike trails, so you can almost always find somewhere new and interesting to ride. Plus it8217ll help get you into shape really quickly. Hopefully, this list will provide for a ton of fun money-free weekends. Want some more tips Here are 100 additional tips for saving money . Recommended For You Get rid of high interest debt with a 0 balance transfer credit card Earn credit card points toward your favorite ways to travel Save money and expand your travel budget by packing any one of these cards on your trip A comprehensive guide to maximizing rewards and getting paid back for everything you buy Loading Disqus Comments. Por favor, ative o JavaScript para visualizar os comentários alimentados por Disqus. Loading Facebook Comments. These are good ideas but did you realize the plague you8217ve just unleashed on so many people with 89 Desktop defense That8217ll stretch into the week8230 and the next weekend8230 and the next week8230 100a. Go on a bike ride. If you have a bike in your garage, but no helmet, ride anyway. WOW That is a comprehensive list. Number 61 is great. I attend church every weekend (where I am a youth leader) and some of the most fun I have ever had in my life has been at church (and it hasn8217t cost me a thing). If you are a regular church goer however this can cost you money as you would like to give in the offering (not that you have to, but that you love to because you love church). Great post, your blog inspires me on my financial blog so thankyou On number 68 8230 we actually setup an gmail email address for each of our children and my wife and I send emails to each of them from time to time. Then someday we will turn these accounts over to them. The only thing you might want to do especially if you use something other than gmail is log into them from time to time and make sure they remain active. I have to say that the library is a great resource. In my county, if you are a member to one library, you can take things out from ANY library in the county8230and on the Web site, you can search for DVDs that are available8230let8217s say you want to get two movies that you knew just came out, you could find out what libraries have them. I like to combine this with number 100 and ride my bike to the library for exercise. I am constantly amazed that you can come up with all these great ideas Trent8230keep it up well done. some of these are really great8230i especially like the community-building ones8230the other curious thing about not spending any money for the weekend is that you kind of get alot of thinking done8230a weekend like this might leave you with a different perspective. I just looked up my community calendar and they have 8220free movies8221 in the park during the summer on the weekends, once it get8217s dark enough they project a movie at the park, it looks pretty cool. Frankly I rarely have a lack of things to do at home on the weekend. Someone always wantsneeds to go somewheredo something, and I always have a backlog of things I want to do that I don8217t have time to. As it happens I don8217t have much time to them most weekends either (see above). Andy 8211 My husband was wary of this, as well, but I8217ve grown up in a household where we always changed our own. The compromise We change our own oil, but third time or so, we8217ll take it to a shop where we have a coupon (I can usually find these for 12 or 15 dollars, which is close to what it costs me to do it myself). Also, you8217ll notice that as you gain confidence in changing the oil, you8217ll recognize that a belt is squeaky or your tires need to be rotated or whatever else, all on your own. Just be sure that, before you change your oil, you locate someplace local that will take your used oil and dispose of it properly. Andy - Where I live (NM) Autozone or those type of places take the oil for free, just save a laundry detergent container (big enough of course) and empty the oil in that and give it to the people at Autozone or where ever8230.. LMBO at Rob Kansas mom, your point is very valid except for couples where one partner is fixed. -) I8217m a big fan of 51, which is getting things done. Usually I8217m doing things which end up saving me money(baking bread, fixing furniture, fixing up my house) or which, at the least, don8217t cost me anything. I definitely agree with Sarah 8211 knitting often is NOT a cheap hobby or way to pass the time, because you get sucked into all the beautiful, expensive but so soft yarns out there my personal vice is fabric because I sew a lot On the other hand, it is possible to 8220upcycle8221 yarn from thrift store sweaters and use it for new projects, so if you were to limit yourself to those sources of yarn it might turn out to be relatively cost-effective. Other than that, nice list. Frugal Bachelor: I believe you could accomplish 34 outdoors completely for free. No gas, electricity, or clothing required, all equipment provided8230 Just an all-around great post 8211 thanks Trent I8217m not studing to be a librarian and I agree. Public libraries are fabulous places. When I moved to NYC it was one of the very first places I went. I got my library card right away (7 years and I still don8217t have a NY State ID). Free movies, classes, info on other free events. Not to mention the books and music, from literature to do-it-yourself to whatever. I was a bit more cash-strapped then than now, and it was especially useful because of that. Always a great resource, in pursuit of frugality or not. Great post Trent, on the reminders of how much can be done for very little or no cost. Wow what a great list8230We just have to use our imagination and we will come up lots of ideas or if we don8217t we could pick one from Trent8217s list. Thanks Hmm, the way I read this, it looks like pedestrians are the ones who need to wear helmets. Call your legislators. ) It8217s interesting how big a place safety has in the culture in general now. For example, I usually call b. s. on 8220how much it costs to raise a child these days, wocka, wocka8221 EXCEPT for how increased safety regulations make so many expensive purchases necessary. (Up to and including needing a bigger car to fit those carseats into, whereas a sedan used to be fine for a family of 6.) My parents were sticklers on car seats and seat belts in the 708217s808217s, but we biked as a family all over Minneapolis with no helmets. I haven8217t really ridden in the 20 years since leaving there, so helmets seem strange to me. Surely I8217m wrong, but they just don8217t seem like they would do much good (like a false sense of security). I wish I could adhere to this idea, but our only Farmers8217 Market is on Saturday morning and I8217m not giving it up for anything. Here in the north we only have them for a few months once a week (in our town) We can walk to them On changing your oil, you need to replace the oil filter too8230It holds a pretty significant amount of old, yucky oil. Replacing it can be a pain without a special tool, but the tool doesn8217t cost much. Also, don8217t 8220discard8221 the oil. It can be recycled8230 Great list, Trent. Number 66 (blowing bubbles) has always been a particular favorite of mine. Side note 8211 those campaign signs are from a town about 5 miles from me. Small world Another FREE Game 8211 that also helps others 8211 go to freericeindex. php You8217ll test your vocab, for every word you get 10 grains of rice is donated via the ONE project to Africa. It8217s fun, but goes on for ages 8211 well for however long you want to play 8230just a warning:) Hi, This 100 ideas are just great I an spend another 100 weekends with my girlfriend on this idea ) Thanks a billion pal So 8230 take a bath with a glass of wine and read a book. No offense but someone named Trent doing that just sounds really weird. Maybe if your name was Trentrietta or Trent-Sue. Some of these suggestions are fine8230 But most of them involve having the internet (which I don8217t have the money for8230) the only way I could view this was by being irresponsible at work We live this way and have for many years. It8217s a great way to appreciate the real assets of living, not just the material. It also makes you think more about where your money goes or does not go. Geocaching can be a great way to spend a free day, too, although it8217s been a couple of years since we8217ve done it. We once found a terrific garnet source on the side of a rural highway heading into town that was a natural geocache. Check out geocaching for starting information. Thanks for 27 I checked out Sunbird and found Lightening, which is now on my computer and running like a charm. Now I have no excuse not to get off here and do things Especially with alarms going off to warn me to get my butt in gear Great list Trent. We do a lot of these things, and more besides. It doesn8217t cost money to have fun and learn stuff. By the way, thanks for the MIT Open Course Ware link too. even better than geocaching is letterboxing You don8217t need the the high tech expensive GPS. check out letterboxing. org It8217s a great fun for the whole family and a great way to sneak in a little exercise too Is have a sing song on the list I went to a sing song one Saturday afternoon and it was great. it8217s amazing how many debbie downers there are replying to this awesome article. i didn8217t find 8220complaining8221 to be on it, but i suppose that8217s something you can definitely add to this list. Obrigado por compartilhar. this definitely gave me ideas that I8217m really excited to pursue. UMM8230If you cut your own hair you may get more free time then bargained for82308221come here child stay away from that man8221.(lol winkwink)..Maybe a few clean piece8217s of paper, a pencil and a good eraser turned into a bunch of 3-5 minute drawing8217s. Try flowers, fruit, trees, or your toes. Thanks for the list. I think I8217ll try the library. Thanks for sharing, this is a great list. We, my husband and I, tend to spend out time shopping or at the movies and need new things to do for fun. I appreciate the list. I am trying to put this list into action, starting with the game playing one. When I went and look up some of the suggested games on Amazon (Settlers of Catan, and Puerto Rico), it said for 3 or more players. Since the point is to get a game that my husband and I can play alone, can someone let me know if this is right I have to say, I stumbled across this article this morning while trying to come up with ideas of stuff to do this weekend. I8217ve encountered ideas for 8220free8221 weekends before but I love this. Most of the others are not free in any sense of the word. I8217ve now spent about 4 hours poking around your blog and I8217m impressed. Thank you for posting this and helping others the way you do. I8217ve bookmarked you and hopefully your ideas and advice will help me get my fiancee to see the benefits of a budget finally. He8217s been very hard to convince to sit down with me and hopefully i can show him some of the stuff you have here to help me convince him. Again, thank you Great post 89 Desktop defense, I am also hooked. Would like to write a long comment but I need to go and play it some more8230 Great list, Thank you. Whenever I travel to a major city (NYC, Chicago, etc) I try to think of free things that I can do while I am there. And I have not come up with this many things to do BTW, here is another idea on your taking a walk in your neighborhood. Make notes and put clues to each spotcornerlandmark for visitors to do when they come to visit you. These are clues that are on the Detroit8217s new Riverwalk along the Detroit River. I did not know that they have made the walk such a nice place. So, for kids and adults who like to solve puzzles these are great. But I had to open my eyes to the sights and sounds here in my town. Whoa that rhymed Keep up the great articles Houston Nutt says: whoever gave this article a favorable review8230 has no FREAKING life. Bashing people on posts should be one of the greatest free fun things to do EVER What about ebooks You can discover or rediscover the classics from many online ebook providers. You can find all sorts of free ebooks out there on many different topics. Great post. I8217m completed 23 of the list. Now I need to complete the other 77. This is a great list for people who need to do something on weekends cost-free. I love it I absolutely adore this list. The only thing I could say or ask for is, what about a list of - practically - free things to do On the off chance that one of the free things isn8217t available 8211 not that I can see how that would ever happen 8211 what about some low-cost alternatives Thank you so much for this that is cool, but need more kids thing in it. i am a kid and i am not going to do that because we do not have a car. Thanks for the help ALOT actually. i needed more songs on my ipod and the Last. fm really helped.. Andd8230. The one hundred pushups cant hurt lol Didja Booty says: Great Iders i love em except for the fact that I CAN8217T DO HALF OF THEM gosh people. get it straight. For comment 71 and anyone else. There are MANY great games for two players. There are also a lot of games you can play with a group of friends. Here is a list of just a few of my favorite two player games8230Khuna, Lost Cities, Trans America, Ticket to Ride, Carcassone, Balloon Cup, Ingenious, and Quirkle. Check out more games on boardgamegeek8230Have Fun Josh Thielbar says: Holy crap people. Stop posting stupid remarks. This is an awesome site, and I greatly appreciated the ideas. But arguing that, 8220Well, technically your spending money on electricity, and gas82308221 That8217s dumb. this is a joke8230 learn how to knit re: 64: swimming. If you have a pool in your yard, I could see this as a freebie (though you spent significantly in advance for the privilege). However, I8217ve never (even back in the 19608217s) gone to a municipal pool where you don8217t have to pay SOME money to enter(unless you spent money in advance for a season8217s pool pass). Free days at the pool (if they exist) are NEVER on weekends (most pools run at a financial deficit so they8217re not going to turn away revenue during a popular use interval) . I8217d be reticent to swim in many 8216free8217 lakes creeks streams in the Midwest due to agricultural runoff concerns, but to each hisher own. What a great article. I am starting our money free weekend routine this weekend. Well it seemed like a great list and then i went to the park and tried find some children to play with i ended up in jail for assaulted a small child. Its More than good8230 its gREEAAAAT I have done every single one of them. TWICE in one day. Thank you so much TRENT You are a life saver. Hello, This is Nasser From Saudi Araiba, I was looking for someone to tell me what to do over the next weekend, so I did some google. and found this page, I read them all, all of them are just amazing. Thank you so much of the effort you put on this powerful list and thank you for sharing it with your readers. The part about the Will is great idea cause I8217m going to have to kill myself after reading this list It8217s sad the world today doesn8217t offer more without draining the bank account. You could read the bible and learn about eternal salvation I know my comment is harsh8230but the reality is the world isn8217t build for free anymore and your list confirms that. Are you serious with that list I would rather look at a tv all day even if it wasn8217t on I think this list is great. All you did was make suggestions, you didn8217t tell people they had to do any of them, so I don8217t understand the negitive comments. Try them or don8217t8230..no need to be nasty people. I make a copy, and keep some of the ones that apply to my life in mind. THANKS AGAIN for taking your time to post this list. I wish this list had more great ideas. Good thing is i wasted a good 10 min reading this. Now i have to find something else to do :( Awesome list. I can8217t believe there is actually a 100 things to do. My friends and I use this site Pinchd and we write lists of funfree things to do this summer and then share it to each other. I made it my website link8230but here is another one: bit. lyc02EPZ hope it helps. but really awesome job on this list. Central Coast says: If you live near the coast, take the kids over to check out the rock pools. It8217s a great way to spend a few hours and a fun way for the kids to learn about the ocean and it8217s inhabitants. ive recently been spending alot of time watching tv and playing vidoe games but today i decided to do something constructive and this site realy helped me have some good free fun while getting both some mental and physical exercise. thanks I loved this list As for someone8217s comment above that mentioned free swimming 8211 it is available Many areas have free trials for gym memberships, or your friends may be able to bring guests. And many parts of the country do have great free lakes to swim at. For military families like ours 8211 don8217t forget about gyms on basepost, as well as those on other military bases or recreational sites that might be near you. Another good one would be, instead of just taking a hike for the fun of it, take a hike with a purpose. For example, go on a fossil-hunting or arrowhead-hunting hike. It8217s easier to justify to yourself if you8217re going for a reason. This is a fantastic list Another tip would be to not surround yourself with people who are more well-off all the time as they have a tendency to encourage you to spend more. very awesome list8230 don8217t leave many comments on pages like this, but your list was well worth the time to do so Thanks for the great ideas 8220K8221 8211 you comment that garages 8220convince8221 you to do things that are not necessary. My response to that is 82308230. you are partly correct and mostly incorrect. MANY, MANY times, most people don8217t maintenance their vehicles like they should. I agree that you should always follow the dealer8217s recommendations for maintenance. I would suggest however, that you do not take the vehicle to a dealer to do that. Most reputable garages will do that maintenance check for significantly less than the dealer, additionally necessary repairs (unless covered by warranty) can be done cheaper. For big repairs, always get estimates from at least two different garages (possibly more) before agreeing to repairs. this is a delightful list of free activities, but number 69 is NOT a free acticvity would you please amend or remove this from your list. How about reducing your car insurance premium by taking an online driver safety course The course costs a little fee but you get discounts on major coverages later8230 My sister would be locating my own blogsite for just 2 days days now, it really has some quality written content My favorite way to spend time (it8217s free to join): storyofmylife I8217m collecting stories from all our elderly family members and recoding them. The family who is far geographically are LOVING it. Some I do in video, some taped over the phone, some written. I help them scan old photos for the pictures too. I have learned more about my family in the past year than I knew in my entire life And some really neat things about family I didn8217t know 8211 and they feel good because someone is listening. If no family around around 8211 head out to the local verterans or senior center. Stories of World War II, the Depression, you name it. I8217m sorry, I understand if you would need to save on money and want free things to do 8211 but write your own will change your own oil Seriously You8217re wasting money by going on the internet and doing Desktop Defender or whatever 8211 and also it just shows you don8217t have a life. To save money on the weekends, I would say just go out to your local park for a picnic or something or to the beach, or whatever is closest to you. I have a park near my place 8211 and I like to meet up with friends there and catch up. That8217s free Or really, just SAVE up money, until you can spend it on something decent Like going out to the pub for the night You need money to have a decent kind of living. Free weekends are nice in theory, but really, there not. I do agree with the library, along with other things on this list, but some of these things are just there to fill up the 8216100 things to do8217 and not actually usefulfun. Or you know, you could just waste time practising origami, I8217m really not bothered. Well8230I acutally like the list We sometimes do this not to just save money, but just to enjoy the basic things we can do in life. I really like the 8220connect with the neighbours8221 (or a bit further than that). With our busy lives we sometimes forget who lives nearby. Here some additional tips and links. 22. A free zoo or museum The lincoln park zoo is free: lpzoo. org You can also organize an event. By raising funds this does not cost you anything. This usually takes more than a weekend of course. But you can also hold an ad hoc small event (like a neighbourhood barbeque). You can surf the internet and find books about a vacation that you might take in the future and dream about all the lovely foreign countries and wildlife. You can practise a sport you haven8217t done before. Advertising Disclosure: TheSimpleDollar has an advertising relationship with some of the offers included on this page. However, the rankings and listings of our reviews, tools and all other content are based on objective analysis. For more information and a complete list of our advertising partners, please check out our full Advertising Disclosure. TheSimpleDollar strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information in our reviews could be different from what you find when visiting a financial institution, service provider or a specific products website. All products are presented without warranty. Buffer Diggit Email More Facebook Flattr Google Linkedin Pinterest Print Reddit Stumble tumblr Twitter VK WhatsApp Yummly Xing
Comments
Post a Comment