27 Fun and Exciting Things to Do With No Money

Sometimes, you need to find fun things to do with no money. Whether you are saving money for a downpayment, waiting for your next paycheck, or simply practicing good financial hygiene – we’ve all been there.

There’s no shame in having fun on a budget, and it might even help you understand that life can be good without much money. To prove it, we have compiled a list of twenty-seven cheap or free things to do. We’re sure at least some will stick to your habits.

Outdoor Adventures You Can Do for Free

The first category is for those who are willing to venture for activities outside. All the adventures can be free if you pack up some food and drinks from home. Spending lots of money on them is unlikely to make them much better than the budget version.

Take a Hike

Hiking will do incredible things to your mind, body, and spirit. It’s a moderately challenging exercise that entails traveling over familiar or unknown routes. You don’t need to venture far to discover new trails.

Local trails or parks can be as entertaining as those on the other side of the globe. The activity can range from short half-day programs to more extensive excursions with a large group of people.

Go Camping

Camping is a step further than hiking, but still an excellent example of fun things to do without money. Although there are campgrounds that charge fees, many are free, and depending on your local laws, you might be able to camp in a local park.

Camping can be even more fun with a group of friends or family members as you can undertake various activities. Erecting a tent, collecting firewood, and preparing meals are all fun campsite activities. Once you have perfected your campsite, be sure to take a hike or enjoy nature in other ways.

Go for a Bike Ride

Bike riding is a fantastic exercise that you can do in a city or the countryside. It enhances your mood and also helps to burn calories. During your bike ride, you can uncover something new in your area or ride a bit further with a car or other transport to explore somewhere unknown.

It’s better than hiking since you can enjoy nature on a much larger scale yet not miss much of the beauty as you would with a car. You also don’t necessarily need good infrastructure, as going off-road with a good bicycle can be even more fun.

Explore Geocaching

Geocaching is an outdoor activity that uses the global positioning system on our phones. You get coordinates and then must look for a secret spot where strangers have hidden a small treasure (usually their signatures).

The activity became popular because of the app using the same name, but you don’t need an app to play it. A fun activity for friends is to make your own geocaching with coordinates or clues about the places that are important to you.

Frisbee Golf at Local Parks

Frisbee golf is becoming wildly popular around the world. Many cities have the needed targets in one or another local park. Chances are, your city also has them since it’s a cheap way to create a fun activity for residents.

Even without the city infrastructure, you can play frisbee with your own targets in a large local park. All you need is an empty box or a basket and a disc that costs a couple of bucks. Unlike the fancy gear for other sports, the disc will last you years to play frisbee golf.

Foraging for Wild Edibles

Foraging berries, mushrooms, flowers, or tea leaves doesn’t cost anything, and you might even end up profiting. All you need is to take a nature walk and read about local wildlife in your area beforehand.

Once you can differentiate between what’s edible and what’s not, start picking up the natural goods. There are some apps, like iNaturalist, that can help you identify what’s good. If you want, you can even sell your findings in a local market. Just be careful when doing so – many seemingly edible plants and mushrooms are incredibly similar to highly poisonous ones.

Photography Walks

Photowalking or photography walks is an activity done by photography enthusiasts where a group of them walk around taking pictures. That’s it, that’s the gist of it, and it’s completely free to participate in.

All you need is some free time and at least a smartphone with a good camera. Check your local social media to find groups of photographers or go on a solo photo walk.

Fun Indoor Activities at No Cost

If you’d rather stay at home and cozy up to its comforts, then this category is for you. There are countless fun things to do with no money at home. It’s difficult to figure out a cheaper place to be than a home of yours or your friends.

Host a Board Game Tournament

There’s something magical about spending an evening playing board, card, and computer games when you’ve got the gang together. It’s one of the most fun ways to hang out with friends without spending money.

You don’t even need to spend money on board games, as, highly likely, your local library rents out board games for a small charge or even for free. Aside from being a cost-free activity, it’s a chance to bond and laugh. It’s one of the best alternatives when you can’t find any free events in the city.

Create a Blanket Fort for Movie Night

Movie nights are another classic pastime that doesn’t require any money, but things get boring quickly if you’re doing the same often. Creating a blanket for and pretending you are camping at your own home with snacks and decorations can liven up almost any boring movie.

It’s also high on the list for affordable date ideas, as you don’t need to spend much money but can still spend quality time with your pattern. It’s especially true if your blanket fort is set up romantically with candles and homemade snacks.

Experiment with a New Recipe

Preparing food at home can be an activity in itself. It ain’t completely free, but you still need to eat, and doing it at home is cheaper. To make food preparation more fun, mix it up a little and move away from the recipes or habits you already know.

Try to make something exotic or that you haven’t tried before, and involve your loved ones, family, and friends in the process. The internet is full of great recipes with products you can find in your local supermarket. Of course, a trip to the farmer’s market might be a fun and even frugal thing to do.

DIY Craft Projects with Household Items

Every home can use some practical improvement or esthetical decor. The internet is full of various guides you can follow along and complete yourself or involve your friends or family. The best part is that most of them don’t require much supplies, so they can be completed on a shoestring budget.

Some of the popular DIY craft projects are various variations of origami, tote bags, paintings, sculptures, floating shelves, and even DIY candles or soap. It’s all up to your imagination and willingness to research and experiment.

Learn a New Skill on YouTube or a Free Course

Most indoor activities will start with you learning some new skill, so focusing on it as a separate activity is a great idea. YouTube is full of content that is entirely free to access to learn skills – from programming to university-level lectures by top experts.

Other platforms, such as Coursera or Khan Academy, are also full of free or very cheap courses you can use to learn. The more skills you have, the more opportunities open up for you to do free things in the future. Learning about personal finance, for example, is a great start.

Digitize Old Photos

Chances are that you or your family members have lots of old photos lying around. Looking at them is a great free activity itself, but you can transform it into something more productive.

Free software, such as Google PhotoScan or Microsoft Lens, can document and upload your old photos to the cloud. You will have a great time looking over them and will be sure that the memories are preserved.

Create a Time Capsule

One of the things to do with no money is to create experiences for your future self. All you need is an empty box or other container that can stand the test of time and fill it with sentimental items.

Then, write a note about the contents and the message for the people (possibly you) who will find it. Such time capsules are one of the best free activities, not just for you right now but for the future as well.

Creative and Productive Free Time

Another category of things to do with no money relates to creative and productive pastimes. It may or may not involve outdoors, but the main idea behind all of these activities is that they will improve your life or your home.

Journal or Try Guided Writing Prompts

Writing a book is a dream for many people, but even without the ambition of making a bestseller, writing is good for you. You can start small by writing a journal or diary. It will help you to learn how to express yourself and view problems from a different, more thoughtful angle.

If you want more creative writing experience but lack the initial push, try writing with guided writing prompts. It can include short stories or questions about yourself that nurture introspection.

Write Letters to Friends or Elected Officials

Another rewarding yet forgotten activity is writing letters. Contacting your friends, family, celebrities, politicians, and everyone else is a great way to improve your writing skills and get things done. A written letter to an elected official about a local problem can go a long way.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t receive a reply. Even if you don’t send the letters to the receiver, the act of writing them itself is invaluable because you learn to communicate your ideas not just in a journal to yourself but when communicating with another human.

Organize and Declutter Your Home

We all feel better when our homes are in order. One of the best free things you can do for yourself is to declutter your own home. Get rid of things you don’t need, organize what’s messy, and clean the spaces, and you will start to feel better in your head as well.

It’s not a fun activity for most people, but you can approach it more entertainingly. Organizing and cleaning the house is much easier when listening to a podcast or blasting your favorite songs at full volume.

Learn a New Language for Free

Language learning apps like Duolingo Rosetta Stone, Babbel, Pimsleur, and others give great possibilities to improve your knowledge for free. Most of the time, you only need to sign up to get a free trial or watch a few ads to access the learning materials.

They are so convenient that you can do it almost anywhere and feel like you are playing a game. It’s one of the most rewarding things to do with no money, especially if you are planning to go for a vacation abroad.

Plan a Low-Budget Vacation

Traveling is often deemed as something that only the rich can afford. At least, that’s the image we get from social media, but it isn’t true. You can travel with no money if you are persistent enough and make traveling a priority for you and your family.

It all comes down to taking your time to plan a trip with resources you can find on the internet or even the local library. Free things to do abroad are plenty, and if you don’t need luxury, you can make do with very affordable conditions in a simple Airbnb and low-fare flights.

Social and Community-Based Activities.

Most events are about socializing, and free events are no exception. This category is all about things to do with no money that will get you hanging around other people. It’s much cheaper than it looks.

Host a Potluck with Friends​

Meal parties, where everyone brings their own homemade food and presents it to others, used to be a traditional pastime. Since most of us now live in the city with expensive restaurants, this tradition has shifted.

But nobody’s stopping you from hosting a potluck with your friends at your home. It will give you an opportunity to spend some quality time and eat delicious food without breaking the bank. It’s also a great warm-up before other local events.

Volunteer for a Cause You Care About

By helping others, you also help yourself. It’s not just a nice saying because volunteering has some serious practical value. You meet new people and find free things to do. There is a lot of need for volunteer work – helping the elderly, children, animals, or your local community.

Programs like VolunteerMatch and Action Without Borders have digitized this process and helped people find a place to volunteer. In the end, it’s all up to how active you would like to be.

Attend Free Local Events

If you live in at least a moderately large city, there are always some free events happening. Outdoors, it is music festivals, local fairs, or concerts. If not in the street, then look into local museums, libraries, and other public spaces.

It might be difficult to catch the events at a convenient time, so you must put in some preparation. Create a habit of checking relevant social media pages or other websites and mark down free events in your calendar.

Borrow Books or Attend Events at the Library

Your local library is a treasure trove of things to do with no money. The importance of libraries seems to have faded in recent years as everyone now has the internet, but it’s still a place of free activities. Everyone can find something to do in the library, and it’s all already paid for from your taxes.

Besides lending books, it’s a place for many free local events and equipment you can use or borrow. Most events are related to new books or political discussions, but it varies depending on the library. If you start following news about your library, you are sure to find what interests you.

Connect with Nature

Lastly, there are quite a few free activities that can help you to enjoy nature. Local parks are open for everyone, so your only expenses will be traveling and the food you’ll bring for yourself.

Go for a Nature Walk or Hike

Unlike an ordinary hike we recommended earlier, a nature walk usually has a slightly different purpose – to enjoy the nature surrounding you. Taking a nature walk is a free activity that serves most nature-related things you can do without spending any money. You might need to travel a long distance, but it’s always worth it.

Bird Watching with a Guidebook or App​

Bird watching complements camping or hikes in nature perfectly. It’s a pleasant activity that draws your attention to the surrounding nature and has an almost addictive pull. To many bird-watching enthusiasts, it’s something akin to creating a collection.

Instead of a physical thing, you collect an encounter with a living creature that is difficult to spot otherwise. It’s best to start in your local park that has some related tours. You’ll, of course, need a good pair of Googles, a guidebook, or an app like Birda.

Go Swimming at a Local Lake or Beach

Traveling to the nearest lake or beach and taking a swim is one of the top free summer activities you can do regularly. Many do perform it regularly simply because it’s so refreshing to take a swim on a hot summer day.

The practice of traveling to take a swim can be paired with hiking, camping, or enjoying nature in general. Some even swim in lakes during the cold winter months, but you might need an outdoor sauna for that.

Stargaze in Your Backyard

You don’t need to be an astronomer or have an expensive telescope to stargaze. Apps like Sky & Telescope or Stellarium are full of great recommendations of what to watch for and when to do it. They also will help you find the stars and notice constellations.

If you live in a remote area, you could even stargaze without a telescope. However, a basic telescope can cost no more than $100, and you would be able to stargaze for years with it.

Conclusion

There are fun and exciting things to do with no money. There’s no denying it. What you may be lacking is creativity and openness to adventure. A good step forward is to try some new free activities. We hope this list has provided you with some options.

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