Book it
Posted on June 16, 2005 11 Comments
Budgeting is a pretty boring venture, for the most part, right? Not necessarily. Here are some great cheap ideas to enjoy the summer on a budget:
1) Read a book. I like to head over to a local park or pool with a towel and some sunscreen and catch a few rays. Here are some recent reads I enjoyed:
- The Great Gatsby. I just re-read this one (stole a copy from my brother the high school graduate. Summer parties, mansions, champaign, lots of drama and fantastic writing make this one to get lost in. Plus, the storyline illustrates the fact that money can’t buy you everything… or something like that. Absolutely perfect for Budgeting Babes.
- Memoirs of a Geisha. So fantastic I couldn’t put it down. The clothes, the hair, the make-up, the scandals! Sayuri shows us that women from every generation, in every corner of the world have struggled to earn their keep while leading intriguing and sometimes fabulous lives.
- Belle Canto. You’ll want to listen to opera after reading this. And you’ll want everything to smell like jasmine, especially hot summer nights.
- Anything by David Sedaris. Chapter one. Laugh your ass off. Flip over, reapply sunscreen. Chapter two. Repeat.
2) Join a summer sports/social team. I joined a beach volleyball team and it’s the best $50 I’ve spent all year. For eight weeks (more if we get into the playoffs!), I get to spend an hour destressing by the lake, having fun with my friends. I don’t need new clothes, or even new shoes to play. Great way to pass the time for less than you’d spend going out to pubs or clubs. And more fun!
3) Get a goal. Train for a race (think I’m doing a 5K), study a language, learn a non-expensive craft (knitting, anyone?). You’ll spend your time training instead of splurging at the mall.
4) Go to free festivals. Last weekend instead of hanging out at bars and paying covers everywhere drinking expensive drinks, we attended a festival in town. Free music and cheap beer make everything more exciting.
5) Road trip to somewhere close and cheap. Stay with someone you know and love. Guaranteed to stop that longing for a spontaneous trip to Miami. For a little bit, at least.
6) Have a sleepover. With your friends, dirty minds! Rent a bunch of Sex and the City episodes, buy some nail polish for manicures, have everyone bring a dish. Viola! Instant fun and very cheap. In the a.m., buy some People magazines or a crossword puzzle book and lay out on the beach/at the pool.
7) Nature up. It’s beautiful outside, for heaven’s sake! Find a zoo, a local garden/conservatory, an Arboretum (we have one!), a trail, a bog, an ocean, grab some ice cream and enjoy.
Culture up. Museums in the summer are air conditioned. As if art wasn’t reason enough.
9) COME TO CHICAGO! We have the best summers in the world and tons to do for cheap or free. Street festivals, museums, Navy Pier, Millenium Park, architecture tours, a free zoo, conservatories, a great lakefront, bike paths, music all over the place … Orbitz will find you a cheap hotel and you can fly into Midway for way cheaper than O’Hare.
10) If all else fails, you can always watch Dancing with the Stars.
Send me your ideas and enjoy the weather, wherever you are.
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June 16th, 2005 @ 1:23 pm
Chicago also has free dance lessons in Grant Park during the summer (4 days a week, no less!)
And Lost reruns are on after DWS… since I didn’t have time to watch it the first time around, I’ll save myself the purchase of the DVDs.
June 16th, 2005 @ 2:11 pm
Great ideas! I just requested Memoirs of a Geisha from my library. I read a lot in the summer, hanging out on my deck or at the pool. We also have a free zoo here, so that’s always good for a trip or two every summer – sometimes the people watching is better than animal-watching.
I also recommend people get their local, small-community or neighborhood newspapers. That’s where I find out about stuff like the Wild Rumpus Circus Parade that happens several times a summer in my town. It’s this crazy parade done by children that go to Circus Camp. They teach little kids stuff like aerobatics, gymnastics, walking on stilts, riding unicycles, and other circus-type stuff, and they have these adoreable little parades that are utter chaos several times a summer. There’s also stuff like receptions at small art galleries, free movies on Friday nights at the community building, and adult night at the pool. I’m sure lots of communities have events like these, but people often don’t know about them.
June 16th, 2005 @ 3:31 pm
Love the ideas. While I agree about the festivals, I’m wondering which ones have the “cheap” beer! At the ones we went to last weekend, a plastic cup was $4. Ouch.
Chicago metblogs has a great little story about meeting David Sedaris. Check it out here: http://chicago.metblogs.com/archives/2005/06/a_night_with_da.phtml
Chicago sites like Gaper’s Block (gapersblock.com) and Chicagoist (chicagoist.com) usually have a good handle on what is going on during the weekends.
-Make Love, Not Debt.
June 16th, 2005 @ 5:07 pm
Another favorite summertime activity in Chicago…walking along the Lake/ playing volleyball at North Beach/ riding bikes on the path…
oh, and while we’re talking about budgets – check out why women are better investors: http://theage.com.au/news/Business/Women-are-the-smarter-investors-surveys/2005/06/16/1118869026125.html?oneclick=true
June 19th, 2005 @ 7:27 pm
From those ideas I do love the outdoors in the summer. I love to hike and backpack. And I have a goal of climbing Mt. Kathadin (Maine highest peak) at the end of summer as a result of the practice New Hampshire 4K peaks we are doing early in the summer.
Reading, I leave it for long plane rides (like the 20 hour trip to South Africa I just did yesterday.
As for sleepovers…. Backpacks count? Otherwise, I would gladly accept a sleepover invitation at Butgeting Babe house.
Money and Investing
June 20th, 2005 @ 11:18 pm
Which Chicago museums are free?
June 22nd, 2005 @ 7:13 pm
The Art Institute is free on Tuesdays, from what I remember. Technically it’s always free, but a suggested donation is requested.
Chicago Public Library cardholders can borrow free day passes from local libraries (call ahead to request them- my mom does this all the time).
Check out this web site for more free days. I think most museums in the area have free days and discounted rates on other days:
http://pages.prodigy.net/feaudrey/freedays.htm
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October 2nd, 2005 @ 9:08 pm
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