If you’re getting a little jealous of all your friends summer Instagram accounts or feel like everyone has exciting summer plans except you, have no fear, You can still have a fun summer without breaking the bank or your budget. Here are some ideas for free or cheap things to do this summer that might be available in your area!
Local events
First, you need to do some sleuthing to find where your town (and the surrounding towns) posts about their community events. Their website may have a community calendar, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only place to check.
Head to Facebook to see if they have more events posted about there. Most of our community events have their own Facebook pages. In that case, like and follow to know when they’re happening.
When you’re on your main newsfeed page of Facebook, click on “Events” on the left side. This will show you all the events that you’ve been invited to, or have shown interest in. If you click on “This Week” under “Find Events” on the right side, Facebook will show you nearby events going on!
The library can also be a good place to find out about community events, plus they often host their own events.
Talk to friends and neighbors! What are their favorite community events you haven’t heard about?
Our town has concerts in the park every second Monday night, an outdoor movie night on the second and fourth Fridays of the month, also a street fest on the first Friday of the month. And that’s just the regularly occurring events. There are also festivals throughout the year! My sister and I never miss the annual art festival.
Farmer’s market
Does your area have a Farmer’s Market? What a better way to spend a Saturday morning than a leisurely stroll with some locally grown produce. If you’re not sure if there’s a farmer’s market in your area, just google it, or try searching localfarmmarkets.org
Discount movie nights
Does your movie theater do discount nights? That’s now your new date night. Our local theater chain has $5 Tuesdays- and it includes all the movies, even the brand new releases. You can bet that’s the only day we go to the movies.
Pro tip: if you’re popcorn fans like we are, and they offer free refills on the large bucket, you don’t have to get it refilled that night! That’s right. We take our bucket home and save it until the next time we go to the movies. Tacky? Maybe. Worth the savings? Absolutely!
Volunteer
Is there a local event you’re interested in attending? See if you can volunteer! A lot of our local events will let you volunteer for part of the event and in exchange, you can attend later for free. Plus you get to meet new people and be more involved. You can serve your community and save money!
Be a tourist
Take advantage of the area around you. Are there free parks you can go to? Pack a lunch and go have a picnic! Visit a local campground or hike a local trail. What about museums? Most museums will give discounts for locals, or you can find coupons in your local mailers. Be a tourist in your own town.
You don’t need to sit at home all summer to save money, you can still go out and have fun! Get involved in your community and take advantage of what it has to offer!