The internet brings the world to our fingertips and makes enjoying life while saving money easier than ever. It provides instant access to a slew of free entertainment options that cost … nothing. OK, nothing except for the high-speed internet service needed to truly maximize your enjoyment potential.

Below you will find some of my personal favorites for frugal, free entertainment and fun:

Free Music

Pandora – Intelligent internet radio that only plays songs that you like. Simply create your own station and select an artist and Pandora will begin playing songs by that artist. It will then gradually songs by other similar artists. You can give each song a “thumbs up” (like it) or a “thumbs down” (don’t like it) and it will keep playing the ones you like and it will never again play the songs that you don’t like. There’s now a 40 hour monthly limit for the free music. You can pay a small fee for unlimited access, but why do that where there are other free music options that you can enjoy.

Last.fm – While similar to Pandora in terms of tracking what you like, this site is truly global and available in 12 languages. It also adds a social networking and peer-to-peer community component as it’s all powered by the community of listeners.

Grooveshark – Another free internet radio service with no limits on the number of hours you can listen to for free. This is great if you only want to listen to a certain artist or album. Based on what you search for it will return all the songs available by that artist and then you simply hit play. You can create playlists and favorite certain songs.

Free Television

Hulu – Just an amazing free entertainment destination. You can watch last nights shows from many popular channels, you can get caught up on an entire season in one sitting, and even watch great movies. All for free, all from your computer.

Free Books

Scribd – A reading social community where you can see what others are reading, and download from a ton of selections –free books, magazines, newspapers, how-to guides and more.  You can also upload your own ebooks, and documents for instant publishing.

Check out 17 Best Websites to Download Free eBooks for more great sites for free reading.

Free Photography

Snapfish – Lets you share pictures with friends and family members for free. When you register you receive 20 free photo prints, and if you want more they are very affordable. You can also create lots of great homemade gifts with your pictures. While not free, the sentimental value far outweighs the costs when you give gifts from the heart.

Free E-cards

Someecards – While I do love receiving cards in the mail, with the rising postage costs and the ridiculous price of greeting cards, ecards are a super way to save money. Someecards is not your run-of-the-mill ecard site. These are hilarious and yes, sometimes off-color. But, if you want a good laugh and are looking for something a bit off-beat when balloons and puppy dogs just won’t do … then this ecard site is for you.

Wrongcards – The name says it all — funny, free ecards that are wrong for every occasion. Again, if you don’t have a sense of humor … don’t bother.

Free Games

Yahoo Games – A favorite for online versions of popular board games like Monopoly, Scrabble and Chess, to brain games,  video games and more. Lots of free games and free trial versions of games to play without needing to purchase.

When All Else Fails

Bored.com – The place to go when you are bored silly — games, videos, humor, quizzes and blogs. It’s a mecca of silly stuff to pass the day away.

Entertainment costs typically tend to be where a lot of money is spent … almost unknowingly. Movies, dinners and more … all add up quickly. Being resourceful becomes an art form when it comes to frugal living and you’ve got to be creative in terms of finding ways to save and have fun. So, to help you out when you are bored-silly on a Saturday, or any other day for that matter, here are some Living Frugal Tips for frugal fun:

Act like a tourist.

1  Go to your local Chamber of Commerce or Visitor’s Center and find out about all the free stuff to do in your town. Most cities have complete brochures on fun, free things to do.
2.  Or, go online and check out the same Chamber or Visitor Center resources.
3.  Go to a local museum.
4.  Check out your city-center or downtown area.
5.  Visit the historical sites in your town. Most people know very little about the history of the town they live in.
6.  Take a ride on public transportation. You see things differently when you are not driving.
7.  Visit a state park.

Get out and play.

8.  Start a neighborhood game of kickball (it’s making a huge comeback).
9.  Take a walk.
10.  Walk your dog.
11.  Go to a local park.
12.  Find one of the local rails-to-trails areas in your town and explore your area by bike.
13.  Go roller-skating.
14.  Go ice skating.
15.  Go fishing either for the sport of it (catch and release)e or heck, catch your dinner.
16.  Go for a bike ride in your neighborhood.
17.  Have a picnic.
18.  Go bird watching.
19.  Hike through the woods.
20.  Go nature-watching.
21.  Go to the beach.
22.  Watch a sunset.

Volunteer!

23.  Whether it’s Habitat for Humanity or the Humane Society (two of my personal favorites), find a non-profit that you are passionate about and get involved. There are all sorts of local charities in need, especially given the current economic state with reduced donations. It’s a great family thing to do together. It teaches responsibility and allows you to embrace the feeling that doing good … feels good.

Nest inside your home.

24.  Play “Design on a Dime” and change up a room in your home – swap out towels, placemats, flower vases, etc. and recreate a room with stuff you already have.
25.  Bake something – cookies, a cake or a pie.
26.  Make crafts that can later be given as holiday gifts.
27.  Make a home movie.
28.  Make sock puppets.
29.  Have your kids put on a play.
30.  Write a letter to a friend or family member (preserve the lost art of hand-written notes).
31.  Plant an indoor herb garden.
32.  Plan an indoor picnic if the weather is lousy – complete with the blanket on the floor.
33.  Scrapbook.
34.  Play board games.
35.  Put a puzzle together.
36.  Make a pine cone and peanut butter bird feeder.

Chill out.

37.  Listen to music.
38.  Plan an at-home spa day.
39.  Rent a $1.00 movie at BlockBuster Express or Redbox.
40.  Read a book or magazine.
41.  Take a nap.

Play on the Computer.

42.  Find free games to play online.
43.  Connect with friends on Facebook.
44.  Reconnect with an old friend and send them an email.
45.  Catch up on your favorite TV shows online.

Other frugal fun.

46.  Find a $1.00 movie theater.
47.  Pile up in the car and go for a ride in the country
48.  Go to a drive-in movie theater (yes, they do still exist).
49.  Go to the library.
50.  Power walk through the mall if it’s cold outside (leave your wallet in the car).

My hope is that one of these Living Frugal Tips and frugal fun ideas will help make it a great day for you. Please continue to add to the list via the comment field and let’s see how many frugal fun ideas we can come up with.

Enjoy you day!

Photo by DigitalRedEye

If you find yourself trapped at home and on the brink of going stir-crazy due to inclement weather caused by rain, sleet, snow and ice — here are 14 things to do when trapped inside.

These Living Frugal Tips are low-cost or no-cost ways to have fun.

1. Have a movie marathon – curl up with pillows, blankets and popcorn and watch your favorite movies on TV or DVD.

2. Recycle garbage into art - grab the contents of your recycle bin, scissors, glue, construction paper, glitter and whatever else you have on hand and lay it all out on the kitchen table and get creative with your kids. They have amazing imaginations and can truly turn trash into treasures.

3. Clean out your clothes closets – The upside to this drudgery task is that you can then plan a clothes swap with your friends where you all bring in your discarded clothing items and trade them. Great saving money tips to update your wardrobe without spending a dime.

4. Break out the board games – Monopoly, Twister, Yahtzee, and good old fashion card games are making a huge comeback and bring families together.

5. Plan a treasure hunt – I did this for my nephews and it was a hug hit. Make up clues on individual sheets of paper, each leading to the next clue and then hide them. A sample clue might be: “Push a button and I run, you’ll hear a bell when your food is done.” This would lead kids to the microwave where they would find the next clue. You can vary the difficulty level by age. Of course there is a treasure that they find in the end. This can be a little box of spare change or a piece of candy or a little hand-made coupon entitling them to a special privilege like staying up one hour later.

6. Turn old cards into gift tags – If you saved your Christmas cards or old birthday cards, you can take your pinking shears, hole punch and ribbon and turn them into gift tags for future use. See my post on Creating Gift Tags from Old Cards.

7. Cook make-ahead meals – Another Living Frugal Tip is to go to your pantry and see what you have on hand that you can use to whip up some make-ahead meals for the coming week. Crockpot soups, pulled pork, meatloaf, lasagna, and baked spaghetti are all great options. Simply make, bake and store in the refrigerator or freezer for quick meals later.

8. Get out and play – Depending on the weather conditions, you can certainly still get out and play in the snow. I have fond memories of sledding, skating, and making snow forts. But the best part of all was coming back inside to a warm fire and homemade hot chocolate!

9. Creative snowman contest – Each family member can make a snowman and then use different household items to dress and decorate it. Take pictures and share on Facebook or via email with friends and family.

10. Take a trip down memory lane – Watch old home movies or go through old photo albums and reminisce.

11. Make a fort – We all remember the fun we had making forts as kids. A cozy, creative place where we could hideout and play. Do it again, with or without your kids.

12. Read a good book – You can curl up and read your favorite novel or if you have kids you can create a reading circle where you read together from your favorite book, each taking turns to read a page or chapter out loud.

13. Make gifts from the heart – Get creative and make a gift for an upcoming holiday.

14. Have an at home spa day – Perform a series of “at-home spa treatments” with your little girls or girl friends. Style each others hair, do a facial mask, paint your fingers and toes, take a bubble bath. Have fun with it and relax.

Please add to these fun Living Frugal Tips and saving money tips and share other fun things to do when trapped inside. Regardless of what you do, have fun and make it a great day no matter what you do!

Photo Credit: DigitalRedEye (License)

Mike and I Have Fun Kayaking

Creating a rich life is a life based on memories and milestones and not money and stuff. And, one of the fundamental elements to creating a rich life is having  fun.

It’s amazing how a fun day or weekend can re-energize you (and wear you out all at the same time). When you do something out of the ordinary or something that you love and enjoy … you just get super-charged. Whether it’s time with friends, a little outdoor adventure, or a quick little getaway … as long as the fun-factor is high … you’ll get that high that I’m talking about.

We all need this – fun and play in our lives. It keeps us young and it keeps us going. When you have a fun weekend it somehow self propels you through the week … and right into the next weekend. It’s like a tiny little jet pack giving you boosts of mental fuel and energy to move you forward with hope and excitement.

I’m hopeful that you know what I’m talking about. We’ve all had the weekends that are so fun and so enjoyable that you think about them and talk about them through at least Wednesday and then start planning on Thursday for the next weekend.

It’s important to find something that brings you pleasure and joy and contentment. Steal away and find those moments. It’s what balances out our busy days and crazy lives. We get so caught up in life that most of the time we forget to live the life that’s before us. Live it. Now. We can all use a little self-propulsion to help move us forward — and fun times and joyous moments will do just that.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the funny life quote below which sets the tone for the fun we should all inject into our daily lives.

“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well
preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways,
chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body
thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming
“WOO HOO what a ride!”

It’s Your Life. Own it!

Blockbuster Express is worth checking out if you have not already done so. Automated kiosks are in major retailers and rental rates are just $1.00!

COUPON CODE: POPCORN

For a limited time thru 2/3/10 you can rent a DVD at any Blockbuster Express kiosk and get a FREE DVD by using coupon code POPCORN.

That’s two DVD’s for $1.00 plus tax. You can’t beat that for a cheap date night or family movie night.

You can go online and find a location near you and review available movie titles before you get to the store. Once you rent one DVD you will receive email coupon codes and even store couOrvilpons. With the DVD coupon code I also received a $1.00 coupon for Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn — another way to save you money. Enjoy the show!

Related post: Affordable Fun for Rainy Days

We had a rainy day Sunday, but made the most of it with a movie-marathon day — affordable fun at its best. If you’ve not yet discovered Blockbuster Express or Red Box then you are missing out on cheap entertainment. These are the new craze of movie rental kiosks that are located in various retailers at the front of the stores. Red Box is found in most Walmart stores and Blockbuster Express is found inside Publix, my neighborhood grocery store. For $1.00 you can rent movies including new releases!

I personally use Blockbuster Express and once you rent your first movie, you’ll receive email confirmations on rentals, returns, new releases and get great coupons too — and they are only $1.00 to start. Coupons include a free night, free movie and more. I’ll never pay $4.00 – $5.00 to rent a movie ever again.

After doing a few chores we shut the blinds to make it dark and cozy, got out the blankets and each landed on a couch with a dog. Maggie laid at my side and slept, and slept as the movies rolled on …

First up was Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond flick. If Daniel Craig wasn’t in such good shape I’d have napped with Maggie. No one beats Sean Connary so I’d give it 2 of 5 stars.

Next we moved on to Body of Lies with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crow. Worth the watch for a CIA/Middle East spy thriller. It gets a worthy 4 of 5 big ones.

The final wrap-up to the movie-marathon was The Day the Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves. Awesome. Love those whole aliens come to earth to teach us a lesson kind of flicks. Definitely worth the watch. 5 big ones baby!

With some yummy microwave popcorn we enjoyed the day for about $4.00. Admittedly, I enjoyed the day doing nothing. It’s been forever since I’ve done that. I always have the need to be productive and if I’m not doing something I get antsy. It’s a self-professed problem of mine — not being able to just chill out and relax.

Enjoy a movie marathon day yourself and save money doing it.

Mindless, affordable fun and relaxation.