WWYD: Leisure Without Spending Money
How many leisurely things can you do without spending money?
As a bored suburban kid, I spent a lot of time at malls (big ones and strip ones), either by myself or with other careless spenders, like friends and family. I’d use money I never earned to spend on crap- stuff like junk food, movies and video games. I’d also spend time outdoors, but it seemed a day at the park or just biking around always had to end with a trip to the ice cream shop or pizza parlor. It’s no wonder I got into money troubles with these early habits. Spending money was automatic.
I’ve been doing a good job of curbing unnecessary spending, as required by my savings plan. But recently I unexpectedly had a couple of hours of free time between engagements. I wasn’t conveniently near home; I had neither books, nor internet access; and I had no gym clothes on hand. Worse yet, I was in a commercial area with tons of cafes and affordable and chic clothing, music and furniture stores. My impulsive side was screaming, “run and buy something, NOW!”
I wasn’t sure how to unwind without reverting to the bad habit of spending money for the sake of it. A sudden pause in the hectic pace of modern life made me realize I had trouble finding something to do that was relaxing and free. So readers, I present you this challenge: What would you do if you had some leisurely time, but didn’t want to spend money?
I think one should have at least five ideas of what to do without spending money, just in case a number of them can’t be done for whatever reason. In the situation I described above, I high-tailed it walking home just so I could have internet access again and read some trashy gossip sites. The problem with heading home was that it cut down my leisurely time to just 25 minutes before having to head off to my next engagement. It seemed like a waste of time to feed my internet addiction rather than walk in a park and look at birds or something.
Here are five things I think I could have done in retrospect. I can’t wait to hear ideas you have.
1) Maybe browsing would have been okay. I’ve noticed that since I work so much these days, I hardly get to go out and shop. It’s been a long time since I bought new clothes. Since I plan on buying clothes at some point in the future, it wouldn’t have hurt just to try on a few things. If something I tried on was a winner, then I could always go back and buy the item on another day. That certainly would have cut out the impulse buying aspect, but not the consumerist aspect.
2) Bite the bullet and catch up with people. At least I had my cell phone with me. There are a number of friends I need to catch up with, but it’s hard for me to decide whom to call first. Letting contacts pile up can be an overwhelming for me. I email friends a lot, but I usually don’t call friends out of the blue to chat. They have hectic schedules too! I wait for a large chunk of time to roll around, and I use that time to do phone catch-up with as many friends as possible. Maybe just calling around, and leaving voicemails if that were the case, would have been a good use of time. Heck, I could have even called Mom to say hi.
3) Make a stop at the library. It didn’t occur to me until much later that the library was on the way to my next engagement. I could have selected a newspaper or magazine to read for a while, or browsed the new book releases. I could have even used the computers there for internet access too.
4) Keep walking. I know the neighborhoods of San Francisco pretty well, but I’m usually pretty destination-focused. The idea of wandering around aimlessly and taking in the environment while exploring a neighborhood doesn’t come as second nature to me. I like to participate in the environment, such as doing the people watching as I sit in a cafe. I suppose trying to be a distant observer and passerby would have opened my eyes to a few things.
5) At a loss for ideas. Isn’t it strange that it’s hard to think of something free to do if you’re unprepared? I’d like to think that it would have been OK to go sit in a park and enjoy the sunshine, but I was in my business clothes. There’s something about the world today that makes it seem creepy for a man to be at a park by himself on a weekday in the late afternoon. Maybe that’s just the case in San Francisco. The truth is, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable just sitting at a park watching the birds. I would have felt like people are watching me asking, “What’s this guy up to?” because that’s what I’d be asking of a stranger on a park bench too.
Leisure in modern times seems like it’s gotten pretty complicated. It’s good to be prepared.
This is why I always carry a backpack with my embroidery work, a book, and my Filofax.
I frequently find myself in similar situations- chiefly the 20 minute bus ride to & from work- where I have no one to talk to. I usually am what I call a “bus talker”- someone who strikes up conversations with people on the bus- but a change in my work schedule has me bussing to work earlier. People do NOT like to talk as much on the early bus. So now- I use my energy and fight the boredom by pulling out a bit of linen in an embroidery hoop and stitching away.
Even better- the linen I use is FREE (I have an uncle in law who uppolsters), embroidery floss is minimal in cost- and I ultimately sell the results at craft fairs MAKING money.
A lot of museums are free one day of the week – usually a Monday or Tuesday. A nice place to spend an hour or so. Just stay out of the cafe!
I like reading, writing, music, and surfing the net. So I always carry a pocket PC with me, with wi-fi and a fat memory card. The PC’s memory holds a lot of reading and writing, the memory card holds a lot of music, and the wi-fi lets me surf (in a limited way if I happen to be near an access point.
And while it’s hard to actually write on a pocket PC, editing works just fine! After all, some of the writing on it can be my own.
Finally, even without this – I can just sit, and mull over forthcoming scenes in something I’m doing. A writer needs never be bored.
I try to remember to have a book with me most times-I live in a more rural area so we drive most places and can have more “junk” in the car.
I remember reading a tip once where someone suggested keeping a folder with all the articles ripped out of magazines that one intended to read and then using down time (they were suggesting dr.’s waiting rooms etc) for that.
When I KNOW that I’ll be waiting I do bring my knitting or a book-I could quite happily spend an hour in a bookstore browsing the magazine section without buying something, and your library idea sounds right up my alley. Even if it wasn’t a branch you usually frequent, these days you usually can take materials out at one branch and return them at any other branch in the same system (for me in upstate NY I can return them anywhere in a 3 county radius) so you probably could have gone in and taken out a book or magazine and then returned it closer to home.
When I find myself with spare time (and no book) I look around to see if there is actually a comfortable place to spend my time. If I can find nothing engaging, I will think about what I would be doing if I were somewhere else.
For instance, I am in the process of renovating my home. I may ponder what my next step should be. What I can afford, and what I have time to do myself. I reprioritize my list, and try to keep myself invigorated about home improvement.
I also create other lists during idle times. Books I want to pick up next time I’m at the library, movies to rent, groceries I need. I sometimes go a little list crazy, but I’m often guaranteed to forget *something* if I haven’t written it down!
I always keep a journal in my purse (in that one way women’s accessories are good – more storage!). Lists, projects, story ideas, just journaling….
Like several of the other posts, I usually have a small knitting or needlework project with me. I can’t just sit. I have to have something to do with my hands.
Well a bit late to this topic but….
1/ Idle Web Surfing..(I found Queercents that way..}:~D)
2/ Read a book.. Three great places to get them…a)Library..For Free.. b) http://www.hamiltonbooks.com for the worlds biggest selection of remaindered books..though you’re best off sending the check or money order instead of using a credit card…Hamiltons shipping charge is a Flat Fee of $3.50 if you pay by check or money order but $3.95 plus $1 per additional book if you want to use a credit card…got to pay those Merchant Fees somehow…or c) http://www.bookfinder.com for any older out of print antiquarian books you might have a interest in acquiring.
3/ Write…this time with Fountain Pen and Paper…}:~D
4/ Watch a good DVD.
5/ Embroider
And while none of these is actually Free the per hour cost of engaging in the most expensive is probably not more than 25 cents the relaxation quotient is priceless.