FUN FRUGAL IDEAS:
A lot of these are based in the Reno/Tahoe area; however, there are some that you can do no matter where you live:
Anytime:
- Grand Sierra Resort (GSR) movie night $3
- Find a Drive-in movie theater – Sparks, NV
- Visit the Planetarium
- NV Museum of Arts sometimes have free admission
- Stitch’n Bitch – Crocheting or knitting with friends and “bitching” (jk) about what has happened to you recently…or just plain ‘ole catching up.
- Pedicure party – host your own at home where girlfriends get together. Could also make this into a potluck, also.
- Cooking night with friends – cook your favorite, easiest and tastiest meal and share it with others so they can recreate in their own homes
- Make a craft or do a hobby together
- Learn a NEW hobby or craft
- Read a book – your library has a ton of FREE stuff including ebooks, CDs, DVDs, magazine and more depending on your library. Our Washoe Library has audiobooks that I listen to during my daily commute. It’s a time to take advantage of my commute.
- Go Dancing!
- Bowling
- Roller-skating
- Billiards
- Watch up early and watch a sunrise
- Watch a sunset and just be quiet
- Conduct/Watch a movie marathon
- Host a blind wine tasting at home
- DAYDREAM!!
- Create a Bucket List – I really like Sean Ogle’s
- Make a Travel Dream List
- REI can help as well…..
- Fodor’s Travel
- Build out a SMART plan for goals — keep this light and don’t stress too much
- Go on a Road Trip
- Napa is very close to Reno 🙂
- Be a tourist in your own home town – for Reno there are tons of sites for this
- Start a blog – keep your fans or even family up to date with your adventures
- Build a website – or start one on Wix.com
- Write a letter/card to someone you love or miss
- Sign up for a “Color Run” or “Run or Dye” event – these are really fun
- Subscribe to blogs, websites, etc. that inspire you – Check out the blogs I follow at the bottom page.
- Or find blogs through communities like Google Currents, WordPress, or Blogspot.
- Go through and purge stuff from your home
- Now organize your space
- Don’t forget digital files on your computer
- By the way, help get rid of your clutter and scan documents into your Microsoft SkyDrive or Google Drive.
- Learn about American History and be more up to date on our government – the link is a video TV show online for FREE
Spring/Summer
- Give yourself a mani/pedicure at home
- Float the Truckee River
- Lay in the grass and figure out cloud animals with a friend
- Walk Idlewild park
- Go for a Hike!
- Camp
- I love camping on beaches or near them – try different state parks at www.reserveamerica.com
- Or go camping in the backyard
- Roast some hot dogs
- Make S’mores
- Swim in Lake Tahoe
- Mountain biking
- Picnic
- Kayak/rafting
- Paddle board
- Mountain climbing — even indoor
- Pick wildflowers
- Got on a hike/hunt just in search of wildflowers
- Mini Golf
- Go to a Farmer’s Market, even to just look around and see what is in your neighborhood. Expose yourself to new things!
- Water ski – hopefully a friend has the equipment to keep it frugal
- Pick fruit on an orchard
- Go Fishing
- Discover star constellations at night (literally lay outside and find them)
- Water balloon fight
- Wine/River Walk
Fall
- Make collages with beautiful Fall leaves
- Pick pine nuts
- Pick pine cones for Christmas gifts (craft project)
- Go visit some natural Hot Springs
- Find a waterfall
- Bake something and bring it into work/school/etc.
- Clay Canvas – pick out some pottery and paint it
- Picasso & Wine – drink wine and learn how to paint
- Learn to make your own pottery
- Make a candle from recycled jars
- Try as many new restaurants Happy Hours to get a feel for the restaurant before spending dinero on a meal
- A lot of Happy Hours have $2-3 house drinks and appetizers for $3-5.
- Some local faves HHs:
- Gaslamp Restaurant
- SoDo – well, this is their Bar Bites but….close enough = no time restriction
- Murrieta’s
Winter
- Set a goal to make all of your Christmas gifts
- Snowshoeing
- Some people in the Tahoe area meet up for Full Moon Snowshoeing as well
- Build a snow man
- Snow ball wars
- Ice skating – depending on where it is
- Toboggan
- Sleigh Ride – by horse (schedule a group and the split the cost)
- Ski-do
- Play a board game
- Learn new card games
- Go to a local arcade and be a kid!
- Karaoke
- Start to train for a Spring/Summer marathon
- Build a collage of all the things you did for the calendar year
- Think of goals for the New Year