Did you know you can really treat yourself without spending money?
Saving up money all while trying to treat yourself can be stressful. I was on that same boat around this time last year and the year before that. All I did was spend money I thought and pretended I had all for short pleasantries.
I’ve compiled a list for you all so you never make my mistake. I’m positive you can still have fun even if you can’t splurge!
If you know where the “Treat Yo’self” phrase came from, we should connect more and maybe do a P&R marathon one day lol.
And if you don’t here it is, the birth of Treat Yourself:
Many museums have a day when entrance is free or pay-what-you-can. For Chicagoans, it’s usually on Mondays.
pamper yourself
Do your eyebrows, take a bubble bath, make yourself breakfast, do all of the above and binge watch movies and shows! The possibilities are endless 🙂 Tip: put candles around your room / house to make you feel more relaxed.
Bring in a big tote bag and put pads or tampons at the top so you can hide food under it. I always have a pad in my bag and security stops checking my bag once they see it since they’re usually male (rolls eyes). Call me stingy but theater food is not cheap. Also, just don’t be nervous about bringing food! I actually haven’t had my bag checked in a long time.
Check out an early movie before noon, or go to the matinee, they’re usually cheaper then.
If you don’t even want to spend gas money or bus fare, stay home with bae or your cat and watch tv! Get cozy and, Treat Yourself!
go for a hike, walk, or run!
Head to a nearby trail, or find suggestions online for an urban hike in your city. You can also just walk around with a friend. Don’t forget your headphones!
read a book while taking a long bath
Go to your local park or coffee shop, and enjoy some reading time.
take a free class
Many places have introductory offers for new students. You can go to a yoga class, karate, pottery, or any other class offered in your area. I know there’s a self defense class near me, but I’m not sure if it’s free.
go thrifting
Set yourself a max budget and bring it in cash to prevent impulse purchases. Maybe you can bring in clothes to sell, and what you make from that sale you can use to spend.
Most clothes celebs wear are expensive and not ethically made anyways. Head over to goodwill or any cheap thrift shop and buy fancy looking clothes that NEED a second chance!
watch a free live show
Treat yourself to music, improv, comedy, theater and more arts! These type of local events are usually free. Don’t forget to tip performers, even if you can only manage a small amount!
relax at your local beach or park
If you don’t live by the beach, or if it’s winter, then just hit up a sauna! Saunas are really helpful for you in many ways, but there can be dangers to using one, so do your research!
Maybe you used to play an instrument or paint. If you still have the supplies laying around, rediscover why you loved it so much.
bujo YOU time
Bring out your boring journal and make it cute! write in your gratitude journal, vent, write plans you have for this month and what you want to accomplish, the possibilities are really endless!
Even just packing up a bottle of your fav drink to enjoy somewhere is nice. I would love to have a picnic with friends one day because I just think they’re so cute and fun. You can also go to the park and watch a cute movie on a laptop. That’s what I did with Alexander and it was so much fun and unforgettable!
stargaze
You can have a picnic later in the day and stay until it gets dark. Take some time to appreciate what most people never even think about. You will feel amazing once you do. Make sure to bring two blankets and maybe some bug repellent?
visit free art galleries
want to know how to treat yourself without spending money? go to every place that is free! You’ll usually find a lot of them in your nearest city, and there’s no cost to look around!
go yard sale hunting
People will throw unwanted furniture on the streets, free for the taking, depending on where you live. The garbage is picked up in the front where I live so it makes it look less like dumpster diving. Make sure to sanitize whatever you take, and avoid mattresses and other things that are hard to wash.
I haven’t found anything yet but it’s fun to try if you got nothing else to do lol
go estate sale hunting
You can also look up estate sales in your area. Usually everything is under $100, including furniture. I recently went to one just to look around and I ended up getting a super cute cushion and a fancy lamp plus trinkets all under $12.
We also ran into a man at that estate who owns an antique furniture store. Turns out, we caught him doing his job -he purchases cheap but fancy antique furniture from estate sales (usually at $12) and he resells them at his shop for more than $50. You can find things in his store that costs $700. My mom and I decided not to buy from him since we can just hit up estate sales too lol
The lamp was $5 and the cushion was probably $2. def not worth it to buy something new and pay taxes and an arm and a leg when theres LIKE NEW items in estate sales nearby! One persons trash, is another persons treasure! Seriously guys, let’s stop being wasteful!
watch the sunrise and set
I’ve never done this before, but it’s definitely in my bucket list.
have a photoshoot
Take a bunch of photos of yourself or friends, and have them photograph you. You could always use some fresh new pics to share on the gram.
go to karaoke
If you can get a couple of other broke friends together, you can split a private room. Lots of places will have special discounts during the week too. You can also just do this at home! I’ve done it once at a friends house, it was very fun and great since my friend made brownies lol
ride a bike somewhere
Ride one alone or with friends. I don’t ride bikes alone because I always get anxious riding, I feel so naked compared to when I’m driving a car. Anytime I ride one though, I never wanna get off! seriously, this is a great way to treat yourself without spending money lol
make art!
a great way to treat yourself without spending money is to make something. why not get creative?
Here are some great sites to download software or use straight from your desktop:
*= available for both windows and mac os
GIMP * – Does a lot of the same stuff as Photoshop
FireAlpaca * – Similar to Paint Tool Sai, so it’s a good alternative for Mac users.
Pinta * – Drawing program modeled after paint.NET.
Great tips! 😄 It can be truly hard sometimes to treat yourself when you care about not spending too much… 🙁 I personally really like to read or take a bath or something in these situations 😊
Thanks Caroline <3
I know, it can be tough but luckily there’s lots of stuff you can do to make yourself feel relaxed without spending the money hehe
and me too I love to shower with my favorite music!
Thanks for your comment 🙂
Loved this entry. I just found your blog today and I’m definitely following to keep up with the rest of your content. Looking forward to your future posts!
I would love if you could not only follow me back, but turn on my notifications so you know when I post! Mena | menanwabenu.com
Hey thank you so much Mena! That means a lot!
I’m on your blog now and it’s seriously sooo beautiful. So happy you found me 🙂
How do you turn on notifications? I wasn’t aware you could do that on wordpress 😮
It’s always nice to treat yourself – big plus when you’re not going broke while doing it. There are so many different ways to pamper yourself without breaking the bank. You don’t need to go to a spa! I haven’t heard of Rabbit before but it’s nice to be able to go on a reputable site to watch your shows.
Picnics are great! I’ve hosted a few and it’s relaxing. Thanks for sharing these tips!
I totally agree! I always felt like to enjoy yourself, you have to spend your money. But as i get older i realize its the lil things that make great memories, lik picnics!
And rabb.it is such a great site i love it so much to watch with people from other states hehe
Thanks for checking out my page Nancy 🧚🏽♀️💌🤗
Great tips! 😄 It can be truly hard sometimes to treat yourself when you care about not spending too much… 🙁 I personally really like to read or take a bath or something in these situations 😊
Thanks Caroline <3
I know, it can be tough but luckily there’s lots of stuff you can do to make yourself feel relaxed without spending the money hehe
and me too I love to shower with my favorite music!
Thanks for your comment 🙂
Loved this entry. I just found your blog today and I’m definitely following to keep up with the rest of your content. Looking forward to your future posts!
I would love if you could not only follow me back, but turn on my notifications so you know when I post! Mena | menanwabenu.com
Hey thank you so much Mena! That means a lot!
I’m on your blog now and it’s seriously sooo beautiful. So happy you found me 🙂
How do you turn on notifications? I wasn’t aware you could do that on wordpress 😮
Love this post! Gave me so much idea on what to do during the weekends 🙂
That’s great to hear Glaiza <3 I hope you enjoy your weekends more with this list 🙂
It’s always nice to treat yourself – big plus when you’re not going broke while doing it. There are so many different ways to pamper yourself without breaking the bank. You don’t need to go to a spa! I haven’t heard of Rabbit before but it’s nice to be able to go on a reputable site to watch your shows.
Picnics are great! I’ve hosted a few and it’s relaxing. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
I totally agree! I always felt like to enjoy yourself, you have to spend your money. But as i get older i realize its the lil things that make great memories, lik picnics!
And rabb.it is such a great site i love it so much to watch with people from other states hehe
Thanks for checking out my page Nancy 🧚🏽♀️💌🤗