Enjoy Summer without Going Broke or Getting Burnt

Summer is the time people want to be outdoors, doing things and having adventures. It’s when we recharge our batteries from the winter just past and coming up ahead. So everyone, even those who don’t like the heat, humidity and sweat of summer will still try to get out there and do something.

Enjoying some part of summer becomes a bit of a problem if you have a tight budget, or nothing extra to spend at all. I am on a budget myself and I’m not especially a summer person who wants to be out there for too long. So, I put together a list of summer things to do, on a budget, which won’t leave you feeling over heated.

You can always do the armchair adventure idea. Have a staycation with virtual adventures and real snacks.

Pedal Power!

Take out that bicycle and pedal yourself to new locations. Have a plan or just go in some new direction and see where it takes you. Picture yourself as an explorer, sailing out over the vast ocean, suspecting the world is flat and you may at any moment sail right over the edge… but not yet. How far can you travel before you find your flat edge and decide to go back? Bring your own water.

Foot Power!

See your city or town on foot. Sign up for any walking tour you can find, free tours are often available through the local library for bird watchers and other groups who get together. You can be walking through a forest on a breezy summer day and not spend a thing to get there. Or, your tour of choice may be a haunted walk, having a night time adventure and trying to see the ghost.

Pot Luck Dinners

Invite people over for a pot luck. Everyone brings one thing: salad, burgers, buns, cutlery, water, etc. When it all comes together there is enough for a great feast and yet it won’t cost more than you would have spent on making something for dinner that night anyway.

Check Your Local Listings

Check the newspaper and online websites which list local events. Pick something and attend. There is bound to be something going on every weekend, somewhere, in a city.

In smaller towns the church has a pancake breakfast, bake sale or some kind of event involving people getting together with food and face painting.

Most towns have a farmers market on weekends too. Pick up fresh produce and take your time wandering around the booths.

Libraries, museums and art galleries will be trying to attract people during the summer. Check their websites and see what they have to offer. Most of it will be free – you just have to show up.

Check public parks for soccer games and assorted free things you may take for granted. You don’t have to be a parent to watch the kids play but it can make you feel happy to hear them laugh, cheer them on and just be part of a group doing something.

Pick Up Junk and Treasures

Spring cleaning, people moving to new homes and travel plans are all causes for people to sort through their stuff. You can find better trash to treasure during the summer than you will find tossed out during the winter. Take advantage of your neighbour’s spring cleaning to pick up something you can restore, renovate or repurpose. Summer is a great time to be a scavenger.

Of course, you can always haul out some of your own unfinished projects, books and clothing taking up space and have a garage sale. Whatever doesn’t sell can sit at the curb for someone else to pick up as a great find to treasure.

Hang Out at the Mall

Pick the one which still has air conditioning. Shopping indoors can be a sticky, hot adventure in the days of trying to be green. A fast food restaurant is a good choice too, if they keep it cool. You can buy a coffee or a bottled water and hang out for at least an hour. Bring a book.

Staycation Yourself in the Backyard

Pull out a blanket, the radio and a book. Make yourself at home in your own backyard. You can pretend to be at the beach, in the middle of a forest, at the top of a mountain – even bring your own sound effects if you find something to download online. You don’t need to go far to just be outside in the summer.

Be a Weekend Gardener

You don’t need a lot of space to have a few things growing. If you want to go all out and plot a big garden go ahead and enjoy it. But, if you just want to get your fingers a little dirty and have something to grow for it, that works too. Consider a window box which you can plant with herbs, or annual flowers. Container gardening is one way to keep your plants mobile, move them onto patios, decks or balconies and shift them around as they grow, flower or go to seed.

Pick plants which don’t need a lot of water. At first they will need some water to help them transplant and grow new roots. Most plants will let you know when they need watering, they droop and look sad. Over watering and too much care will kill plants too. If you have no luck at all try a cactus. They don’t mind being dry but they do like sun and won’t be happy to be left in the cold if you start them before summer is actually here. Herbs are pretty tough, plant herbs which are native plants in your area and you will be a weekend gardener in no time.

Get Wet

Find a source of water near you and put yourself into it. Not everyone will have a public pool or local swimming hole. But, you can put the sprinkler on to cool down or lie outside in a kiddie pool (pretend the kids are coming over later if you feel the need to explain yourself to anyone).

Do Kid Stuff

• Fly a kite or paper airplanes
• Blow bubbles
• Build a sandcastle

Find Free Theatre and Music

Check for live events where you don’t need to pay or just bring canned goods for the food bank. Theatres may allow the public to sit in on dress rehearsals. If you investigate you can find live entertainment for free at least once over the summer.

Flower Picking

Find wildflowers like daisies and pick a bouquet. If you don’t have a vase put them in a tall glass or water pitcher.

Watch the Night Sky

It may not be the sunny daytime but the summer sky at night is soothing as the day cools off. Find a spot and relax under the sunset until the stars come out.

Build a Fort

Does your grocery store offer boxes? Bring home as many as you can and build a fort in the backyard. Kids can help but do it yourself just for fun. Why do we think we need to have children to enjoy building a fort?

Have at Least one Picnic

Summer is for picnics, ants and all. My Grandfather would take us to the grocery store and buy a loaf of bread, some cold cuts, maybe pickles and cheese too. Then we all drove to the park with him and played on the swings for awhile. Then he would bring out the supplies and we would eat our picnic, even with slightly dirty hands. I still have fond memories of picnic sandwiches with fingerprints.

Seed Spitting

Is it really summer if you haven’t had watermelon? Eat it outside and see how far you can spit the seeds. You can always do the armchair adventure idea. Have a staycation with virtual adventures and real snacks.