At least around here, we tend to spend money on the weekend. We’re recovering from a busy week and preparing for the next one, we’re trying to fit in fun family activities, and—this is our favorite hobby—we’re starting but not finishing a lot of home improvement projects.

How Much Can You Save?

Let’s start from the top: What would you normally be spending money on in a typical weekend? If you don’t know this off the top of your head, look back at your spending logs or credit card statements. That’s how much is on the table here. So, if you make it through this entire weekend without spending that much money, which of your goals are you going to put it toward?

How will you keep yourself busy? Fill in your schedule and/or to-do list with free activities in advance. Don’t just start trying to save money and feel like you can’t do anything.

Weekend Considerations

How can you relax and recover from the previous week? What free, at-home self-care will really nurture you? How will you take care of yourself?
How will you have fun? What are some free activities you’ll do just for fun?
How will you prepare for the coming week?

65 No Spend Activities

There are plenty of fun things to do while you save money. (And if not fun, productive. Same thing.)

Be Creative

1. Write a poem. If you haven’t done this since high school, it might be worth reading some poems first. But the good news is, you’re probably a lot more insightful than you were in high school.

2. Start your novel. Try your hand at an outline and an opening. If you hate the experience, it’s okay to give up on Monday. If you love it, though, maybe you’re destined for NaNoWriMo.

3. Do some drawing. If you need some instruction, try a YouTube tutorial.

4. Craft your favorite craft. But here’s the challenge: no new supplies! Use up your stash.

Enjoy Some Art

5. Get lost in a book. If you don’t have one, head to your local library, borrow one from a friend, visit a little free library in your neighborhood, or download one from your library’s ebook app.

6. Have a movie night with your loved ones. Or catch up on that streaming show you’ve been meaning to binge!

7. Find your fandom. Think of something you’re passionate about, whether it’s a particular television show, a genre of movie or music, or a hobby. Find a message board, social media group, or other online community built around it that makes you happy.

8. Ask a friend to recommend a podcast. Try listening to it.

9. Ask a friend to recommend a musical artist you will like. Try listening to it.

Move Your Body

10. Do some yoga. You can find tutorials on YouTube for free—these for example.

11. Do a no-equipment workout at home. You can find all kinds on YouTube and in articles online.

Go Outside

12. Go for a hike, either in your neighborhood or at a nearby hiking trail.

13. Get a friend to join you for a run, bike ride, tennis or basketball game, or whatever other outdoor activity you enjoy together.

14. The beauty of nature not enough of a hiking incentive for you? Try your hand at geocaching. You use a phone app to find a secret cache that someone has hidden near you. Good luck!

15. Do some birdwatching. You can start or work on your Life List, or spend some time getting to know the birds around your home.

16. Do some stargazing. Google has an app with constellations if you’re new to this. And don’t forget to see if there will be any meteors.

Nourish Your Mind

17. Try a gratitude meditation or journal about gratitude.

18. Borrow a jigsaw puzzle. See if you can finish it within the weekend.

19. Give yourself a crash course in a topic that interests you by taking a free Coursera course.

20. Download Duolingo and start learning another language. If you’re understandably leery of the Duolingo owl, this is another great opportunity to use your local library instead. (Kidding. That owl is adorable!)

21. Watch a TED Talk. These include some great opportunities to hear from insightful experts.

22. Teach yourself the Doomsday Algorithm. Because TED talks are great, but being able to quickly tell someone the day of the week they were born on is fun at parties.

23. Play board games. If you don’t have on sitting around, borrow one.

24. Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US? Brush up on the symptoms to be aware of and what to do in case of an emergency. The Red Cross is a good place to start.

Leave Your House

25. Visit local museums, sculpture gardens, or botanical gardens with free admission. (Some museums have monthly free admission days or free entertainment, so look carefully even if they usually charge admission.)

26. Attend a free community event, car show, or concert at a local park. Check local universities, city governments, community organizations, and libraries for options.

Keep in Touch

27. Think of someone you’re grateful for. Write them a letter saying thank you.

28. Choose someone you know whose birthday is within the next month. Write them a letter talking about some of your favorite memories with them and some of the things you admire about them, and wish them an excellent year.

29. Make a list of presents you’ll want to give people over the next year. Spend some time considering each person and the gift that would really say you love them—now while you’re not rushing. Make plans to make the ones you’ll be making, and rough out a budget for the rest.

30. Join or create a fantasy sports league with your friends.

31. Spend some time volunteering at your favorite local nonprofit.

32. Help a friend. Who’s working on a large project or otherwise in need of some assistance? See if they’d like you to lend a hand.

33. Plan a video or at-home coffee date with a loved one or a friend you haven’t seen in awhile.

Nourish Your Career

34. Update your resume and LinkedIn profile. Even if you’re not looking for a new job right now, it’s always a good idea to have a recent version. The best time to think rationally about how to describe what you actually do is while you actually do it.

35. Evaluate your resume for related skills that you could add or emphasize. Head over to LinkedIn Learning and take a course related to your job that fills in a gap or pushes you to grow a little. Add the completion badge to your profile. (If you don’t have a LinkedIn Learning subscription, there’s a free trial! We’re not spending money this weekend, remember!)

Check On Your Finances

36. Decide what your financial values are and how you can optimize your budget to reflect them.

37. Compare your budget to your actual spending. For an extra challenge, review it category by category and find somewhere you can be saving money.

38. Check your credit report. You can do this once a year for free, from each of the three credit reporting companies, at annualcreditreport.com. Make sure all your personal information is correct and there isn’t anything that has been mistakenly applied toward your profile. Here’s a list of things to look for.

39. While you’re indulging in an at-home personal finance retreat, revisit your annual major spending and see if you can spread it out to make your budgeting easier.

40. Do you have something you’ve been meaning to sell on eBay, Facebook marketplace, or whatever your usual go-to is? Clean it up, take pictures in good lighting, and get it listed this weekend.

Plan for the Future

41. Sign in to your financial accounts and make sure that you have updated information in place for your beneficiaries.

42. In fact, while you’re at it, is your will up to date? Your living will? Head back to the library if you need resources for creating these.

Nourish Your Home

43. Deep-clean your refrigerator. Now’s your chance to check expiration dates, wipe down shelves, change filters, and wash drawers.

44. Spend some time cleaning whatever pain point is part of your home. (Ours is the basement.)

45. Catch up on the home and garden maintenance projects on your to-do list. Clean out those gutters!

46. Spend some time cancelling your catalogs.

Get Organized

47. Organize your tools. Everything needs to have a home so that your collection can support you when you need it.

48. Organize your cleaning supplies. Consider storing them close to where you use them. If you use glass cleaner in two places that each have a storage space nearby, consider splitting it between two spray bottles.

49. Reorganize your bookshelves and board games. Donate any that don’t fit back on the shelves to your library’s book sale, put them in a Little Free Library, or use the Bookscouter app or other free apps to sell them online.

50. Go through your phone apps, organize your home screens so you can find them easily, and ruthlessly delete the ones you don’t use.

51. Start a password journal. You could use an old address book or blank notebook; write down usernames, passwords, and security questions. Keep its physical location safe, obviously, but this will let you utilize a wider variety of online passwords.

52. Do you have a box of old photos gathering dust? Flip through them for nostalgia purposes and organize them while you’re at it. Grab a free photo scanning app so you can text the best ones to friends and family members.

53. Clean out and organize your medicine cabinet. Check the expiration dates on everything and make arrangements to safely dispose of anything that has expired. (You may have to google how.)

Nourish Your Wardrobe

54. Clean out your coat closet. Dig out your winter clothes, wash them, match the gloves, fix any holes, and maintain your boots. (Time for that waterproofing spray you never remember to use until after it snows!)

55. Give your wardrobe some TLC. Fix or replace loose buttons, repair dropped hems, shine your shoes, and get rid of any troublesome stains.

56. Look up what your favorite local consignment shop is looking for. It’s often on their website or Facebook page, if it changes by season. Then go through your closets and put together a pile of clothes or housewares you no longer use that would fit the bill. Wash and iron them, and make an appointment to take them in or drop them off. If you don’t have a local consignment store, try Thredup.

Play with Your Food

57. In addition to the normal meals you were thinking of making, challenge yourself to baking or cooking something special, using only the ingredients in your pantry.

58. Convert one of your regularly scheduled meals into a cookout or picnic. ProTip: There’s nothing like drinking your morning coffee in the woods to make you feel like an absolute princess.

Do Some Self-Care

59. Give yourself an at-home pedicure. Or manicure!

60. Take a bath. A real, relaxing bath that involves soaking in warm water and letting your mind wander. If you have fancy soap, scented candles, face masks, or the like sitting around, now’s a great time to use them.

61. Sleep in. Sleep deprivation is no joke! Catch up on your sleep and take stock of how healthy your sleep habits are in general.

Prepare for Next Week

62. Set your goals for the week ahead. Think about what you want to accomplish and the habits that you want to continue at work and at home.

63. Decide what you’ll wear each day this week. Make sure everything is clean and prepared.

64. Prepare the lunches that you take to work each day ahead of time. Make your sandwiches, cut up your vegetables, and bake yourself some cookies.

65. Write out a meal plan for the upcoming week. Start by any produce or other refrigerated items that you have on hand, and base it around those.

No-Spend Weekend Mealplan

What will you eat? This is also important to plan in advance. Bonus points if you can use mostly ingredients already in your pantry or freezer! Plug what you have into Supercook for recipe ideas.

Hint: It’s the spirit that counts here. If you do your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping on Saturday morning, don’t skip it only to force yourself to overspend on preprepared food during the upcoming week. After all, the point is to give yourself a spending break. (Maybe you could move it to a weekday evening just this once?) But don’t buy extra on Thursday night to “stock up” either!

Sunday Night Evaluation

You made it! Congratulations!

Were you successful?
How did your saving money this weekend make you feel?
What did you miss the most?
What was your favorite part of the weekend?
What are you going to do with the money you saved? Go apply it to one of your goals!

Have a No-Spend Weekend