We’ve all been there; in fact I’m there right now. As I’m writing this we’re nearing the end of the month, about a week left to go, and I’ve burned through my bank account. I reckon we’ve all been there at least once and are more than likely to be in the situation again at some point. Whether it’s because of a little over indulgence or an unexpected bill sometimes you have to just tough it out until payday rolls around again.
You’ve bought a few beers from the supermarket to keep costs low and had a pretty decent night in having invited some mates round but now the last of the disposable income is gone.
Nights out are long since out of the window and more and more obstacles to boredom have fallen and you’re forced to confront the tedium of hearing yourself say “I’m bored”. So how do we stave off the irritation of being moneyless?
Here are a few ways we distract ourselves on the countdown to payday:
1. Starting offline, a popular choice was visiting free museums and art galleries. If you are London based there are a wide range of free facilities showing the best of natural history as well as art old and new. Even if you are only slightly interested in a specific area of what’s on offer a museum is a great jumping off point to expand your interests, and when you get home you can while away the time by going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole based on what you’ve seen. If you aren’t in the capital check for local options, where I grew up options included a great natural history museum in Tring and the Roald Dahl museum was only a stone’s throw away. Your town might have more than you thought after a little use of Google.
2. Walking! Even this time of year provides a lovely view of nature and odds are if you’re living in the UK some beautiful greenery isn’t far. The exercise works wonders for your state of mind and you might even find something worth photographing. From experience I warn you, if you walk alone people will look at you as if you are a psycho so if you can, take a friend or dog. Meeting fellow dog walkers is a sure way to meet people who you have at least one thing in common with.
3. Online pursuits are quite vast. Almost all newspapers have free to view content and offer apps as well, so you can use this time to catch up on current events, local news and sports. The Kindle app has an array of free to read books if you feel like indulging in a little culture. Perhaps you fancy a bit of free gaming, with the obscene rise to power of mobile tech, gaming has never been more freely available. Why not try out Plants vs Zombies or an epic such as OSMOS. With the rise of free casino style games giving you credit for signing up, why not try your luck and test here for online bingo with HarrysBingo. Or maybe you’re feeling the need to simply relax and a game like Fluid Monkey is just the ticket. Perhaps even take the time to learn or brush up on a language with Duolingo.
4. Merging online and offline: Why not use some of your down time for a sort out and clean up. Sites such as Music-Magpie give you the opportunity to rid yourself of old CD’s, DVD’s, Games and even old electronics. The tidy up, while initially irritating, pays off with a tidy atmosphere and nice little financial shot in the arm, maybe even enough to take you away from the freebies for a day or two!
Why not try one or more of our suggestions and for just a while forget about what you’re missing out on and engage in something else forgetting for at least a moment the intense countdown to payday!
Tell us your favourite freebies in the comments!