Jessica Jinkens: Learning from Our Frugal and Happy Childhood

Do you miss your childhood when money absolutely meant nothing?

Don’t get me wrong. I love what I do for a living, I have an awesome wife and I live in a beautiful apartment, so I couldn’t be happier right now. I just miss the days when what was considered “fun” was essentially free. It had to be. After all, I’m not Richie Rich (though I bet I was happier than he was).

Thinking back, I did so much when I was a kid, yet all the activities almost costs nothing if the time spent was factored in. If we want to save some money, maybe we should all just relive our childhood. Do what we used to do since it was really fun and costs next to nothing. Here are some ideas based on the activities I did when I was young:

Video Games – I start out with this one because most people don’t think of video games as “free”. When I was young, we would trade games with friends, play in a group, play alone and/or take turns. We spend so much time on these consoles that the majority of the cost is actually electricity when you take depreciation into account. I know it sounds crazy, but the hours we put into those machines rivals Lance Armstrong’s dedication to cycling. (and I got my eye glasses to prove it too.)
Board Games – Having moved countries a couple times, it’s hard to bring board games with you but there were more than one occasion when I wished Emma and I could play Monopoly. I still remember playing with my sister and fighting with her when I was losing, but it was fun when I was winning!
Playing Cards – No gambling required, but my friends and I would spend an entire night just playing cards and having fun. It doesn’t cost us anything, but friendships were forged and king was cards was crowned.
School – We all hated it, but it was free and that’s how we pretty much met all our friends. I know it’s supposed to be for learning but recess, lunch break and times when we decided to talk over the teacher’s lectures meant that many hours were spent socializing and having fun.
Sports – All those team sports that we played. Baseball, soccer, volleyball, football, basketball are all practically free. Well, most of the time at least since I once got my pants stolen (true story).
Bike Riding, Rollerblading and Hiking – Some up front costs, sure, but buying a bike is so much cheaper than going out to dinners if you go regularly. A tip if you are going out on a date though. Rollerblades tend to work better since you can hold hands (and no honey, I never did that…I just heard it from.. eh… my friend).
Other Party Games – Remember “spin a bottle”? Many of those party games made us do incredibly stupid and embarrassing things but they were so much fun!

With Just a Little Imagination

The secret ingredient of coming up with free activities is just our imagination and the need to think of something to do. If you want to save some money, maybe you should just tell your friend to leave his/her wallet at home and just come over.

You will think of something, and it will probably be just as fun.

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