Tenner Week June 2014: Day 4: Treat yourself with no money
Today is Treats Day on the site, and as it’s also Tenner Week we’re looking for ways to find treats without spending any money. We’re linking up with Work from Home Wisdom too, so remember to pay them a visit them as well – the link’s at the bottom of this page.
Having a treat isn’t always about going out and buying something. Don’t believe me? Okay, start by grabbing paper and a pen and writing down at least twenty things that would make your life nicer – and do this as quickly as you can, to bypass the critical part of the thinking process.
There will be at least one thing in there that’s free, or that you already have the resources for.
For example, thinking about resources you might already have:
- Cake ingredients – bake something tasty
- Beauty products for a nice soak in the bath or some other pampering
- A gift voucher you haven’t spent yet
- A book or magazine you haven’t read yet
- A flask or coolbag and food to make a picnic with
- Flowers or soft fruits from the garden
You could also do a skills swap with a friend or neighbour – for example you babysit for a family member one week and they babysit for you after that (giving you some precious time to yourself), or you do an hour of bookkeeping for a beauty therapist friend and they return the favour by giving you a massage / haircut / pedicure, and so on.
Other free treats include:
- A walk or cycle through the park
- Free books from the library
- DVDs or Blu-Rays borrowed from friends, or swapped
- Free trial memberships of TV, music or film subscription services
- Attending a free event
- Free samples from beauty counters or food stalls
…and I’m sure you can think of plenty more!
What’s happening here
Yesterday’s declutter went well, and I found a tube of hair deep conditioner I’d forgotten about. Today I’m going to have a bit of a pamper, with a hair treatment, a manicure and the nice body lotion I keep for best (but really ought to use up).
I also made a dozen bread rolls yesterday, half of which are now in the freezer because home made bread goes stale quickly otherwise, and I harvested a load of strawberries, salad leaves, herbs and baby spinach from the garden. We had macaroni cheese and a big salad for dinner, then I made quick coconut custards with fresh strawberries for dessert. Delicious.
The only downside of making the custards was using up milk, so I had to buy some more – £1 for four pints which should see the household through to the end of the weekend. I also watched an episode of 24, so that’s another hour of TV allowance used up.
This evening I’m out again at another free film screening, so that’s definitely a free treat and a half.
Total TV watched: 2 hours
Cash spent yesterday: £1.00
Total cash spent: £1.85
Do you have any good ideas for treating yourself when you have no money? Please share them.
[box type=”alert” style=”rounded” border=”full” icon=”none”]Don’t forget to visit Work from Home Wisdom too, for their latest interview and some tips about treats when you’re working at home.
*Come back and join both of us next week for another Thursday Treat Time!*[/box]
