Happy First of June! Technically, summer won’t begin until the 21st, but the season certainly starts long before. Summer brings to mind swimming, watermelon, the inevitable sunburn, & all kinds of fun.

But it also means vacations, amusement park admission, camp fees, & pool costs. These seem like the trademarks of a typical summer day – and they can add up fast.

It seems like everything is so expensive these days, but you know what? They don’t have to be! Summer should be a time of relaxing & fun in the sun, & absolutely NOT a time to be stressing about money. This year, pledge to take a break from spending tons of money & take a “stay-cation” instead. There are so many amazing & fun things to do that don’t cost a single penny! I made a list of 100 generic things you can do to make this the best summer yet, & most of them are completely free!!

001 take an extra long bike ride
002 walk through the park
003 attend programs at your public library
004 pick wildflowers in your state park
005 make homemade ice cream
006 fly a kite
007 complete a puzzle on your front porch
008 sell lemonade
009 start a weekly kickball outing in your neighborhood
010 check out local museums & attractions
011 read books from your library
012 re-live your childhood through jump rope games
013 teach a child cat’s cradle
014 attend AMC’s Movies for Charity for $1
015 have a picnic in your backyard
016 rollerblade on a local trail
017 make a scrapbook of everything you do
018 hone your photography skills
019 learn a foreign language
020 plant trees
021 create a sandsculpture
022 bury a time capsule
023 research your family tree
024 learn to geocache
025 play board games at the local park

Stay tuned all week for the rest of the list!