start a hobby

Painting, sketching, doodling or being creative with a pencil. Drawing is one of the cheapest ways to pass the time.

There are heaps of wonderful free resources available online to help you learn a language. You can listen to podcasts on the way to work or work through a structured course. Soon enough you will be speaking French .

Learn a language, listen to your favourite comedian, listen to a great documentary or catch up on the latest news. Podcasts are an awesome source of information and are (by and large) free.

Learn how to do anything. Do an open university course. Read Wikipedia. Learning about the world is fun and will make you a better person.

If I can do it, you can too. Its a great way to lay down challenges for yourself and provide yourself with accountability. Telling the internet about a goal you have is a great way to stay on track. Wordpress is the most popular option for blogging software if you want to go down the self hosted path, and for good reason.I use bluehost to host this blog. They have plans starting from $6 a month which is a true bargain. I havenot had a single issue with them at all They are rock solid and great value.If you make the decision to register with bluehost, please consider using one of the links on this site if you sign up through me, it will help support my blog and I will love you forever. It will not cost you any more to sign up through this site either.

If reading is the best cheap intellectual pastime then running is the exercise equivalent. You can do it almost anywhere and you only need decent footware. There is always something to improve on, races to enter and PBs to beat. (Update: Read my blog post about why you should start running here)

Not necessarily cheap if you can only do it at a swimming centre with expensive membership. However, if you are near the sea or a swimming bath that doesnt cost anything to use then swimming is a great way to get fit.

If you have a bike then you can use it to get fit as well as to get around. Dont make the mistake of thinking you need a ridiculously expensive bike to exercise on you dont.

If you are near the ocean try to buy a cheap second hand board. According to those that do it, its hilariously fun. The board willnt cost you much and should last you many years. Like cycling, try not to fall into the upgrading trap you dont need a new wet suit every season or a new board just because you are sick of your old one.

All the gear you need can be bought for under $100. Its also amazing fun. You can make a spear out of an old broom handle and a bike innertube you might even catch dinner.