After a hard day at work–it’s easy to talk yourself into treating yourself. After all, you deserve it right?
But after all this deserving talk–you wake up having spent a few hundred dollars on clothes online. A few weeks later when the credit card bill comes in, chances are there’s some second guessing going on.
Instead of resorting to online shopping or TV to wind down–here’s 100 ways to relax and de-stress for under $10–without screens.
100 Ways To Relax and De-Stress For Under $10
- Start by putting your phone on do not disturb and plan not to be on it for the remaining of the day
- Treat yourself to a high quality bar of chocolate. Two favorites of mine available in most grocery stores are Lindt and Green & Black.
- Get a Happiness Journal. Try 52 Lists for Happiness.
- Visit a nearby garden or forest preserve
- Browse a physical bookstore and treat yourself to a book or magazine
- Visit a coffee shop and bring a magazine, plan to stay for a few hours
- Cook dinner for a friend
- Read a book about happiness. I really enjoyed Joy on Demand.
- Try a new craft brew or bottle of wine with a friend
- Look through travel magazines to start getting ideas about your next vacation (related reading: Travel Hacking Hawaii
- Buy a bag of high quality, decaf coffee
- Make a healthy dessert
- Order takeout from one of your favorite restaurants
- Go out for ice cream or dessert
- Go to a yoga class
- Visit a museum
- Pack a picnic and head to a local park
- Go to a high quality butcher and get a special cut of meat
- Go to bed really early
- Go for a bike ride, even if you have to rent a bike
- Brew a homemade drink such as tea, coffee, or hot chocolate
- Treat yourself to a pair of high quality socks
- Take an epsom salt bath
- Call up an old friend or family member, you haven’t talk to in a while to catch up
- Give yourself a vision
- Declutter your home
- Perform a random act of kindness such as buying the person behind you a coffee
- Draw in an adult coloring book
- Hold a baby
- Practice breathing exercises
- Listen to your favorite album all the way through
- Decorate your home with some flowers
- Take a new fitness class
- Look at past photo albums
- Watch an inspirational documentary like Planet Earth (you’re 1st exception to using screens)
- Watch an inspirational documentary like Cosmos (you’re 2nd exception to using screens)
- Visit a farmers market to buy some high-quality produce
- Go for a swim, then get in the hot tub at a local gym
- Take a long shower
- Attend a free musical festival
- Groom yourself (nails, facial hair, hands, etc…)
- Do a brain dump (set a timer for ten minutes and write down everything that’s on your mind)
- Go see a live show (comedy, dance, musical, etc…)
- Host a potluck dinner with friends
- Start a garden (indoor or outdoor)
- Get the Sunday paper and read something new and non-work related
- Turn your phone on do not disturb, especially for group text chats
- Write a letter of gratitude to someone you really respect, even if that person is famous
- Volunteer for an organization you support
- Take a 20-minute power nap
- Visit a local health club (get a one day pass if not a member) and take a sauna or steam
- Draw something for someone
- Make your bedroom as dark as possible (get a sleep mask/buy blackout curtains)
- Visit a local plant shop and purchase an indoor plant
- Visit a conservatory
- Try a new guided meditation
- Go do something you did as a kid with a friend (play catch, basketball at the park, ride bikes)
- Shave with a high quality razor
- Dance
- Take a cold shower
- Visit a beautifully built place of worship
- Give yourself a massage or exchange massages with your spouse
- Make a “I’m Happy When List…”
- Watch the sunset
- Try a new recipe you’ve been wanting to try
- Invite a friend over to cook dinner with you
- Order food from a restaurant on your bucket list
- Order food or make food from a cuisine you’ve never had before
- Visit an animal shelter or pet store
- Head to the library just to browse
- Light some incense in your home
- Try a guided visualization exercise
- Buy a fictional audio book and go for a walk to listen
- Buy a gift for someone else you love
- Gather items in your home you don’t use and donate them
- Play musical instrument you have on hand
- Write a letter to your future self
- Buy a gift or write a thank you note to someone who helps you everyday (coworker, doorman, mailman, janitor, etc…)
- Focus on redecorating and rearranging a small corner of your home
- Call a friend to ask for their advice
- Use your fireplace or outdoor fire pit
- Invite your friends over for a card game
- Delete something from your calendar in the future that doesn’t excite you
- Buy yourself and overpriced self-care product you normally wouldn’t, e.g. soap, lotions, oil, etc…
- Visit a local market to buy something unique for your home
- Schedule in any vacation days you have available to you at work
- Make a list of people who make you happy–then schedule some dates with them in the future
- Read a classic work of literature
- Put together a scrapbook for a family or friend and give it to them as a gift
- Play one of your favorite board games
- Visit a winery or brewery
- Have sex
- Make a gratitude list
- Head to the driving range and hit golf balls
- Complete a local fitness trail circuit near your home
- Go visit a family member you haven’t seen in a while
- Write a letter to one of your kids
- Go for a walk where there’s beautiful architecture
- Make homemade bread
- Recreate one of your family restaurant meals from home
If you are new to The Ways To Wealth, welcome! My name is R.J. Weiss. I’m a Certified Financial Planner® sharing the best of what I know about making money, saving money, and living the good life. Here are some of my favorite sites and products I use or recommend:
- One of the simplest, smallest changes you can make to save more money us by using SwagBucks. Swagbucks allows you to earn up to 20% cash back, when you shop at your favorite stores. Plus, when you sign up through my link, you’ll receive a $5 bonus you can use on stores like Amazon, WalMart, among others.
- One fast way you can earn more money online is by completing surveys. If $200-$400 a more in income each month would make a difference in your life, I highly recommend you give online surveys a try. To maximize your earnings, sign up for as many sites as possible (use a separate email address), then login once a day to see what surveys you can earn the maximum amount from. The survey sites I recommend are both free to sign up and free to use. Here are my 5 favorite: Swagbucks, MyPoints, SurveyJunkie, YouGov Global Test Market
- Credit Sesame: This is a free and useful tool to monitor your credit. You get access to your TransUnion score and free credit monitoring, e.g. Credit Sesame alerts you when there is activity on your account. Plus, if you’re trying to increase your credit score, you can use the credit analyzer for guidance. Sign up for free.
- Want to make more money? Here are over 100 clever ways you can make more.
