40 free or cheap things you can do before summer ends

Ah, summertime. The weather is hot and the living can be… expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. And, we’re lucky that our fave borough has some low cost and free events all summer long to keep our wallets happy.

We rounded up some free (or very cheap) options to help you get the most out of summer.

1. Explore a beach you’ve never been to. Everyone is at the Rockaways. You can do better.
2. Catch an outdoor movie or two. Or three.
3. Purge your closet and hold a clothing swap with some friends.
4. Take advantage of free admission days at museums.
5. Host a potluck dinner or BBQ.
6. Make your own damn iced coffee and read a book in the park.
7. Go to a comedy show. There’s tons of free laughs.
8. Make friends with someone who has a sick backyard or rooftop.
9. Take the subway to a neighborhood you don’t know that well and explore.
10. Paddle a canoe with North Brooklyn Boat Club on their free Saturdays.
11. Exercise in a park.
12. Call a friend or loved one you’ve been putting off.
13. Hit up those free outdoor music shows.
14. Volunteer at a local animal shelter.
15. Get to know an elderly neighbor in your building or block.
16. Pile your friends together and hold an epic stoop sale.
17. Form an epic trivia group and maybe win some drinks.
18. Meditate. It’s 100% free.
19. Take advantage of your library card.
20. Buy some greens at your local farmers market and whip up a new dish.
21. Make a list of Brooklyn galleries and go on a self-guided art crawl.
22. Yoga in the park. It’s a gift.
23. Cemetery tours are a thing. Go on ’em and learn a little bit of history.
24. Start a journal.
25. Go on a beer brewery tour.
26. Troll Craigslist for some sweet curb alerts.
27. Take your smartphone and make your own personal photo essay.
28. Feel something at a poetry reading. Maybe read a poem of your own.
29. Spend the day at Governors Island.
30. Learn a new skill, big or small.
31. Break a bad money habit. (Ex: buying coffee every day, cabbing it too often, ordering that extra drink)
32. Go bargain hunting and hit up stoop sales.
33. Make a face mask (hello, brown sugar scrubs) and binge watch some Netflix.
34. Detox from social media.
35. Help folks in your local community register to vote.
36. Foster a dog or cat.
37. Bust a groove at those cheap or free dance parties.
38. Teach yourself astrology or tarot for funsies.
39. Take yourself on a street art tour.
40. Go to a wine tasting night.

Want some more inspo? Check out our 2018 summer bucket list.