Hey, thinking about the weekend already, wondering what to do and how much it might

cost, what if you could have a fantastic, memorable weekend without spending

much or maybe even anything at all?

Let's brainstorm some free ideas today.

Hey there, and welcome back to your Daily Ask Ralph.

I'm Ralph thanking you for joining me.

We're making great strides in our series, the Joy of Living Below Your means.

We continue working to break that cycle of financial shame and do it with confidence.

Now, yesterday we put a pause on those impulse buys today, let's plan some fun.

Everyone likes to have fun, right?

So maybe the weekend is on your mind, but perhaps you feel a little tension.

You wanna relax.

You wanna have fun, maybe you wanna connect with some friends and

family, but you associate all that with spending money, going out to

eat, going to the movies, attending concerts, shopping, paid events.

Perhaps you feel like if you're trying to live below your means or stick

to a tight budget, your weekends are doomed to be boring and deprived.

Or maybe you just spend the money anyway you feel guilty later

and blow your budget progress.

That feeling of of having fun must cost money leading to either overspending

or feeling resentful and deprived.

That's the single difficulty we're tackling on today's show.

Here's the thing, our culture often equates entertainment with

consumption, but true joy, true connection, and true refreshment,

often come from much simpler sources.

God gave us a beautiful world to explore.

Give us relationships to nurture and creativity to enjoy, many of

which cost absolutely nothing.

Focusing on experiences and connection rather than paid entertainment.

It truly aligns beautifully with finding joy beyond those material possessions.

Remember things like fellowship, enjoying creation and rest.

These are all God-given gifts that don't require an admission fee.

So you might be asking, Ralph, what can we do?

How do we break that link between fun and spending?

How can we have enriching weekends without wrecking the budget?

Well, lemme just tell you, the single joyful solution is to intentionally

seek out and plan free, or I'll say nearly free entertainment options.

There's an abundance of fun stuff to do that cost.

Little or nothing.

Think about this.

Look to nature.

Go to a park, maybe some hiking trails.

Go to the beach.

I. Go to your favorite lake or take a scenic drive, maybe do some backyard

camping, or maybe at night do some simple stargazing or look to your

community, the, the library, for example.

You can check out books and movies and all kinds of events.

There are free museum days or, or local festivals.

You just gotta check your community calendars or maybe you

consider volunteering together or volunteering as a family.

Maybe even some home-based ideas like the board game nights or

puzzle marathons or movie nights.

'cause you can go to the library and rent or maybe you already have

an existing streaming service.

Maybe do a potluck dinner with friends or, or do some reading or some

creative projects or, here's an idea.

How about doing some baking together?

How about some relational options, maybe visiting friends or family, or having some

really truly meaningful conversations.

We don't, we don't seem to have those anymore.

Maybe as a family playing some games together.

Now, maybe you're more active than that and for you, maybe it's riding

bikes or walking tours of your own hometown, exploring places you've

never been before in the area or, or playing sports at a local park.

The solution is intentional creativity.

I'm gonna give you three big words to remember.

Find free fun.

That's right.

Find free fun.

Okay, so here's your one action step for today.

Planning for the weekend ahead.

I want you to start by brainstorming your.

What I'll call your free fun list.

You know, grab a piece of paper or your phone now or later today and spend

like 10 minutes just brainstorming free or, or super cheap things that

you or your family genuinely enjoy doing or, or you might like to try.

Think about the categories I just mentioned earlier, whether it be nature

or community or something around the home or relational, or if you're, like we

said, if you're very active and look for what's available right there in your area.

So I encourage you to do is check those local resources.

Maybe quickly check your local library website or, or maybe in your community

there's in a community event calendar of online things for free or things

that are happening this weekend.

But once you do that, then it's time to choose just one activity.

I. Look at your brainstorm list and pick at least one free activity

that you're gonna intentionally plan to do sometime this weekend.

And then I'm gonna encourage you to finally schedule it, put it on your

calendar, tell your family, tell your friends you might wanna tell

your family if you're in, intending for them to help to be there with

you and treat it like a real plan.

You might be asking Ralph, why plan for free fun.

Because here's what it does.

It directly fights that, that assumption, that fun equals spending.

It proves that you can have rich, enjoyable connecting weekends

without breaking the bank.

It reduces financial stress around those leisure time activities, and it truly

fosters creativity and appreciation for the simple pleasures in life.

And guess what that does that brings real joy into living below your means.

And that's the whole point of what we're talking about in this series.

Well, let's pray together.

Father God, thank you for the gift of rest.

Thank you for the gift of relationships and, and thank you

for the beauty of the creation.

Thank you that true joy doesn't come from spending money.

We get so hung up on that, Lord, I think we, we feel so

much that that's what it is.

But Lord, I ask you to spark creativity in my friend listening

right now is they brainstorm ideas for the free fun this weekend.

Help them find those activities that will genuinely refresh them

and connect them with loved ones.

May they rediscover the joy in those simple pleasures.

Lord bless their weekend with peace and with your presence, and we ask

this in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.

Alright, well get brainstorming and plan at least one free

fun thing for this weekend.

You might discover some new favorite activities and have a

fantastic budget, friendly time.

So we found some free fun.

What about finding some free resources we already own but forgot about, so be

sure to join me back tomorrow here on Ask Ralph where we'll ask this question.

Could you save money by shopping your home first?

That's right.

Your home first.

Get ready to uncover some hidden treasures.

So join me for that tomorrow, and if this episode gave you some great weekend ideas,

do me a favor and share it with somebody.

You can find resources and links in the show notes@askralph.com.

So until tomorrow, have fun for free and keep seeking him first and let's

continue working to become financially.

Confident Christians, so stay financially savvy.

God bless you and I encourage you.

Have a great day today.