If you are broke and bored and wondering what things to do, you are definitely not alone.
Thankfully reading this article will help you a great deal as it reveals 25 awesome things to do when you are broke and bored!
Table of Contents
Why Look for Things to do When You Are Broke?
We’ve all been there.
Where is there?
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It is that dreaded day or weekend when we are not working, we are in between paydays, we are not very motivated, and we are bored out of our minds.
When these occasions come into our lives, it may be beneficial to know how to handle these days and take them as they come.
But one way to handle the dreaded B and B (broke & bored) is not to feel guilty and allow that guilt to weigh heavily upon your mind and heart for being so unmotivated and strapped for cash.
The other option is to see it as an opportunity to do something that doesn’t require money to relieve your boredom and perhaps do something constructive and useful.
The choice is yours.
So let us sit down on the couch, put our feet up, and let’s think about this and see what sort of options, if any, we want to be engaged in.
25 Best Things to Do When Broke and Bored
1. Ask Yourself What You Want To Do
If you have established that you are bored and have no or limited money, the question first of all arises is, “What is it that you want to do?”
Answering this question will determine what it is that you would like to do if anything at all.
If you are comfortable and quite satisfied in just sitting around the house and doing nothing, then, of course, that is your prerogative.
However, if you want to earn some money and do something with the day, that is another possibility.
2. Get Motivated
Perhaps, you are just having trouble getting motivated.
We have all experienced this lack of motivation where we just don’t feel like doing anything but vegging.
Of course, that is fine, and it is your time to do with as you see fit.
However, if you want to get motivated to do something then that’s another issue and you can get motivated by thinking about something to do that doesn’t require money.
Or you can earn money, or you can do something around the house that can be classified as being productive and checking off one of your chores.
To get motivated may be as simple as making your bed, getting a shower, doing some exercises, getting the adrenaline pumping, etc.
In other words, do something to answer the question of what motivates you.
3. Clean House
A possible suggestion of what to do if you are bored is to clean the house.
Perhaps the dusting or vacuuming has been neglected and this can be your opportunity to pick up the various cleaning items and go to work and help relieve your boredom in this way.
4. Declutter
Another way that you can relieve your boredom is to finally go into your closet space or that area in the home that just seems to have been a spot where things accumulate.
To relieve your boredom, you can sort through these items, and decide to hold a garage sale or give the items away to a local not-for-profit thrift store.
In either case, this causes you to feel good about cleaning your home and helping out others.
5. Binge Watch
Perhaps, there is that series on television or one of the streaming channels that you haven’t had a chance to catch up on or have heard so many good things about the episodes.
Being bored and broke would be the perfect opportunity for you to do some binge-watching and watch episode after episode until you catch up to your current.
You could make it a party of one or invite a friend over to be involved in the marathon entertainment opportunity.
6. Write
Another good way to relieve boredom is to pick up a pen or sit at a computer and begin writing.
You can write about what was going on in your life, jot down any future goals and how you wish to attain them, record any feelings and emotions or events that you’ve been going through, etc.
You can relieve your boredom by writing and being with the most personable person that you know with that person being you.
7. Blog
Possibly you’ve been thinking about starting a blog.
Starting your blog while you are bored would be a great subject to springboard off of and venture into your blogging.
You can write about where you’re currently at, and your feelings about being bored and being broke.
Certainly, this would be engaging writing and one that would resonate with others and create a following.
You could make the tone humorous, serious, or a combination of these two things.
One such website that can help you with your blog setup is www.bluehost.com.
8. Hobby
Being bored and broke is another great opportunity in which you can start a hobby or continue on a project that you started.
Examples of hobbies could be putting together a model, knitting, sewing, creating handcrafted items, etc.
Also, some of these hobbies can be sold on such websites as Shopify.com or Etsy.com.
9. Read
Being bored is another great opportunity to read that downloaded book that you bought some time back but never had the opportunity to follow through and read it.
You can make yourself, depending upon the season, a nice beverage, munch on a snack, and keep company with a good book.
10. Write to Yourself
How about a creative project?
Think in terms of yourself in five or 10 years and you want to give advice to your future self.
What would you write, what advice would you give, what cautions would you alert your future self to, etc.?
This would be a fun and innovative way to think about where you might be in the future and what you have experienced and what you wish to communicate with yourself in five or 10 years.
11. Cooking
If you enjoy cooking or would like to learn how to cook now would be a great opportunity, in the midst of your boredom, to learn how to prepare that unique recipe that you’ve tried elsewhere.
By taking to the Internet, sort through some recipes, and find one that sounds interesting and can be made from the ingredients that you already have in your home.
12. Organize
If you are thoroughly bored, a great way to put your boredom to good use is to organize your home.
It could be your wardrobe closet that needs to be sorted out.
Another option is to store away those clothes that you’re no longer using or that may be seasonal in nature.
Also, you could take it to your garage or other storage area and sort through the items that you wish to keep or dispose of.
When the dust has settled you will have a neatly organized home and will have put your boredom to good use.
13. Chores
Perhaps, around your home or apartment, there have been chores that had been left undone.
Some of those chores could include some touchup painting or repainting an entire room, fixing that running toilet, patching that little hole in the wall, etc.
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14. Podcasts
Another great way to put your boredom to good use is to listen to a variety of podcasts.
These could be entertainment, focus on business, or could be educational podcasts.
By listening to the podcast, you will be entertained as well as possibly learn something new which would be a good return on your listening time.
15. Company
The old saying is that misery loves company and perhaps this can be extended to those that are bored and love company as well.
You could take the opportunity to invite someone over, binge-watch together, have a great conversation, play a game, etc.
You could catch up on each other’s lives as to what is happening and just have a fun and engaging time with each other.
Also See: Best Cities and Best Places to Move after College.
16. Clear Your Mind
With the time on your hands and sensing a little bit of boredom, perhaps it would be a good idea to clear your mind.
This can be accomplished by simply going out for a walk, being intentional about taking in everything, enjoying the outdoors, and utilizing all of this to help clear your mind and possibly refocus and renew the goals that you have set for yourself.
17. Learn a Foreign Language
With time on your hands, a great way to maximize the opportunity of being bored and wishing to do something is to learn a second language.
There are a number of apps that you can start this process with, or you can go online and start learning some of the basics.
One such website is https://go.babbel.com/official-site/babbel. The possibility of having the first lesson provided at no cost may be an option.
18. Musical Instrument
Quite possibly, hidden away in the garage or a closet is that musical instrument that you purchased sometime back with the intent of learning and somehow got sidetracked.
The musical instrument could be a keyboard, guitar, etc.
Why not pull that item out, dust it off, pick up where you left off and begin to endeavor to learn how to strum that guitar or play out a beautiful melody on a keyboard.
19. Lookup Old Friends
Given the time that you have been blessed with but now are bored, do you ever think about old friends and whatever became of them.
Why not take to the Internet and see if you can look up old acquaintances and try to reconnect with them.
It would be kind of interesting and exciting to do some sleuthing and see what you can find out in your efforts to reconnect.
20. Side Hustles
If you’re wishing to earn some money to address being broke and of course have the time, you could consider doing a side hustle.
A side hustle is defined as taking on an extra job to supplement your current income.
The side hustle could be driving for a food delivery service, taxing people around utilizing your vehicle, doing work around your neighborhood as a handyman, etc.
You can even get paid to walk dogs in your community by logging onto www.rover.com and finding individuals looking for someone reputable to exercise their animals.
Check out the following for more side hustles to consider, if they suit you:
- Side Hustles to Earn Money for Scientists
- Side Hustles to Earn Money for Dentists
- Side Hustles to Earn Money for Social Workers
- Side Hustles to Earn Money for Physicians
- Side Hustles to Earn Money for Architects
- Side Hustles to Earn Money for Music Lovers
- Side Hustles to Earn Money for Veterinarians
21. Volunteer
A great way to not only be of service to others but experience and eye-opening opportunity is to volunteer for a not-for-profit.
This would give you the perspective of individuals who are underserved in your community and for whatever reason don’t have the resources to even have a roof over their head or enjoy three meals a day.
By volunteering, you certainly would not be bored as you interact with others who are in need within your community.
22. Gardening
Sometimes, a great way that is soothing and brings about a sense of peace is to work with your hands, especially as it relates to gardening.
If you are bored, you can do a little weeding, spruce up your outside area, plant a few seeds that you have lying around, and take pride in your hard work and accomplishments.
23. Freelancing
Being bored and broke also provides a great opportunity to do some freelancing work.
By going to www.upwork.com or www.freelancer.com you can find various employment opportunities in which individuals are wishing to use a freelancer to do the work.
Registration on these sites is at no cost, and once registered, you can begin to search for job opportunities that match your skills and talents.
Consequently, getting a job will help to relieve some of your boredom but will also address the challenge of being broke.
24. Work on Your Budget
Some people enjoy working on graphs, juggling numbers, and reviewing their budgets.
This would be a great opportunity to not only revisit your financial goals and objectives for your life but to readjust your budget as needed to financially meet those goals.
You can also be creative by working with your spreadsheet to create graphs, provide projections, etc.
25. Go to a Museum
A place that is a wonderland for individuals and can sometimes come at no cost is to visit a museum.
The museum can be entertaining as well as an educational opportunity to visit the past as well as peer into the future.
Also, you could sit in front of a painting and take in the beauty and artistic skill that the painter demonstrates in capturing the image that they have committed to the canvas.
Personal Story
In the early 1980s, we were pastors at a local church and Saturday was our day off where we had the opportunity to spend it with our family of three boys, my wife, and me.
Being pastors, we did not have a lot of discretionary income and therefore, we couldn’t afford to do a lot of things with our boys as far as spending money.
However, to help alleviate some of their boredom, and ours, we would endeavor to make up games for the amusement of all.
One of the games that we liked to play involved us going out in our car, gas was cheaper then, and driving around and playing “slug bug.”
The slug bug is a Volkswagen beetle and every time we saw one of these unique cars we would yell out slug bug and keep track of who found the most vehicles.
The winner got bragging rights and we all shared in the victory as we would stop at a McDonald’s and buy one of their inexpensive ice cream cones for each of us.
Things to Do When Bored and Broke FAQs
Is There Anything Wrong With Being Bored?
There is nothing wrong with occasional bouts of boredom.
However, it has been medically and scientifically researched and proven that long-term boredom may increase your risk for early death.
This is due to the reality that boredom may increase stress hormones in the body which may cause damage to the cardiovascular system.
www.heatlhline.com/health/can-you-die-of-boredom.
Have There Been Any Famous People That Expressed Their Boredom?
Of the more famous individuals that expressed being bored was Albert Schweitzer who expressed his boredom over the school.
It evidently was the school subjects that he found no interest in and he expressed his boredom.
It wasn’t until he picked up a geometry book that his studies became alive.
You Can Do It
Bored and broke can be a great place to be as it can provide opportunity.
There are many actions that you can take when you find yourself experiencing these two dynamics.
It is all dependent upon what you want to do, if anything at all.
Conclusion
The bottom line, as it relates to being broke and bored and what action steps you wish to take, is your call.
There is nothing wrong with being broke and bored and possibly taking some needed time off and just distressing.
On the other hand, if there is something that you wish to do, then you can address the situation of being broke and address the situation of being bored or meeting the two challenges by doing something that addresses them both.
The two B’s of being broke and bored can also mean getting down to business and getting busy.
Again, this company has paid $25+ million to members:
SurveyJunkie (only USA, Canada, Australia residents allowed). You can earn money sharing your thoughts. They have already paid $25+ million to their 20+ million members just for sharing their thoughts and opinions. Click here to join SurveyJunkie for FREE