31 Fun Things to Do With Your Friends Without Spending Much

We all have to agree on one thing – having a true friend in life is something that can’t be replaced with anything, not even your emotional partner.

Friends are the essential spark needed in our life, so we could truly be a fulfilled person. You build your friendly relationship over the years, and grow and develop yourself right next to your friends.

Of course, they are the ones that often support you in doing silly stuff, or better said, they usually join us on our adventures! You know what they say – a true friend doesn’t let you do stupid things, alone.

So, for all of you who know what true friendship really means, and for your companions, we have made a list of fun stuff you can do with your friends without spending much money.

In the end, we all know that true friendship doesn’t rely on material stuff – it is just pure love.

1. MAKE A LIST

Sometimes it happens that you spend so much time with your friend, that you don’t know what else there is in this world that you two haven’t done yet. Well, this is a great time to be alive for all empiricists out there!

The idea is that you and your friend both (or all of you, if you are so lucky to have more than one best friend) make a list of fun stuff you would like to do together. You can make a list of five things, for example.

The important thing is that you both HAVE to fill up all five ideas, no matter how dumb they sound – the crazier, the better! In the end, take a look at both lists and vote on the best idea.

After all, we do live in a democratic society. You will be surprised how many ideas are roaming around your head, and you weren’t even conscious about them!

It’s easier to keep track of them once you create a list, however, be careful not to schedule too much because it may be detrimental to your agenda.

2. GO FOR A LONG WALK

I know, it sounds a little boring, but be honest now, can you remember the last time you went out for a long walk with your friends and just talked about anything that pops in your head? In the era of technology, we often forget simple things like this one.

You can make it a thing – make an arrangement to walk twice a week. Bring your coffee thermos, maybe some snacks and start walking!

Another benefit of this one is that is great for your health, and you won’t even feel the hours passing by while talking about all the nonsense with your favorite person.

3. GO TO AN EXHIBITION OR TO A MUSEUM

Feed your inner artist! I guess we all like to see a nice work of art, but somehow it can get boring to watch paintings or sculptures all by yourself.

Instead, bring your friend, and make comments together. After that, you can grab a cup of coffee and discuss what you have seen in the exhibition.

Of course, if you are not a fan of art, you can go to a theme museum. You can go to a technical or historical museum, maybe see a lecture in biology, or any other type of cultural gathering…

You will spend some real quality time with your friends, and you will learn along the way. Plus, the entries for exhibitions and museums are really cheap, sometimes they are even free, especially if you are a student.

4. VISIT YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL PARK OR PROTECTED AREA

This one depends on where you live, but I am pretty sure that in every corner of the world, there is a nice, big park, a maximum one hour ride away. You can go by car, or if you don’t own one, you can always go by bus.

Make it a picnic! You will feel better about yourself for spending a day in nature, you will eat healthy because you’ll bring some food and drinks from your home, and you’ll learn something new.

In national parks around the world, there are always interesting things to see – endemic animals or plants, fun facts about the place, and usually, there are trim tracks that you can follow.

Go prepared, read about the place before you visit it, you might find some interesting activities to do there, as well.

5. MAKE A NICE DINNER

We all like to go to fancy restaurants, but you will admit that sometimes it is just a big waste of money. Instead, gather your friends at someone’s house and make a fancy dinner all by yourself!

You can make something extraordinary, or even make it a theme dinner.

For example, you can organize a Mexican night, make tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and everything that goes with it.

You will have one hell of a feast, without spending much money! Plus, you will have a ball while preparing the food together.

6. GO THRIFT SHOPPING

We all like shopping with our friends, but we can’t afford it all the time. Instead of spending tons of money in your local shopping mall on things you don’t really need, you can go thrift shopping with your friends.

It is very amusing to dig around the shelves in second-hand stores and to add to that, your style will be unique, instead of wearing what everyone else is wearing. You can even make whole outfits for a really small amount of money, especially if you run into sales at the thrift store.

7. READ A BOOK TOGETHER

We all love to read books, but sometimes it gets monotonous when you read a book that made a big impression on you, and you have no one to discuss it with.

You can make an arrangement with your friend – every week you should read one book, and then pick a day of the week when you will make an analysis of it.

It will be beneficial for you in every possible way, and you don’t have to spend a dime – you can rent books from your local library. If you are a collector, you can also buy pre-owned books for just a few bucks.

7. PLAY CARD OR BOARD GAMES

Of course, you can play online games as well, but you have to admit that you can’t take much joy from staring at your screen with your friend sitting next to you, or talking to you via Skype. Instead, make a return to childhood and play some games face-to-face.

Nowadays there are thousands of card games for two and more people. You can also play board games like Monopoly, and Cluedo (the classics). There are a lot of new, fun games for you to play, as well – Quiplash, Taboo, Azul…

If you have a big group of friends, my favorite is definitely charades – you will laugh a lot, it will be entertaining and amusing.

Here, check out this list of the best card and board games you’ll love!

8. GO TO A SWIMMING POOL OR YOUR LOCAL LAKE OR RIVER

The entrance fee to your local swimming pool or aqua park is usually pretty cheap, and it guarantees much fun throughout the day. Plus, your body will be very thankful.

During summertime, you can always go to a local riverside or a lake and have a swim in nature – it doesn’t cost a penny. You can bring some sandwiches and just enjoy the day.

The good thing is – the more, the merrier so bring all of your friends and organize a day to remember for all your whole squad!

If your local lake or river is not suitable for swimming, you can go fishing if it is allowed in the area. Even if you don’t like fishing, it is all about the energy and the time spent together.

9. MAKE A SPA DAY

We all love to be spoiled and treated like goddesses, especially if it includes some quality face masks, sauna, and essential oils. Unfortunately, spas can get pretty expensive. Luckily, some alternatives are just as good – you can make your spa at your house!

Put on some meditation music, heat towels, lay down, relax, light a scented candle, do a full-body peeling and buy some masks at your local cosmetics store (they are very cheap, a dollar or two apiece), turn off the world around you and just relax with your friend!

You can also make face masks or peelings by yourselves – it will be super fun, you will save money, and it is much healthier than the ones you can buy.

There are tons of recipes for home-made skin products that you can find online. You can even give each other a nice massage, and make it a full service!

10. MAKE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTO SESSION

We all like to have nice shots to share on social networks, but on most of our photos, we just look like an undone potato. Instead of using photoshop, try to make some unusual photos with a little help from your friend.

There are plenty of sites and Instagram profiles where you can get ideas, like Pinterest, Idea Stand or Artistic Globe, plus the fun is guaranteed! Get in the role of a photographer and the model, as well!

You can explore the locations near-by and make the best of your surroundings by using just your phone camera.

11. WORKOUT

Instead of paying for an expensive gym membership, make an arrangement with your friend twice a week.

You can work-out at one of your houses, or you can go to a public gym at your local park. It doesn’t cost anything, and it will be so much easier to do it with a companion instead of working out all by yourself.

If you are not sports people, you can go for an easy run, hula-hoop, do some stretching and yoga or simply dance around the house. Whatever you do, your body will be very grateful.

12. LEARN A NEW SKILL AND GET CREATIVE

You can learn to play a musical instrument together, learn a new dance, paint, make jewelry, play chess… The possibilities are endless, plus it is healthy and valuable for your brain.

There are so many online courses on different subjects online, that you can download for free – try to explore them. You can use platforms like Edx or Udemy. Sign up for a course you are both interested in.

For starts, you two can make some bookmarkers, or decorate a glass jug called “The Good Part of the Day”. Make small papers and write down everything nice that has happened to you that day, or at least something nice that you have heard.

Collect your thoughts in your jar, and open them at the end of the year. You can use this if you feel bad about yourself, as well. Open the jar and remember all the nice things that happened to you in the past months.

13. REFLECT THE THINGS YOU ARE PROUD OF ABOUT EACH OTHER

This doesn’t cost you anything and it can be beneficial on so many levels. You can practice this once a week or even daily. Write down all the small things you love about your friend, may they do the same, and exchange your papers.

Make them feel special and worthy.

When you feel sad, you will always have that paper, whether to remind you of all the nice things someone has told about you or to remind you of all the good things about your friend and all the reasons you are grateful for about your friendship.

15. THOROUGHLY CLEAN EACH OTHER’S HOUSES

For this one, it is even better if there are more than two friends. We all know how lazy we can get about deep cleaning our houses, especially if we have, for example, an attic full of stuff that we haven’t even seen in years.

Call your friends over, make some snacks and start arranging! It is useful and helpful. The next week, do the same with your friend’s house, and so on…

In a month, all of you will have a nice tidy home and you will get rid of the stuff you don’t need anymore. You can even make a few bucks out of it – sell the stuff you no longer need and use them to grab a drink or coffee later on.

16. RIDE A BIKE TOGETHER

This one has so many benefits – it doesn’t cost you anything, it is healthy and you can explore the area around you! You can even make it a weekly routine. Set a goal, for example, you have to ride for 20 km every week.

You can go to a different place every time and explore your neighborhood, I bet there are more than a few places around you that you have never visited, or you haven’t been there since you were a kid.

17. MAKE A COCKTAIL NIGHT AT YOUR HOUSE

Instead of going out for drinks and spending tons of money for a colored drink with an umbrella in it, you can make a cocktail night at your house with your friends.

Summertime is better for this one because you can make a garden party. Everyone can chip in with an equal amount of money and you will make a night to remember.

Just buy a shaker (it is inexpensive, it costs a couple of dollars – you don’t need a professional one), some juice and a few bottles of spirit and you’ll have a full night fun! Look upon some recipes online and make the best of what you’ve got.

18. MAKE A MOVIE NIGHT

Who doesn’t like a high-quality movie night? Organize it with your friends – I am sure at least one of you has a projector (they are pretty cheap these days, as well). Even if you don’t own it, you can always connect your TV to your laptop and make an excellent movie night.

You can binge-watch your favorite show (Friends is an excellent choice to watch with your squad), or you can just pick a movie that all of you find interesting.

Of course, the classics are always there, like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. If you want to make it a little more serious, you can always watch Quentin Tarantino or Alfred Hitchcock movies, depending on the genre you are interested in.

19. ORGANIZE A THRIFT SHOP BY YOURSELVES

By this, I don’t mean go rent a store and open a second-hand store. Since all of you are organizing your home and clothes, there is a way to gain some clothes, as well.

Bring all of the stuff you no longer need and the stuff that came as a result of impulsive shopping, to your friend’s house, and you can exchange the pieces between you. Something you don’t like might make your friend really happy, and vice versa.

This is great if there are more than two of you – it makes it more interesting and the choice is wider.

20. GO BOWLING

It is fun, it is healthy and it is cheap! Visit your local bowling alley, separate in teams and let the games begin!

This is great for all of you who feel competitive, as well – it will bring out rivalry and some anger as well (for the ones losing, of course).

You can spice up the game by making a bet – the losing team pays for drinks or ice-cream after the game.

21. MAKE A NEW PLAYLIST

I bet you are all tired of your same old playlist, but somehow you never have the time to make a new one. Well, now you can take some time, along with your friend.

Delete your dull Deezer or Spotify playlist and make a fresh one. Besides that, they say two heads are better than one- your friend certainly knows some songs that you love, but you couldn’t remember they even existed, at this point.

22. ORGANIZE A SLEEPOVER

What is the most exciting event you remember from your childhood? For most of us, it is definitely the pajama parties. Well, make a quality throwback – put on your sleeping clothes and bring some snacks and sweets.

You can binge-watch your favorite show or you can watch a new movie release. If you are not into movies or shows, you can always spend the night gossiping. Let’s face it, it won’t hurt anyone.

I recommend making a themed sleepover. For example, you can make it a girly thing – watch movies like Mean Girls and talk for hours.

For guys it is much easier – you can play video games or PS. You can even make a “Scary night” – watch some horror movies and cuddle up with your friends.

23. MAKE YOUR OWN PHOTO ALBUM

In the era of cell phones and technology, we have forgotten about the feeling when you can actually hold a photo in your hand, and write a caption on the back of the photo.

Fortunately, there is a good side to this – printing photos is now a lot cheaper than it was before!

Go print out some of your favorite photos together and put them in an album. You can buy the album, or you can make it yourself, just to double the fun.

24. LEARN TO BAKE A NEW CAKE

It doesn’t matter whether you can cook or not, just find a new recipe that sounds interesting and try to bake a cake.

Even if it tastes so bad you have to throw it away at the end, I promise you will take satisfaction in baking and you will learn a new skill, so it is a win-win situation.

You can also make a new recipe book and decorate it with drawings, stickers, etc.

25. MAKE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL OR JOINT INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

All of us get goofy around our best friends, so why not share it with the rest of the world? You and your friends can make a YouTube channel where you will post the funny things you do. You can even make tutorials and actually be useful to the community out there.

Also, you can make a joint Instagram account, just to celebrate your friendship and show the world the meaning of being true friends with someone for so long (you can make a retrospective – post photos from when you were kids to this day, for example).

26. FIND OUT ABOUT FREE EVENTS IN YOUR TOWN

Let’s face it, in the twenty-first century, we all want to travel the world, but the place we know the least is usually our home town.

Explore free events in your place, I am sure you will be amazed at how many things there are that you didn’t know about – concerts, art shows, theater plays…

The first thing we do while we travel is exploring the town online, usually even before we get to the place. So, become a tourist in your own town, simple as that!

27. MAKE DIY GIFTS

Again, this is a venture that demands your creativity. If you have someone’s birthday coming soon, you can get together with your friends and make some amazing gifts. You can find tons of ideas online, some of them are pretty easy while looking great.

Besides that, the person receiving the gift will have that feeling of warmth and care, knowing that you have made that present by yourself, out of your heart.

You can get together with your friends and make gifts for each other. This can be even more amusing because you will see their reaction to the present right away.

28. TAKE UP A YOUTUBE CHALLENGE

This will probably be the funniest suggestion on this list. There is so much dumb stuff you can do with your friends, just for laughs! I suggest Cinnamon Challenge, Ice Bucket Challenge (this one is pretty rough, only for the brave ones), or you can simply play Truth or Dare.

You can see a list of crazy and amusing YouTube challenges here.

29. ORGANIZE A KARAOKE NIGHT

Gather your friends at someone’s house and find a microphone – surely one of you has it (it can be low-quality, it doesn’t matter), or you can buy one, they are pretty cheap on websites like AliExpress or Amazon.

Since most of you probably suck at singing, the fun and laughter are guaranteed. You can even organize a Talent show – the best performer gets a pack of sweets, or a bottle of champagne (it can be a cheap one, from your local liquor store, the most important thing is to have some wild fun).

Be goofy and foolish, get into the act, try to win your audience!

While you are at it, you can also organize a Dance with the Stars night.

That way, you will learn new moves and have so much fun watching your friends make complete fools of themselves (don’t worry, the chances are, you won’t shine either, so they will wait for their turn to laugh at you).

30. MAKE YOUR OWN CLOTHES

Not only will you be saving money with this one, but you will build a unique fashion style. There are literally thousands of ideas online for making clothes, even without sewing (though it would do you good to learn this skill).

Explore the web and find some interesting tutorials. If you want to be really chic and trendy, you can find some ideas for making vintage 90’s T-shirts and tees, for example.

31. FOLLOW MAKE-UP TUTORIALS

You can look up for some interesting make-up tutorials on YouTube and do each other’s make-up. There is no doubt it will be fun, and you will develop your make-up skills, as well!