Inexpensive Entertainment

Sometimes I feel like these batteries

Sometimes, I just want to recharge. The wife and I call this my "nothing box" because I don't think but immensely enjoy it and recharge. My newest computer is a work Macbook so my youth urges to play video games for free often go unfulfilled. As a previous Windows user, free demos took care of these urges. As time went on, my computer became too old and I was left in a state of playing online chess at gameknot.com and chess.com. Both of these sites are nice, although I prefer chess.com due to extra features. What I discovered though is that when I want to do something mindless, the male nothing-box, chess is not perfect since I must think.

However, I’ve recently discovered Risk and Monopoly online at pogo.com. Every 5 or so minutes during play you are greeted by a 40 second break to watch a sponsor. I use these times to go to the bathroom, plug in my computer charger, check email...etc. What I like about playing these games online is that I don’t have to find people to play with, the website simply matches players. Also, you can learn from people better than you in the never ending quest to improve.

My wife enjoys me doing my nothing-box because if I don’t play a game, I’ll instead pull out the budget and start thinking outside the box on how we can save money. Sometimes that makes her nervous.

On a somewhat related note, Netflix streaming just released Friends. 220 episodes ready for instant consumption. That alone could be worth $8 a month for your movie entertainment. Although I am frugal, if I have no source of entertainment it encourages me to be impulsive with indulgences like eating out, catching a $12 film, or buying a few movies in the bargain bin. Not that any of that is particularly bad. It is just helpful to have an inexpensive alternative to spending money for entertainment.

What is your inexpensive go-to? What do you like about it?

Disclaimer: I do not pay for any of the above websites except Netflix.