So, if you tried the 24-hour money fast and you're ready to tackle the weekend, there are a few different ways to go. During a Free Weekend, only meals are considered necessities, and even then you are not expected to spend money on them. Transportation is considered a "want" instead of a "need" unless there is a medical emergency, so even if you get your tokens ahead of time or your tank is already full, you will need to reflect transportation in your log.
Hermit's Delight. Stay in, tune out, read, play, sleep, watch movies you already have, drag out the Scrabble. Repeat. Do not order take-out pizza, do not pull on your jeans just to go buy a bagel. If it isn't free and already here, you don't want it. If a friend calls to take you out for a beer, invite him to bring the sixpack to you. I said you couldn't spend money, I didn't say anything about anyone else.
Sun and Spirit. Get up early, brew some coffee or tea, and go outside. Go somewhere you can walk or bike to, and take the dog if that's your thing. You can read anything you don't have to buy, and you can go anywhere you needn't pay admission. This includes (gasp) a place of religious observance. Yeahhhhh, I said it. A Sun and Spirit one day is obviously the perfect complement to a Hermit's Delight the next. Or vice versa.
Gift Card Blow-Out.
If bowing to the gods of commerce is more your thing, we have an ironically delicious suggestion for your money-free weekend. Scour your house for all the gift cards you've been meaning to use, gather them together, check the Sunday paper and the Internet for sales and deals, and plan your itinerary to save as much gas and time as possible. Don't try to use every card--after all, you have finally found them all, and that's something. Call the phone numbers of the backs of these cards and make sure you know the values.
Before you even leave the house, choose a list of items that can be purchased for the face value of the card or under. Stick to your list. Then if you like, revalue the card for up to twice its original face value and save it for gift-giving. This has the added environmental benefit of keeping some itty bitty plastic out of the gweat big landfill for a few months more.
Potluck and Swap. Throw your doors open and invite people for lunch or dinner. Ask everyone to bring something different, while you provide a simple base--salad, or rice, whatever is in your house. If you'd like, you can add a swap to this so you and friends can paw through each other's rejected clothing and decide what you'd resurrect for yourselves. You can tell I'm not a fan of the swap, but every body has to pick their poison.
Still with me? Now on to the daunting 7-Day Fast.
