12 Ways to Make Memories Without Spending a Fortune

On Jun 17, 2023

The concept of making memories has been co-opted by our consumer culture to equate memories with money. The more you spend, the better your memories will be! Social media, advertising, and even our own peers and families encourage us to travel to far-flung destinations, install a pool, get an RV, or chase our expensive dream homes or cars. Only with these things can we truly bond with our loved ones and escape our routine lives long enough to make lasting memories!

Sorry, but that’s a big load of poo. Memories are perhaps one of the few things in life that are still free. We all make memories everyday (and some of them are pretty darn good) just by going about our daily lives. This quest for great memories at great expense is silly and leads a lot of people into debt. “But I have to take that expensive trip or else my kids won’t remember how much fun we had in thirty years!” “I have to travel now so I’ll have something to look back on when I’m eighty!” Nonsense. You can make plenty of awesome memories without spending a dime. And if you must do something that costs money, it certainly doesn’t need to cost a lot. Here are some memory-making ideas that don’t require you to drop a fortune.

Plan in-home entertainment. Nothing says memories are only made outside the home. Game nights, watch parties for sports, movie nights, pot luck dinners and, weather permitting, outdoor cookouts, campouts, or pick-up sports are all sources of great memories. I have friends I still laugh with over one particular game night that happened way back in college.

Treasure the mundane activities. Yeah, routine things like cooking and chores aren’t always considered memory-making material. However, I still remember helping my grandmother bake her special treats, or helping her in the garden. At the time I didn’t think much of it, but now I remember that time as pretty special. Why? Because we were together. Mundane life stuff can be memorable, even if we don’t realize it at the time.

Expand your horizons together. Shared classes and hobbies are a great way to make memories and often cost little to no money. Look for free programs for the whole family and learn a new skill or delve into a mutual area of interest. For example, our local lake offered low cost family sailing lessons through the parks department. The natural science museum offered a trip to the local quarry to dig for fossils and some accompanying lectures geared to all ages. Or maybe the whole family can pursue a hobby together. Something like photography or dance, perhaps? Shared interests give you much to talk about and built in opportunities to spend time together.

Load up on free or low-cost activities. There’s a misconception that memories only come when you spend a ton of money. However, many of my treasured memories with my parents come from time at the local park, museums, or other free events around our town. It isn’t the cost, but the time together that creates the memory. And most cities and towns offer tons of free and cheap activities. Look at your local Chamber of Commerce website, Nextdoor or other local groups, or your local tourism board to find out what’s going on.

Embrace your silly side. Once, in college, I was so stressed out from final exams that I went out in the middle of the pouring rain and splashed in the water that was rushing down the street in front of my apartment (and, no, I was not drunk). It was hot, I was tired, and I just wanted to blow off some steam. While this might not have been memorable in and of itself, I still think about it because other people came out of their apartments and joined me, as did some people passing by. It turned into a moment of group insanity, all of us laughing our heads off and getting soaked.

Maybe you’re not the water sort, but just do something silly. Blow some bubbles, build a fort, dance in the backyard, have a food fight, create or build something that has no purpose, or make up a game or sport. It’s these spontaneous moments that generate some of the best memories. Who cares what other people think?

Tour your own area. There’s probably a ton of stuff in your local area, or within an hour’s drive or so, that you’ve never done. We tend to take our local area for granted, or dismiss it as boring because we live there and see it all the time. But other people are likely visiting your area. What do they do when they come? Figure that out and then become a tourist in your own town. You might spend some money on attractions or events, but you’ll save the massive travel expenses.

Splurge a little on the staycation. A staycation isn’t always fun if you stay in your house. There are always the usual chores and maintenance to distract you from the relaxing vacation experience you’re supposed to be having. Maybe you can splurge a little to plus-up your staycation. Try some new eateries in town, or at least hit up the bakery for a local dessert. Take your gear and camp at the state park. Even if you stay in a local hotel or AirBnB, it’s still much cheaper than flying somewhere or taking a days-long road trip. You don’t have to do any of this to make memories, but if you want the travel experience without spending as much money, this can be a way to do it.

Go outside. For whatever reason, I find that most of my treasured memories happened outside. They occurred at parks or on picnics. On hikes or beach walks. Lazy days at the lake with friends, or just dangling a fishing line off a pier. Stargazing and shooting the breeze with friends at the end of the day. I think there’s something about being outside that relaxes us and makes us more likely to record the moment as special as opposed to being shut up inside.

Embrace random acts of kindness. Sometimes the things we remember most are the things we do for others. If you can bring a moment of joy to someone else’s day, that’s often a memorable experience. Volunteer for a cause that’s meaningful for you, or just do simple things like helping an elder with chores, easing someone else’s burden for a few moments, or just being nice to someone else.

Spend one-on-one time with those important to you. What you do doesn’t matter. What matters is that you spend time without phones or distractions doing something fun or important to both/all of you. Quality time together is when you tend to get those memorable conversations or silly, random events that you’ll talk about for years.

Be present in whatever moment you find yourself. Memories can be made anywhere and at any time, as long as you’re present enough to record them. So put down the phone or turn off the TV and really be present wherever you are. Even if you’re just waiting somewhere, be present and observe life around you. Sometimes the best memories are the ones we didn’t set out to make, but instead just happen upon. It’s uninterrupted time with others that is often the most memorable, and that can happen over your own dinner table, if you’re present and open.

Don’t record everything. In the age of easy video via cell phone, I see people recording every moment of their lives. They record the concert instead of just letting the experience wash over them. They photograph and record every minute of an outing or vacation. “I want to remember it later,” they say. But that’s not how memories work. Our deepest memories come from events that we fully experienced. If you’re too busy messing with the phone settings and making sure that everything is in frame, you’re not experiencing the thing you set out to experience. When you watch the video later, chances are you’ll say something like, “Huh. I don’t remember that part.” That’s because your memories are tied to the action of recording, not the experience itself. Your brain will do the recording for you, if you let it.

And here’s one more tidbit about the whole “spend to make memories” foolishness. It’s entirely possible that you spend a boatload of money only to end up making bad memories. Sure, we all hope that dream vacation will be wonderful or that pool will be a source of family fun, but sometimes things turn out terribly. While some bad things like lost luggage, scuzzy resorts, or Montezuma’s Revenge might be things you laugh about later, there are plenty of things that are worse. Crime, accidents or, worst case, death don’t make for good memories.

Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” That’s very true in the memory making business. You can spend a fortune for good memories and come home only with bad. Life is random like that. At least if something terrible happens on a free or low cost adventure, you don’t regret the money spent on top of everything else. So before you shell out for the random chance of good memories, stop and think about all the good memories you can make for free.

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