Great Escapes for Under $10
Just the other day a friend of mine told me that she’s had to cancel her vacation for this year. The friend she was planning to travel with has been laid off, and the dreams of Europe are on hold for now. If ever there was a time we all needed a vacation it’s now but for many of us, this is the time we can least afford it. How do you make time to rest and relax on a budget?
1. Read a book in your favorite coffee shop. Pick up that book you bought weeks ago (because you really were going to find time to read it) and head over to your favorite café. For the price of a fancy $5 coffee you can have an hour or two of relaxing reading while you sip. If you want to really splurge, get a chocolate croissant to go with it.
2. Explore locally. Take an afternoon and visit the park/ greenhouse/ independent book store you drive past on the way to work each day. Find out what is just around the corner. Or leave your car at home and wander around your own neighborhood. Who knows what you might be missing in your own back yard?
3. Treat yourself to a day at home. If your schedule is really packed, take a day, or an afternoon at home and do what you want to do rather than all the things that need to get done. The important thing here is to really guard the time. Don’t answer the phone, don’t answer the door, don’t check your email. Be utterly selfish for a few hours and suit yourself. It is amazing how good that feels.
What are you doing to relax in these stressful times? Do you have a favorite way to escape?
Image courtesy of Sir Mervs . Used with permission under a Creative Commons 2.0 License.
