Window shop, museums, parks, picnics…

Relax and enjoy the freebees …
The Chicago parks are wonderful in summer…Take walks along the Lake at the near north side beaches…go for a swim
Visit the museums…
Go to Brookfield Zoo
Visit the Ba’Hai Temple it gives a sense of beauty and peace…
Read a good book, or two….
Write a letter to someone you care for…
Visit family and old friends …or make some new friends!

Check out the “What to Do in Chicago” (there MUST be a website). And find out what is free or inexpensive.
I remember one summer many, many years ago…going to a wonderful concert at the southside university campus and enjoying Haendel’s Fireworks Music while sitting under the stars on a blanket with a group of friends!

Try visiting millenium park. Sometimes they have free concerts. Packing a picnic is fun too. You can also watch street performers. If there are none in millenium park, there are usually some outside the art institute. If none of that interests you, you can always check out the giant shiny bean. That never gets old.

go see linkin’ park live…lol… i don’t know… be creative

Well, most of the people mentioned some good ideas. The beach, the zoo, Go to the park on the weekend and watch the soccer guys play (near Montrose on the north side and near the Museum of Science and Industry on the South). Buy a kite and fly it. Go to the Chicago Cultural Center at noon. There’s always some free concert and an exhibit going on. The museums are free on Tuesdays I believe. If so, you can plan a whole day around that. I think Second City is free after midnight on Saturdays; they use that time to try out some of their new material. Give them a call to find out. And there are some free shows during the week at the Improv Olympic down the street from Wrigley Field. You could go to the Mexican Museum of Fine Art in Pilsen. They ask for a donation rather than a flat fee so that’s kinda cheap. Their current exhibit is about the relationship between African and Mexico.

And grab a Reader or New City. There are always a ton of free gallery art show openings with free food and free drinks. You can scam a meal there and roll with the chi-chi crowd.

Oh, and there’s a free concert coming up tomorrow (Thursday) at Millenium Park with a guy named Seu Jorge. He’s a Brazilian performer who has acted in a movie (”City of God” about Brazilian street gangs) and he sang on the soundtrack for a Bill Murray movie (he did cover version of David Bowie songs). It’s free, so there ya go…

Get lost & write a story about it.
Use your imagination.
Talk to the locals.

It depends where you are located/where you want to go.

get a loan…borrow some $$ from a family member or friend

Well swimming and hang out with friends you can make a plan to put back 20-50 dollars per paycheck in case something like this happens again you don’t want to be stuck with no money and nothing to do. You could also think of all things that you were unable to do when you were working that don’t have to deal with money and get them done. Pamper your self bring out some of those candles or special scents and take a long hot bath do your own pedicure or your nails.

Depending on your where you are vacationing, there is plenty to do without spending $ or very little. Camping, fishing, hiking, sightseeing and swimming are some of the things i love to do with my family. And like i said no money needed or very little.

I am not sure if you like this, but I have two suggestions and both require very little money. You could go camping with some friends and share the cost of food and transportation. Last year I did this and the cost was very low per person. One of us knew how to play guitar and we had lots of fun. If camping is not your “cup of tea”, you could take a Greyhound bus to a nice place and stay at a Youth Hostel. I stayed with them in Key West and had a very good time. Lots of young people backpacking from all over the world. In the evening we would sit outside chatting and I learned a lot from everyone. I hope you have a grea summer vacation whatever you decide to do.