When I began to get serious about getting out of debt and building wealth in January 2013, one of the hardest things to give up was dining out regularly and mindlessly. Dining out was a fun and easy form of entertainment that I enjoyed. It is also one of the biggest budget busters. I’m not going to pretend I never go out to eat but I have dramatically cut down and now, about 95% of my dining out occasions happen as a way to spend time with others, celebrate something, or when traveling. In contrast, the pre-2013 me was capable of spiraling into a thrice weekly restaurant binge because I was too lazy to cook/grocery shop/meal plan. Or, the most dramatic and frequent rationale of them all: “I work hard – I deserve to eat out when I want to!” SPARE. ME. Most of us work hard but if you have debt and want to build wealth, you have to spend less than you make, and dining out is an area completely under your control.

After I pulled my head out of my anus and stopped the madness, I realized I needed to find a free way to keep busy, especially on week nights, so boredom and/or entitlement would not propel me to seek comfort from restaurants. For a while, I was fine, running on the adrenaline of being thrifty because I was seeing all of my debt being cut loose; that in and of itself satisfied any urge to squander money on prepared meals. Once all my debt was paid off, I needed a new diversion. Enter: the Fitbit. I will pause a moment here to say this post is in no way sponsored by Fitbit or anyone else. I am just really passionate about the change it made in my life.

Last August, I was lucky enough to be given a free Fitbit from my employer. This new trinket channeled my inner mall-walker and competitive beast and motivated me to set some fitness goals. It helped that everyone at my workplace also got one (if they wanted one), so I immediately had a built in network of others doing it. Just like with my financial life, I had a clear fitness goal: at least 10,000 steps a day and of course, BEAT MY COWORKERS. You’d be surprised how little you walk without trying to actively seek out steps. I was averaging about 3,000 steps a day without intentional effort (for me this equals a little over a mile). So, to get to 10K required some effort beyond my normal and apparently sloth-like movement. This realization led to the Fitbit providing me with my new free evening entertainment: walking. It’s free and good for you! Beyond being my new free form of entertainment, other benefits I have enjoyed since becoming a regular walker:

  • Weight loss. With no other changes, I lost about 10-15 pounds since I started 13 months ago (my husband has lost about 35 doing the same thing!)
  • Exploring my city/neighborhood. Most weeknights I follow the same pathway out of habit but on the weekends, I get super wild and drive to different city parks and other areas with walking trails.
  • Catching up. It’s a great way to spend time making calls to friends and family. It makes the walking go by quickly and lets you multi-task. I always use my headset to makes calls  so my arm doesn’t get tired holding the phone.
  • Knowledge gained. From listening to free podcasts, I have gained new ideas, facts, and opinions on topics ranging from health to finances to entrepreneurship to technology. There are so many free podcasts available. Favorites at the moment include: A Better Life with Rachel Rofe, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Serial, Ted Talks Health, WTF with Marc Maron, and Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin.
  • Clear head. Studies suggest if you need to think of an idea or solution to take a walk and it will come to you. I believe in this wholeheartedly.

I predict that some readers may view this as dubious because it’s not technically free. Fitbits do cost money and so do phones and data plans that will enable you to listen to podcasts and talk to friends while walking. I’m going to assume most people have phones and data plans to support them in other areas of their lives so I won’t focus on how to fund those. But, I do have a few suggestions for funding your Fitbit:

  • Check your health insurer’s website. I have coverage from Humana and they have a “Vitality” program that allows you to earn points that you can ultimately exchange for gift cards or merchandise. I lost my original Fitbit and was able to replace it for free using my Humana points.
  • Ask your employer if they would consider starting a wellness program and funding staff Fitbits – or check with your wellness coordinator if you already have one. It has been a great way to boost staff morale as we all have our “steps” as a common reference point. We have even instituted a regular (optional) staff walk on Fridays as a way to bond and get steps together.
  • Sell something you don’t use on Craigslist or have a garage sale. New Fitbits start at $60 and surely you have $60 worth of crap you wouldn’t miss.
  • Buy used. I have not tried this myself but notice they cost about half the price on eBay and Amazon.

In the end, if none of these options work for you, I would still recommend you buy one as I think it will make you healthier and save you money in the long run if you stick with it. Let me know what other good sources of free entertainment you recommend!

Talk to you later, my little cutie pies.