Trent at the Simple Dollar has a list of 100 things to do during a Money Free Weekend.

Keeping in mind that he’s writing for a national audience. So here’s how to translate some of Trent’s tips to what’s available in Monroe County, Mich. My comments are in italics.

• Check out the community calendar. Look at your town’s website (as well as those of cities and towns nearby) or stop by city hall to find a list of events going on in the community, many of which are free. You’ll often be surprised at how many interesting (and free) activities are going on right now in your area. I’m one of the administrators for the MonroeTalks calendar, which is sponsored by The Monroe Evening News. You will also find community calendars at Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Monroe County Library System and eMonroe. A lot of the school districts also post their calendars on line too.
• Visit your community library. Not only is a library a warehouse of books, most libraries also have extensive CD and DVD collections you can check out. Many libraries also have “story time” for young children, film nights, book clubs, and many other events that you may be unaware of – completely for free. Stop in and check out what they have to offer. The Monroe County Library System has lots of stuff going on including book clubs, story times, craft sessions and film nights. The other area library systems are Milan Public Library, Flat Rock Public Library and Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.
• Learn how to juggle. All you really need is three balls and a video showing you how to do it. Not only is it a fun activity to learn, it’s something that’s fun to bust out as a party trick on occasion (trust me, you can always get people to smile if you juggle three fruits in the kitchen while preparing something). The Monroe Jugglers meet every Thursday and welcome new members.
• Start a blog on a topic that interests you. You can get a free blog at Wordpress or Blogger. Join the service and start a blog on a topic that interests you. Not only can it be a ton of fun, it also helps you improve your communication skills, reach out to others, and perhaps earn a bit of income as well. If you live in Monroe County, Mich., and want to host a blog through the BlogsMonroe network, contact Dan Shaw.
• Visit a free museum or a zoo (or find out when you might be able to get in for free). Many cities have free educational attractions, such as zoos or museums. Make an effort to enjoy these free attractions. If your community doesn’t have free zoos or museums, call them and ask about opportunities for “free to the public” exhibits or “free days” or even free passes upon request. Quite often, you’ll find that there are many opportunities to enjoy museums, zoos, science centers, and the like without any cost at all. Free admission days at the Monroe County Historical Museum are during September through May.
• Have a yard sale. A yard sale is a very lucrative way to spend a money-free weekend. Not only does it provide you an excuse for cleaning out unwanted stuff from your home, it can also bring in a nice little wad of money as well, plus give you a weekend’s worth of entertainment and activity. This is really a great way to spend a money-free weekend. Try to coordinate with a community or neighborhood association garage sale so your advertising costs are shared or provided free as a non-profit event; if that’s not possible, ask at least one of your neighbors to hold and advertise her sale on the same date. The garage sale classifieds in The Monroe Evening News are alphabetized by street name, so it’s easy to see if there is more than one listing for the same street.
• Make some homemade greeting/birthday/Christmas cards. All you really need for this is some card stock or some cheap blank cards from your local dollar store, plus some photographs (or a desktop printer). You might also want to have some other creative printed materials on hand – I like to keep old New Yorker covers for purposes like these. Just use pictures and other elements to create unique greeting and holiday cards, then save them for the appropriate occasion. Here are some tips on what to write on the inside. I have spent many weekend afternoons handcrafting greeting cards! I make a bunch of them at a time with a variety of designs, put them in a box and they’re ready to be mailed in honor of any occasion.
• Get involved with public access television. If you’ve ever wondered what goes into the process of producing a television show, most communities offer the resources for you to do just that. Stop by your local public access station and see what opportunities are available there. You can usually get involved for free in an ongoing program as an extra hand and learn a great deal about the whole process. Here are the details about Monroe Public Access Cable Television.
• Start a book club – or find one to join. If you like reading and know other friends that enjoy it, too, consider starting a book club with them where you all read the same book for a week then meet to talk about it. It can transform reading from a solitary activity into a more socially oriented one, and with a library at your disposal, it can be a free activity as well. Some of my Toledo friends and I used to belong to a science fiction book club. We’ve revived it – but we’re not booking it as a separate meeting like we used to. Because of gas prices, we are combining our literary discussions with another standing club meeting.