Have Some Cheap Fun While Unemployed

In this economy, we all probably know someone who is unemployed. Since I work on Wall Street, I know a lot of people out of work. In fact, we laid off 40% of our staff, so it really hits close to home. Well, my sister is also unemployed and she has been on a few interviews, but the rest of her days are filled with playing the Wii or watching DVDs from Netflix. Why not go out and have some cheap fun in the city while you have plenty of free time?

There are lots of free activities, especially in New York City. I got her tickets to the David Letterman taping and Martha Stewart taping. She was upgraded to the front row at both tapings and received free goodie bags at the Martha Stewart show. I got tickets to the Antiques Roadshow tour last year in Baltimore. You can fill in your application for the random drawing here. While walking around NBC studios, they give out tickets to fill their studio audiences for lesser known or new shows. She still has her college student ID, so she can get into museums for free, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hey, you can always grab a NYC hot dog and just people watch.

There are some events that actually pay to to participate, like focus groups, surveys/taste tests, and being an extra in a film or TV show. You can find these listings on Craigslist, usually under the ‘etc.‘ subcategory of jobs. Some are medical tests, so you might want to think twice about those, but I’ve done a few of them in college and I turned out fine…I think.

It’s a good idea to update your skillset in between interviews and sending out resumes, but you also need to blow off some steam and do something fun, especially for free. What do or did you do for free fun while unemployed?