Things You Can Do in Toronto for Free or for Cheap While Paying Off Debt
Posted on: January 18, 2019Posted in Budgeting, Financial Advice | Comments Off on Things You Can Do in Toronto for Free or for Cheap While Paying Off Debt
There are many things you can do in Toronto for free or almost free. If you’re climbing out of a difficult debt situation – making lifestyle sacrifices is necessary. You need to tighten your budget and settle into a new lifestyle with a monthly budget that’s been drastically cut back. It’s just one of the things you have to do to get a good grip on your finances.
However, don’t forget to have fun along the way. You deserve to have some fun, especially on some days when it will be really rough, and you will be stressing out, and you’ll feel pretty much like a zombie. You’ll need to take a break, and you’ll benefit a lot if you take it easy once in a while.
I know you’re thinking that it’s going to be impossible to still have a life while you are focused on paying off debt. However, it’s not impossible. It can be done. You can definitely still have a fun and healthy lifestyle even when you need to tighten your budget. You just need to be smart with the resources you have.
Let’s start off with some of the things you can do in Toronto for free, or for cheap, to help you take your mind off your debt problems even just for a little while — and have some fun, enjoy life and simply live in the moment.
FOOD AND EATS
For many of us, life is food. We feel we are living well if we eat well. Luckily in Toronto, there are many places you can dine on delicious meals that cost $10 or less without having to sacrifice quality or taste.
Groupon
The best place to find great food at cheap prices is on the Toronto Food & Drink Groupon page.
Groupon is a popular money-saving website that features local discounts in over 150 cities. If You’ll find the latest food and drink deals in Toronto to have breakfast, dinner, lunch or to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions that offer great savings from 40% and up. New deals get added many times daily and weekly so keep checking back, so you don’t miss out.
ART AND MUSEUMS
These are some great places you can check out if you are a person who has a great love of art:
If you love shoes but can’t afford to buy any yet, you can still stare open-mouthed in wonder and amazement at over 10,000 items of footwear in Toronto’s unusual and unique shoe museum. The four galleries housed within the four-storey structure regularly organizes exhibitions, so there are always some new shoes for you to see. On Thursdays from 5 – 8 PM, you only have to shell out $5 for admission.
Art Gallery of Ontario
Admission is free at the AGO on Wednesday nights from 6 to 9 PM. You can take a look at close to 95,000 pieces of art: everything such as contemporary art, prints and drawings, photography, and art collections from around the world. Make sure you don’t miss out on unique events that any art fan will enjoy.
MUSIC
Some of us need the sound of music to help us relax, so here are some fantastic places to enjoy.
Free Concert Series by the Canadian Opera Company, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre
For this season, the COC has organized a variety of worldwide performances for free until May 2019. However, you have to check out their website regularly for upcoming events in their 2019/2020 lineup as they hit their 1,000th concert. Free concerts are mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon, and at times on Wednesdays at noon or 5:30 PM. Admission is free, however, seating is limited, so plan your visit ahead and come early.
Canadian Music Festival
This is an annual event that happens every first week of May where you can get to listen to over 1,000 live bands and musicians from a wide range of genres held at numerous venues across downtown Toronto. Get ready to get your groove on with so much music and so much fun for very little cost!
SHOPPING
Kensington Market
This place is a charming, pleasantly old-world neighbourhood right next to Chinatown. You’ll find lots of unusual vintage or surplus clothing, shoes, jewelry, bags, and one-of-a-kind gifts and arty-crafty home accessories and creative artworks in many retro furniture shops. There are also plenty of coffee shops and restaurants to pick up a cup of good & cheap coffee or tea and affordable breakfast and lunch specials for take out. It’s so diverse you can spend a whole afternoon or evening just strolling around and window shopping.
GARDENS AND PARKS
Toronto has over 1,500 parks and gardens that are free all year round. You can walk the dog, stroll around, explore on a bicycle, picnic with the family, play with the kids, lounge in the grass or simply sit all day on the benches and people watch. No matter what you do, a visit to one of Toronto’s parks and gardens are a great way for you to get outside and have some fresh air.
Here are some you’ll want to visit soon:
Trinity Bellwoods Park
A beautiful oasis in the west end of Toronto that’s well-suited for you if you like traditional green spaces with lots of greenery and century-old trees. The park organizes lots of special events, such as art installations, plays, book fairs, drum circles, meditation clubs so you can meet lots of new friends there. And you don’t have to go far to eat and dine as there are also plenty of incredible and affordable places to eat and drink within and outside the park.
Allan Gardens Conservatory
If you are a fan of exotic plants and floral displays a visit to Allan Gardens Conservatory is a must. It’s a botanical haven of unusual flora, tropical plants, spiny cacti, and exotic palms from all over the world.
PASTIME FUN
Graffiti Alley is getting to be a really popular attraction in Toronto, so if you suffer from FOMO or the fear of missing out, it’s one of the things you can’t miss to experience. You can stroll around with friends or a significant other and admire wall after wall of fantastic street art and take lots and lots of selfies to post on your social media accounts. The murals can keep changing as artists regularly paint over old works and replace them with new creations, so there’s always something new to see and photograph the next time you visit. There’s also often something going on in nearby areas, such as outdoor ice skating in the winter and live music, outdoor movies and cultural festivals during the summer months.
Paying off debt does not mean you can’t have a life. There are tons of things you can do in Toronto for free or for cheap, whatever mood you’re in. All you really need to do is find the time to get to some of the city’s main attractions and enjoy life.
