6 Tips to Finding Free Things to Do In New York City
Photo Credit: BusinessInsider.com
By: Jessica Weiss
As we all know, New York is expensive. It’s hard to be in a city full of opportunity and not have the money to experience it. But what a lot of people don’t know is that there are a ton of ways to go out and have a great time without going broke. Here are a few tips to help you have that really fun day or night out without breaking the bank.
Download The Eventbrite App
The Eventbrite app is simple to use and filled with free and fun activities. Start off by picking the day that you want to do something fun. A list will come up filled with different options of activities. The next step is to click the Filter Results button in the right corner and then click Free Events. If you want to be even more specific, you can pick a category that you are in the mood for to refine the search even more. If you take the time to go through everything, you are bound to stumble upon something perfect for you. I have! ThrouhEventbrite you can find free open bar parties, free food, free pop up photo opportunities, free facials, free tarot card readings, free book talks, and more.
Follow Related Social Media Accounts
There are so many social media accounts that are designed to tell you about free art exhibits, pop-ups, and more. @Fomofeed is the number one account to follow if you want to be in the know. They get access to all of the events before they open and they provide the location, the hours, and how long the installation or activity will be running. There are also individuals who share similar content. Accounts like @Surfresh, @Artworldnyc, and @Museumiadventure have gained a lot of followers because of their informative posts.
Search Hashtags
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Many free events can be found by searching keywords like #FreeNyc or #NycFreeEvents.Basically, any combination of the words free, event and New York should work. When looking at the results, look under most recently posted, so you aren’t wasting time looking at expired invitations. It may take a little time and res, but it’s worth the work! Make sure to follow the hashtags that you found so you can continue to see similar posts.
Sign Up For Mailing Lists
A lot of social media accounts and blogs also have newsletters! Sign up so you can get emails with cool opportunities without having to search for them yourself. Some of our favorite mailing lists are DoNYC, The Skint, NYCPlugged, and Brooklynbased. They all highlight free and cheap events and are sent either every day or once a week (depending on which one you sign up for).
Enter Contests
Now this one is kind of a long shot, but it never hurts to try! NYC related instagram pages are always giving away pairs of tickets to the hottest and most anticipated events. They usually ask their audience to follow a few different profiles, like certain posts, or tag their friends for a chance to win. Tag as many people as you can! Most giveaways allow you to enter more than once, so the more friends you tag, the higher the chance that you’ll win. Even though this isn’t a guarantee, there is a 100 percent chance you won’t win if you don’t try at all.
RSVP For Everything
RSVP for the event before you even check if you can go or not. They fill up extremely quickly (especially when they are cool AND free) so make sure your name is on the guest list. Most free activities are on a first come first serve basis even with the RSVP, so it never hurts to accumulate them. If it turns out you can’t go or your plans change, send your tickets to a friend!
Related: HOW TO SAVE THAT MONEY FOR SHOPPING INSTEAD OF LATTES: EVEN WHEN IT'S PSL SEASON!
Follow us on Instagram @MakingManhattanOfficial