By the author of What to Eat When You’re Broke
Times are tight, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun. The internet provides a lot of wonderful ways to stay entertained, fit, and healthy with nothing more than the cost of your monthly wifi bill. There is a ton of free stuff on YouTube that can help!
YouTube? Yeah – for real. It’s truly amazing to have one place where so many people can create content to share with the world. Obviously, it’s a great resource for how-to and instructions. But it goes way further than the encyclopedia content. I use it regularly for music, entertainment, meditation, exercise, and relaxation, just to name a few things.
You can use free stuff on YouTube on your computer, your phone, or even your television if you have a SmartTV. Here are some of my favorite frivolous things on YouTube that allows me to enjoy a bit of downtime without spending money.
Relaxation
There’s a lot of free stuff on YouTube for relaxation. Currently, I live in the city, and it can get noisy sometimes. Working from home, I need to be able to drown out the sound of power tools, weed whackers, and loud neighbors.
Cue up YouTube for the win.
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Whatever sound you find relaxing, you can find it on YouTube. Ambiance videos and nature sounds are all the rage. Put yourself in a forest filled with chirping birds or an oceanside retreat complete with crashing waves. Listen to a crackling fire and purring kitten with soft, soft music in the background. Hear the rain on your imaginary tin roof, complete with the intermittent rumble of thunder. Enjoy some moody gothic music while you wait out a thunderstorm in an echo-y grand hall. Heck, go to the jungle and bask in the sounds of the rainforest. You can visit Paris or a medieval marketplace. Whatever you want to listen to, wherever you want to place yourself, there’s a soundtrack for that. Some of my favorite ambiance channels are:
I seriously LOVE these for their ability to transport me to someplace else. Heck, I’m writing this article from in front of a cozy fireplace in the Royal Library in the midst of a rainstorm.
If you’re into meditation, you can also find that on YouTube. My favorite is the Calm channel, which offers guided meditation to help relieve anxiety and encourage relaxation. The Mindful Christian is extremely popular for those who want to find a guided meditation that helps them connect more deeply to their faith. The key for me is finding a guided meditation channel with a voice that doesn’t annoy me. Some of those narrators really rub me the wrong way, which, of course, defeats the purpose.
Entertainment
You can find so many different forms of entertainment among the free stuff on YouTube. Whether you want some background music, to watch a program or documentary, or enjoy a podcast, there’s a channel for you. Go to the search bar and type in a topic of interest. You’re all but guaranteed to find a way to pass the time with the subject of your choice.
Want music but don’t want to pay for Spotify or Apple Music? YouTube has got you covered with practically any type of music you can imagine. Whether you prefer religious music, hip-hop, jazz, blues, or country, there’s a channel for that.
I cut the cord on cable a long time ago and generally stream whatever I want to watch. But if your budget is extremely tight, you may want to cease your subscriptions to Netflix, Prime, and Hulu, too. And that’s why God invented YouTube. Unless you have specific things you really want to watch, you can find loads of things to watch for free.
Some of my favorite types of videos for entertainment are:
- Comedy channels
- Full-length episodes of television shows.
- Cooking shows
- Product reviews
- Amateur covers of popular music
- Makeovers
- Home decor
- Travel
- Learning to speak a foreign language
- Learning to play an instrument
- History
- Biographies
- Musical competitions like The Voice, American Idol, and X-Factor
- Documentaries
- Outdoor sports
- Dance competitions like So You Think You Can Dance
- Cute animals – don’t judge me
One of my daughters used to be obsessed with this channel called Tiny Kitchen with itty bitty food. The sky is truly the limit.
How-To Videos
Let’s be real: calling a professional to fix something in your home might be out of budget for a lot of us. And even if it’s in budget, I want to at least try to fix it myself.
You can learn to do basically anything on YouTube. Look for tutorials for:
- Automotive repair
- Sewing and mending
- Appliance repair
- DIY Decor
There is so much you can learn. I always start out by typing “How to bla bla bla” which almost always gives me page after page of videos. Check the comments – if someone is doing something wrong or in a risky way, you can bet that someone else will call them out in the comments.
I learned to pick locks on YouTube, and, especially with my little kit, I’m darned good at it. I can improvise tools if I have to, but it takes longer to get the lock open.
Exercise
Who can afford a gym membership these days? The good news is, with YouTube, you don’t necessarily need one.
Depending on what type of exercise you’re looking for, there’s probably a channel for it.
Some of my favorite ones used to be:
- Fightmaster Yoga
- SarahBeth Yoga
- MuyThai Full Classes
- Bob and Brad (physical therapy workout videos)
- PopSugar Fitness
- Leilah Isaac (belly dancing – try it – it’s so much fun!)
- MadFit
Whatever kind of exercise you enjoy doing, you’ll find it on YouTube. Be sure to use your own judgment – if something looks like it will cause injury or be too much for you, listen to your intuition. While these folks may be pros, they aren’t there with you, and they don’t know your history – you do.
Do you use free stuff on YouTube to save money?
We’re all trying to save a few bucks these days, and YouTube can help. Do you have any favorite YouTube channels you could share with us in the comments? Do you feel like YouTube can save you money?
Let’s talk about it in the comments section!
3 Responses
Yes, youtube has so many things, free, that many companies charge us to use. My current go-to’s are Church services/mass, drama, research, funny, How-to’s, ‘shorts’ and more. Instead of getting a tv-satellite bill, and so much more. For those of us with a budget, it’s wonderful.
I listen to motivational doc dr mandale and dr. Berg.
This article is the best, thanks. You turned me onto, Bob and Brad the physical therapists. I do seated stretches from them. I listen to full length books on tape and I’ve found a cooking channel that I like. It’s Mexican cooking with gaby. She also preps a bit. I learned how to make potato carrot tacos from her. I adapted the recipe to no oil. Her salsas and sauces are fantastic. I’m probably on U tube a good part of every day. I would love it if others would post links. Especially for how to and repair. I’ve also gotten some bad advice on U tube so links would be helpful.