If you're tired of your usual exercise routine...

then try free rock climbing at Ramsey this Thursday November 1st from 8:00 to 10:00 pm. On four Thursdays during the fall semester, Ramsey is offering two free hours at their climbing wall with no certification required. Rock on!

If last week's post wasn't spooky enough for you...

then this week's suggestion should surely meet your Halloween needs. The Student Alumni Council is hosting A Nightmare on Broad Street, a ghost tour of North Campus... and it is FREE! However, a donation of a canned good is suggested for your admission. 

Meet at The Arch either tomorrow night (Tuesday October 23) or Wednesday night (October 24) around 8:00 pm to get into a tour group and to learn some creepy historical stories about your Alma Mater.

If you're in the Halloween spirit, or if you need some help getting into it...

Then check out the Fright Fest Movie Marathon this weekend at the Tate Theater!

Paranormal Activity 4 will be previewed FOR FREE at 8:00 pm on Thursday October 18

The Orphanage will be $1.00 ($2.00 for non-students) at 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 pm on Friday October 19

The Exorcist will be $1.00 ($2.00 for non-students) at 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 pm on Saturday October 20

AND

Shaun of the Dead will be $1.00 ($2.00 for non-students) at 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 pm on Friday October 19

So bring a buck, your student ID, and a friend to grab hold of and scream with during the scary parts.

Visual proof of this awesome deal, photography credit goes to the mediocre camera on my non-smart phone.

If you need a reason to celebrate a completely absurd holiday…

Then celebrate National Fluffernutter Day today! I know today is Columbus Day, too, but that holiday does not involve eating, so I choose the former. As far as food-related holidays go, National Fluffernutter Day is quite an economical one to observe. 

Bread + marshmallow fluff + peanut butter = a fluffernutter feast.

These brands are just suggestions. You know that my fluffernutter will be made with store brand  peanut butter and store brand fluff.
And my slices of bread will not have faces.

My 50th post!

Today is Bulldog on a Budget’s fiftieth post! In celebration, I have created...

50 Things to Do in Athens…for FREE!

(A huge thanks to the sisters of Sigma Alpha Iota for some of these great ideas)

1) Take a stroll through the student art galleries in Lamar Dodd.

2) Stargaze on the top of a parking deck.

3) Go people watching downtown. Thursday nights are best time to stake out.

4) Have a picnic lunch in the peaceful and lovely Founder’s Memorial Garden.

5) Two snacks came out of the vending machine? Squeezed your way onto an Orbit bus? Celebrate your small victory by ringing the chapel bell.

6) Play some good ol’ Ultimate Frisbee on Myers Quad.

7) Attend a recital or a concert at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. You will make a music student very happy to have an audience.

8) See how much free swag you can get from apartment complexes. T-shirts, coozies, pens, magnets, water bottles… the possibilities are endless.

9) Attend a campus religious service at a place of worship, either similar to or different from your own faith.

10) Try on clothes you could never afford at some boutiques downtown.

11) Go to game day… without going to the game. Dawg Walk, school spirit, Southern hospitality, and delicious tailgating smells are all free.

12) Revisit your favorite books from childhood at the Curriculum Materials Library on the second floor of Aderhold Hall.

13) Lectures, guest speakers, and seminars are often free to attend and often feature free food!

14) Ride an Athens Transit bus to a new and exciting place.

15) Go for a run at the Intramural Fields or at Spec Towns Track.

16) Get a free hug from Miss Sandra at Snelling Dining Commons.

17) Play at the epic World of Wonder Community Playground on 4440 Lexington Road.

18) Join CCF (Christian Campus Fellowship) at Memorial Hall Ballroom on Mondays at 12:00 PM for a free lunch and a short message.

19) Get some friends together with their laptops and hold a Sporcle tournament. Race each other on the same quizzes to see who knows the most trivial information. 

20) Tour the Terrapin Brewery! Enjoy the laidback atmosphere, and taste the beer for free if you’re 21. 

21) Enjoy the view out of the windows on the seventh floor of the main library.

22) Tour the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall Sports Museum. See Herschel Walker’s Heisman trophy and a variety of memorabilia from throughout Georgia’s athletic history.

23) Stop and smell the roses (or whatever is in bloom) at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.

24) Go to a performance at UGA Dance Department.

25) Take a dip at Ramsey’s aquatic center.  Check this open swim schedule for more information. 

26) Volunteer! Visit Common Ground Athens for opportunities in the area. 

27) Drive to Greene County to see the famous Iron Horse statue.

28) Go puddle stomping on a rainy day.

29) Bike the trails at the North Oconee River Greenway.

30) Peruse the goodies out at J&J Flea Market on 11661 Commerce Road.

31) Take your picture with as many bulldogs as you can in the We Let the Dawgs Out exhibit, located at various establishments around the Athens area.

32) Go see the Tree that Owns Itself.

33) Listen to a street musician playing downtown.

34) See all sorts of cute critters at Bear Hollow Trail Zoo in Memorial Park. 

35) Attend a free sporting event. Anything but football, basketball, or Gym Dogs is typically free to watch.

36) Participate in a free karate class on Tuesdays at 5:30 in Tate 311.  

37) Take your picture with the Double Barreled Cannon outside of City Hall.

38) Read a book or relax in the Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden.  

39) Find out the date for the next Dawgs After Dark. Use your student ID to get tons of great free stuff.

40) Strike up a conversation with Michael Davenport, the artist without arms who draws arches and bulldogs with a marker in his mouth.

41) Go on a mission for your dream man. Take a picture of him and upload it to TapThatUGAGuy.

42) Take a nap in the basement of Snelling.

43) Visit the Athens Farmers Market, either at Bishop Park on Saturdays from 8 to noon or at City Hall on Wednesdays from 4 to 7.

44) During the first week of each semester, all classes at the Ramsey Center are free! Try Zumba, a spin class, or another fun new form of exercise.

45) See the sloth skeleton in the Georgia Museum of Natural History.

46) Clean out the pantry. Put your random ingredients into Super Cook and make whatever recipes sounds the best.

47) Browse the Red & Black calendar for free concerts, exhibitions, and events around town. 

48) Hold a golf ball collecting contest with friends at the UGA Golf Course.

49) See a free preview of a movie at the Tate Theatre.

50) Walk under The Arch… if you dare.

After publishing 50 posts, I have decided that in order to bring UGA students the best content and creativity possible, I am going to reduce my daily posts to weekly posts. From now on, you can look out for Bulldog on a Budget every Monday!

When it’s your birthday…

     eat for free all day long! (Click the links within this post to find out how to get your birthday freebies). Start out your birthday at IHOP with a free breakfast. Then just show your driver’s license at Firehouse Subs for a free medium sub at lunch. Enjoy a free afternoon cup of coffee at Starbucks.  Then have a free burrito for dinner at Moe’s. Finish off your day of birthday gluttony at Dairy Queen with a free blizzard. Tomorrow, you should probably go to the gym.

If you like getting ten things for the price of one...

Head to Wendy's and buy a "Give Chills, Get Thrills" coupon book for $1.00. You will get 10 coupons that each get you one kid's size (6 ounce) Frosty. The best part is that 90 cents from every coupon book purchased is donated to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Philanthropy and a Frosty for 10 cents? Count me in.

One of these is delicious.
Ten of these are ten times as delicious.

When you need to spruce up a boring salad…

buy a loaf of day old bread from Jimmy John’s for around 50 cents (price varies with daily supply). Cube it up, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake on a cookie sheet until golden brown. Voila! You’ve made a batch of Fancy Schmancy Homemade Croutons for less than $1.00.

If you want to get in on the new[ly popularized] craze of thrift store shopping…

I will make sure your are prepared! I have combined my own thrift store experience with tips from this article and this article to bring you...

BULLDOG ON A BUDGET’S 
TOP SEVEN THRIFT STORE TIPS:

1) To get started, visit The Thrift Shopper to find locations in your area and information about various thrift stores. Some of my favorites in Athens are Goodwill, St. Mary’s, and Project Safe.

2) My ideal outfit to wear while thrifting is a tank top and a long skirt. In the likely situation that a dressing room is unavailable, I can try on shirts over my tank top and pants or skirts on under my skirt. Guys, I would just go with a t-shirt and shorts for a similar approach.

3) As mentioned above, you should always try it on before buying it, even if it only costs $1.00. If an item fits you perfectly and it seems too good to be true, check it for holes, stains, missing buttons, broken zippers, and general wear and tear. If it fits and there are no imperfections, BUY IT.

4) Some of the best items to buy are jeans, sweaters, dresses, coats, t-shirts, jewelry, dishware, and home décor. And my personal favorite: books. Paperback children’s chapter books (aka the basis of my future teacher book collection) are just 75 cents at Goodwill, and as cheap as 25 at other thrift stores.

5) You should probably refrain from buying used backpacks, bike helmets, underwear, boots, or tennis shoes. Some of these are for obvious reasons, but read more about the dangers of used bike helmets here and backpacks here.

6) Be patient. Sift through piles of clothes and spend a few hours of your time and you will be justly rewarded.

7) Hand sanitizer. Keep it in your purse, pocket, or car. Apply liberally at the end of your thrift store journey.

Happy thrifting!

When you are studying hard and it’s a pizza kind of night...

take advantage of Papa John’s Tuesday Special. Use the code “TUE499” on any large one-topping pizza. This discount is only good for carry-out orders, so a walk from the SLC up to the Baxter Street Papa John’s location might be a good study break AND an excuse to eat an extra slice of pizza after your mini cardio workout.

If you need to dance the Rainy Day Blues away…

then you should try out UGA’s Swing Dance Club! Every Monday night from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, the Swing Dance Club offers $1.00 lessons in Memorial Hall Ballroom. No experience is necessary, and there is no need to BYOP (bring your own partner). Until then, swing your way through some puddles and enjoy “Singin’ in the Rain” today.