How do you spend your disposable income during the COVID-19 lockdown? Here’s how to entertain yourself with €50

So what can you do and where can your €50 take you? A lot, and you can be anywhere every time. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic upending several businesses and industries, some of the basic services were no longer accessible due to national lockdowns. As such, individuals and families were forced to stay at home, and their usual entertainment and recreational activities are no longer possible. With movies, visits to cafes, and dining out still off the menu, we’re faced with creative ways on how to spend time and get entertained. And even the most introverted among us will find this challenging, or even frustrating.

The good news is that the internet provides us with ways and low costs online entertainment while staying at home. More importantly, some of these activities can be enjoyed for as low as €50! But first, let’s take a look at some of the popular recreational activities that were common pre-pandemic and how much it typically costs us.

Popular recreational activities and the costs involved

When we’re enjoying ourselves through recreational activities, we often use what we call our ‘disposable income’. It’s the money that’s available to spend or save after taxes have been taken out and food and basic services have already been paid for. And the average EU gross disposable income is €23k (2019), with 8% spent on ‘recreation’. For the average European, here are the popular ways on how to spend and entertain:

Dining out and drinks in bars and clubs

The pandemic aside, these are popular ways to spend the night with friends. In the United Kingdom, it’s a popular past-time and they often spend £60 a night.

Watching movies and attending the theater

For many, watching the latest blockbusters in town offers great entertainment. It’s often enjoyed with family members and friends. Now, if you go out with a friend to watch a movie, you’ll need about €10 and spend snacks at €20 for two persons. And if you’ll pay €10 for parking or transportation, this will cost you a total of €50.

Travel

This is a meaningful and exciting activity for many but it costs a lot. You need at least €800 to fully enjoy a weekend visit to the Maldives or other Southeast Asian country on a low-range. If you budget this short holiday, you may end up spending roughly €50 to €100 per day for a week worth of stay including travel.

Choice of recreational activities

These activities are popular recreational activities, and for many these are part of the routine and lifestyle. And the pandemic has dramatically changed our lifestyles and choice of recreational activities, all these are off the menu.

There are online entertainment options too which have become too popular this year. For example, you can binge-watch on Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, and there’s a big chance that you have covered some of the best releases on streaming platforms this year. With monthly fees starting at €8 you may spend around €50 monthly if you would contract three or more of these services. On the surface, it’s a cheap way to spend your hard-earned money to get entertainment during lockdown. But if you’re like many who have seen the best titles and series, you’re pinning on something different for a change.

We understand you. Getting bored can have some great benefits, if you just know what to do or where to spend your hard-earned money. And if you pick the right activities starting today, you may not only find the cure for your boredom, you may end up renewing yourself through creative ventures or by earning potential profit along the way.

Here’s how to get the same thrill while staying at home without spending a lot

There’s a fun and exciting way to get entertainment while staying at home through low costs online entertainment. All you need is €50 and you can even unlock a world of rewarding possibilities.

Take up an online art class and tap into your creative side.

It’s never too late to harness your creative side, and this pandemic gives you an excuse to give it a try. There are many online courses that you can check that allows you to learn the arts. Whether you’re a beginner who wants to learn how to draw comic book style or wants to learn how to prepare Instagram-worthy sushi, then there’s an online art class for you. Udemy is a popular online course provider that hosts many art classes with some offered for as low as $9.99.

Buy a book and take up reading.

In this age of the internet and social, we took for granted several rewarding activities like reading. For some, e-books and online content offers the most convenient way of reading stories and consuming information. However, rediscovering the art of reading books and journals opens up a world of possibilities. You don’t just rediscover the art of reading; you also help out authors and publishing houses that were badly hit during this pandemic. On Amazon, some of the best books for 2024 are currently on sale at less than $15. So with a budget of $50, you can pick up three popular books to keep you company for the rest of the year, lockdown withstanding. Finally, you can take an extra step by donating to Wikipedia or other publications in support of responsible journalism.

Register for an online casino account and play exciting games.

This may not be on top of everyone’s list but it offers a world of opportunities. For example, when you deposit €50 at our online casino, you get a 100% deposit match bonus and a bunch of free spins. It may seem like a small amount, but it can go a long way. Here’s why: Say you decide to play online slots by betting €0.20 that takes 5 seconds to spin. With your deposit, you can grow your bankroll to €100. If we multiply this by your bet and the duration of spin, you get around 40 minutes worth of play. Now, taking into account the average RTP of online slots of 95%, it means that after 300 minutes or 4,000 spins, you should still have €60, not including the bonus games and free spins earned! And we’re not yet talking about your instant wins or potential jackpots won. 

Your €50 can go a long way and can even serve as your ticket to instant wins provided you know what to do  and where to spend it. It’s only a matter of knowing your options and making a positive spin on the strenuous lockdowns imposed upon us. We’ll never know, this mandatory stay-at-home order may be the universe’s way of telling us to pause and explore the things we normally ignore.

Any other ideas on how you can spend €50 on leisure and low costs online entertainment? Let us know, comment down below!