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Me and some friends.
Me and some friends.
Photo by Jillian Weeks
TAMU | Culture > Entertainment

Realistic Summer Hangouts for the Broke College Student

Annika Wooten Student Contributor, Texas A&M University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TAMU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

As summer approaches, we all have that itching desire to hang out with our hometown friends. After a year of college expenses, and before receiving that first check from your summer job, you will need some cheap ideas for fun outings. If that’s your case (or you simply don’t want to break the bank to spend time with friends), here are some tips on what you can do. 

Picnics

Picnics are usually a go-to option for a quick, put-together hangout. You can drive to a park or simply have it in the backyard, bring fast food, homemade food, or leftovers. There are so many different ways to host a picnic that it makes it a great option for those needing flexibility in their plans. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to spend time outdoors, dress up, take photos, or simply just eat in each other’s presence after a long week. 

Here are recommendations for what foods you can bring: 

Love & Lemons’ 51 Easy Picnic Food Ideas is a great source of ideas on what to bring to eat for a picnic if you need an easy recipe that’s delicious but also vegetarian/vegan.

60 Best Picnic Food Ideas to Fill Your Basket by the Pioneer Woman is great if you need portable meals with options from sandwiches to salads to desserts. 

Swimming at the Local Pool

A pool day is always the best in the summer, especially in Texas. Usually, if you head to your local pool, the swimming prices will be under $10, or if you have a friend with access to a pool, you can swim for free! It’s a super cheap activity you can do with a packed lunch, and you just need a bathing suit – and hey, you can get a nice tan too! It’s also great for bigger groups, and those who like more sporty activities can bring a ball for water polo. 

Water Balloon Fights

If swimming isn’t your thing or just isn’t convenient, another great water-related activity to cool down with the Texas heat is water balloon fights. They don’t require a pool and can be done pretty much anywhere (except inside, of course), so they’re quite convenient in terms of not needing to travel somewhere specific like a local pool. During the summer months, balloons can be purchased from Amazon, Walmart, or other local stores such as H-E-B. 

Going to the Park

Most neighborhoods have a nearby park, so if you’re 100% sure you’d rather pocket that cash, you could spend it on something else and just hang out at a park. You can bring a blanket to sit on and read, catch up on schoolwork (if you’re taking summer classes), chat, play card games, play soccer/football, and so much more. It helps get you out of the house, have a location to meet up, and hang out with friends, all for free! 

Backyard Camping

Now, I understand camping isn’t for everyone, so you can always adjust this to a sleepover with some outdoor camping-vibe activities while still having AC during the night. If you love the idea of camping but don’t have the money to travel somewhere, backyard camping is great! You can set up a small tent while still being able to go inside and use an actual bathroom at night, and if you have a little money you’d like to put towards it, you can always buy camping food like hot dogs, s’mores ingredients, hamburgers, etc. Also, if you need a tent, Amazon has some pretty affordable ones, as long as you don’t expect it to be the nicest or biggest. 

Movie Marathon

Movie marathons are great late-night activities with friends, and there are so many options for what to watch. From classics like Twilight, Mean Girls, or High School Musical, to horror movies or ones you know you can binge all in one night. Some suggestions include IT, Marvel movies, DC movies, Harry Potter, or The Exorcist. No matter what genre you like, there is something for you, and with all the streaming services nowadays, you or one of your friends will most likely have access to platforms like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix. Plus, most of these services also have college student-friendly plans, such as Hulu’s student plan, if no one has the right service for what they want to stream. 

With these different options, I hope you and your friends can make the most of the summer and help save a few bucks in the long run. And remember, you can always branch off from these ideas, or put your own little twist on what you’re doing, from indoor camping, to slip n slides, to tea parties. 

Annika Wooten

TAMU '28

Annika Wooten is a member of the Events committee. She helps plan and host events, study dates, socials and, of course, participates in them. Beyond Her Campus, Annika is a business major on the marketing track. She is also involved in IBA (International Business Association), which is a global business program focused on helping involve study-abroad students and educating domestic students on the benefits and possibilities of foreign education in all sorts of countries through professors' and students' experiences. She was also involved in FALL, a freshman leadership program (aka FLO), in the first semester and was part of the social committee, which helped her to become familiar with planning, hosting, and budgeting different events. In her free time, Annika enjoys cooking all sorts of dishes, painting, baking, sculpting, and doing various things with her friends, whether it be Friendsgiving, Galentines, movie nights, or so much more. Some fun facts about her include that she is a level one certified florist and loves making arrangements, that she is learning Japanese to study abroad one day, that she lived near a river, so she grew up swimming and camping, and that her dream pet is either a ferret or a bunny.