I don’t know about the rest of you but things here at Greater Gotham are a touch tight these days. Oh, I’m not on the verge of setting up shop on the sidewalk. But there is a slightly more pronounced sinking feeling while reading the news and the wallet is considerably lighter. Still, one can’t be doom and gloom all the time. One must look at the bright side or find a silver lining or something. If for no other reason than all that scowling at bank statements is causing frown lines to appear.

So to cheer myself up on a budget, I went off to find the best stuff to do in New York for the least amount of money. And you know what? As expensive as this burg is – and no mistake, it IS – there’s a TON of stuff to do for nothing or next to nothing. Here’s some places you can go and choose the ones that will turn YOUR frown upside down. You’ll even have enough dosh left over to buy yourself a snack!

• the skint: a daily listing of free and cheap things to buy, see, do and eat in new york.
• I found out about the skint from NewYorkology, one of my favorite NY sites and which has a great Cheap NYC section of its own.
• Of course, New York magazine has their cheap guide to nyc: not sure how many people define the pieces at the Affordable Art Fair affordable but the budget decorating guide IS chock full of good info for cheap decorating items and sources. For some reason, they seem to have two cheap guides. One must be a previous version – but hey, if the places are still going – they may be worth checking out so I provide both links – here’s the other
• FreeNYC is what it says on the tin.
• So is, Club Free Time where you can find free and cheap ways to let “New York City surprise, stimulate, entertain and excite you.”
• New York City for Free: Favorite Freebies from travel powerhouse Fodor’s.
• Another travel site, Budget Travel has featured NYC in the Cities on Sale as recently as May 2009.
• Not everything on the Craigslist’s Calendar is free but a goodly portion of events listed here are so it’s worth a look. Especially for last minute “I’ve got to get out of the apartment!” attacks.
• Another regular site to check is Time Out New York’s Free Today Feature. Changes all the time and you never know what will show up there.

And now if you will excuse me, I’m off to indulge in the greatest of free New York entertainments – a walk. Got to go now and take advantage of the fact that today is slightly cooler than the last few days. Who knows when the heat will come roaring back. Have fun, all!