1 Make the most of your untapped creative talent and set up your own online craft business. If you make jewellery or knit scarves, online auction sites are a great place to make a bit of extra cash. Check out www.felt.co.nz for a community of the nation's crafters.
2 Get in touch with local tertiary education providers about what services their students offer for free or at a discounted rate. Beauty therapy students always need people to practise techniques on so you could get a facial, haircut or massage for a fraction of what you would pay a professional.
3 Winter is a great time to curl up with a good book and your local library is full of them. With no joining fee and something for everyone, the library is the perfect place for the whole family. Most even have a range of CDs, DVDs and magazines.
4 You don't have to go out to have fun. Replace expensive meals out with nights in - try pot-luck dinners, theme nights or progressive dinners.
5 Organise a clothes swap-night with friends and family. Get everyone to bring unwanted items and make a night of it. Drinks, nibbles and cleaning out your closet will add to the thrill of knowing you got a new outfit for nothing.
6 Buy a cheap kite, a stunt one if you are up for it, and spend the day at the park or beach - you will quickly remember how much fun they are to fly.
7 Know anyone with a ridiculously large DVD collection? Borrow a bunch of movies from them. Share your book collection or offer some homebaking to repay the favour.
8 Spend some time strolling through your local farmers market. They are an excellent place to not only pick up well-priced, fresh produce, but to also fill up on free samples of cheese, bread and sweets. You never know who you will meet.
9 Raise your hand. Help others by becoming a volunteer. From planting trees to crowd control at parades, you can be entertained for free and get a warm fuzzy kick at the same time.
10 Dust off your old LPs and have a theme party. You and your friends can spend the night reminiscing about days gone by. If you are of a younger generation try an '80s or '90s night with cassette tapes or CDs you have been ashamed to admit you own.
11 Remember the hours you used to burn playing games like Guess Who and Cluedo? Organise a games night with friends or family and you will soon be asking yourself why your old board games haven't seen the light of day for a while.
12 Go for a Sunday drive. Mix it up by wrangling a group of mates into a car rally. Visit scenic spots around your area of simply stop off for a drink in a pub off the beaten track.
13 Get cultural. Art galleries often have exhibition openings which are free to attend. You can get a glass of bubbly, a few nibbles and absorb a little culture at the same time.
14 Pay your respects. Visit old cemeteries in your area. Some are filled with elaborate headstones and are set in picturesque spots and all have a lot of heritage to share.
15 Catch your dinner. Try fishing from a wharf - all you need for starters are some small hooks, light string, a nut for a weight and some corn for bait.
16 Or grow it by planting a garden. All you need to do is dig up a sunny section of your lawn and line it with old bricks. Try planting potatoes for starters - no fertiliser needed. Give children their own space to grow veges and let them learn about where their food comes from.
17 Visit an art gallery and then go home and paint your own Picasso.
18 Have a family book-reading time complete with muffins or scones, coffee and hot chocolate. A great way to get the kids into reading and spend a rainy afternoon together.
19 Have a television-free night - you might be surprised what you will find to do.
Dunedin
20 Grab a body board or an old real estate sign and head to Sandfly Bay. The giant sand dunes are perfect for sliding down and the trek back to the top is sure to wear out you and the kids.
21 The Botanic Gardens is a great place to spend a couple of hours. Young or old, everyone enjoys feeding the ducks and free feed is available at the visitors centre. After that head up the hill and check out some different birds at the aviary.
22 Bars around town often bring bands and DJs in to play for free. Rock along, buy a drink and listen to some local talent. The Robbie Burns Pub and Pequeno are two spots which have regular music nights.
23 Soak up some fresh air and culture at the same time by visiting Hotere Garden in Port Chalmers. Situated with a view down to the harbour, the garden contains some of the artist's sculptures.
24 If art is not your thing, try the Lady Thorn Rhododendron Dell, set in an old quarry and also in Port Chalmers - with an established garden and wooden tables, it is a nice spot for a picnic and a short stroll.
25 The enchanting glow-worms hidden in the Leith Valley are sure to delight young and old. The walking track to them starts at Nicols Bridge on Leith Valley Rd - walk up to the falls and take the small detour to the caves.
26 We all know it is there, but how many of us have actually made the effort to conquer it? Take a drive to Baldwin St and challenge your friends or family in a race to the top.
27 Go stargazing at the Beverly-Begg Observatory. For a small fee - adults $5, children $3 - they will let you use their equipment and teach you about astronomy. Every Sunday during winter at 7.30pm.
28 Discover Dunedin's Maori heritage by visiting the old pa site on Mapoutahi Peninsula at Doctors Point. Park at the beach car park, walk along the beach and through the caves and on to the headland. If you look at the soil you can see its home terraces and defensive earthworks.
29 Get educated. The University of Otago, Dunedin Public Library and Dunedin Public Art Gallery often have free lectures and talks on various topics. These are usually advertised in the Otago Daily Times.
30 Park up and watch the world go by. Dunedin's hilly surroundings allow for a range of views to be seen from different lookouts around the town. Take a minute to pull in and stop at one of them to enjoy the scenery. Or do so at night and watch the city lights and cars driving along the Otago Peninsula.
North Otago
31 Get back to nature. Check out the walkway on Cape Wanbrow to see geological formations and, if you are lucky, the rare yellow-eyed penguin.
32 Step back in time by visiting the historic area of Oamaru and its historic Tyne-Harbour St precinct and also Oamaru Harbour. View the Oamaru stone buildings, revisit your childhood by walking through the Lanes Emulsion factory and browse some shops. The old wooden railway station further north on Humber St is also worth a visit.
33 Go beyond the tourist realm. Stop off at Moeraki and walk north from the boulders to Hampden beach and grab some of New Zealand's best fresh blue cod and chips for lunch.
34 Find out more about the industry which built the nation. Visit Totara Estate just south of Oamaru - it's the home of New Zealand's frozen meat industry.
South Otago
35 Grab your laptop, zoom to Lawrence, grab a delicious coffee and surf the web and check your emails in the free wireless internet town.
36 Get back to nature with a visit to the Catlins, especially the newly upgraded facilities at Nugget Point - there's more carparking, better signage and wider walking tracks to one of Otago's best known tourist attractions.
37 Take a trip back in time and spot a whale fossil embedded in inland rock. The lookout and rocks are signposted just north of Milburn. Views over Lake Waihola and the Taieri Basin are included.
38 Have an adventure in a tunnel. Grab a torch and spot some glow-worms in the Mt Stuart Tunnel. Access off Rhodes Rd about 14km south west of Milton.
Queenstown
39 Get crafty with the tourists at Earnslaw Park's arts and crafts market. Held every Saturday from 10am, it features a variety of creative items to peruse and offers a different way to window shop with background music supplied.
40 Flag paying a cover charge and make the most of free gigs at bars around town. Revolver, Dux de Lux and Winnies have regular acts coming through.
41 Test your musical talent or learn a new skill with free guitar lessons. Every Thursday at 12pm and 7pm at St John's Church Hall.
Wanaka
42 An icon of Wanaka, the Dinosaur Playground, is a tried-and-true stop for entertainment. Grab the kids, old and young, pack a picnic and head down there.
43 Lap up a bit of the iconic beauty of the area by walking Mt Roy or Mt Iron.
44 Want a faster way to enjoy the view? Dust off your bike and check out the West Wanaka track or the Outlet track. Pack a lunch and your togs and have a bit of fun.
45 Go potty and give some art a bit of appreciation by visiting Joy Paterson's pottery studio at Dublin Bay and the Pledgers' pottery studio at Tarras.
Alexandra
46 Walk through the thyme on the way to the time. A dirt track winds its way to the clock on the hill, take a pen and sign your name next to countless others.
47 Try to spot a hobbit, or at least part of the footage of Lord of the Rings. Central Otago has featured in a lot of films because of its spectacular scenery. Go for a drive or walk and do some mountain spotting.
48 Join the locals in a cheap meal of cheese rolls. An Alexandra staple.
49 Dust off your skates or fashion a toboggan out of a wool sack and some hay and hit the ice. During winter Manorburn and Idaburn dams freeze over, making for hours of slippery fun.
50 Elevate the heart rate and educate the mind by taking a walk from Alexandra to Roxburgh along the banks of the Clutha River. Along the way various miners' huts and shanties can be seen.
