Qatar’s not known as a thrifty place to live or visit, but this month, in honour of Buy Nothing Day on November 25 and 26, we’re leaving our wallets at home. But just because we’re not joining the mad dash of capitalism doesn’t mean we can’t have any fun.

We can even leave the house! We go from day to night without breaking QR50, and with our sneaky spendthrift ideas you can too. Ready, set, don’t consume!

A night at the cinema

Total Cost: QR0
Ah, the movies. The simple pleasure of sitting in a darkened theatre, popcorn wafting up your nose, dim lights, bright sparkly stars. . . only in recent years, the cinema has gotten expensive! Gone are the dime-shows of our grandparents’ era, replaced with tickets of over QR30, popcorn that could buy you a whole meal somewhere else, and don’t even get us started on the parking situation (we don’t just mean the pay-for-time parking in City Centre either: we’re putting monetary value on the 45 minutes we spend looking for a spot on a Thursday night at Villaggio). It doesn’t have to be this way.

The plan: Cinema Under the Stars at the Ritz Carlton
Every Saturday night, pull up a puffy cushion or a lounger and take in a movie, for free! Doors open at 6.30pm with a different movie each week, from popular hits to classic to family friendly fare. There’s a cash bar and snacks available for a fee, but the movie itself is free. And set up looking over the water outdoors, it’s far nicer than sticky cinema floors.