I’ve been thinking for some time about creating a cheap/ free resource guide. Not to toot my own horn, but I think one of my greatest strengths is resourcefulness. I’ve saved myself a lot of money by finding things for cheap or free. I’ve gained a lot of skills, even surface level skills, by knowing how to search the internet, be discerning of what’s useful/ scammy, and learning new skills. IRL, I have to be honest, living in Seattle highlighted for me the possibilities that can arise through mutual aid initiatives and community-lead organizations. From the tool libraries where you can rent out a massive variety of useful, expensive tools for free to little free pantries where neighbors can leave and take the food they need. I grew up thinking that if you need something, you have to go pay for it, and you usually have to go to a big corporation who’s scale allows them to undercut local businesses in pricing. Well, living in Seattle turned that concept upside down and kicked it out the door. Now when I need something or want something done, I’m thinking of many different ways than I did 10 years ago about routes to take. There’s still so much I don’t know.
To be clear: the resources I’m sharing are NOT in service to what has sadly become the default; fueling the capitalist machine and lining the pockets of billionaires who would gladly see most of us suffering so long as it keeps their bags secured. I read this quote somewhere a while ago, I think someone posted it on Twitter that the world is like a 5-star resort, but 99% of us are staff while the top 1% are the customers. I can’t not see it. I definitely feel like a customer sometimes, but let’s be real, some of us have to get back to work and sell our time to maintain the comforts of our lifestyles while others don’t. Even sitting in this comfy cafe, I’m surrounded by people typing away on their laptops sipping delicious drinks, but I really wonder how many of us are working on things we actually care about. Are we typing out of a sense of purpose or obligation, ya know? Of course you have to work in life – even before the industrial revolution when life was as simple as can be, there’s never been a sustainable human existence without work and effort. You have to find and prepare food. You have to build and maintain a shelter. You have to take care of your body. That’s not the stuff I’m talking about. I’m talking about exchanging large chunks of your life to commuting and working a job that feels meaningless and relying on paid goods and services to superficially revitalize what was drained during your hours serving your employer. The system converts your time and energy into profit and leaves you with depleted energy and (hopefully) enough money to keep you fed and sheltered. In modern US life, it seems the bulk of our efforts are not even in direct service to improving our lives. The things that generally are in service to a better life cost money and require will-power and focus that usually feel exhausted by the time we reach the end of a workday; gym memberships, self-care rituals, even socializing costs money in many cases. We might as well adopt a system of trading time for “credits” like in the 2011 hit film starring Justin Timberlake, In Time. The point I’m trying to make is, there are some resources that exist and that were designed by humans who care that are in direct service to improving the lives of people without being overly extractive or exploitative. They exist, can be used, can be contributed to, and really help with regaining a sense of humanity.
The purpose of these Resource Roundup posts is to shine light on free and cheap resources that can help empower us (myself included) to do the things we want to do and make the most of this beautiful life. To be clear, I’m not under the illusion that life is sunshine and roses all the time. It’s clearly not. Having a great mindset and great perks, even free housing, can only protect you so much. Even great zen masters still experience the discomforts of strong negative emotions and have to deal with life’s painful realities like heartbreak and loss. Having great resources can, however, help to propel you through life’s difficult moments in a way that really enables you to get past them rather than sitting in the pain for the rest of your days or, even worse, passing the trauma on to others. A lot of us are caught in multiple ugly cycles and pausing and stepping outside of them is a powerful way to remember who we are and what we’re capable of. Ok, let’s get to the point because I can babble about living well for daysss but that’s not what this is about. Here are the categories I’ll cover in each Resource Roundup post (subject to change).
- Mind Care: Helping your mental health, ability to think critically.
- Body Care: Taking the best care of your body from fitness to food.
- Community Care: There are a ton of great grassroots efforts- let’s explore and get involved
- Time Care: Cool places to put your attention in moments of free time. Includes life hacks that can save you time, energy and money since ya know… time is money in capitalism.
These categories are subject to change, but we gotta start somewhere. So here is the first Resource Roundup: a curated list of wonderful content to help you have a great day. So welcome to the first…
Resource Roundup
March 30, 2026
The Way Out Is In Podcast
When I think of mind care, I think of a few different things. Challenging your mind with games and puzzles, learning new topics, freeing yourself to perceive audiovisual content in new ways, even if it’s everyday stuff. Above all, I think about mental health and I want to start by highlighting a podcast that gave me a healthy way to process many things and took my mind from frantic to much more steady at times when I really needed it. It was a routine for me to listen to this podcast while driving to work, walking my dog, even when working in the lab. Brother Phap Huu, a Zen Buddhist Monk sits and converses with Jo Confino, a Journalist, to discuss a myriad of topics and human experiences. Available wherever podcasts are streaming, but click the pic and it’ll take you to their website.
Nike Training Club App
If you know me, you know that I attribute the Nike Training Club app to getting me into possibly the best shape of my life. There are dozens of amazing workouts in a variety of formats. They’ve got HIIT (high intensity interval training), Strength, Yoga, Pilates and Gym workouts. The programs are excellent for getting into a solid regular routine of moving your body. The app is free with no annoying ads and plenty of the workouts require zero equipment. You don’t need expensive atleisure clothes or shoes, just download the app and get started. My favorite program is Burn with Kirsty Godso, a 6-week program that will drastically improve your fitness and strength.
Buy Nothing Groups
If you are in search of an item for your home or something to help make your life easier, Buy Nothing is an amazing resource to be plugged into to potentially find what you’re looking for FREE. You can also help fuel the sharing economy by posting the items collecting dust in your home and give or borrow to neighbors in need. It’s a win-win. There’s a Buy Nothing website (linked in the pic) and you can also find communities on facebook – just search “Buy Nothing [insert your city’s name]”. Engaging with your community by sharing and receiving support is a really wonderful thing.
Your Local Library
Ok, hear me out. I know pointing someone looking for ways to spend their time toward the library will have some people waving me away like an annoying fly but listennnn libraries have a lot of free resources ok? 3 reasons you should *at the very least* visit your local library’s website.
1. Free books, obviously. And everybody knows books are always better than movies. You don’t even need to go to the library, you can download ebooks and audiobooks through the Libby app for FREE using your library card.
2. Libraries offer a lot of great perks like free/ discounted museum tickets, access to large libraries of free movies and tv shows to stream through Hoopla and Kanopy apps, skills classes, support for job-searching, notary services, resume help, small business support, community programming, etc. Lots to enjoy!
3. Libraries are one of the last common “third places” – a free place for people to gather outside of home and school/work that promote social interaction, reduce loneliness, and improve wellbeing.
To end the post, here’s one of my favorite personal resource roundup success stories: building these terraced walls over the course of 2 months using free bricks donated from community members and the hard work of volunteers at Beacon Food Forest in Seattle! This led to the revitalization of the food bank plot at the food forest which produced over 500 lbs of produce to local food banks for FREE in 2026 alone!
Have you benefitted from any of these resources? Any of them look like something you might be interested in? Let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading and with this being a new type of post, I’m more than open to feedback 😊
Wow, this is exactly what i needed. It’s come in handy in this new month of april, what a perfect combo of free resources. I’m definitely gonna let these grow on me. Your writing is so articulate, I know what to expect getting into these. Thank you so much, Keep up the good work.
Thank you for your kind words and thank you for reading 😊. I do hope this list and others in the future serve you well!
I like this post! It’s awesome to have so many useful resources introduced in one place ✨️
Thank you, I’m glad you find it useful😊. I’m excited to find and share even more cool, free/cheap resources! I’ve already had to claw my way out of one rabbit hole while exploring these, so hopefully I make it back in one piece mentally, for the next post LOL.