Last year, I had a whole series on frugal weekend ideas like visiting local wineries, going to a major league baseball game, visit a national park, or something simple like borrow a movie from the library.

My favorite frugal weekend idea is probably to visit a local winery, such as when we visited Boordy (which ended up not being frugal!) a few weeks ago, because it has all the key characteristics in a great weekend day. First, I like being outdoors and most wineries have outdoor seating and relaxing areas. Second, I enjoy the gift of Dionysus and I enjoy enjoying it over several hours basking in the warm sun. Third, it’s a very social activity that has something for everyone. If you enjoy wine, you have wine. If you don’t have wine, you enjoy the setting. If you hate being outdoors and wine, well we’re probably not friends (and you’re probably a vampire).

I’d like to know, what’s your favorite frugal weekend idea?

(Photo: tambako

Last weekend, on July 4th no less, my wife and I stopped by our local Toyota dealership and test drove a Prius. Fortunately for us, neither one of us drives a gas guzzler (I drive a 2003 Toyota Celica and my wife drives a 2004 Honda Civic) and neither one of will need a replacement car for quite some time but with a day off and being in the neighborhood running errands, we figured stopping by would be a fun little diversion. Our friends from New York own a Prius, which they love, and we’ve ridden in it before, but never really “test drove,” complete with salesperson pointing out every last feature. Overall, we were impressed and it certainly would be on the short list of vehicles we’d consider if we were to replace either of our cars.

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My wife and I, along with everyone living within a stone’s throw of Washington D.C., benefit from an abundance of national landmarks. Within Washington D.C. there are over eighty national landmarks, many of which are clustered around the Mall. In one trip, you could see dozens of our nation’s great treasures absolutely free (and if you do come to the Mall, practically every museum in the area is free too).

If you live elsewhere, don’t fret. There are over 2,460 landmarks in the United States. New York takes top honors with a 256 according to Wikipedia, with Delaware bringing up the rear with five. In Maryland, there are 71 and we’ve only gone to one of them – the Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge (by accident too). You could go to one landmark each weekend and be busy until the end of next year!

Check out your state and find a piece of America’s history to explore this weekend!

(Photo by Dean.Franklin)

I don’t know how many of you folks also read my nascent grilling blog, Grill Maestro, but I recently wrote about how I was going to buy a Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker… well I did and yesterday it was delivered. Installation took about ten minutes so this weekend, specifically tomorrow probably, I’m gonna smoke me up some goodies.

Now, onto the weekly goodies…

• Flexo writes about gap year between high school and college where rising freshmen take a year off to travel the world and expand their horizons. Not a bad idea if you can finance it with something other than credit cards.
• JLP answers a reader question about whether to pay off credit cards or student loans.
• FMF reminds us that insurance should be used to handle the big losses, not every loss.
• MBH handles a sticky subject, home value and net worth.
• Nickel writes about how Discover is changing their Open Road card rewards program. We have the card and say “BOO” to that.
• Ben has carpal tunnel and it’s expeeeensive.
• Henry spent two and a half hours on the phone with mortgages companies and came away with 10 mortgage lessons. Save yourself two and a half hours by reading his list.
• Jeremy explains how achievement is directly tied to setting clear goals.
• That Toyota Scion commercial with the weird cartoon demons didn’t work well on Lazy Man, sounds like he’ll never buy a Toyota because of it. PR Oops. (I have a Toyota and I found that commercial creepy, I mean cartoon heads are being cut off… maybe that’s a sign that I’m old and not understanding “cool.”)
• Golbguru’s third used car buying tip is how to inspect a used car.
• Dow busted 14k. Sell sell sell!
• SVB shares five ways credit card companies dupe kids.
• Tricia shares 20 dates for under $20.
• Are you maxing out your 401k? If so, great! If not, why not!?
• Did you know in some states your deductible on your homeowners can’t be greater than 1% of the value of your home? I think it’s a ridiculous rule, those damn insurance lobbyists.

Tomorrow is Museum Day, sponsored by the Smithsonian. You will need to print out this Museum Day card, good for two people to participating museums.

On September 30, 2006, for one day only, museums across the country will join the Smithsonian Institution in its long-standing tradition of offering free admission to visitors.

I think we might check out the Maryland Science Center tomorrow, I’ve always seen the building but never actually went inside. Now, some of the museums are always free (like many near the Cut in Washington, D.C.) but they’re just getting in on the fun anyway.

Thanks Lifehacker!