Cheap Unschooling

Time after time, I hear people saying that they can't afford to unschool. The concern is that it's too expensive to pay for lessons (that at public school are often free). Supplies are too expensive, going to fun places is prohibitive.
I understand. Expenses can seem insurmontable. The thing is, if you think that way, you are getting ahead of yourself. You are also setting yourself up for failure.
What's needed is a change in mindset. In this post, I am offering ways to think about unschooling and its innate opportunities--that make unschooling a great choice, even when you don't have a lot of money. I for one, didn't when we were unschooling our three kids. We had one income--and even that was very modest. So let's look at unschooling in a new light.

Time is money
Time is a very precious commodity. What unschooling means, more than anything else, is having more of it. When you are unschooling your family you are offering them an opportunity to marinate in curiosities and adventures and quests. If they like to read, or watch films, or go on hikes (binoculars are affordable if you know where to look) and study natural history, or local history etc they have that time to go as far as they want to.

Contribute
Volunteer. Volunteer. Volunteer.
There are no ends to volunteer opportunities in your community.
Not-for-profits like environmental groups, theatre groups, art galleries and museums are always seeking people to help (older kids especially). Soup kitchens, community gardens, markets could use a hand. Civic engagement is always welcome by local groups who want to see improvement in government. Get involved in community planning.

Use the community resources. Explore your community.
When my middle was around 9 she wanted to join a violin orchestra. We were able to get her into the local school strings program even though she was unschooled. All three girls took a foreign language (Mandarin) through the free language programs at the school (for kids who wanted to learn their heritage language. We were able to attend even though we aren't Chinese).
My oldest joined a homeschool choir at very little cost.
The library offers all sorts of courses. We used to do Mad Science courses at the library before we'd sign out materials (for free).
Our community centre offers swimming, cooking, piano and soccer lessons. Skating is free. Sewing and craft courses are available at most local community centres.
Our local university has very affordable dance classes taught by university students. Rock climbing as well for a very affordable price. There are free lunch hour concerts a the local college and university. Plays and performances are often cheap for youth. Public Lectures are in abundance.
We have a canoe and make use of it, especially when the kids were smaller. It would be an easy 'day out.' We use the bike trails or go down to the harbour for an outing while stopping for an ice-cream.
Learn your local history and connect it to the wider global histories. Also, museums are often free at some point during the week.

The internet
The internet is a readily accessible kingdom of knowledge. Research all sorts of free curriculum (Khan Academy, MIT courses for the older kids). There are countless offerings for 'Do it Yourself' (DIY) to make things with very affordable materials. Kids can learn how to build forts out of branches, cardboard furniture, clay, found materials. Knitting and crochet is all the rage and you can even learn these on line.

Basically--there is no excuse in a world of plenty to claim that unschooling is too expensive.
If you child really wants something expensive, you will find a way to get it. I got a piano for free by posting in my local paper (I put an ad saying I could afford $300) and someone offered it to me for free.
Sometimes it means waiting--which is not a bad thing since the kid learns that they can't get everything they want right away. Sometimes it means saving up for something. Sometimes it means asking grandparents and family to give $$ instead of useless plastic toys.
If it is really that important, like a dream trip, it might mean taking a loan (proceed with caution). What I'm saying is that where there is a will there is a way--in time.

As the kids get older, they can start earning for what they want (one daughter (16) teaches violin and with the money she earns, she can pay for the fashionable clothes she loves to wear etc. She is also saving up for a higher-end violin).

More cheap fun ideas:
Badminton. Ping pong. Thrift shopping. Tobogganing is free, and ice skating and road hockey is cheap etc.
So take heart. Courage. It can be done for very, very little.
I welcome your thoughts/advice. Let's keep the conversation alive.