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Your 24-hour itinerary: The Wallet Watcher

There’s something to do at every hour of the day in New York, and we’ve got the proof right here

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Sure, New York is amazing, but holy crap is it expensive. We all know how draining it can be to feel like you’re getting gouged at every turn, so who could blame you for looking for some cheaper entertainment options? The good news is, if you know where to look, NYC is stuffed to the gills with awesome free stuff, from museums to comedy shows to drinks and snacks. Check out your personalized itinerary below for all the cheap or free stuff you can handle. (Just remember to tip.)

8am-10am—get a deal at Century 21
  • Shopping
  • Department stores
  • Financial District
  • price 2 of 4

The FiDi location of this bargain-shopper’s paradise opens at 7:45 on weekdays—maybe for 9-5ers who woke up in someone else’s bed that morning with no time to head home before work (not that that’s ever happened to us). It’s also a great hour to browse sans the typical crowds. Find heavily discounted clothes, shoes, purses and more by Gucci, Armani, Escada and dozens of other fancy-pants designers.

10am-11am—ride the cable car to Roosevelt Island
  • Attractions
  • Public spaces
  • Roosevelt Island

Score a wondrous view of the Manhattan skyline from this commuter cable car, which zooms between the Upper East Side to the island that separates Manhattan from Queens (though it’s still technically part of Manhattan, if we’re counting) for the mere swipe of a Metro card ($2.75, or “free” on your unlimited).

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12pm-1pm—take a free juggling lesson at Bryant Park
  • Attractions
  • Parks and gardens
  • Midtown West

Now put down the tablet and back away from the free Wi-Fi, because it’s time to learn a party trick: juggling! Experts offer gratis lessons in this Midtown park daily at noon in the not-miserably-cold months (roughly January through September). Find them on The Deck or at 42nd St Plaza.

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2pm-3pm—shell out a buck for pizza
  • Restaurants
  • Hell's Kitchen
  • price 1 of 4

$1 pizza—another wonder of the New York world. Try 99-Cent Fresh Pizza in Midtown West. Good may not be quite the right word, but for a penny shy of a single this slice is cheesy, carby and satisfying (also available 24 hours).

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6pm-9pm—see cheap comedy at UCB
  • Comedy
  • Stand-up
  • Hell's Kitchen
  • price 1 of 4

With shows starting between 6pm-8pm daily for the discount-lover’s price of $10 to free, you won’t find a better deal than this improv and sketch comedy theater. Depending on the timing of your show, enjoy cheap drinks at the theater bar either before or after (and during, of course).

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  • Bars
  • Dive bars
  • Bushwick
  • price 1 of 4

Bushwick bar Gotham City Lounge is packed with comic-book figurines and people who know about its ass-kicking anytime drink deal: $3 for a PBR and a whiskey shot. Just try to recite the storyline of your favorite comic book after too many of those.

2am-3am—sober up with falafel
  • Restaurants
  • Central Asian
  • Greenwich Village
  • price 1 of 4

For just $3.50 at Middle Eastern joint Mamoun’s, score a giant pita stuffed with falafel and tahini—best drunk-person’s deal in the city. The West and East Village locations, both open until 5am, are also in stumbling distance of the neighborhood’s bar circuits.

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  • Things to do
  • Noho
  • price 2 of 4

A free 1-day guest pass (new clients only) to this Astor Place gym, which opens at 5:30am daily, gets you a lot more than just basic workout machines. But hell, we vote for not working out at all—just relax in the steam room while the other early birds are huffing and puffing through bench presses.

  • Attractions
  • Parks and gardens
  • Chelsea

Starting at Gansevoort Street and newly extended to 34th Street, this nature-in-the-city walking path (converted from an elevated freight rail line) opens at 7am—which may be the only time you’re not strolling through the flora in a frustratingly slow single-file line of tourists with selfie sticks. Enjoy it.

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