Janet K. Miller makes frugality an art.
Which is fitting, because the 50-year-old makes a living by selling her paintings.
"I've been a recessionista for the last 20 years," Miller said. "This is nothing new to me, so I don't feel any difference in it today. I've never had a lot of money to spend on entertainment.
"One of the things I love about Tucson is you don't have to be wealthy to have a really great time here," said Miller, who grew up in Santa Cruz, Calif., and moved here in 1985.
Miller and her husband, 52-year-old Paulus Musters, like cycling from their Downtown home rather than driving to stores, appointments or events. The couple even recently sold their Toyota 4Runner. They still own a Nissan Frontier, but use it only every four or five days.
Miller sells her paintings at Bohemia and at her twice-yearly garden party. She paints in reverse on glass and describes her subjects as "illustrations to strange little stories in my head."
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"We ride our bikes everywhere," she said. "That alone is great free entertainment."
The couple have been married two years, and Miller said her husband was frugal even before he met her.
"He built his own house with his own hands before I met him," she said.
They try to check out free events two or three times a week, finding them mostly by word of mouth and through friends.
They've made a tradition of checking out the free Thursday night movies at Cinema La Placita, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Besides cycling, the couple get moving in other ways.
Every couple of weeks, Miller and Musters enjoy walking Tumamoc Hill when it opens for the afternoon at 5:30 p.m.
"It's a beautiful walk with a view of the city," she said. "It's about two miles round trip, with very extreme uphill and downhill."
And to combat the heat, Miller likes to cool off at a city pool. They head over to Quincie Douglas to play with the fountain toys and ride the slide.
"Quincie Douglas has the absolute best slide in the city," said Miller, adding that the fountain toys are really fun. "It lends itself to interacting and playing with strangers."
Adults pay just $1.50 to swim at Quincie Douglas, 1563 E. 36th St., and ages 17 and younger can swim for a quarter. The price drops to $1 for adults starting May 27.
Some of the other things Miller likes to do will take a break during the summer. The free recitals and concerts she attends at the University of Arizona School of Music are winding down but will resume Aug. 2 with a Jose Reyes Velez violin recital.
"It doesn't feel any different to me than going to a $35 ticket at Centennial Hall," Miller said.
The couple also take advantage of free movie screenings at the UA's Center for Middle Eastern Studies on the first Wednesday of every month from February to May.
Some of their free-fun ideas are old-school.
"We have gotten back in the habit in the last few months of going to the library," she said. "Not just for books — we check out movies, too."
They also save a lot of money by not going out to dinner very often. "We both like to cook," she said. "It's a lot cheaper and just as much fun to make a really good meal at home."
Like many others, Miller gushed about the free and cheap happenings that take place at Dinnerware ArtSpace, 264 E. Congress St. Past events have included a fashion show by local designers and Pollos del Pueblo, an exhibition of chicken-inspired art.
"It's really creative, really cheap, really fun and really well attended," she said.
It just might be in the genes when it comes to Miller's frugal habits.
"When I was growing up, my parents taught me by example to live within my means," she said.
"I learned this from my family. We weren't wealthy, and we made the most of things."
