With any subscription service, you should periodically evaluate whether you are getting your money's worth. You can view your rental history and see how many movies you have received over the last month and divide it by your monthly subscription fee. If you find you aren't using the service enough to justify the cost, you can scale back your membership, or just opt to rent occasional movies from your local video store. However, late fees can really eat into your entertainment budget.
For free movies, take advantage of your local library. They have tons of movies available and you can request that they order movies you want to see. You can even reserve movies you want online and they will notify you when they are available. And, of course, you can always borrow movies from friends and family after they have watched them.
If you avoid getting drinks or cocktails while you are dining out, you can save a lot of money. The mark-up on drinks and cocktails is high. You will do much better having your drinks at home after a night out. Also most bars have a happy hour early in the evening so call your restaurant to check out the best times to go.
If you would like to go to one of the 5 star restaurants but are on a 2 star budget, consider going and sitting in the bar. Although the price tag may still be high, you can share a couple of appetizers and have a drink without spending hundreds of dollars.
Local community theatres are also a great way to see plays. Many produce locally written plays and take chances on lesser known authors in addition to performing audience favorites. You can often see the play for free if you volunteer as an usher for some of the performances.
Local High School plays can be a lot of fun to attend. They usually encourage attendance by the general public because it helps support the theatre department. The bigger high schools put on very elaborate productions, including live orchestras for musicals. Other schools do more intimate classics, by Agatha Christie or Neil Simon.
For live music, pick up a local newspaper or check out the Internet. Most cities have a weekly paper that is free and had information regarding clubs and activities in the area. Many local bands play at bars or clubs with a low cover charge. There are also performances at the local universities, colleges, and performing arts centers. Musical styles can range from jazz to rock to experimental performance art.
A membership may also allow you free or discounted admissions to zoos or aquariums in other parts of the country. Always be sure to mention your membership when you travel to find out if they provide a discount. Also, be sure to mention that you are a member of the AAA or the AARP when you buy tickets. The key with any membership is using it enough to justify the investment!
Another thing to check out is your local community library. Many libraries have membership passes that they "rent" for the day to library members. This is a great way to go for free.
For even cheaper options, look into minor league teams in your areas. Tickets are much cheaper than their major league counterparts and the games can be a lot of fun to watch.
Swap meets and garage sales are a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Even if you don't spend a dime, you can look at trash and treasures, meet some interesting people and maybe find a real bargain!
If you live near a National Park, they are well worth any entrance fee. Camping is usually cheap, there are nightly entertainments and daily lectures with knowledgeable park rangers. They also have great kids programs with crafts and education about the area.
Share your own favorite tips with the ThriftyFun community and read more ideas submitted by readers below!
We would like to have a night for all the neighborhood kids where we watch DVD movies outside on beach blankets (before it gets cold again). We have a 12 ft wide enclosed trailer that we could project the movie on. Only problem is we don't know how to do this with a DVD player. Does anyone have any ideas or can tell me of any special equipment I could buy for this?
The one thing that comes to mind for me is a projector but they are really expensive. They cost between 800 and 3000 dollars. Here's an example of one of the cheaper ones:
accessories.us.dell.com/
A lot of churches and community centers have these and they may be available for loan. Maybe libraries or community centers. Some other community organizations might also have them available to check out. Or you may be able to rent one locally. They are really cool.
you can buy an old 8mm movie projector on ebay for around 20 dollars and a bunch of older cartoons you can purchase for around a dollar I the children would really enjoy the older cartoons. Good Luck
You can rent the projectors that attach to a computer or to a DVD player for not too much money. Call around your local rental places. Businesses rent them for meetings and they are also in demand for special events like reunions, award ceremonies, weddings and funerals.
Jess
Start planning now for upcoming holiday events. Take advantage of local theatre's preview and community nights. You get the same performances at deeply discounted prices.
If you want to get invited to local artistic events, consider writing a column on that sort of thing for your local newspaper. As a member of the press, you will get lots of free invites!
Use the library. You can take out books, music, DVD's and they often offer other entertainment. Go to the park if you have one near.
