MOVIES
Although watching a movie on the big screen is awesome, I do not go to theaters unless I received complimentary tickets. Where can you get complimentary tickets to the movie theater? Local radio stations, television stations, AARP and giveaways on social media are a few that I can think of.
Also, I don’t like theaters any more since people talk and/or use their cell phones which really takes away from a pleasant experience. And we all know how expensive movie theater food is!
I watch my movies at home. I don’t buy DVDs or Blu-ray discs. Instead, I borrow them from our local library. It’s a great way to see movies (sometimes recently released ones) for no cost whatsoever. Then there is streaming sites. I am lucky that my daughter added us onto her Netflix account. Now I can watch their shows and movies on my television for free. We do pay for an Amazon Prime account (but make that back in free shipping). With Amazon Prime, you also get access to free movies. Not always the greatest, but still cheaper than the theater.
If you do like to collect DVDS and/or Blu-ray, and don’t like to buy them. There is a site called SwapaDVD.com where you can swap DVDs. It may take a long time for some. I’ve been waiting years for some popular titles, but have been lucky to get a few. There is a small fee and you have to pay for postage to send out DVDs, but you get a credit for future swaps. More on their site on their rules and regulations.
BOOKS
I am an avid reader, and again go to the library to get what I want to read. I used to buy books and had a library, but I do not reread books and don’t have the space. That’s a big savings in money. But if you like to collect books, the sister site to the above is Paperbackswap.com. Quicker to get books then DVDs, but some are not always in the best of shape. If you don’t mind reading Advance Reader copies, you can sign up for giveaways at Librarything.com (monthly) and/or Goodreads.com (ongoing). Many a good book I have received and then passed on to others.
RESTAURANTS
I love to cook and eat healthy, but my wife and I need a date night occasionally. We used to try once a week, but that become costly. We still visit our favorite restaurants. How do we do that? Restaurant Rewards. There are many restaurants that reward you for frequenting them. You may get cash back towards your bill or free appetizer, meals or desserts. Combine that with coupons and gift cards it won’t cost you much. Recently, we went to a restaurant for date night and with two appetizers, two dinners, one dessert and four adult beverages, it can to $2.04 before tip. Can’t beat that. I don’t buy gift cards but get them from redeeming credit card points or better yet, ask for them for Christmas.
AT HOME ENTERTAINING
I’m not talking about watching television over and over again. We are a game playing family and there is so much out there. We have some of the classic board games: Othello, Monopoly, Stratego, Clue, backgammon and checkers and favorites from our childhood: Booby Trap, Scrabble, Jenga and Chinese Checkers, In addition, we are big card game players. Our favorite is Phase 10. We also have Uno (and now Dos), Zigity and numerous decks of regular playing cards. Sure, there is an initial cost to buying the games (cheaper if you get them form the thrift store, yard sales or flea market), but the fun is endless.
I’ll leave Vacations for another blog post. So what do you do for entertaining yourself and how do you save money by doing so. Would love to hear from you.
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