Thursday, January 29, 2009

Don't Deny Yourself Entertainment!

Times are tough! You hear it everytime you turn on the news. More people have lost their jobs and others are just not spending money. Yes times are tough and we all need to tighten our belt. But, we also need an escape from this headache even if it is just for a few hours. We need to laugh, we need to play, we need to take care of ourselves and have some fun.

If you watch a lot of DVDs, get an online DVD store membership: Membership to online movie stores like Netflix or Blockbuster Online can save you a lot of money compared to buying DVDs or renting it from a local store. You need to wait once you order the movie, but if you watch a lot of movies at home, then you can easily get into the habit of ordering ahead of time so you always have something at home. If you are patient and your library has the resources, check to see if they have a movie section. You won't get anything very new, but they are free.

If you like watching movies at the theater, go before 6:00 pm: This is one of my soft spots when it comes to spending. I really like watching movies in the theater with the big screen and the great sound effects. But instead of paying ~$10 a pop for the ticket, I usually go before 6:00pm when the tickets are a little less expensive. Also, for movies that I don’t absolutely want to watch right away, I just wait until it screens on the discount theater where the tickets are $2 a pop. I avoid the temptation to buy snacks, by usually going for a theater some time soon after lunch or sometimes sneaking in my snacks in my purse. Many stores such a Walmart, CVS and others sell movie size candy. I always make a stop so my son can have a treat without spending excess money.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

International Travel- A real saver!!

This week I needed to search for plane ticket for my family to travel to Turkey this summer. We have family in Turkey and I always dread the task of searching for airline tickets. Summer travel is more expensive and I hate it so I am always searching for the best rates possible. I can not tell you how many websites I go through before I find the best price. Somehow I came accross the website Vayama.com. Vayama is a site for international travel. To my amazement I found tickets that were $300 less than the major travel sites such as Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia. Needless to say I bought the tickets immediately and saved $900 as opposed to purchasing through other travel websitses.

If you are looking to travel internationally you should definitely check out Vayama.com. It can't hurt and it might save you some money!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too! Eat Out and still Save Money!

  • Eat out at restaurants for lunch instead of dinner. The menus are often the same, or at least very similar to evening meals, but the prices are often much cheaper.
  • Clip restaurant coupons out of the paper and keep them in a binder for future use. Also make a note of any specials like "friends eat free" or "dads eat free " nights at your favorite restaurants. If you have children, look for "kids eat free nights". Many restaurants will have specials to attract business on otherwise slow nights, such as Mondays and Tuesdays. Be sure to check your bill to make sure the discount was included. One of our local restaurants advertises "kids eat free" on a certain week night, but they only give you the discount for kid's meals if you specifically ask for it.
  • Participate in a restaurant coupon program. For a small fee for processing and handling you can receive coupons for restaurants of your choice. This simple program can save you over $1000 dollars for just a $10 processing/handling fee. Take a look at itsabargainbasement.com.
  • Sign up for email lists that any of your favorite restaurants may offer. Restaurants often send out discount coupons this way. Also make note of early bird specials. If you are old enough, check to see if your favorite restaurant offers special menus for seniors.
  • If you feel like getting out of the house but can't afford a full meal out, eat dinner at home and just go out for dessert and coffee.
  • One of my favorite things to do is visit Restaurant.com
    where I can purchase a $25 gift certificate for only $10. This is beneficial in two ways. I can purchase a gift for a friend or I can use the certificate myself. I have found some great local restaurants that I may not have tried had it not been for this site.
  • One more way to have your cake and eat it too is to get the recipe of your favorite dish from your favorite restaurant and make it at home. I have found a great recipe book to get all my favorite recipes, and for those days when I just can not justify spending any money eating out, I can still treat my family to something special. Take a look to see if your recipe is here.