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This post is by Ronnie, screenwriter for The Frugality Game. Let him know what you think in the comments!
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of having to spend the entirety of my monthly entertainment budget on a single trip to the movie theatre, or a twenty minute stay in the CD aisle.
The prices are simply outrageous, and rather than feel good about picking up some new tunes or catching the latest critic’s darling on the big screen, I leave with a feeling of guilt and remorse, like I just did something that my parents wouldn’t approve of.
Well no more! I’m going to show you the light at the end of that entertainment tunnel. Let’s start with movies.
Saving money on movies
Keeping up with cinema is important to a lot of people. It’s an American art form and the experience that you take from a film can be insightful, heartfelt and very rewarding. But like I previously stated, those warm fuzzy feelings don’t last too long when you leave the theatre wracked with guilt about spending too much cash. So how do we combat that?
You wait for them to come out on DVD, of course. But even then, buying the DVD can set you back in excess of $20, and renting from a normal retailer like Blockbuster costs about $5 per rental. Way too expensive.
Luckily, there is a way around this without the need to purchase pirated DVD’s off street corners: Netflix. For those of you who haven’t familiarized yourselves with this blessing in plain clothes, do so. Currently, for just $8.99 per month, you can rent as many DVD’s per month that you can handle. There is usually a one day wait for them to arrive in the mail, but if you have a computer, you can stream an unlimited amount of entertainment right into your living room.
Check out even more ways to save money on going to the movies.
Saving money on music
Music….Uniting or divisive, great or terrible, everybody has their own opinion on what good music is. Luckily, all music lovers can agree that they don’t want to fork over a good chunk of their check to pad some record executive’s bank account.
There’s a ton of free music out there, you just have to know where to find it. Over the last few years, record companies have put a great deal of their advertising budget towards making us feel like thieves for listening to free music, and in a lot of cases it has deterred us from going out and looking for it. This is a mistake. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with finding free music, as long as you’re doing it legally. There are numerous internet radio stations such as Pandora.com, which allow you to customize your radio preferences and fine-tune what you want coming out of your speakers or headphones….and it’s all free!
More ideas
If you still want to purchase a specific film or album and don’t have access to iTunes, secondspin.com is a great idea for you. They have an incredible selection of music and movies, ever so slightly used, for extraordinarily cheap (usually in the six to eight dollar range) and guaranteed in perfect condition. I can attest to this, as I’ve purchased a great deal of my CD’s and DVD’s from them….they also frequently offer great discounts through your email on your total purchase amount or the shipping costs. Great deals that any film, music or pop-culture aficionado can appreciate.
What do you think? Good ideas? Anything to add? Let us know!
Don’t forget to play The Frugality Game today!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
nothing tops going to the movies tho.
and if its a movie nobody else likes,
i have the theatre all to myself;/
instead of watching 5 movies from netflix –
and I don’t trust the mail,
i watch 1 movie with that money.
then i wait until i have enough again.
Or do like I do and wait until it come on cable that way you have already paid for the movie in your monthly bill. why pay twice?
yeah but i don’t like cable or tv.
prefer theatres….
tv shows end up in the theatres
eventually