You don’t have to give up a night out on the town. Lets begin with eating out. Buy discount gift cards from a site like restaurant.com, groupon, and travelzoo. Also check out your local culinary schools in your area and you can get a great meal for less than $20.
Eat for free at a "trial night." When new restaurants go up, ask when the kitchen will do a practice run. Eat for free a few times the night before a new restaurant opens. Often there is a limited menu to give the staff a chance to practice, but it’s great food at an unbelievable price. Eat early or late. Sometimes restaurants offer discounted meals for dining during off-peak times. In addition to early bird and late night prices, try dining out for breakfast instead of dinner where prices are considerably cheaper. Performing art theaters often sell discounted tickets for standing room or partial view seats. Great for symphony where you still get 100% of the sound even if it’s a partial view. Broadway shows also often sell same-day tickets at a huge discount. Some credit card companies offer discounts or perks to their cardholders. For example, American Express members can get presale and preferred seating through Ticket Master. Citi cardmembers through Live Nation.
Event Tickets: Look for coupon codes at
Coupons.com.
TicketsNow: Save 10% off your first order when you sign up for
TicketsNow emails.
ScoreBig: Save $20 off $120+ in sports, theater and concert tickets.
How Can You Save On Family Activities?
Museum Discounts: Become a member at a museum, zoo, science center or aquarium that participates in a reciprocal admission program. You can buy an annual museum membership for about $75 to one place and then get free or discount admission to hundreds of other locations.
Family Night Promos: Look for family night discounts to sporting events. For an even greater discount, check out minor league teams. Like at MiLB.com where a family of four can get tickets and concessions for less than $10 each.
Kids Eat Free Nights: Many restaurants have kids eat free nights when business is slow. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the most popular days for these offers.
Can You Take A Vacation If You’re On A Strict Bugdet?
Yes, buy your flights on a Tuesday night. The majority of airfare sales start on a Tuesday and by end of day the airlines have had a chance to match each other’s prices.
Look for coupon codes on sites that are already discounted like Expedia. Request a corner hotel room and you may get more space for the same price. Call the hotel directly and you will probably have more room to negotiate a lower rate than if you call a chain’s 800 number who is working off set rates.
What Are Some Fun Ways You Can Earn Extra Money?
Focus Groups/Taste Tests: Sign up for market research databases and they’ll match you to studies. You can make anywhere from $30 for 15 minutes to a couple hundred dollars for longer studies.
Mystery Shoppers: everything from pumping gas to dinner out to mall shopping.
Mock Jurors: Earns the most, Lawyers hire you to hear their case before they go to court.
Dog Sitting: If you’re a pet lover than you may want to offer your services on a site like DogVacay.com or Rover.com. You set your own rate, many were in the $30-$50 range.
Get more financial tips from Jeanette Pavini at jeanettepavini.com.
