Save money at the Movies

Have you ever wondered to yourself, “How can a night at the movies be so expensive?” Think about it…a family of four, 2 adults 2 children, pay $26 for tickets, $8.00 for a large popcorn, $4.00 for a soda, $3.50 for that candy bar, oh wait, your other kid wants a candy bar too, so that’s $7 for candy, and $4 in quarters for the vending machines while your waiting for the movie. I think you get the point. Well going to the movies doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition. Now I’m not a cheapo, but I know how and where to spend my money wisely. That being said, here are a few tips on how to save at the box office:

BYOP
Bring your own popcorn! Why pay $8 for a popcorn which you end up throwing away half of anyway because it’s big enough to feed a small militia? Last week I went to a certain large superstore (no names but it begins with a Wal, and ends with a mart), and paid $5.00 for 24 packs of popcorn. Simply pop it in the microwave before you leave and you can save a decent amount of money right there.

BYOS
Bring your own Soda! Better yet, bring your own any kind of drink. Given the choices at the movies, you might be limited as to what you can get to refresh your taste buds. Try a can of soda from another unnamed place, where the retail price per can is a low $0.15 a can. That’s $3.85 saved on soda. Not too bad at all.

Skip the wait
The longer your kids have to wait around at the theatre, the more hyper they’ll be and the more you’ll have to spend to keep them occupied. Research shows most people get to the movies right before the show starts, so if you get there about 10 minutes before the show, you should get a great seat and avoid the hassle.

Don’t pay at all
Why pay when you can see a free movie…A certain cinema offers free movies in the summer for families, just check it out on google and type in “free movie theatres”. Also, many companies offer promotions where you can sit in as a movie “critic” for free in screen tests for movies. That’s right, you see movies before they are even released, and it’s free. Once again, go to google and type in “how to get free movie screening passes”. You’d be shocked how easy it is to get into a free movie.

When all else fails, simply rent a movie from your local store. It’s cheap, the parking is great, the most comfortable seats in the house are your own, and there’s all the food you can eat there too. Oh yeah, and when you need to go to the bathroom, just click pause!

Rob Vrabel is the owner of www.2havefun.com, the #1 source for fun things to do in the U.S. To check out lots of other places to have fun in your state, go to www.2havefun.com.