Ways To Save Money

As I posted in my earlier blog about what people don't like about going to the movie theater, the main reason why people don't go is because it costs too much money, especially during a recession.  But being a long time movie goer, I have found several tips that I have used, and that you can use as well, in order to stop blowing you your wallet every time you want to venture to the theater.



1. Plan Ahead
The first tip that I have that will help you save money is actually a simple one and is often over looked, and that is to simply plan what are you are going to do ahead of time before you leave the house. This may seem like this is something everyone does already but I cannot tell you how many times that my girlfriend and I have decided to just go out and see a movie on a whim and had to drive to three or four theaters to try and find the movie that we wanted to watch and in the mean time wasting a lot of time and money on gas just driving around. So to spare you this little trip of all the local theaters in town, I highly recommend using which ever way you prefer--newspaper, internet, or smart phone application--in order to make going to the movies easier and more enjoyable.

2. Go Early
Another easy way to save you some green is to try and get there while the sun is still up or in other words get there earlier than normal. I know that the ideal time to go to the movies is usually after dinner when its dark out--it's a great time for dates and it saves on your eyes when you leave the theater instead of going out into the bright sunlight--but in order for you to save some money then this is not the ideal time because at night is when theaters charge the most money for tickets. Most theaters offer cheaper tickets--usually two or three dollars off-- at earlier times of the day for what they like to call the Matinee price. Generally the Matinee times for theaters are before six o'clock p.m. on weekdays and before two o'clock p.m. on weekends. Also if you feel like going really early, there are some theaters--like Century theaters-- that offer Early Bird discounts that gives you even cheaper prices if you go to a movie for the first showing of the day. Not only does this little tip save you some money, it also allows you to beat the crowds since the theater is usually less crowded in the earlier times of the day.

3. Avoid the Concession Stand
One final way that you will be able to save some money is by not spending any money at the concession stand. It's been shown that movie theaters get 85% profit from the money that they get from people buying candy, popcorn and soda. My advice for this is to buy your candy and soda at another store -- Target, Walmart or any other supermarket -- and then try to sneak it into the movies so you will not have to spend two or three times as much at the theater. Most theaters are starting to enforce a "no outside food" policy so they will try to stop you if they can but if you can be really sneaky then you will not have a problem. Unfortunately this does not work for popcorn or nachos or some of the other, more bulky items so if you still want those foods then you will have to spend some money at the concession stand but it will still be a lot cheaper buying the soda and candy at other stores.