Summer is almost here. And with summer comes the summer movie boon! I’ve looked at movie theater prices lately and frankly, I am pretty scared. Here are some ways to save on going to the movies.
Bankrate.com recently published and article about 6 ways to get free movies and discounts.
Their tips include the typical advice to go to a matinee (there are matinees on weekend mornings, typically, where prices can be as low as fifty percent off, but more usually are about 35-40 percent off) but also the not so typical information about how some theaters are discounting tickets at other times, such as on weekdays. This is great to know. They also mention the free family movies offered by some theaters in the summer (my note: some chains have recently changed their policies and have begun to charge $2-$3 for the “free” summer movies.)
They also mention certain days that offer discounts on snacks, but as a typical frugal person, there is no way I’m going to pay for movie theater snacks at all unless they are free. I get around this by filling everyone up before we go to a movie. A typical movie is less than two hours, and we can survive not eating that long.
Another savings idea is to go to the drive in, where you can fill up the car for one price. This is a wonderful idea, except that there are no drive ins anywhere near where I live or in the next three states near me. So, this idea doesn’t seem to apply to the masses. You can however by group passes to the movie theater and typically get a discount that way.
The article then mentions snacks again, such as buying a kids snack package and buying the snacks right before the movie starts so you don’t eat everything up too early. Again, we usually pass on the overpriced movie snacks.
Finally, the article offers some useful savings advice for those who go often to the movies, such as using a reward card and looking for coupons in cereal boxes and buying your tickets in other places, such as Costco. Our town sells discounted movie tickets right in town hall.