Great Combo Deal

I love going out to eat but it can great very expensive, especially if you like higher end restaurants, which I do. But sometimes there will just be a great deal that turns an expensive night out, into a relatively cheap one. The Melting Pot in Cheektowaga is having discounted cheese and chocolate for two if you sit at the bar on tuesday nights. By doing so you will save about $7 compared to the normal price. Ok deal, not a great one. But here comes living social to make it even better. $15 for $30 worth of food. https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/326354?ref=conf-jp&rpi=62811398 That saves you another $15. It goes from being a $50 meal for two at minimum to a $27 meal for two. Way better deal in my mind.

Fun in the Sun

It is finally warming up here in Buffalo and it has been great to open up the house and get out and about. We thought about having a picnic last weekend but got so crazy busy, we had to push it off. Why is it, that once things have warmed up, we have so much to do around the house? However, we will be having out picnic this weekend as a fun yet cheap treat. There are so many fun, cheap things to do during the summer that I cannot imagine wasting money this summer. But the sad thing is, when we moved here almost three years ago we have no ideas what cheap, fun things there were to do in this area. By keeping our eyes and ears open we have found so many things, like the Allan Town Art Festival and great hiking around the North Campus of UB. But there is an easier, and shorter way to find some of these events. Use the web! For example, I used swagbucks to search buffalo events and found out that one farmers market has already started. Maybe I will go wander over to Alden Village and see what produce is avaiable. http://www.aldenny.org/market.asp Also, I found that Buffalo State has a planetarium with events open to the public. Right now they are showing "Wonders of the Springtime Sky" and for students it is only $4 per person, unless you are a Buffalo State student, and it is free. http://www.fergusonplanetarium.net/PublicShows/PublicShows_WondersOfSpring.html What fun cheap stuff are you doing over the summer?

Cheap Dating

As a college student or recent graduate often we do not have much money for fun yet who wants to stay home all weekend? There are many free and cheap fun activities if you know where and how to look for them. For example during the winter in buffalo there is a free ice skating rink (it cost $3 if you need to rent skates) which we discovered because the rink is near our credit union and we checked the prices out. Yes, sometimes the hours are not the best but it is still a fun afternoon event. Also, you can sign up for groupon (www.groupon.com/) or living social (subscribe.livingsocial.com/) to get discounted meals or events. Remember to sign up for upromise and get cash back if you buy anything from groupon. Also, check http://www.restaurant.com/ to see if any restaurants you like are on there. Then google restaurant.com/ and coupon code to get it for even cheaper.

Keep in mind, though, you don't have to go out for fun. Invite people over for a small party, a barbeque in the summer or a potluck in winter. It might cost a bit but not as much as going out the bar and others might like the idea and start having parties at their places. One of the best ways to meet people is through your friends. And cooking with a boyfriend or girlfriend can be fun as well. You can teach other how to make new meals and show off a bit at the same time.

Also, check out if your city or nearby cities has free concerts. I saw smashmouth in concert for free at the San Jose Concert in Park Series. It is a great way to hear new bands and maybe listen to some old favorites. Check with the universities in the area, they often have events that can be fun to go to as well. Some cost money, but often they are subsidized if you are a student. At the State University at Buffalo my husband and I saw the former prime minister of England, Tony Blair, speak for free as students of the university.

Does anyone have any other ideas for cheap dating or other frugal fun?

Frugal Movie Watching

During the summer some of the best movies come out, yet at ten dollars per ticket, how can people afford to go? My DH and I afford it by finding the cheaper theaters (here AMC Theaters is cheaper than Regal Theaters), by going at the matinee time and by buying AMC gift cards online for a discount.

On plastic jungle AMC gift cards are 18% off so we were able to get a twenty-five dollar gift card for twenty dollars and fifty cents. You may be thinking all right, you saved four dollars, big deal. First, that four dollars can add up quickly over time and second I am not done yet. My DH and I go to matinee movies at AMC for four fifty per person instead of regular priced movies for nine dollars or going to Regal for nine dollars and fifty cents. We do splurge and get popcorn at the theater, though.

Let's add it up then, shall we? Normally tickets cost nine to nine fifty a person, so eighteen to nineteen dollars for my DH and I plus popcorn at seven dollars for a medium adding up to twenty five to twenty six dollars. By using the matinee at AMC and getting the gift card we only spend thirteen dollars and twelve cents. That is a savings of almost fifty percent and we get the same movie experience.

Being frugal is not about giving up your fun but finding the best way, financially, to have that fun.

Frugal and Busy Summer has Begun

Summer has just started and I am sure I will not be bored this summer. There is so much to do, both fun and work to do. A ton of fun movies, such as Thor have come out and will come out this summer, the yard sale season is just starting, I can actually work in my garden after some false starts and most importantly I can workout outside again.

I have decided to get in shape this summer, without spending any money, let's see how well I can do. I will be posting every week on how well I did, to keep myself on track. My goal is to stop gaining weight and get some muscle back in both my arms and legs. I stopped working out consistently after I hurt my neck a few years back and have wanted to get back into it, without hurting myself, for a long time.

I am going through our Stuff this week and deciding what to sell at our yard-sale next weekend, if the weather is nice. Because of some lovely gifts from our wedding we have upgraded our stuff and can get rid of some "college" stuff. Most of the stuff we are selling will be Stuff we either no longer use, like some books or some Stuff we have upgraded.

We are going to have some serious time in our garden, leaving for two weeks had allowed the weeds to take over. The only things already planted and living are two blackberry bushes and the apple tree, I have managed the kill two basil plants this year, for some reason.

We do plan to do some repairs around the house as well, like painting the stairway, and the bathroom as well as some other minor stuff. I do not expect that to cost too much, but I have learned that repairs normally cost more then is planned.

We are using discount giftcards bought from plastic jungle and cardpool for any expenses this summer that we can for example home depot and amc theaters gift cards, which should save us 5-10% on those purchases. All in all, I think this summer will be crazy busy, frugal and fun.

Frugal Fun Part 1

Students especially if they work don't have a lot of time and if you work more to get more money often your financial aid is cut so if you can't work more how do you get more money?

Well, you could take a page from high school and babysit or house sit, that money would not go on your FAFSA. However, you are suppose to claim that on your taxes and therefore on your FAFSA (frugalstudents does not say to cheat on your taxes, mostly cause the IRS is scary!). So what can you do?

Most students have very little time and want to have fun so many of the tricks on frugal blogs don't work, either you live at home and they are not applicable or you live in the dorm and you are not allowed to try the tricks (stockpiling being one trick) or again they are not applicable. So again, what can you do?

Well, you could buy gift cards for places you know you will spend, like movie theaters for great movies like Iron Man 2 (I am going to see it this weekend) and then go see the movie during the matinee. Lets do the math, shall we? Say you and your SO (boyfriend/girlfriend) want to go see Iron Man and your are in buffalo, NY. You could go buy the tickets for Friday night at 10.00 a person. So just to see the move you have spent $20 not even counting popcorn, candy or a drink.
So how could you do this and pay less? Well first you can go to plastic jungle and buy a gift card for Regal theaters for 10% off, then you go to the theater Saturday afternoon instead and only pay $16 for the two ticket ($8/each) but since you got the gift card for 10% off, it is only $14.40. You can use the rest of that money ($5.60) to buy popcorn.

Same fun date and by being frugal (not cheap) you get even more than if you were not and honestly all it takes is 5 minutes and a little thinking ahead.