My wife and I don't go to the movie as often as we did when we started dating. As great as the movies are, we just can't seem to bring our selves to shell out $9.50 a ticket for a cramped seat and the chance to hear what the person four aisles away is talking about. Add snacks and they can cost as much as the tickets.We finally tried the dollar (actually $1.50) movie across the highway and enjoyed it. For less than the price of one regular priced ticket we were able to see a double feature. Snacks still cost the same, but for $30 we did what would have cost us almost $60. Still the same old guy talking four rows up and the tight seats, but, hey, for that price, I'll deal.
Nowadays, we don't go out unless it's a blockbuster spectacular that has to be seen on the big screen. Any kind of blow'em-up, shoot'em-up, scifi, adventure, epic type of movie is why we shell out the big bucks. (Un)Fortunately, they are few and far between. Well, except for May, when Wolverine and Star Trek come out. We'll deal with that through the local comic book shop, Boomerang Comics. They're across the street and Neal, the guy that owns it, has a movie night at Studio Movie Grill. He rents out the whole theater and you purchase your tickets through him.
Another way of fighting the price of movies is through NetFlix. We have an account with them and it's great. For $16 a month, we can get 2 movies at a time. We watch them and return them and they send two more. As many as we can watch in a month for $16 and there are no late fees. Wife gets a movie and I get a movie. We watch one, stick it in the mail the next day and a new one usually arrives by the time we are done with the next movie (unless you watch them both one after the other.) They have bigger plans including 8 movies at one time. You manage your list online and as they recieve one movie, they ship the next one out. I've sent one out on a Monday and had the next one on a Wednesday.
And for those with fast connections, you can watch certain movies and tv shows on your computer. This is great for people like me who want to see things that the spouse is not interested in like my Red Dwarf tv series from the 80's. Even watched a book-turned-movie by one of my favorite authors and saw why he hated it. I did too.I'm a NetFlix fan because we don't waste alot of money on the movie experience unless it warrants it. I've got a link for it on my other website, so if you'd like to try it out, please do.
So, how do you cut corners with your entertainment expenses? Do you rent, or do you deprive yourself during the economic downturn? Or are you even affected by it? Let me know!
