Tightwad Tuesday: Save Money on Books, Movies and Magazines

Hubz and I virtually have no built-in entertainment budget.  We don't regularly go to the movies or plan evenings out.  Nothing against those who do; it's just not one of our priorities.  Because of this, we look for thrifty ways to entertain ourselves.  We love watching movies and have a nice little collection built up of our favorites.  We also both enjoy how-to books and magazines, while I love 19th century period fiction.


How to Save Money on Movies

First off, we never buy a movie that we haven't seen.  If we purchase a movie, it's because we really enjoyed it and think we'll watch it again and again.  Why waste the money if it turns out to just be 'ok'?  We need to love it before it becomes something I have to dust.   

We rent / borrow movies in two ways (besides family/friends):

·         In-store kiosks (you know – the red and blue ones)

    + Convenient and inexpensive ($1 – $1.50)

                                     -  Rental fees are per day

·         Local Library

    + FREE! Can keep movies for a week or more

                                     -  Sharing with other patrons and may need to reserve movies and wait until

             they become available

I prefer using the library, but if I don’t plan ahead and have something reserved, I might not find anything we want to watch on the shelf.  Believe it or not, local libraries have new releases.  Our library is very small and if they have new releases I'll best most others do as well.


Buying a Movie:
We keep a little list of movies we'd like to own so that if we run across one at a thrift store or a yard sale, we'll (hopefully) remember and snatch it up (if the price is right!).  If there is a movie that we just have to have and can't wait until we stumble on it at a yard sale, we'll visit Amazon, ebay or half.com to see if we can get a really good deal on it.

 We also don't keep up on the latest technology.  We have a blu-ray player that was gifted to us, but we also still use our VCR.  We like a lot of older movies and you can pick those up for pennies on VHS at yard sales and the like. 


The Theater:
Rarely is there a movie that we must see in the theater, although I did see 2 last year and they both starred Robert Pattinson (I can’t help myself!).  There are a few different ways we can save on ticket price.  The local 1-screen theater sells a cheaper ticket than the big multiplexes nearby.  A matinee seat at the multiplex is $2 cheaper than a later showing.  We’re lucky enough to have a drive-in nearby and it’s always a double feature so we can see 2 movies for the price of 1. 


How to Save Money on Books

We take the same approach for buying books as we do for buying movies.  Why buy it if we don't know that it's something we'll love?  We use the library like crazy.  Since our library is small, we sometimes need to use the inter-library loan program to get a specific book.  It’s still free, just takes patience waiting for the book to get shipped to our branch.  Yard sales, thrift stores, Amazon, ebay and half.com are our go-tos for buying books.  The majority of the books we buy aren’t fiction, but are cookbooks, how-to books, homesteading books – ones we know we’ll reference for years to come.

 

How to Save Money on Magazines

One of my weaknesses, besides Robert Pattinson, is celebrity gossip.  I am ashamed to admit this, but 10 years ago I used to buy a celebrity gossip magazine every week when I grocery shopped.  Yuck.  I can’t believe I just told you that.  At $3.99 a pop, that was a pretty expensive little habit.  Luckily, I soon discovered the local library and they actually carry the magazine I used to buy.  I will occasionally still check it out, but I feel less yucky about it because it’s free.  Surprisingly enough, the library has a nice selection of magazines – including some great gardening, homesteading and cooking titles.

There are a few magazines that are more like the reference books I mentioned before – ones that we might like to have on hand.  I always look for the titles at yard sales and thrift stores, but I don’t usually have much luck.  I will subscribe to one of these magazines if the price is right.  The right price is not found on those postcards tucked into the magazines (that’s what they want you to think!). 

To get the best price, I’ll visit a website like magazines.com or valuemags.com.  Both of these sites also offer a rebate through Ebates which makes the deal even sweeter.  If it’s a magazine I currently subscribe to, I’ll wait until my subscription expires.  Once that happens, I’m likely to get a better offer through the mail from the publisher.  They don’t want to lose a subscriber so they’ll send out some really good deals.  Here’s one for Mother Earth News.  I haven’t subscribed to it in over 2 years, but they still want me back and they have a really good offer.

I didn't subscribe this time.  The library carries it and my parents get it as well.

 

To sum it all up –

·         Be patient – wait until it’s out on DVD or available at the library

·         Try it before you buy it, a.k.a. "Don’t dust it if you don’t love it"

·         And when you buy it, buy used – you'll save at least 50%!

·         Shop on-line – you can research many sites within minutes to make sure you’re getting 
           the best deal possible

What other tactics do you use to save on movies, books and magazines?  Do you have an entertainment category in your budget?  What types of activities/purchases do you include in it?