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Do it for less
By Daphne | October 8, 2007
In the fall and winter it is more difficult to find free or low-cost activities to do in the city. In the spring and summer festivals abound but what about a frugal minded person who doesn’t want to have to shell out $40 or more to see a play or have dinner? Frugal people have fun, they just do it for less.
Check the community papers. There are coupons for restaurants and there are often days when there are specials. The “Early Bird” special is not the only restaurant offer available. Many trendy restaurants try to lure in customers during the week. For $25 you may be able to get a three course meal that would normally cost $50 or more. The after work crowd may see that there are food specials to accompany the drink specials.
Being frugal does not mean that you have to completely deny yourself any pleasures. Restaurant offers are only one way of finding better offers on things you want to do. There are often special prices and tickets for plays, concerts and more. Goldstar Events  scours metropolitan areas for plays, concerts, etc and the prices are often more reasonable then you would pay if you tried buying a ticket from the box office yourself.
If you are a wine lover, there are often wine, beer or spirit tastings at larger local wine stores. Try Local Wine Events  and find where there are events in your area. You can sign up for a mailing list that will send you information about local tasting events.
Another place to try would be your local park district. Friday, I went to a great jazz concert that was sponsored by the city’s park district. The concert was about 2 hours long and absolutely free. There are other concerts that may be sponsored by the city, or community cultural center that request a nominal donation of $5 or so.
Of course there is the regular standby: museums. Find out when the museums have free days. Sometimes you can see if there is a free tour on one of those days as well.
Being frugal and living in a city does not mean that you have to go without everything. If you can save money on some things why not do it, because there will come the time that you will want to splurge on season tickets for the theatre, opera or sports team.
Email lists are your friends there are sometimes subscriber offers only for those who are members of certain email lists. Set up an email account just for these things and you won’t bve deluged with too many offers but you won’t be left out of the loop.
Life in the city can be lived well, for less.
Topics: October 2007 |