Frugal Friday 6 - Let's go to the movies!

Justin and I sneak our candy into the movies.  Some people may be ashamed to admit they do this.  I even read an "etiquette" article once in Real Simple saying that it was wrong to do because it's how movie theaters make their money.  Talk about a mark-up!  They are making a 75% or more profit on their candy sales.

If we know that we are going to the movies ahead of time, I usually make a trip to Dollar Tree to get our candy.  Our favorites?

Most movie theaters charge at least $4.00 for a box of candy, often times it's $5.00.  These are a $1.00 at Dollar Tree!  A lot of times we'll get two boxes of candy so that we have more variety.  I just make sure I bring my "big purse" to the movies and keep it zipped up until we're in the theater.  I even have room for water bottles, haha!  And even if we stop at the grocery store instead, we're never paying more than $2.00 for our candy, so either way, we're going to save.

It's pretty much a no-brainer, right?  The little savings can add up!

Yesterday I found a $2.00 movie theater in Palm Bay.  We had been wanting to go the movies one last time before baby arrives, but there was nothing in the theater that was thrilling me enough to go and spend $20 on.  We usually go to the regular movies once a month - but it has to be for a movie that both of us are psyched to see on the big screen.  We have a really nice theater in Melbourne with the stadium seats and DLP screen so we usually go there.

The movie theater we found yesterday is a lot like University Mall in Fairfax - it plays "newer" movies after they've been through the regular theaters.  We decided to give it a try - plus there was a Dollar Tree in the same shopping center.  We went to see Men in Black III (LOVED the ending) and while yes, the screen and sound quality are not up to par with the normal theater, what do you expect for $2.00?  On Tuesdays, movies are 50 cents.  That's right, 50 cents.  Talk about the perfect place to take your kids!

In conclusion, date night for $6.00 ($2.00 movie candy) = the definition of frugality.