I think all of us (practically) broke collegiettes can agree: doing something fun on the weekend sometimes has its challenges. We have to monitor what to buy, how much or how little we want to spend and what is really necessary to have for our well being.
And as we all know, having a night at the movie theater has become increasingly more expensive each year. I personally have been sneaking in CVS brand candy that costs $4 less than what the theater charges and then doing the walk of shame to the water fountain to fill up water in a free plastic cup (shameful but practical).
Anyway, here are a few tips and tricks to have the most successful, but extremely cheap movie night at home!
1. Cheap but good popcorn and candy
CVS and Walgreens are great places to buy snacks and cheap things you need right away. You can find candy and popcorn for under $10 in a snap, and get lots of it, too! No more buying one box of candy at the theater concession stand! Wouldn’t you rather buy 5 things for $10 instead of a sad box of M&M’s with 50% air? Yeah, us too.
2. Coupons and deals
Some people can be embarassed to use coupons. Don’t be! Our moms and grandparents aren’t the only ones that deserve deals. Get membership cards at all of your favorite stores and save tons of precious cash. CVS is one of my favorites because sometimes you can get free cash to spend on anything you want in the store! Amazing, right?
3. Free movie sites/free trials
I know it can be scary trying to find a movie on Google and seeing tons of scary websites that definitely have pop up ads and viruses. But don’t fret, ladies. Netflix, Hulu and HBO all give free trials for up to a month and you can watch whatever you want! And if you aren’t about spending money every month to watch reruns of Family Guy, it can be canceled right away. Also, Amazon Prime Video has free (yes, free) movies and videos to watch. Sure, some of the shows are outdated but hey, you might find something you like!
4. Splitting costs with friends
It’s Saturday night, and you and your friends each have about $5 and are thinking about what to do. What I would suggest is, go to the store and get a big bag of popcorn and rent a movie for $4 on Amazon. Super easy, but also really fun if you rent Wolf of Wall Street and count the seemingly endless curse words.
5. Or, try TV program marathons
Absolutely no cash at all? Go to your common room and watch some TV! In my opinion, flipping channels until you find some weird show to make fun of is my idea of a great time. That is, if you are really bored and running on 2 hours of sleep. But I digress.
Okay so maybe this can be a backup plan on a weekend when there is literally nothing else better to do. But try it out! Invite the whole floor over to the common room, grab a bowl of popcorn and make fun of the Debate or something. It’s a great way to make friends and also save money for when you want to buy tickets for the show next week. Happy movie watching!