Our Fun and Frugal Weekend

I know I have mentioned before that you can really save  money by signing up for rewards cards.  I have also frequently talked about how much money you can save by using coupons.  Coupons are not just for groceries, but for many types of services, retail stores  and restaurants. This weekend I got to spend special time with Kara, and save a lot of money at the same time.

Our first stop during the weekend was the Outback.  I had a coupon for $5 off two entrees, or $2.50 off one.   Kara was asked if she wanted the children's menu, and she said yes.  When we go  to Outback, I like to order the $9.99 steak special with a  Blue Cheese Chopped Salad that only costs $1 more.  (if you order it as a side dish is closer to $3)   I was able use the $2.50 off one entree coupon, so our entire meal was only $16.72 before tip.  After tip, I had spent $20.72, not too bad for dinner at Outback.   This was my biggest expense of the weekend, and Kara really loved have a special dinner with mom.

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We then went to our local theater to watch Hotel Transylvania.  This was when it really came in handy to be part of our theater  rewards program.  A few months ago I had earned two free movie tickets just by going to a few matinees this past summer.  Since this movie has been out for a few weeks, I was able to use one of the tickets.   They used the ticket for my adult ticket price which was $9.50.  I got in totally free!  Since the other free ticket has a really long expiration date, I decided to hold on to it for a while more.   Kara got in for the $6.50 child's price.   $6.50 for two of us to get into a new movie?!  Awesome! Since we had just eaten dinner, we didn't feel like we needed any snacks so we saved a lot of money there too.  

On Saturday I had to run errands, and go grocery shopping.  Kara wanted to come along.  We stopped for a late lunch at McDonalds and used our winning Monopoly pieces for  2 free medium fries.  I dont know the exact cost but I know we saved around $3.  The rest of lunch only cost $4.24  for two McDoubles and 2 cokes, or $2.12 each for lunch. In the long run it saved us more, because I tend to buy less when I do not go to the store hungry. 

Today was the best deal of all.  Our local theater is taking part in a Free Children's Movie festival each weekend this month.  This weekend's movie was The Lorax.  Kids under 12 got in free,  and 13 and older cost only $1.   I also used a free medium popcorn,  and a free medium pop reward coupon.  What would have cost us $19 (2 matinee tickets $5, medium popcorn $5 and medium pop $4) only cost a total of $1. 

Kara had the opportunity to go out to eat two times and got to see two movies.  I spent a grand total of $32.46 on all 4 things combined,  and saved $33 ($24 in coupons and $9 by going to the free festival) What really made it worth while was when Kara told me after today's movie that she had a wonderful weekend.

It really does pay to use your rewards and coupons!