Fun Sunday- Struck by Lightning

Since this is Fun Sunday, I'm going to take this time to be a fangirl (and if you don't know what a fangirl is, run. Far away.).

Or don't.

I'm a big fan of Glee, otherwise known as a Gleek, and this summer one of my favorite stars of Glee (Chris Colfer) went on a book tour for his children's book The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. I got to go on a trip with one of my best friends to go meet him. It was really awesome :) I also really liked his book and my kids liked it when I read it to them.

He also has a movie out that he wrote and starred in, in his free time ;) It's received good reviews and you're able to rent on iTunes and Amazon. It's called Struck by Lightning and was one that made my husband and I crack up a lot while watching.

Carson Phillips is dead set on getting out of his city. His dedication to making something of himself makes him an outsider and he uses that rejection to feed his drive. Only, the saying "life's what happens when you're busy making plans" really comes to play in this movie.

I liked it and I never get to see movies so I was happy that this was available on Amazon and on iTunes to rent. It made having a movie night with the husband really easy (and it helps that he liked the movie too :) ). I'd follow the movie ratings on this, and save it for after the kids go to bed :)

Have you seen any great movies this week? I'd love to hear about them!


Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are my own because I am a fan. I wasn't compensated or asked to promote this. The links used are my referral links, you can read more about that at my disclosure policy.

Redbox

Though we used to spend $100+ a month just for entertainment (Cable and Internet), we decided to cancel cable when we moved and now only pay for internet. This has saved us over $80 a month, which really helped out since buying a house has unexpected expenses pop up all the time. We do get to watch TV through the internet (websites like Hulu and even the network websites often have the current season available the day after it airs). Aside from that we depend on Netflix for the bulk of our entertainment. If you sign up now, you can try it free for a month. If you decide you like it, they have plans that start at $7.99 for only instant viewing, we have the plan that sends 1 DVD in the mail and unlimited instant streaming through our Wii.

Even with these inexpensive options, there are times when we want to see movies that are more recent or are too impatient to wait for the mail to come. We use Redbox for times like that. We are able to pay only a dollar and rent a movie and have it instantly without having to pay higher rental prices.Redbox also texts a free rental code the first Tuesday of the month. That is a nice treat for us to just pick whatever sounds good at that moment and not have to pay for it. When the kids and I are home alone, I'll pick one for them and we have a "movie night" with popcorn. I get to feel like an awesome mom but I don't have to spend anything to do that. If you also watch Groupon, they have featured a "rent 3 for the price of 1" promotion for Redbox that makes this cheap service even less expensive! Also, if you sign up for Redbox now and reserve a movie online, you'll earn a free rental for your next visit.

How do you get entertainment for cheap? I feel like we were practically throwing $80 away each month, since we are just as happy now (on month 3) without cable service as we were then.

Frugal Summer Fun- Movies.

Though going to see a movie can be an expensive activity, during the summer there are usually many ways to have a movie theater experience for cheap or even free!

Regal Theaters has a Free Family Film Festival.

AMC isn't free but at select theaters you can see a movie for only $1 on Tuesdays at 10am.

If you just search your area plus "free family movies" you may find more local theaters that are participating in a similar program.

Some local ones to my are include:

Meadows Theater, Indiana Theater, and Walnut Theater.

Ways to keep this free or cheap would be to make sure to eat before you go so that you don't spend more money than you care to on snacks at the theater.

If you would rather avoid the crowds that can come out to free movies or want to see movies that are new, another way to see family films without breaking the bank would be to pay attention to the promotions that are happening in your area and combine discounts when possible.

We were able to see Toy Story 3 today (the day after it was released) for only $10 total for our family of four. My son recently had a birthday and we bought Toy Story 2 from Toys R Us as a present. It included a free ticket to see Toy Story 3 and TRU was running a promotion where spending $25 on Toy Story products got a free ticket as well. We chose AMC as the theater and they have all movies for $5 a ticket before noon on Friday-Sunday and all day Monday-Thursday. It wasn't free, but we were able to work the deal to our advantage and spend as little as possible.

Another way to see more current movies for less than a typical theater would be to find a Drive-In theater in your area. We went to Cinema 67 the weekend Shrek 4 was released and were able to both Shrek 4 and Iron Man 2 for one price. Since my son was under 5 he was free, my daughter was only $3 and my husband and I were $7 each. This allowed us to not only see a family movie together for $17 but had the bonus of a free movie that my husband and I enjoyed for free (and without having to have childcare since the kids were sleeping behind us). This also has the bonus of allowing you to bring in your own snacks and drinks so you can save even more that way.

Check your area to see what promotions theaters are running (both free and usual discounts), cash in when you earn free tickets from other promotions, and look for alternative places to watch movies (such as Drive-Ins) in your area. Going to the movies can be expensive, but when done right it can also be a cheap way to beat the heat this summer :)