Right before Mr. LH and I started working with our bare bones budget, we started using Redbox (love it!). However, our new ultra-scrawny-no-room-for-anything budget left...well...no room for anything. Not even a $1 a night movie rental (which, I noticed, has gone up a smidgen). So, we started using our free movie resources exclusively. FREE always fits into the budget!
I don't know WHAT kept us from doing this more often before.
The Library:
We have re-discovered the movie section at the library. There seems to be a much better selection during the week than on weekends. I kept thinking the library had some pretty slim pickings in their DVD collection until I learned we could go online to the library website, log in using our library cards and place a hold on certain titles to pick up once they were available. It gave us a much larger selection to choose from (I also took full advantage of this when it came to reserving certain book titles).
Sometimes there is a waiting list for new releases and popular movies and we have to wait longer for them. The library would send us an email when our movie was ready for pick-up and we had 5 days in which to get it before it was offered to the next person on the waiting list. I am impatiently awaiting our turn for a library copy of Saving Mr. Banks. There are 33 people in front of me.
Since movies can be checked out for 7 days, we try to go to the library about once a week. If I know something is especially popular, I try to be courteous and get it back to the library earlier so the next person in line can watch it sooner.
School:
Mr. LH also started borrowing movies from his school's library and since he was gifted a blu-ray player for his birthday a couple years ago, he could select newer titles as well since the film school started acquiring only Blu-ray versions.
Home:
We have quite an extensive movie library at home - two-thirds being G or PG - as well as a surprisingly large collection of a few older television show seasons: MASH, Little House on the Prairie, Hogan's Heroes, Columbo, Macgyver and even Ultraman. These always come in handy when we can't seem to find anything else to watch.
Public Television:
And never underestimate the entertainment value in public television. I'm talking about PBS...and Create TV. Countless shows about cooking, home improvement, crafts and sewing. The "Pickles" developed a liking for the Antiques Roadshow and several cooking shows.
Friends & Neighbors:
Trade movies with friends and neighbors (and remember to return them, too!).
Throughout the summer, we have at least 5 new library movies a week to watch which really helps keep the early morning and late night "boredom" away for the "Pickles".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of course, if you've budgeted for it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using Redbox. I was very tempted a time or two to get Saving Mr. Banks from Redbox instead of waiting for the library copy. We tend to use Redbox now only as a trade or an incentive for the "Pickles". "Trade in 100 pieces of Halloween candy for one Redbox movie rental"...that sort of thing. Although I haven't tried it, I found a place that offers codes for free overnight Redbox rentals.
The same goes for movie theaters. We go to them, but only on birthdays when it was requested as a gift
 |
| Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Because we are still paying off debt, we chose to not set up an "entertainment fund" as part of our budget. We have set up a "gift fund" that we contribute to monthly to cover birthdays and Christmas. If someone wants dinner out or a trip to the movie theater for their birthday, it comes out of the "gift fund" but we still make it a matinee show and limit purchases from the concession stand to popcorn and water (take a drink mix or flavor drops with you in your purse if you have to have something other than water).
No comments:
Post a Comment