Tips to Enjoy a Night With the Family Without Killing the Budget - East Idaho News
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Tips to Enjoy a Night With the Family Without Killing the Budget

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money?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1376758511675MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images(BOSTON) — When the Rodrigues family wanted to see their favorite team, the Boston Red Sox, play at Fenway Park – on a budget, of course – the “Real Money” crew stepped in and helped them find $360 in savings.

Itching to catch an MLB game but not at Major League prices? It’s possible.

This time, the Amesbury, Mass., family joined forces with the ABC News team to find deals on a family night out.

“I think the cost of dinner and a movie keeps us from going often,” Danielle Rodrigues said.

Genevieve Shaw Brown, an ABC News travel and lifestyle editor, said family nights out have gotten not only more fun but more affordable.

She shared these three tips with the family:

1. Dig in at area restaurants – without digging into your wallet – with a Groupon Reserve. It’s free and no coupon is needed. The Groupon Reserve site offers discounts of as much as 40 percent. The “Real Money” crew found 11 restaurants in the Rodrigueses’ area with discounts as high as 40 percent. They picked Da Vinci Ristorante in Boston. “You simply make your reservation through Groupon Reserve, you show up at the restaurant and the 30 percent is automatically deducted from your bill,” Shaw Brown said.

2. If you want to take the family to a movie, use discount websites like MovieTicketSavings and DiscountMoviePasses. At AMC theaters, you can sign up to be a Stubs member – it costs $12 a year – and get $10 off every $100 spent. Members also enjoy free upgrades on concessions.
The best deal might be at Costco, though, where two movie tickets were being sold for $15.99.

3. If you’re looking for amusement at a theme park, the best deals might be on the park’s Facebook page, not the website. Shaw Brown found a bargain for the Rodrigueses at CoCo Key Boston North Shore. “It gets you one ticket free,” she said. “So you buy one, get one free.”

During the course of a year, these tips could save the average U.S. family nearly $1,300.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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