I remember the days when my brother, cousins and I would go see a movie in the theater for $3 or less. We wouldn’t just go see one movie either. Oh no. We’d sneak in to see another movie after watching the first one. Or if we really liked the one we just saw, we’d wait outside while they cleaned the theater and then go see it again.

Back in those days the theater staff didn’t care if kids (or adults) snuck into more than one movie. But even if we hadn’t been sneaky and just saw one movie, $2-3 seemed a reasonable amount to pay.

Nowadays, it’s a whole ‘nother story. Gone are the days of sneaking into more than one movie–they check tickets now. Gone are the days of $3 tickets.

Or are they?

When Marcus and I became Super Frug, we agreed that we would try to never pay full-price for a movie. Whenever we want to go see a movie, we ask ourselves whether we think the movie will come to The Crest. The Crest is a second-run movie theater in Shoreline, just north of Seattle, that only charges $3 per ticket. Many of the movies we want to see show up at the Crest within 1-2 months of being released.

If we don’t think the movie will show at The Crest, and we absolutely have to see it in the theater, then we’ll use discount movie tickets from Costco. At Costco, you can buy discount tickets for Regal theaters for $7.50 each or $8 each for AMC theaters. That’s a savings of $2.00-2.50 per ticket!

Our Super Frug goal was to redeem only one pair of Costco tickets per month. Because $15/night at the movies is still spendy, especially if you’re movie buffs like us and like to go a few times each month.

Remember, being Super Frug doesn’t mean denying yourself the things that you love. It means finding ways to spend money on what you care about, and less on things you don’t care so much about.

Before you go to the movies again, do some research.

1) See if there’s a second-run movie theater in your area.

2) If there isn’t one, see if your local theater offers a discount card. Landmark Theatres in Seattle sells a movie pass for 5 Sun-Thur evening shows for the price of 5 matinees.

3) If you’re a member of Costco, buy some discount tickets. If you’re not a member, see if one of your friends can buy the tickets for you and you’ll reimburse them.

You can be Super Frug and still have fun.

In the spirit of Siskel & Ebert, “We’ll see you…at the movies!”

Popcorn photo by Petr Kratochvil.

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