And the secret is…… well, you must read on…
Most people buy pay for some sort of entertainment throughout the year. In 2012 the average American family of four spent $2,605 on entertainment. Surely that number includes video games, tv, technologies etc. However, that number includes ticket sales. 14 billion dollars were spent in 2009 on performing arts tickets sales. Wow, right!? And that doesn’t include sporting event tickets.
Since entertainment is a large portion of our yearly budgets, it’s important to find the best deals as possible.
This week in my town is the county fair. What I love about our fair (besides the people watching- apparently I am not the only one who thinks so) is the fact that our fair is free to get in and there’s free parking. The only things we have to pay for besides all of the delicious healthy food that is served at the fair (sarcasm) is the rides.
Every year the fair falls on my daughter’s birthday. It has become a tradition that we go to the fair for her birthday. That’s it, just the fair, no birthday party. But she loves it. However, rider braclet tickets are outrageously priced!!! $30 dollars per bracelet, for one day, times that by 3 kids and viola $90 just for rides.
Heck NO! I am not paying that! How could I find a better deal?
The answer: PLAN AHEAD
We knew the fair was on my daughter’s birthday. We knew we were probably going, but really, $90 for some junky rides that a junky runs? It hardly seemed worth it.
But I “googled” the fair online and found the brochure.
And guess what I found?
“Buy ride tickets in advance and only pay $22, limited time offer!”
Sweet! That means that I could buy 3 tickets for $66 dollars! That would have just about been the price of two bracelet bands had I bought them on the spot.
So the secret is, plan in advance. If you know that you want to do something, see something or go somewhere… buy ahead of time rather than at the door. More than likely you can find better deals when you buy ahead. Think about it, an entertainment group would rather guarantee a certain number of people to buy tickets and attend (or buy and not show) an event at a lower price. It makes sense. They still make their money but then they ensure a certain amount of money was paid to them… plus there is the highly likeliness of those people buying food and souvenirs also.
Just plan ahead, I bet you can save!
This is the first year I bought fair tickets in advance, and I am definitely going to continue to do it.
Cent-Sical Journey 