With movies running $11 each (or more in some areas), it’s hard to afford a night out that includes even popcorn and a movie.

Photo by latinofashionwk on Flickr

But there are ways you can see movies for less. Here are five suggestions for doing that from our money-saving experts at Living on the Cheap:

1. Go to movies at less popular times, such as matinees. Nearly all movie theaters have times or days when you can see new movies for less. Some cities also have theaters that run slightly older movies and charge less all the time. Prices and dates vary by theater, even within the same chain. Find Cinemark discounts here. Find Regal discounts here. Find AMC deals here.
2. Find free movie previews. Movie promoters put on free screenings all over the United States a day or two before major films open. Many of the sneak previews are listed at GoFobo, but you sometimes need a promo code. You can get those from local newspapers, radio stations or websites, such as the On the Cheap sites in many cities.
3. Try an all-you-can-watch movie pass. For $25 to $50 a month, MoviePass offers one movie a day through its subscription service. The price depends on where you live. The service operates with smartphone check-ins and a special debit card.
4. Look for discount tickets or ticket packages. Some employers offer discounted tickets to their employees, and some unions (like the United Federation of Teachers), college and alumni organizations offer discounted tickets to members. AAA sells movie tickets at a discount, and Costco sells discount movie ticket packages.
5. Look for free and cheap movie showings in your city. City parks and recreation departments in many cities show free outdoor summer movies (if you’re in Florida, you’ll find these in winter). Libraries often put on free screenings of older movies, some for children and some for adults. During the summer, the major movie chains show family-friendly films for free or about $1 per person once a week. Harkins Theatres has already announced its 2013 film lineup, and ticket sales begin April 12.

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I don’t know about you guys, but once the weather here in Chicago gets above 50 degrees, I’m instantly craving a cold, refreshing beverage. That’s why I am so happy 7-Eleven read my mind and is offering free Slurpees through 4/30!       

Text Slurp7 to number 711711 on your cell phone to receive an offer for a FREE medium Slurpee. Once you redeem your offer, find your nearest 7-Eleven locations. And if you’re a super Slurpee fan and want more, check out the official Slurpee website.

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Today’s guest post comes from Melanie Higgins of Melly’s Musings and Hysterical Heuristics. The opinions contained in this post are the author’s own and are not necessarily those of BradsDeals. 

You know what sucks? When you see an interesting headline someone has posted somewhere and you click on it and you’re all ready to procrastinate for 5-10 minutes and you get a box saying the content is behind a paywall.

But unless it’s a piece of news that you’re just not going to get anywhere else, you pretty much never have to pay for it. Here are three ways you can get around those pesky paywalls.

Google the Article’s Title

This works for a lot of sites like the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal and even the New York Times. After seeing a post on Facebook that leads me to a paywall or even just some app that FB wants me to download, I just head to Google and will get the full content either from an aggregator site or right there on the Google page.

If you’ve used up your 10 free New York Times articles for the month, you can follow the different Twitter feeds they have and be able to read a plethora of articles beyond their limit. You also get an additional five articles per day by using the Google trick.

By Googling the title of the New York Times article “Living with Less, A Lot Less” this article on Tree Hugger comes up that has the full article and illustrations.

Use a News Aggregator

Speaking of aggregators, these are sites that pull top headlines from across different news sources. Google News and Wopular among others have all the news that fits from lots of different places. No need to rely on just one measly newspaper when you can have them all.

Hang out at Starbucks

If you regularly visit a Starbucks, you can also read the WSJ, The Economist or ESPN as Starbucks offers free versions of these and other media through their free Wi-Fi network. And of course, while you’re there, you can use the Starbucks store coupon for a free tall hazelnut or caramel macchiato to go along with your free news through March 31st.

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Guest post alert! We’re excited to have Roland Karim of Coupon Pro sharing his tips for scoring discounts and freebies at the grocery store. The opinions contained in this post are the author’s own and are not necessarily those of BradsDeals. 

If you love saving money, you probably use coupons or stick to buying items when they’re on sale but did you know you can save a TON of money by scoring freebies at your local grocery store. It’s simple, fun and rewarding!

How to find and use freebies to reduce your grocery bill:

Take Advantage of Your Grocery Store Club Card

Sign up for a club card at favorite grocery store. Many grocery store chains like Kroger (& affiliates), Safeway (& affiliates) and ShopRite often send their members free offers that can be digitally downloaded on to your card to be redeemed for free stuff. Just last month, Vons (a Safeway affiliate store) sent me two free offers: FREE Knorr Roasters and a FREE Bag of Mann’s Veggie Mac-n-Cheese.

Use Coupons

Print coupons at Coupons.com and CouponNetwork.

Popular grocery chains like Publix allow you to use a Manufacturer Coupon AND a Store Coupon towards one item. Reference your stores coupon policy to find out if they allow it. Using two coupons is better than using one and often leads to a freebie!

“Like” Your Favorite Brands

Follow your favorite brands on Facebook and Twitter. Companies often send out free samples and exclusive offers for their fans and followers. One of my favorites is free coffee samples!

Photo by Walmart Corporate via Flickr. Some rights reserved.

TIP: I suggest creating a secondary no-cost email account for freebies, so your primary email doesn’t fill up with newsletters. Plus, avoid any freebies that require your credit card or Social Security number.

Follow Coupon Blogs and Websites

Bookmark two or three blogs like Coupon Pro to stay updated on all the ways you can score free groceries and to share your freebie finds with a large community!

Here are a few freebies you can grab right now:

• FREE Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks through 3/31.
• FREE Coke at ShopRite through 4/3.

Happy Shopping!

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It is that time again! Time to give one of our lucky readers a prize. Just because we feel like it! This week, we are giving away a 7″ Kindle Fire HD!

The Details:

1. To enter you must register at our contest page
2. You can register once per day throughout the duration of the contest
3. Contest ends on 3/24/2013 at 11:59PM CST
4. The winner will be notified via email once the giveaway has ended

When you register, you will also be signed up for the Brad’s Deals Newsletter, which gives you the latest handpicked deals everyday.

Kindle Fire Features:

• Full Color 7″ 1280×800 HD Display
• Exclusive Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers
• Front-facing HD camera
• Over 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and popular apps and games

Contest ends March 24 at 11:59 CST.

For official contest rules please click here.

Set your alarm this Sunday, not only for Daylight Savings, but more importantly for a delicious FREE glazed doughnut! To celebrate springing forward, Krispy Kreme is offering free original glazed doughnuts to customers on 3/10. Be sure to check the site for participating locations. No purchase is necessary, but gluttons beware, only one free doughnut per person. We’re guessing you’ll probably need something to wash down your doughnut so we have a double freebie alert! Read the rest of this entry »

Ever apply for a credit card to score a great cash bonus or mileage offer, only to have your application denied? For some people, this may be the end of the road in getting their rewards, but for others, you can still take some quick and easy steps to nab that credit card.

Getting your credit card application reconsidered can be as easy as a phone call.

Know The Reason For Your Denial

If you are denied a credit card because you’ve made late payments on an existing card, or it looks like you’ve mismanaged your credit, then you’re probably out of luck. However, two common reasons for a denial are 1) you’ve reached your maximum credit limit or 2) you’ve applied for too many cards over a short period of time. If your denial falls into either of these categories, you still have a shot at scoring that credit card.

Divide Your Credit Limit

Let’s say you already have a credit card with a maximum credit limit of $10,000. Now that you’re applying for a new card, the bank might not be comfortable extending more credit, based on your credit history, income, etc. An easy way to solve this problem is to call the bank’s “reconsideration” number and ask for your credit limit to be divided, or shifted. You can request that your old card be lowered to a $7,000 limit (or whichever amount suits you), which gives you $3,000 in available credit for the new credit card you’re applying for. It depends on the bank you’re dealing with, but most banks (especially Chase) are willing to give you the new credit card once you have some available credit to put towards it.

Be Persistent

If the problem is that you’ve applied for too many credit cards in the past, you can still call the bank’s reconsideration number, and present your case for the new card. Be sure that you know your credit score and the details of your credit accounts (request your free yearly credit report), so that you can answer any questions from the bank rep during the phone call.

More importantly, emphasize that you want the card for its general benefits, not just for its cash bonus or mileage promotion. The bank is more likely to issue you the card if it thinks you’re going to be a long-term customer, rather than just cashing in on the short-term bonus.

If you use the bank for something other than credit cards, bring that up politely during the phone call. A bank is more likely to reconsider for its profitable customers. Let them know that you’ve maintained a checking account or have a mortgage through that bank.

Although it doesn’t work for everyone, many people are successful with the reconsideration process. Follow these steps, and you’ll be much closer to reaping the rewards of that new credit card.

Want more money-saving tips like these? Sign up for Brad’s Daily Alerts for more helpful tips, along with the best daily online deals, contest alerts and more!

Who wants an iPad Mini? Through February 22, our readers can enter to win an Apple 16GB iPad Mini!

The Details:

1. To enter you must register at our contest page
2. You can register once per day for any and all of our contests
3. Contest ends on 2/22/2013 at 11:59PM CST
4. The winners will be notified via email once the giveaway has ended

When you register, you will also be signed up for the Brad’s Deals Newsletter, which gives you the latest handpicked deals everyday.

Apple iPad Mini Specs:

• 7.9-inch LED-backlit Display with 1024-by-768 Resolution
• Apple iOS 6 with Dual-Core A5 Chip
• Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life

Contest ends February 22, 2013 at 11:59 CST.

For official contest rules please click here.

I was on Fox & Friends this morning discussing how to buy a car for less than what you could sell it for in a year, how to earn miles on the ground to travel for free, and how to use shopping to pay for shopping, all lessons from Do More, Spend Less - The New Secrets to Living the Good Life for Less.

Check out today’s clip below but also tune in tomorrow at 6:50am EST to Fox News.

Haven’t ordered your copy? Get one now for about $10 at Amazon or BN.com or for Nook or Kindle. I’m certain there will be at least one tip, idea or inspiration in DMSL that will more than repay your investment in it.

Also, check out this great clip with America’s newest basketball star:

I got a great picture with my new friend Titus Ashby after the show:

Of note: these are the top 5 credit card signup bonus offers that I cited in the segment.

In case you forgot, Valentine’s Day is less than a week away. But good news, procrastinators! We’re making your Valentine’s Day shopping super easy and affordable this year with this list of online stores for finding great last minute gifts + there’s coupon codes to make the deals extra sweet. Do you feel the love?

Kay Jewelers

For a limited time, Kay Jewelers is offering free overnight shipping on any size order with coupon code NDAK0000001018. You can rest assured knowing your gifts will arrive in time for Valentine’s Day, just select the Next Day Air shipping option at checkout page, and enter the code to receive your discount.

1-800-Flowers

Flowers are a tried-and-true gift that’s sure to impress anyone. Get 15% off Valentine’s flowers and gifts when you shop with 1-800-Flowers coupon code 15VDAY13.

Shari’s Berries

The way to anybody’s heart is through their stomach, and gourmet treats from Shari’s Berries are sure to do the trick. Click here to activate a $10 discount on orders of $39 or more.

Red Envelope

This is the perfect one-stop-shop for everyone on your Valentine’s Day list with tons of unique gifts for all of your loved ones. Enjoy 20% off your order with Red Envelope promo code REDSHOP20.

My Jewelry Box

The My Jewelry Box gift guide makes finding the perfect gift quick and easy. My Jewelry Box promo code VDAY2013 will be automatically activated for a 20% discount when you click the link.

Godiva

This renowned chocolate company is offering great deals for Valentine’s Day, like 15% off + free shipping when you combine Godiva promo codes HUG and HEART. FYI: last day for standard shipping is 2/11.

Want even more V-day gift deals and steals? Check out other BradsDeals Valentine’s Day gift ideas and Valentine’s Day sales.

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