10 ways to save money on entertainment

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You don't have to give half of your salary to spend your free time in a fun and varied way. Lifehacker and MTS tell you how to relax and unwind without emptying your wallet.

Go to a movie night

It is a film screening that starts around midnight and includes three films, usually with a common theme. At such events, you will be fully immersed in the theme of the show, the opportunity to watch your favorite films on the big screen and very favorable conditions: three films for the price of one.

Cinema nights are held on an ongoing basis in the creative space Lumiere Hall, the Khoroshaya Respublika coworking space, various anti-cafes and small cinemas.

Get a free movie ticket

Recently, MTS launched a cool campaign: all new users of the MTS Money application receive certificates for the cinema for 500 rubles.

To obtain a certificate, you need to download the MTS Money application and spend at least 500 rubles through it. Moreover, it is not necessary to start an MTS card, you can link your mobile phone account or a card of any other bank to the application.

And do not delay going to the cinema: the promotion will last until the end of January 2018.

Look for ready-made menus and special promotions in restaurants

Scrolling through the menu, pay attention to whether the institution offers a set of several dishes that are combined with each other. Sushi sets, grill sets and other sets always come out cheaper than individual dishes.

And do not forget to check with the waiter if there are special promotions in the restaurant, for example, when ordering a dish, a dessert or wine is served as a gift. You can find out about such promotions in advance on the websites of Restoclub, Tomesto, Menu.ru and others.

Visit museums on free days

When visiting museums, the main thing is to choose the right day. Moscow museums, subordinate to the city's department of culture, work free of charge every third Sunday of the month. A list of museums can be found here.

In St. Petersburg, on the first Thursday of the month until 17:00, you can go to the Hermitage for free, on the last Thursday of the month - to the Zoological Museum, on the first Monday of the month from 10:00 to 18:00 - to the State Museum of the History of Religion.

Become a volunteer

Volunteers are recruited for many large-scale events: concerts, festivals, sports competitions. These people help to meet guests and participants for free, prepare venues, distribute flyers and much more.

By signing up for volunteers, you can get to the event for free and, if you're lucky, go backstage, chat with artists or athletes.

For major events, volunteers are recruited several months in advance, so it is important to find out the requirements in time and send your questionnaire. If you love theater, you can join the modern theater volunteer community, help them as much as you can and watch performances for free.

Don't miss the cultural nights

"Night of Museums" and "Night of Arts" are annual all-Russian actions that are held in autumn and spring.

The Museum Night takes place at the end of May and includes free admission to museums and exhibition centers late in the evening and at night. Many institutions hold concerts, performances, master classes and lectures, organize contests on social networks.

The Arts Night is held in early November and encompasses an even wider range of cultural entertainment. As part of the action, special events are held in museums and theaters, libraries, exhibition halls, as well as in open areas.

Use bonus programs to buy tickets

When paying for entertainment, do not forget about bonus programs from banks and online cash desks. For example, with “Thank you” bonuses from Sberbank, you can often pay up to 99% of the ticket price.

Also check out bonus programs on ticket distributors. For example, on Ticketland, for visiting some performances, they give bonuses, which you can use to pay for a part of the next order.

Take advantage of student discounts

A student can get a discount almost everywhere, especially in cultural and art institutions.

At the Bolshoi Theater, students can buy tickets for 100 rubles for performances taking place on the historical and new stages. On weekdays, except Friday, a 50% discount awaits students at the Moscow Et Cetera theater, and in the Praktika and Pyotr Fomenko Workshop theaters, if you have a student, you can get in for free.

Benefits for students are offered by the Mariinsky Theater and the Gorky Theater, the cinema chain Formula Kino, Kinomax, Luxor, and World of Kino.

Also, discounts can be found in exhibition centers and museums, bowling centers, nightclubs and cafes. Therefore, always carry your student ID with you.

Look for free activities

Free events are constantly held in large cities. Look for them through Yandex Afisha: go to the Free section and specify the date and format.

You can also find free exhibitions, concerts and festivals at KudaGo. To do this, just put a tick in the "Free" box.

Buy tickets hand-held

Before buying tickets at the online ticket office, look for them on sites for buying and selling from hand: there you can find better deals from people who, for some reason, changed their minds about going to the event.

There is a website Eticket4 with a secure transaction system: when you buy a ticket, you transfer money to the service account, and they are transferred to the seller only after you go to the event.

Also take a look at "There is a ticket", but be careful: the service does not provide security for transactions, so you risk getting caught by a fraudster. Some sellers offer to buy a ticket through a secure deal on the Yula service. You can use this option or just pay attention to the purchase of tickets and, if you suspect, refuse the deal.