COMMENT
Five Ways To Save Money On Entertainment

By Alison Hunt (TMFAlly)
May 18, 2005

We spend a fortune on entertainment. According to National Statistics, in 2002-2003 the average family spent £418 each week. Out of that, £57.90 went on recreation and culture, and £34.90 went on restaurants and hotels!

Well, going out for dinner or seeing a film or a play with friends can help us relax and unwind after a busy week, so it can often be money well spent.

But did you realise that thanks to the Internet, there is now a potential fortune to be saved? In fact, there are hundreds of people out there who never pay the stated price for theatre tickets, meals out or even to hire a DVD? Want to find out more? Read these top tips:

1. Restaurants

Depending on where you go, dining out can be an expensive business. Of course it's usually the wine that's the culprit for bumping up the cost, but even so, most of us couldn't afford to dine out too often.

If you have theatre or cinema tickets, you'll find most restaurants have some form of pre/post dinner set menu – usually for less than £20, but you'll need to dine early (before 8pm) or late (after 10pm) for these deals.

For those wishing to dine at peak times, websites such as Lastminute.com and Toptable could prove very useful. These sites allow you to book online, and feature restaurant reviews, example menus and special offers for hundreds of restaurants in cities all over the country (with Toptable even covering Paris) – often with savings of up to 50%.

London-Eating provides reviews and offers for all the London restaurants and all of the sites allow you to make advanced bookings. In addition to this, most of the sites (including 5pm.co.uk) allow you to book tables for that very evening if they are available, useful if you've left it a bit late.

2. Theatre or Concert Tickets

If you think the only way to buy theatre tickets is directly from the theatre itself (or that dodgy man outside) think again. There is a wealth of sites selling tickets for practically every play or show you can think of, often with substantial discounts too.

Companies such as London Theatre Direct and Whatsonstage offer discounted tickets, with the added bonus of reviews and other useful bits of information about the theatres, too. Ticketmaster and Seetickets often offer special deals for theatre and other entertainment tickets at venues all over the UK, and Lastminute.com has waived all booking fees on its theatre tickets during May.

And should you be looking for cheap theatre tickets in London for that day's performance, the Half Price Ticket Booth in Leicester Square is worth checking out – and by looking at the website first you can see if they have the tickets for the show you're interested in first – which can save you any unnecessary queuing in the rain!

In addition to simply selling tickets, you can often purchase a 'dinner and show' deal – for example Lastminute.com are currently offering a ticket to see 'The Producers' and a two course meal at Maxwells in Covent Garden for £19.95 – excellent value if you're on a budget! And these deals can even include hotel accommodation, which can be a fantastic way to save money to enjoy a weekend away.

And don't forget to check out the brilliant Theatremonkey site if you're planning a trip to a London theatre, as it provides tips on how to save money on tickets, full seating plans for all of the London theatres (with information on where the best and worst seats in each price range are) and even tells you the best places to park on your night out!

3. Hotels

Paying the 'rack rate' at a hotel (the full price stated per room) can be totally avoided with a little forward planning. Using sites such as Lastminute.com, Expedia and ebookers can save you up to 70% on the price of a hotel room, depending on where and when you wish to go – you just need to book before you go.

4. Cinema

Every Wednesday, you can purchase two tickets to see the film of your choice at a participating cinema, as long as you have an Orange phone. All you have to do is text the word 'FILM' to 241 and your free ticket will be texted to you.

And don't worry if you're not eligible for this deal – if you've collected any Nectar vouchers from shopping at Sainsbury's, Debenhams or any of the other participating companies you can use them for a free trip to an Odeon cinema – it costs 1000 points (two vouchers) per ticket.

And you can boost your points by signing up for a Sainsbury's credit card, which is currently offering 0% for 12 months on purchases, giving you the choice between cashback and nectar points.

5. DVD Hire

If you fancy a quiet night in with a DVD, those nectar vouchers could come in handy again, as it only costs 500 points (one voucher) to rent a film from Blockbuster.

And any film buffs out there could do worse than to check out the cheap dvd rental companies out there – not only can you receive your DVDs through the post (no traipsing back to the store in the rain to return them) but you can also get a free trial for up to three weeks.

Why not follow these tips – you could save a fortune, which will make your evening out even better!

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