What once used to be an inexpensive date has almost become a luxury.  Assuming two drinks and a shared popcorn your looking at atleast $30 plus dinner.

My husband and I really like to watch movies, either by going to the theater or staying at home, or buying dvds.  We're lucky enough to have moved into a neighborhood that has a dollar theater.  For $3.50 each we can go to the movies instead of $18 at regular movie theaters.  One drawback is that we have to wait for new releases to make it to the dollar theater. 

On nights we'd rather stay in, which happens more often than not, we turn to Netflix and Redbox.  Movie rental places, like Blockbuster, charge up to $4 per rental.  And you'd better hope you remember to return it on time.  Since I am lazy/forgetful Netflix is a much cheaper option for us.  We get one movie of our choice at a time for around $9 a month.  Another aspect of Netflix that is great is the ability to watch select movies direct from your computer.  Not all of the movie's are available to be watched over the computer which means the inability to decide what to watch on friday night if you hadn't planned ahead days in advance.  In the past we subscribed to the more expensive package, 3 movies at a time for $17 a month.  After a few months we realized that we were mostly just watching movies on the weekend and three movies at a time was too much for us.

To trade off the downgrade in Netflix we began using Redbox more.  This allowed us to chose movies more on the spot than Netflix.  Redbox stations are popping up everywhere, Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and grocery stores.  The great thing about Redbox is that it's only $1 per rental.  The movie does have to be returned the next day but if you forget its another $1.  Even the extra $1 is cheaper than your typical Blockbuster.  As an added bonus they send you codes for free rentals!  If getting a good deal everytime is really important to you check out www.retailmenot.com.  This site lists coupons and coupon codes for many companies.  Some families prefer to use Redbox only, rather than Netflix.  These two options also save us because we rarely buy dvd's any more.  We can watch a new release today for $1 or wait a few days as part of our Neftlix plan.  For us the selection at Neflix is great and we enjoy having two sources of inexpensive entertainment.  Plus homemade popcorn is delicious and much better for you than movie theater popcorn!!  See which plan is best for you and household.  A penny saved is a penny earned!

See below for cost breakdowns of several movie options:

Family One    $38/mo.
    Rents 2 movies-$8
    Go to the movie theater-$30

Family Two    $20/mo.
    Buys one dvd on sale-$12
    Rents 2 movies-$8

Family Four    $16
    Unlimited Netflix-$9
    One visit to the dollar theater-$7

Family Three    $11
    Unlimited Netflix-$9
    2 Redbox rentals-$2