Coupons Are Not Just for Groceries: A Day in NYC

Coupons are so worth it, and not just for groceries. Those precious slips of paper can equal lots of cash staying in your wallet, even in New York City. To celebrate my college freshman's 19th birthday and only her second trip home from school this year, we saw a show on Broadway for her present. Like everyone else in this recession, we are watching are pennies. But, an enticing coupon led to NYC coupon hunting that saved big bucks off our "Girls' Day Out in NYC." How does $80 per person sound for lunch, dinner, getting around Manhattan, an evening Broadway show, and parking? Pretty darn good, huh?

UNDER DA SEA COUPON

Being connected to web sites with last-minute offers pays off. Travelzoo (http://www.travelzoo.com/) offers heavily discounted vacations. To my surprise one morning the site offered a one-day special -- Disney's "The Little Mermaid" tickets for 45 percent off. My daughter, Rachel, grew up loving the main character, Ariel. I emailed her and she quickly responded,"Yessssss!" she wanted to see the show. I called and gave a special promotional code from Travelzoo to receive the whopping discount. The tickets came by mail safe and sound. With tickets in hand on show day, we skipped the half-price ticket line in Times Square that disappointed me twice before with sold-out shows when I reached the ticket window. Instead, Rachel, her sister and I spent precious time sightseeing and shopping. The best part: saving $150 on Broadway tickets.


GETTING THERE, GETTING AROUND

After checking my train options with AMTRAK and NJ Transit to get into New York, I decided I would brave the traffic. I was enticed by another NYC coupon. Ten dollars for ten hours of parking in the Theater District! I googled "NYC+discount parking" and got this deal through clicking on http://www.iconparking.com/. Then I used the web site's interactive Manhattan map to chose the district in which I wanted to park two blocks from our theater. Back at icon's homepage I selected and printed the $10 theater parking coupon. I saved $52.50 off the normal parking fee by handing over my show ticket stub and coupon when I paid the parking cashier at the end of the evening.

There was no way I was paying cab fares to get around Manhattan all day. So I googled "NYC+subway" and found www.mta.info/nyct/subway. Although MTA does not offer coupons, the money-saving way to go was buying a one-day unlimited subway rides Metrocard for $7.50 a piece. (These rates increase $2 on May 31, 2009.) I swiped my credit card at a kiosk inside the subway's entrance. The girls and I crisscrossed Manhattan all day and into the evening for a total of $22.50.

EAT GOOD FOOD WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK

Before we left home I searched "cheap eats+NYC" online and clicked on http://thebreadfactory.com/. There are three Manhattan locations and we chose The Bread Factory near The Port Authority that offered lunch specials for less than $6. The girls said the pizza was yummy. I had a very fresh salad. The birthday girl wanted Oreo cheesecake that was so large she split it with us. With soft drinks, our lunch tab was $22.50. No coupons were offered for The Bread Factory, but compared to a $15 Greek salad from Carneige Deli, we ate well for a small price.

I also checked Restaurant.com (http://www.restaurant.com/) for a reasonably priced dinner that would appeal to the girls. The website allows you to choose a section of town, peruse establishments in that area and view their menus. Most of the menus list prices. The Firehouse on the Upper West Side fit the bill. I ordered my $10 meal certificate that normally costs $3, but saved an additional 70% off with a promotional code emailed to me from this website. The Firehouse offers tasty pub food: chicken nuggets, burgers and salads. Restaurant.com offers deals throughout the U.S. Percentage-off promotional codes for Restaurant.com can be found by googling "promo codes+ Restaurant.com" or checking www.RetailMeNot.com, which lists money-saving codes for hundreds of websites. By handing over the certificate, the bill and tip totaled $25 for our meals and drinks.

SHOW TIME

After supper we headed downtown to the Lunt-Fontanne Theater to see The Little Mermaid. Our tickets were for the first mezzanine and we had a great view of the fast-paced show we came to see. For me, finding ways to save money in NYC was almost as much fun as watching Ariel, Sebastian and Ursula sing songs we love. More than pennies stayed in my wallet on this trip!

NEXT BLOG: Turn Coupons into Cash: Learn to Organize, Plan, and Use Coupons

Coffee Show and Tell: Brewing Up Savings

Coffee drinkers place distinct values on their morning cups of joe. "Customers tell me they get up even on Saturday and Sunday and come to the store for coffee, rather than brew Wawa (http://www.wawa.com/) brand coffee at home," said Howard Stoeckel, CEO of the nation's top-ranked convenience store. "Why?" I asked him during a recent interview. Stoeckel explained, "Wawa is considered the 'Cheers' of convenience stores, where everybody knows your name." Wawa coffee lovers pay for connection.


Americans pay all kinds of coffee prices for convenience and taste at their favorite coffee shops, fast food chains and convenience stores. Daily costs may seem insignificant, but yearly totals for those cups of joe are surprising, especially when compared to brewing the same brand at home.


COFFEE SHOW AND TELL


"This is really good coffee. What kind is it?" my friend Jeff asked, when I served coffee with dessert. "Dunkin' Donuts (http://www.dunkindonuts.com/) decaf," I said. "Really? I stop at Dunkin' Donuts every morning," Jeff said. This was 16 years ago, before specialty coffees landed on grocery store shelves. Jeff pressed me, "How do you make coffee at home taste so good?" It was time for coffee show and tell. I got our coffee grinder, one-pound bag of Dunkin' Donuts coffee from their store, and explained the process. Following step-by-step brewing instructions is easy. (http://www.consumersavvytips.org/save_money_and_brew_tasty_coffee_at_home.html). "I love freshly brewed coffee every morning, and I save money making my own. Those pennies add up," I explained. Jeff turned to Lori, "Hon, we gotta get some of that coffee!"


I'M A BELIEVER


Jeff was sold. He and Lori got Dunkin' Donuts coffee beans and started brewing Jeff's favorite java at home. The next time I saw Jeff he told me, "It's great. Lori and I have coffee before I leave in the morning, and she fills up my travel mug for the road. It saves me time from stopping, too." They have been sipping and saving big for years. Real big.

POUR ON THE SAVINGS

Reuters News Service reported skipping one large latte a day and brewing premium coffee at home can save more than $1,200 a year. (http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS140145+14-Jan-2009+PRN20090114). NY Magazine (http://nymag.com/guides/cheap-living/caffeinate ) reports brewing Starbucks at home rather than picking up a cup daily at the store saves $1,222 a year. Bigger savings were reported by switching from a daily cup at Starbucks to brewing Dunkin' Donuts coffee and home. Total savings: $1,280 a year!

TIPPING POINTS

If saving money is the goal, quality coffee does not have to be sacrificed. Consumer Reports March 2009 issue (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/march-2009/food/coffee/java-jargon/coffee-java-jargon.htm) states taste testers sipped 19 brands of coffee. They chose your Grandma's favorite, Eight O' Clock 100 per cent Colombian over the rock stars of branded coffee. They said Eight O' Clock is fruity, floral and slightly bitter. They said it did not taste "woody, papery or burnt." Faithful Eight O' Clock drinkers can scoop up rewards (http://www.eightoclock.com/). Eight O' Clock is a bargain at $6.28 a pound, half the cost of its expensive taste test competitors, Gloria Jean's and Peets.

EDUCATED BUYING

Learn coffee lingo to know what beans suit you, including eco- and fair trade jargon. (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/march-2009/food/coffee/java-jargon/coffee-java-jargon.htm). Today it seems coffee beans are available about anywhere except outer space. Makegoodcoffee.com lists the pros and cons of buying beans at grocery stores, coffee shops or online. (http://www.makegoodcoffee.com/howtobuygoodcoffee.html) Pick your price, get a sample and perform your own taste tests.

COUNT THE COST

What coffee drinkers regularly pay for their cups of joe breaks down to: convenience, connection, savings and of course, the taste of the coffee. In Jeff's case, he wanted to save money and still drink his beloved Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Jeff and Lori have saved a bundle brewing coffee at home. For comparison's sake according to the NY Magazine article, if Jeff started brewing Dunkin' Donuts coffee today, he'd save $1,047 in one year. Multiply those savings by the 16 years since our coffee show and tell, and he's enjoyed sipping his favorite coffee daily, and watching $16,752 add up!

Bypass Non-competitive Airfares: Think Outside the Box and Save Big!

College freshman Rachel Keatley could not wait for winter break to make her first trip home. As her mom, neither could I. We knew non-competitive airfares from Grand Rapids, Michigan, (near Rachel's school) to Philadelphia were too expensive for her to fly home often.

Despite early online shopping to beat holiday fares, I was staring at a $450 price tag due to soaring oil prices. Fellow students were not driving our way, so sharing a ride was out. So was a 20-hour, high-priced train ride. To get Rachel home it was time to think outside the box, so that dollars would add up for me, not the airlines.

THINK BIGGER CITY

AMTRAK's station three blocks from Rachel's dorm got me thinking. Checking AMTRAK's web site (www.amtrak.com), I found Rachel could roll into Chicago's Union Station (www.chicagounionstation.com).

THINK PROMOTION CODES, DISCOUNTS

Checking train fares and schedules, I saw a box for "promotion code," which AMTRAK does not freely offer on its web site. Searching Google.com by typing "AMTRAK+promo codes," I found a reliable coupon and promotional code web site (www.RetailMeNot.com) . Percentage-off codes were clearly explained for different train lines, including Pere Marquette, Rachel's line. I plugged in the code on AMTRAK's site and Rachel's AAA membership number (www.AAA.com) to shave 30 percent off the original fare.

THINK VALUE

Which Chicago airport should Rachel fly from? O'Hare or Midway? Travel search engine Kayak.com lists all carriers' flights and fares, except Southwest Airlines', and showed O'Hare's prices were cheaper. But, this airport is farther from Union Station and much larger for my first-time flying-alone daughter to navigate. I checked Southwest.com and found it services Midway, and offered the lowest price of all Chicago fares. Southwest added value with its no-baggage fee for the first checked bag, thus avoiding baggage fees up to $25 one way.

THINK PUBLIC TRANSIT

Cab fare in Chicago is hefty, so I googled "Union Station+Midway Airport+how to get" to find a cheaper way to the airport. Up popped a great web site (www.FlyChicago.com) featuring O'Hare and Midway Airports with Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) maps. Orange Line trains run to Midway. I searched "Chicago Transit Authority+Orange Line+maps" and found CTA's URL, (www.transitchicago.com) Clicking on the RTA (Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority) System Map that I enlarged to read, I found the Orange Line runs close to Union Station. To lower Rachel's anxiety level, she wanted to know exactly how to get from Union Station to the Orange Line. Again, I searched "Union Station+Orange Line+how to get to" and found step-by-step directions, “From Union Station to Midway,” www.mrl.ucsb.edu/yopopov /directions/mdw-us.html), travel time and fare: $2. Score!

THINK CONNECT THE DOTS

I copied these directions with an airport diagram from FlyChicago.com to give Rachel a visual of Midway. Rachel followed the instructions, found her way home, and gained confidence in traveling alone by connecting the dots. In bypassing a non-competitive airfare through online searches and connecting the dots, I had $110 extra to spend on Christmas presents.