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" ti
ckets 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 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!
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" ti
ckets 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
