Going out for little money

How to paint the town without breaking the bank

By Farnoosh Torabi | Special to amNewYork

August 16, 2006

Want to paint the town red without spending a lot of green? Seems impossible in the city, but experts assure that it can be done.

"There's no lack of free entertainment in New York or any other city," said Camper English, author of "Party Like a Rock Star Even When You're Poor As Dirt." "You just need to be creative about it, drink a little less and spend more time doing research."

Here's some advice:

Club goers

Be an early bird. Go out dancing in the early part of the week like Monday or Tuesday, when there are usually low or no cover charges. Next, if you don't mind your inbox being inundated, sign up for nightclub promoters' and DJs' e-mail lists to learn about free events. You could save as much as $25 on entrance fees.

Bar-hoppers
Avoid opening a tab at the bar with your credit card. Money experts (and bar enthusiasts) agree this usually leads to over-spending. Instead, bring cash and pay for drinks one at a time. Another way to save is to keep an eye out for the specials board to see what are the cheap cocktails.

Finally, don't forget about happy hour.

"Drinks can be as cheap as half price, or maybe you can find a bar that puts out free food for the after-work crowd and get a meal out of it too," said English.

Many bars have happy hour specials between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Foodies
Consider splitting a meal. "Entrees are so oversized these days you can easily save by sharing," says Michelle Jones, founder of BetterBudgeting.com.

Next, instead of dinner and a movie, how about dinner or a movie?

"Have dinner out, and then, instead of paying the big bucks for a movie out, just sign up for an account with Netflix and watch DVDs all month long for the price of just one night at the theater," said Jones. Finally, she suggests browsing through the Sunday newspaper inserts for coupons for popular chain restaurants.

The culture crowd
You can get into many museums or events for free by working or volunteering in exchange for admission. English suggests volunteering to work inside museums or ushering at a film festival or for a smaller theater company.

"Spend your time instead of your cash," he said.

For example several off-Broadway theaters like the Astor Place Theater and Second Stage Theater use volunteer ushers who get free admission to performances.

Boost Mobile Rock Corps offers a free concert ticket in return for community service. Visit www.boostmobilerockcorps.org

Also, the Tribeca Film Festival rewards volunteers with free tickets to screenings. Volunteers are required to make a minimum commitment of three six-hour shifts, doing everything from ushering to stage set-up to making Starbucks runs.

(With Tim Chan)

Farnoosh Torabi is a video correspondent for thestreet.com. E-mail her at AMPersonalFinance@yahoo.com.