Do you have a budget for FOOTBALL GAMES?

This article just came in the right time - How much is too much when it comes to football? 

Have you listed how much money you have spent on a professional game? On this post, I am just talking about spending money for ONE game in ONE day. Not to mention the game is broadcast on TV - We do not have cable so at least we are not paying for that, but I can just imagine the people around us have cable bills (NFL Redzone anyone?), bought season tickets and spending additional $$$ being at the game.

Our total spent $535 =(

Tickets $100 x2

The average price for an NFL tickets are over $100 for 2014. I am assuming we bought the tickets at the same price /

Cheaper Option: One of our friends got FIELD TICKETS for half the price by waiting at the last minute to get tickets. They got their tickets the night before and got better seats than us. This was the website they used

Parking $25 

Technically we could've avoided this, but we needed his car (truck) to transport the grill

Cheaper Option: Usually you can take a trolley to the stadium  

Tailgate Food / Drinks $80

I think between Jay and I (minus what our friends contributed) we have spent about $150 on food and drinks for the tailgate.

• Beer (craft) $9 - Three different 6 packs for a total of $30
• Water $5 - Pack of bottled water
• Snacks $35 - Chips, salsa, guacamole, fruit platter, cheese and salami platter 
• Misc items $10 - we bought paper towel, sanitizer wipes, ice 

Cheaper Option: It was actually cheaper to just eat inside, but the tailgate made it really fun. We figured this was our dinner date - which we havent done in a while.

Game Food / Drinks $30 

We bought beer for $9/each (12oz)  wth! We were complaining buying craft beers for $9 for a six pack yet we still bought a glass of beer for $9 each. Total spent $30 (with tip and bought one for a friend) 

Cheaper Option : Do not buy food inside the stadium. They are usually marked up for almost 800%. Check to see if there are any rules/regulations for bringing food and drinks and bring your own. We were able to bring 2 unopened water bottles each inside. 

Gas, Jerseys and other misc.  $100-200

I did not expect that an average jersey costs $100. From my previous post, Jay got me a jersey for that price and he also got his own too. So lets just assume an average person buys a jersey for himself and his significant other 

 Cheaper Option: Search a discount store like TJ Maxx. I am not sure if this applies anywhere else, but we found Jay's jersey for half the price (Its similar to mine - we cant figure out the difference, but he said mine was newer)

What would I have changed? NOTHING. I had so much fun. We do not do this often and it was nice doing something different on the weekend. I wouldve probably budgeted everything more - like the tickets that one of our friends got, but thats for next time. The boys are talking about going to another game!




How much have you spent going to a football game or any professional game? Do you have any other tips when going to games? 

Birthday FREEbies

Yay birthdays! I celebrated my birthday a couple of days ago - *sigh* another year older and hopefully wiser this time (I mean I have this blog now right?). I loved getting a free dessert when dining out to restaurants for my birthday. Now I found the next best thing - Rewards Programs! I checked out retailers (these are mostly food places) that you usually frequent to see if they have any birthday rewards. Also, most of them have coupons throughout the year!

Starbucks -  FREE Drink

The coupon is set to you by your phone app and it usually shows up a week before your birthday. To claim it, you will need to let you barista know that you have a reward available. I don't really get all fancy with my orders - I got my go-to Grande skinny vanilla latte with soy which is usually $4.65

Grab a Starbucks card and register it here

Rubio's - $7 off any meal

The coupon is sent to you by email. I received mine a week before my birthday. Its a simple email - no bar codes or anything. I claimed this coupon for lunch. It was very straight forward. I gave them my order which was the California Bowl with Shrimp and showed the cashier my phone with the email/coupon.

I ended up just spending $1.07 for lunch that day.

Sign up on their website and become a Beach Club member 

Einstein Bagels - FREE Breakfast Sandwich with purchase of any drink

This coupon is also sent to your email around the week of your birthday. I ended up just spending $1.99 for a medium coffee and a FREE bagel with cream cheese as part of this rewards program. I know I should've ordered the expensive sandwich, but I just knew I wouldn't be able to finish it.

I just showed the email to the cashier - who was super sweet and kept saying Happy Birthday. The email did not have any bar codes, but just a number that the cashier will need to enter.

Sign up on their website and join their birthday club 

Benihana - $30 Dinner Certificate

You will receive your coupon on your mailbox, but make sure you print the coupon out. We went here the night of my birthday with the whole family (I cant believe Benihanas was still rockin it - there was a line out the door on a week night!). Anyways, I really do not remember anymore the last time I was here, but they will be serving you a 4 course meal that consist of Soup, Salad, Appetizer, your main Entree and a dessert! I got the Samurai Treat as my main entree which was a Filet mignon and colossal shrimp grilled to perfection with lemon and butter - yum! The chef was super entertaining as well as the server. You also get a picture with the whole group at the end of the meal.

Sign up for the Chefs Table here

El Torito (Real Mex Rewards) - One FREE Entree

We kind of had issues with this rewards program, so I am not quite sure how to claim this one. We went to El Torito Grill which is a higher end El torito. I told the waiter about the Real Mex Rewards free entree that I was supposed to get for my birthday. He said he was not able to see it under my account, but still told me to order and he will go ahead and give me the meal for FREE. I got the Chile Relleno minus the beans. Its a pretty big portion for lunch! Plus, they also sang and gave us a FREE flan. Yum! PS. They also give your table warm tortillas which are my favorite things to munch on while waiting for our entree.

You can sign up here

Have you gotten any perks on your birthday? Did you know about these birthday rewards?

So no one told you life was gonna be this way...

I live off experiences, I am not really into shopping or having stuff - unless that green eyed monster takes over. But I think most of my debt are from Airline tickets, food, concerts, plays, races etc. So I can't really cant follow one of the cardinal rule of debt payoff - Say No! For my sanity, I cant. Not right now at least... In the long run, I want to be able to pay for these experiences by cash and not by credit card.

Here's a couple of ways that I have done to keep up with my friendships

Keep active - I think hiking or going out for a run is the best way to catch up, get a workout in and not get distracted with a friend (cell phones etc). I love taking my dog to these activities too. Its also a good way to just check out from the daily hustle and bustle

Movie night in - I love a good scary movie. I love a good scary movie with food and then add wine plus, a good friend. Thats kinda my idea of a good night (man I am old!)

Sleepovers - End the movie night with a sleep over.... You are never too old for sleep overs! (yeah!)

Use your landline - If you grew up in my generation, you totally know (by heart) your best friends phone number. Why not spend a couple of minutes or an hour just chatting it up again - Old school style. Even call up the number you remember and say hi to their parents... Most of my friends are not in the same area as I am and I take full advantage of chatting on the phone. Texting is not the same!

Coffee - Its cheaper than having dinner and much 'healthier' than having drinks. If I know that I will be over the commited weekly budget, I just ask my friends to change the plans and just meet up for Coffee. There are so many coffee places to check out around my area alone.

What are different ways you try to meet up with friends while paying off debt?

Long Distance on the Cheap

Now how about a little background about my personal relationship...

We have been doing the 'Long Distance' for almost a year now since I moved for a job to OC. Prior to that we lived together - imagine the CHANGE in that. But, I must say, its freaking hard we have been managing this quite well. Between our work schedules, classes, homework etc. we have tried to be in constant communication (thank you technology!) and make the most of the short weekends or days off that we can spend time together.

Now that I am on a quest to be debt free - he's slowly learning to change his spending lifestyle as well - we have been trying to look for options to still enjoy an active life while together but on a budget.

Here are some of the things we enjoy that are budget friendly

• Walk/Bike around the beach/pier - The perks of living along the coast
• Walk/Bike around the park - There are so many gorgeous parks out here... Jay is lucky enough to live close to Balboa Park
• Gym Dates - We usually try to go to the gym first before breakfast/brunch on the weekends. This helps keep us motivated, plus, I we tend to eat healthier after a gym session
• Grocery Shopping - Its a prelude to staying in and also spend some time in the kitchen
• Movies - We found a really cheap theater by our parents house. Last movie we saw was Adam Sandler's Blended and it was only $12 total for the both of us. It was a matinee weekend ticket. Score! 
• Redbox night - I usually just want to stay in after dealing with traffic to see each other on weekends. We usually pick up a movie after going grocery shopping. Oh... you should try to Text to 727272 to get some free/discounted deals lol not really an ad, but that's what we use to get some free movies

How do you budget spending time with your significant other?