Here's some summertime economics: maximize fun while minimizing price.
Now that school's out, it's time to start planning your coveted holiday time. With all of that free time, maintaining a holiday packed with fun and adventure can become expensive.
We've found some free internet summer deals that allow you to stay in your budget and out of the house. But, be careful. Like your personal life raft, we offer a few tips to help ensure that you save safely.
iTunes Live London Festival '09
The Fest takes place at the Camden Roundhouse throughout the entire month of July. According to its website, bands attending include: Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol, Kasabian, Flo Rida, The Saturdays, Bat for Lashes, Jack Penate, and Paolo Nutini.
How to get it? Sign up on its Facebook page to win tickets.Tickets are limited.
Brush up on your football skills
For children ages 5-11, Tesco is offering free FA coaching lessons for children on school holidays.
How to get it?Sign up on the FA website.
Sit in the live audience for your favourite BBC shows
The BBC offers free tickets to create their in-studio live audience. Many of their shows are available, including Mastermind 2009 and Panic Attack. Be sure to book your tickets early.
How to get it? Register to book tickets at the BBC's website.
A race to remember
The Renault World Series offers free tickets to children ages 16 and under. The race takes place July 4th and 5th at the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit in Northamptonshire. The event includes race demonstrations, a display of historic Renault cars, driving simulators, and a chance to change a racing tyre. Although adult free tickets are no longer available, there are still free tickets for kids.
The Silverstone Circuit also offers other free races for children like the Silverstone Classic from July 24-26.
How to get them? For the Renault World Series, check their website , or the Silverstone website for more information.
Discounts on local businesses
Some local boroughs offer membership cards that can get you discounts at local restaurants, sporting events, and salons. For instance, the GreenwichCard can get you discounts at vintage clothing retailer Plum, the O2, Beyond the Fringe salon, and hundreds of other local businesses.
How to get it? For students, the card costs just £1 a year. Apply online
Earn money for being safe
We're not joking. Bristol's City Council wants to encourage scooter safety by paying its residents NOT to break the law. If you're between the ages of 16-24, you're able to register for the Keep Your Wheels program. Just sign up and they'll start you off with £50.
How to get it? Visit their website.
The downside: if you have any infractions, they deduct money from your account.
Travelling? Not on an empty stomach
The bite card is a card that gets you discounts at train station food. It's free and well worth the effort to get it. With your bite card, you'll receive discounts at Burger King, Cafe Ritazza, Upper Crust, Millie's Cookies and many more.
How to get it? Apply online.
Voucher haven in any city
Go to Voucher Codes site for in-store and online coupons for hundreds, and we really mean hundreds, of stores. For example, using this link you can get a new pair of Ugg boots for £95.50, or use this voucher code to get a buy one get one pizza deal from Pizza Hut.
Two for one movie and pizza in Cardiff
Itchy.com is great for its food, shopping and travel vouchers in cities throughout the UK. It even reviews different restaurants, shops and salons to keep you abreast of the latest steals. In Cardiff, using this voucher on Wednesday's you can get two for one movie and pizza from Pizza Express, if you have an Orange phone. Keep in mind that Orange also has a two-for-one movie offer every Wednesday. To take advantage of this, text "film" to 241 to receive your code.
How to get it? Go to their site.
One World Festival in Nottingham
Located in Market Square, the completely free festival takes place on June 13th and 14th. The festival features music and dance from all around the world. Does Spanish, Cuban and South African Dance sound interesting? Then the One World Festival is perfect.
How to get it?
Find more details about the fest on its website.
Glasgow hip-hop
The Ballers 5ocial Club is a group of recording artists, DJs, producers and the like. Once a month they gather at a Glasgow club to celebrate their own version of hip-hop. On June 12 the Club meets at Stereo, and it's £7 to attend.
How to get it? £7 will get you in, but for free music and more information, check out their site.
The perfect summer cycling route
Free information pack about traffic-free cycling routes, quiet lanes, and walking paths. This opportunity is perfect for planning your next great outdoor excursion. The group providing this service, Sustrans, is the sustainable transport charity that works with the National Cycle Network.
How to get it? Go online to register for the free information guide. For those who can't wait to jump back on the bike, beware as shipping could take over two weeks.
Piper Terrett, of MSN's own Frugal Life blog, offers a few of her own money-saving tips:
Visit your local council website to find out if they are running any special activities for teenagers for the summer. Often councils run discounted sports courses for teens during the holidays, such as for football or tennis, or music or drama activities.
Check out your local library which often runs special events for teenagers and adults during the school holidays. This website lists many of these around the UK.
Theme parks can be pricey but often you can use mum or dad's Tesco or Nectar points to get money off. Through some voucher code websites online you can get discounts on tickets too.
Don't forget to get a Young Person's railcard or Oyster Card.
Find more creative ways to save from users like you on MSN's Message Boards
Take care online
These are just some of the free opportunities for summer fun offered just a click away. Just don't tread blindly, or your priceless identity information could be exploited. Directgov, a government-sponsored civic resource website, offers a few ideas for safe shopping on the internet. For instance, the site says to check for the 'http://' at the beginning of a website's address, and make sure you see a gold padlock icon in the corner of the browser. If everyone check for this before entering personal information online, there would be far less identity theft.
If you're trying to earn some money to finance these great adventures, try selling something you don't use or need anymore. Auction sites are often great places to earn a little extra while de-cluttering your space. Just be careful to make sure the website uses secure payment methods. And don't sell your friends' stuff without permission.
Ramit Sethi, the New York Times best-selling author of "I Will Teach You to Be Rich", says "nobody is going to spoonfeed you the places to look" for deep discounts or even free opportunities. The key is looking, diligently, on your own. For example, Sethi recommends that you "set a calendar reminder for when to log back in (to your online accounts) and use it." For example, try checking back at www.toptable.co.uk for the latest deals for lunch or dinner on the town.
The biggest problem with online freebies is not getting scammed, says Sethi, "it's the apathy of people doing nothing."
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