I want to thank everyone who takes the time to email me their money saving ideas and deals. Here are a few that readers recently shared with me:
Nicole Says:
I signed up for Supercuts.com for the reminder program and recieved a $2.00 coupon on my next visit. The coupon is good until 4/10 and the site stated that I should get one everytime I get a haircut reminder. I thought I would pass on this deal. It will be helpful for me to afford a haircut. They also allow you to pick how often you want reminders, from 2 weeks to 10.
Jen shares this tip for making shopping at Kohls and other retailers easier on busy days:
My husband and I have been putting off buying a couple items of clothing because we don’t like to pay full price. Earlier this week I got an email from Kohl’s about their Super Saturday, and a coupon to complement it. I hate shopping on Super Saturdays because, from my experience, the store is crowded and noisy and just unpleasant. So I called the store and asked if customers are allowed to put items on hold for a day. When the woman on the other end of the phone said “yes” I was so happy. My husband and I just got back from Kohl’s where we picked out our items, tried them on to make sure they fit, and had them held at the service desk, where we can go pick them up and take them straight to the cash register during the Super Saturday Sale.
Have you been to Vegas? Or maybe to other expensive travel destinations? Maybe you can help Melissa. Here’s her question:
My husband and I are traveling to Las Vegas 4/1 – 4/6. We already scored a great deal when we booked our trip. Total cost for 2 people for airfare, 5 nites hotel plus 2 free tickets to a Cirque de Soleil show was $540. I’d like to know if you or anyone else out there can give us tips on things to do in Vegas for little or no money. We plan to budget our money but don’t want to be so strict we don’t enjoy ourselves. Any tips are appreciated!
I hope some of you can help. I know I have read often that it’s a good idea to take advantage of freebies Casino’s offer like buffets and what not. Also, check at the Hotel’s front desk for coupon booklets and other information they may have for visitors. I also found some other great tips here. Any other insider tips?
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RE: Vegas, the Flamingo casino/hotel has a penguin habitat and they do a show/talk a few times a day, it lasted about 30-45 minutes and the penguins were so much fun to see! They have all kinds of other birds there too, (like Flamingos, haha) and it was well worth the visit. Completely free, too!
(we seriously took more pictures of the penguins than anything else on our trip)
I live in Las Vegas and there are plenty of things to do for free. We love going to the Cactus Garden at Ethel M’s. Free to go and there is a free tour of the chocolate factory with a free morsel of chocolate at the end.
Going into FAO Schwartz on the strip is fun. We like to just wander around and jaw drop over the insane prices for stuffed animals, play games available for testing out and dance on the giant piano.
Natures Preserve is also a great place to hike and explore that’s free. Red Rock is also a gorgeous place to go but not free, there is a fee to park your car in the National Park.
I’m not one for the strip so most of the things I like to do aren’t in the midst of LV.
You have to experience Fremont Street!! It’s free and taking the city bus down there only costs a couple bucks!! Of course you have to go at night!!
http://www.vegasexperience.com/
Also, look into getting a Monorail pass for going up and down the strip (the strip is longer than it looks). The prices are fairly cheap as well. You might get a discount if you purchase ahead of time…not for sure though. Check out the site for more info: http://www.lvmonorail.com/
I live in Vegas also–the Bellagio fountain is a must see, as well as the conservatory inside the Bellagio, both are free and really spectacular! Another of our fav’s that we visit when people are in from out of town is the Venetian and the canal shops. It’s an indoor mall around canals, reminds me of Italy or some place like that! Whatever you do, DON’T accept what LOOKS like coupons from people outside of Harrah’s…they’re actually ads for escort services and stuff like that…just a heads up!
We went to the Belliago for brunch/Lunch last time we were there and it was fantastic. There was lunch and breakfast items at 10:30! I think it was about 12.00 a person. Really just wondering around is super fun and free!
You can ride the Duce (the bus on the stip) all day(24 Hours) for 5.00 a person. There is a great outlet mall off the strip that is super easy to get too! Fremont Street has a light show and the Rio has a good show too! All FREE!
Last time I just googled “free stuff to do in Las Vegas” and I printed out a list to take with me!
Click on the following link & it will give you everything you can do for free in Vegas.
http://www.lasvegas.com/traveltips/guide/bargainhunter.html
I’m another Vegas resident! Just walking around the inside of the casinos is entertaining. Our favorite free things to do:
Bellagio Fountain (outside); Conservatory (inside); just past the Conservatory (to your left when you are in front of it) is a tiny little chocolate shop with a cool chocolate fountain — you can eat dessert there, not cheap but delicious! If you have one splurge, I recommend the Bellagio Buffet. Go just before they close for lunch, pay the lunch price, and hang out for an hour or so while they change over for dinner.
You can eat, but it takes a while for all the dinner items to show up.
Falmingo: has a cute habitat in the middle of the casino/hotel (outside)
Mirage: You can watch the volcano erupt at night and there is a white tiger habitat inside, but I believe they close early (5 or 6).
M&M Store — next to the MGM is a great place to peruse and take pictures. They have a movie inside and other things to do. There is a Coke store next door.
MGM: A lion habitat inside
Paris: Has a creperie inside where you can get a very filling crepe for about $8/person (or split one!).
Venetian: St. Mark’s square almost always has free entertainment, a gelato stand, and is just a fun place to hang out.
Ethel Ms is cool, but it is in Henderson and a LONG way from the strip! You can visit an Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge inside the Fashion Show Mall at the North end of the strip.
If you take a taxi (or a bus?) down to the very south end of the strip (past the Mandalay Bay) there are “regular” restaurants at normal prices (Chilis, Chipotle, etc)! I highly recommend Raising Cane’s — it is only chicken fingers but they are delicious and it is inexpensive.
In Las Vegas you can get a lot of bang for your eating buck at the breakfast buffets. Specifically the Bellagio. It’s amazing! Plan your breakfast around 9:30-10am and I promise you you’ll be full until at least 3-4 pm, eat a snack and then have a dinner. You’ll cut out one meal for your day yet still will have had a wonderful and filling day of eating.
Ethel Ms and the gardens are a must. Skip the outlet mall. Not worth the time to get there.
The Venetian is a sight to behold and looking around is free. That is if you can control yourself from spending $900 on a purse at Gucci!
And if you’re so inclined, http://www.frontsight.com offers free classes on shooting other self defense classes. I cannot say enough great things about this school. I was treated with respect even though I knew nothing about shooting the type of gun they put in my hands. When the day was over, I was almost an expert! Check it out. It’s fun and rewarding and only a 40 minute drive from the Strip.
I got married in Vegas last year and put together a list of free things to do for our guests. Almost every single hotel has some kind of free attraction – most have been mentioned here – and there are a ton of resources on the web.
One thing I like to do is just people watch! I can grab a drink, sit at one of the tables or benches outside and just watch the people who go by.
Enjoy Vegas!
Here’s a link to free attractions:
http://www.vegas.com/attractions/freeattractions.html
The most fun thing to do is just walk around — it’s an incredible place to people-watch!
I’ve heard there’s also gardens at the Wynn
and for bargain dining
http://www.vegas.com/restaurant/specials.html