Fortunately, lots of movie theaters offer discounted tickets to G- and PG-rated movies.  There used to be a tradition of offering free kids’ movies in the summer, with theaters trying to drive traffic during typically slow times, figuring they’d make their money where they’ve always made their money – on the $10 buckets of popcorn and foot-long candy bars.  But alas, inflation has hit the kids’ movie circuit, so now, in most cases, tickets are merely cheap.

Here’s where you’ll find them, starting with the chains that operate in the most states.  There may be smaller chains or independent theaters near you that offer deals as well.

Regal Cinemas, which has theaters in all 50 states, is charging just $1 for the 10 a.m. showing of select G- and PG-rated movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for 9 weeks starting in mid June.

Cinemark operates in 32 states and is showing G- or PG-rated movies for $1 per ticket weekday mornings for 10 weeks starting in mid June.  Or, buy all 10 weeks’ worth of movies in advance for just $5.

AMC Theatres, which has screens in 31 states plus the District of Columbia, has discontinued its Summer MovieCamp program.  However, it is offering G- and PG-rated movies at discounted prices if you go before noon on any of 9 Fridays beginning on May 27^th.

Carmike Cinemas, a 30-state chain, is offering Thursday 10 a.m. kid flicks for $1 starting in early June.

Rave Motion Pictures, with theaters in 20 states, is offering free kids’ movies Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. for 8 weeks this summer.

Marquee Cinemas, a 10-state operator (Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia), offers discounted summer movies for kids, but has not yet posted its schedule.

Southern Theaters, which has locations in 9 states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas), is offering $3 kids’ movies (including popcorn and a drink) at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays this summer.

Dickinson Theatres, an 8-state (Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas) chain, is offering G- and PG-rated movies this summer for $2.50 per show or $13 for 8.  Click on a theater in your state and look for the “S.V.M.S.” ad, which stands for Summer Vacation Movie Series.  The movies begin in mid June.

Marcus Theatres is a 7-state (Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin) chain that’s offering $2 family films on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 10 a.m. from mid June to mid August.

National Amusement Theaters, which operates in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island, is offering $3.50 G-rated movies on Saturday and Sunday mornings beginning in mid June.

Bow-Tie Cinemas, which has theaters in Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and Virginia, is showing free kids’ movies at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from mid June to mid August.

Harkins Theatres, which operates mostly in the Phoenix area, but also has a small number of theatres in other parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas, is offering 10 weeks of G- and PG-rated movies for $2 per ticket or the whole season for less than $10 per person.  The tickets are for weekday 9:45 a.m. shows starting at the end of May.

Malco Theatres, which operates in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee, is offering $2 kids’ films at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during June and July.

Clearview  Cinemas, with locations in New York and New Jersey, is offering free kids’ movies at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 8 weeks starting on July 6^th.

Lots of towns offer free movies in parks, libraries, and other venues throughout the summer as well.  And, of course, there are always free DVDs to be checked out at the library.

We’ve turned most Sunday nights into movie night at our house, watching classics with the kids like the Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Dr. Doolittle, and more.

What free or inexpensive kid-friendly activities do you plan to take part in this summer?

If you know someone else who might benefit from this information, please forward a link to this article.  And if you haven’t done so already, sign up for a free subscription to this blog.  Two or three times a week, you’ll receive ideas and encouragement for using money well.

Have you been watching more television shows or movies through the Internet?  If you are watching Internet programming on a television set, what hardware are you using to make that happen and how satisfied are you with the solution?

Looking to swap other stuff? Sites like Swaptree.com and Paperbackswap.com help people trade books, CDs, DVDs, and video games. Totsswapshop.com is for people who want to trade kids’ clothes, furniture, or toys.

Of course, you don’t need a web site to organize a swap. Just put the word out among friends or co-workers. My wife recently complimented a friend on her outfit. It turns out she got it at a swap she organized among employees of her business.

Libraries often have special summer programs for kids as well. The great library in our little town is offering extra story times, craft-making sessions, and weekly movies with free popcorn.

One cost-effective alternative to restaurant dining is to buy meals from a so-called easy meal prep store. You can either put together the meals yourself at the store or buy them already assembled. Then they require little more than heating and serving. You get a restaurant quality meal at home and the cost per serving is surprisingly affordable. Here’s a listing of such stores by state.

I have to believe that in our current economy this tide will soon turn–that coupon users will be seen as the wise ones.

Speaking of coupons, several readers pointed out an error in the last issue of Matt About Money. I described how you could get extra discounts on Restaurant.com coupons and noted that you’d be able to get a $25 meal for $3. It turns out that participating restaurants require that you spend $35 or more in order to use a coupon. So, I should have said you can get a $35 meal for $13. The savings are still good–just not quite as good as I thought.

The other way that minimum required payments work against you is that the required amount decreases slightly each month–that is, assuming you don’t charge any more on your card. And it decreases so slightly that you hardly even notice. If you pay this declining minimum each month, you’ll be in debt for approximately forever! One of the simplest steps you can take toward accelerating the payoff of your debts is to fix your payments on this month’s minimum. If your minimum required payment is $25 this month, keep paying that amount even when the card company asks you for $24.10 or $23.35.
p(matt). Here’s an example of how beneficial it can be to fix your payments. Let’s say you owe $1,800 on a card that charges an interest rate of 14 percent and that requires a minimum payment of 2.5 percent of the balance or $10, whichever is higher. If you pay the declining minimum required payment each month, it will take you 167 months to pay of the balance. By fixing your payment on this month’s minimum required payment of $45 (2.5 percent of $1,800), you’ll be out of debt in a mere 55 months.
p(matt). And here’s one other hint about avoiding debt. Stay away from restaurants with high numbers in their name.

I’m writing this from a peaceful room overlooking a river at one of my all-time favorite sources of free stuff – the public library. Our library has a great collection of books, audio books, DVDs, magazines, and more. If our library doesn’t have what we’re looking for, we can order it from dozens of other libraries. It’s even a drop-off recycling site for cell phones, batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and other items. Have you “checked out” all the offerings from your local library lately?

As for the long-term, the article painted a compelling vision of what’s possible should enough people make the changes mentioned above: more affordable homes, a lower retirement age, and an improved ability for people to weather the financial storms that blow through most of our lives at one time or another.

Think of any money-saving moves you’ve made in response to the economy. Are you driving less? Shopping at different types of grocery or clothing stores? Dining in more often? Which changes do you believe will be permanent? And which ones are you hoping will be so very temporary? Please let me know.

There’s some evidence that people are cutting back on restaurant meals as a way of spending less. One way to still enjoy an occasional night out is to visit Restaurant.com, where you can buy $25 restaurant certificates for $10. Better yet, first do an Internet search for “restaurant.com coupon codes.” Just before finishing this article I found an additional 40 percent off at CouponCabin.com.