Entertainment Book

July 13, 2010 | Filed under Money

I’m a firm fan of the Entertainment Book. For Australians and New Zealanders who have never heard of it, it’s a voucher/coupon book that’s published at the end of each financial year, with discounts to thousands of restaurants and services in your local area. It is only sold through charities and community groups as a fundraising exercise – so while you save money by using vouchers, you’re also giving back to the community. This year, my contribution went to The Cancer Council.

The cost of the book is $65AUD. I can see people thinking – why spend money to save money? Because in the long run, you end up saving so much more. So far for the 2010/2011 financial year, I’ve already used:

  1. Lunar Drive In (movies) – saving $8AUD
  2. Krispy Kreme (coffee and doughnut) – saving $5.30AUD
  3. KFC (burger) – saving $4.95AUD
  4. Thai Garden (restaurant) – saving $14.09AUD
  5. KFC (wrap) – saving $5.45AUD
  6. Monk and Me (restaurant) – saving $24AUD

In just a matter of weeks, I’ve already nearly recouped the cost of purchasing the book – for the eleven months ahead, any savings I make from using these vouchers is money I would have spent back in my pocket. Also, it is important to note that all the above are things I would have paid full price for – so it’s not like I’m spending money I wouldn’t normally have spent.

The fantastic thing about the Entertainment Book of course, is that it encourages you to try new restaurants you might not normally go to. I dine out (relatively) frequently, and get into the habit of going to the same restaurant and having the same dish again and again. By having this voucher book though, I’m encouraged to try new restaurants in the book and expand my experience of culinary Melbourne. In the same way, having 1-for-1 vouchers for the aquarium, zoo, etc., means that Dylan and I will actually go to new places together and have a day out of our normal routine instead of just talking about it.

Essentially, I love the Entertainment Book. I love the savings, I love the new experiences and the new restaurants, and I love knowing that while I’m indulging my frugal side, I’m still giving back to the community in some small way.

6 Responses to Entertainment Book

  1. I remember my mom had one of those years and years ago; we used it a TON and went out to loads of new restaurants. I should look and see if they sell one for my city because it’s a great thing for a broke college kid to have!

    Manda on July 13, 2010 #

  2. These things are the greatest. Being a college student, we have a billion opportunities to get these things, often for free. They have coupon books they pass out at the beginning of the year where they have restaurants that offer a free meal with the purchase of another! That’s two dinners for the price of one. Best yet, you can pick up as many of these little dandies as you want for free. They’re fantastic.

    It also helps that I’m the editor in chief for my school paper… I get all sorts of cool perks :P

    Stephanie on July 13, 2010 #

  3. Meh, those things are okay, but not the second coming of Christ or anything like that. Maybe I’m just BItter McBitterpants ’cause I had to sell them to fundraise for an orchestra trip, but I bought one myself and the coupons I used only slightly covered the cost of the book ($20 usd, though $10 from each book I sold went to the orch trip) — not enough of the advertisers in the book were places I or anyone I knew ever wanted to go.

    Meg on July 13, 2010 #

  4. We’ve never had anything like that but the odd vouchers are great, and like you said you discover new places to go or eat at. It’s never much money off but all together it makes a difference.

    Charlie on July 13, 2010 #

  5. Oh, we used to get coupon book thingies in university. They were free and pretty crappy (free tanning, $1 off an oil change, that sort of thing) but they were free so I always grabbed a few to use for the limited number of restaurant coupons they contained. Those things are great!

    Becky on July 16, 2010 #

  6. My boyfriends parents buy this book every year. So far this year they’ve saved around $60, plus the vouchers Jared and I have used. It’s awesome!

    I didn’t know the money goes towards charities. That’s a pretty smart idea. xD

    Jana on July 19, 2010 #

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