The other added benefit is that the Entertainment Book is sold through schools, charities and local sporting clubs to help raise funds so not only are you saving money but you're helping your local communities as well!
How does it work?
You buy the Entertainment Book from your chosen charity or school or club which costs $55 - $65 depending on the region. The book is regional (i.e. there is one for Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane etc.) so make sure you buy the book that is specific to your location. For exact prices and locations see the following list from the cancer council.
The book has vouchers for different sites and different activities all of which save you money. However this is often hard to navigate (it really is a big book of vouchers) so I prefer to use their website to work out what I want to do. You can search by activity or region.
What is the best way to save money using The Entertainment Book?
The vouchers are not where the real savings are (although they are very good - e.g. 2 for 1 meals at many restaurants). The real savings comes from the ability to buy gift cards from major retailers for a 5% discount.
If you think about how much money you spend on groceries in a year you can save a lot of money just from the discounted grocery gift cards. I did a quick poll of people around my office and this is what I found:
- Families typically seem to spend $3,000 - $5,000 a year on groceries (including things like nappies etc for young families)
- If you can save 5% of your grocery bill alone then you will be saving ~$150 - $250 just on groceries
- This already brings you out ahead on your card.
Assuming you spend $3,000 a year on entertainment (I spend about this as a single person so I can only imagine how much families with children spend) and save 10% - 15% by using the coupons then you are saving another $300 - $450 a year.
Families that are looking for ways to stretch their dollar further or people who just want to get a control of their finances and save some more should really consider this book. This book pays for itself through the discounted gift cards but you can save so much more if you use it efficiently. One person I was talking to (who has 4 children) was saying that it effectively halves the amount he spends on entertainment for his family!
Are there any downsides to The Entertainment Book?
The only big downside is that often people feel uncomfortable using coupons. Some may consider it as 'cheap' to do so and would not want to present one at a nice restaurant. I do not feel this way, neither do the people I talked to but I'm sure others may feel that this is an issue and would be embarrassed to use it.
If you are a person like this you're probably not going to get all you can out of the book however as indicated above it is still worth it for buying your groceries because you are using gift cards not coupons. Gift cards have no stigma attached to them and you are saving 5% every time you go to a supermarket.
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