Save Money by Creating a Home Theater

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As inflation continues to penetrate various sectors of the economy, rising ticket and concession prices reveal movie theaters have also succumbed to the changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Today, a Midwestern family of four that attends a 3D showing of a new release, such as The Amazing Spider-Man, can expect to pay $50 for admission ($12.50 per person) without buying a single kernel of popcorn.

If you want to buy a couple bags of popcorn to share with your significant other and children, you’ll need to add an extra $13 ($6.50 per bag) to your tab.

Popcorn was initially sold at movie theaters during the Great Depression because it was a quick, easy and affordable snack movie watchers could eat in the 1930’s. Ironically, today’s popcorn prices at the movies are high enough to send the buyer home with a great depression.

If the same family of four prefers to frequent the movies twice a month for a year (and enjoy popcorn), the annual total is a staggering $1512!  This total includes:

• Eight movie tickets a month – ($12.50 x 8) $100
• Four bags of popcorn – ($6.50 x 4) $26
• $126 times 12 months – $1512

Bachelors, such as myself, who frequent the movies three or four times a month on dates pay even more than a family of four, as the concession stand proves to be an edible form of financial kryptonite for guys that foot the bill for their dates.

With this in mind, here are a few tips to create a home theater for less than you would spend at the movies in a year!

Flat Panel LED HDTV

High definition televisions come in three different variations including:

• LCD
• Plasma display
• LED

From my experience as an HDTV salesman at Best Buy during my undergraduate years, I believe the LED HDTV is the best television on the market with regard to picture quality (resolution), color and weight-to-size ratio.

While the standard tube television of yesteryear may require multiple people to lift and multiple people to decode the blurry standard definition picture, the LED HDTV is the lightest television on the market; this makes wall mounting for large viewing audiences easy enough to be a DIY project.

I would recommend the Toshiba 50 inch LED (1080p) for your home theater. The $900 cost will provide you with years of viewing enjoyment for a fraction of what it would cost you to take a family of four to the movies twice a month for a year.

Popcorn maker

If you like popcorn at the movies, you will love the tasty kernels even more once you pop your own bag in the comforts of you own home theater.

While popcorn for a family of four will cost you $26 at the theater, you can purchase your own popcorn maker and popcorn for $20.

Netflix account

For $7.99 a month, you can stream high-definition movies directly to your television via Netflix.

If you don’t have a computer, you can stream Netflix through a plethora of devices including:

• PlayStation 3
• Wii
• Xbox
• Tablet

Netflix also gives you access to several TV episodes and old classic movies as apart of their $7.99 service plan.

For under $1000 you can transform your television room into a home theater experience.

By purchasing some of the items listed above, you can save money and upgrade your home experience at the same time!