Start looking for deals before you imbibe any green beer that might weaken your inhibitions. Keep an eye out for restaurant promotions offering free, or seriously discounted, green foods, alcohol, and other holiday-themed items.
You may also see promotions like, “Wear green and get a free ice cream cone.” These types of deals will vary by location. Speaking of which, you can look for opportunities to save money in your area by using these apps and websites for event listings and discounts:
- Groupon — Save up to 75% on bar crawls, festivals and other celebrations over St. Patrick’s Day weekend; discounts also include deals on food and clothing as well.
- Living Social —This one has more local events and fewer large-scale deals, but it’s good for savings on restaurants and local festivals.
- Offline.com — Find out about bar crawls, holiday-themed 5Ks and other events — but know that there might not be any overt discounts like what you find on Groupon and Living Social.
Save Money on St. Patrick’s Day Events
If you’ve already made plans for the evening, there are still ways to work savings into things. Here are a few ideas along those lines.
Sign up prior to the event
You might be able to make an advance purchase of admission to any event you intend to go to — even a day or two might save you money on admission. This is especially true for 5K races, something that has become a popular St. Patty’s Day tradition. In many cases, you could save yourself 50% of the admission price if you purchase your spot early. Generally, the same is true of bar crawls, festivals, and other events. The closer you get to the day, the more you’ll pay.
Pace Yourself
This is one night of the year when people have a tendency to go overboard with the drinking, but that makes the holiday a lot more expensive than it needs to be. One of the best ways to save money is simply pacing yourself on the booze. Choose cheaper drinks and drink water in between. Consider doing this even if you’ve prepaid for a bar crawl with a fixed price — that way you can make it through the entire night.
Start the Festivities at Home
Assuming you’re not going to an event with a fixed price for all you can drink, there’s no reason why you should buy all your booze at bars or restaurants. Of course, the beer you drink at home might not be green, but it doubtlessly costs less money than what you’d pay for it at a club. If you do start out with an aperitif at your place, be sure to line up a designated driver before you head out — or set aside money for a cab or rideshare service.
Actually, you should do that even if you don’t start your drinking at home. With the holiday falling on a Saturday, people may be likelier to become intoxicated earlier in the day, increasing the risk that you might encounter drunk drivers on the road. Please don’t add to the chaos — don’t drink and drive or you might ruin an otherwise fun holiday.
What do you have planned for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, readers?
James Hendrickson is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.
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