A few weeks ago when I got my income tax return I was in the market for new phone and phone plans for the family. My goal was to get the most bang for my buck, save money and use as little of my tax return as possible to make this all come together.
Value
After comparing mobile phone plans to get the most value, I decided to upgrade my kids Walmart Family Mobile and get them a new phone. I switched them to the Walmart Family Mobile PLUS Plan which gives them Unlimited Talk, Text, & Data, includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE† data then 2G*, plus we get a free VUDU movie credit every month ($7 value) per line for $49.88.
Data
In addition to the price, the extra data this plan offers is perfect since this phone is shared between my three teens. They all use it on the fly to text friends, search the web and get on social media. The unlimited data (includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE† data then 2G*) with this plan make it possible for all of the kids to share a phone versus buying one for each of them.
Entertainment
My favorite part of our new plan is the free movie credit. We rent movies quite frequently so this will be one less movie I have to pay for each month. Each month the kids will be able to search for a movie on VUDU using their new Samsung Galaxy On5. The Samsung Galaxy On5 was on rollback for $69 (reg. $119), and even with the expense, I came out cheaper keeping them on the Walmart Family Mobile rather than switching carriers. I saved another $19.88 on the SIM Kit since I already had a compatible SIM card in their current phone. For those who don’t, you can “just pick a phone or Bring Your Own, and get your SIM Kit for only $19.88.”
Since we saved so much money, I decided to designate some of the savings and do something special with the kids. Instead of just watching the movie I decided to make it an experience. I pulled up three movies on VUDU for the kids to vote on. While they decided what to watch, I decorated for movie night.
I decided to set up a snack buffet right below the television that lets us stream VUDU movies via the app.
To keep things frugal, I DIY’ed several aspects of the party and bought snacks that were on sale.
Decor
I wanted to weave the movie theme into the room, but not go overboard so I made these simple No-Sew Hollywood Walk of Fame-themed movie night pillows.
Supplies
Plain pillow
Black felt
Hot glue gun
Cardstock
Pencil
Scissors
Chalk
Instructions
1. Draw or trace a star on the cardstock. You can print a template or draw the start freehand. Cut out the star. Fold the piece of felt in half and trace half of the star onto it using the chalk.
2. While the felt is still folded, cut out the shape you traced. Unfold and you should have a whole star.
3. Now hot glue the star to the pillow to secure it. I made two stars per pillow in different sizes.
I also saved money on decorations my spray painting wooden craft stars with silver spray paint and sprinkling silver glitter on them while the were still wet. Two coats of spray paint and glitter produced the fun glittery stars I used at our faux concessions stand.
I used the stars to personalize snack containers and decorate our faux concessions stand.
Food
I specifically looked for snacks that were on sale or rollback this week and bought Walmart brand items to make this party as frugal as possible.
Here are some pictures of how everything turned out.
Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/7e-jr or your local Walmart for current pricing.
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You did a tremendous job decorating your room, I wouldn`t go to the cinema if I had someone make me pop corns too 🙂
Great post. I enjoyed reading your blog. I want to let you know that I nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award. Here’s a link to the post nominating you and the instructions for nominating others. You are awesome and deserve it! http://savingchamps.com/blogger-recognition-award-nomination-savingchamps/
Lorna Ye
Savingchamps.com
Looks like such a cool set up! I love eating popcorn when watching movies! Should buy some new packages in the supermarket 🙂
I hear good things about Walmart phone plans. For that price that is a very good bargain and I think I want to look at them when this plan is up because they are getting on my last nerves
Your pillow decor is a fun idea. My kids love watching movies and eating popcorn. You did a nice setup. My kids would have fun doing something like this for movie night.
This is such a fun night for the kids! Something that they will – I'm sure – remember for a long time! <3 I also appreciate the no-sew pillow decorations because I'm not so great with a needle and thread!
I'm loving your fun movie night setup and those pillows rock! It's awesome that you were able to decide on a fun movie on VUDU.
What fun decor for a frugal movie night. I never would have thought about decorating!
So stinkin cute! I love gummy bears! NOw I really want some and some popcorn!
I like the throws and the snack bar. I can't believe it turned out to be this pretty working on a tight budget. I will save this article and get back to it for reference if we get to be the host for a weekend movie night.
How adorable! I'm sure your kids really appreciated your hard work. Great job!
Great deal! I'm always in for free movies 🙂 And what an awesome and fun idea for movie night.
Last night I was literally comparing plans for my soon to be 13 year old s first phone/birthday gift. So grateful I saw this so far the best I've seen