Lollapallooza stage at dusk/By Kellen M. Henry

If having parents in town is the best way to save money during the weekend, a friend visit might be the worst.

There’s the pressure to show them a good time and eat at fun restaurants and have frosty beers at funky bars. Plus, they’re living the vacation splurge while you’re living business as usual. Plus, they’ve probably got a little extra from the vacation piggy bank if they’re crashing on your couch instead of staying at a hotel.

Luckily, my good friend and house guest for Lollapalooza last weekend is cash conscious in addition to being charming and delightful.

Read on to see how we got through the weekend without breaking the bank:

For first-time visitors to the city, the tourist stuff is high on the list and a lot of it is free, too. My friend and I got some sun at the Lake Michigan beachfront, took a long walk down the “Magnificent Mile” and made our way down to Millenium Park to splashed around in the fountain. Later, we took in the fireworks on Navy Pier… all for free. I’ve shied away from doing touristy stuff since moving here, so it was pretty fun for me too.

On Sunday, we had pricy tickets to Lollapallooza, so we didn’t want to drop any more cash at the festival than we had to. We started the day off with a big and fairly economical brunch at Anne Sather getting enough cinnamon roll action to keep us dancing all afternoon without having to buy the expensive food in Grant Park. Water wasn’t the most expensive I’ve seen it at an event like this at $2 for a 20 oz bottle, but we decided to tote in our own liter bottles from 7-11 and refill them from the water fountains. We had a natural buzz from all the great music, so we waited until we got back to my house and picked up a 6-pack of Goose Island 312, a Chicago classic from the grocery store. The $10 we spent would have bought us each only one watery Bud Light a piece at lolla.

Meals out can be another big wallet buster, especially if you’re going to fun or trendy places. Try taking brunch out instead of going for a steak dinner. Don’t forget you can order in or cook together, too. Or, go for traditional Chicago pizza. There’s a good chance it’ll feed you for two meals.

Mind, I didn’t shell out for the $850 VIP passes, but I still cringed a little when I pushed the button. And I didn’t even get tickets for the whole weekend. The task of paying to see live music acts is, after all, becoming increasingly tricky.

If you didn’t pay to see the acts in the festival, you might be able to catch a few of them at Lolla after-shows. Some of them are still not sold out. NBC Chicago has been keeping tabs on what are shaping up to be the best after-parties. (There’s some overlap here)

As it gets closer to go-time for the after-shows, take a look on craigslist. Sometimes people will be trying to shed tickets for less than face value close to concert-time, if they’re not really hot tickets. I decided to search for Andrew Bird tickets for Schubas tonight (even though I’ll see him at the festival tomorrow) to see if there were any deals. Tickets that sold (and went fast) for $40 a piece are now going for $200 to the $400 range, but then Andrew’s a Chicago favorite.

The Decemberists pre-show tonight looks a little more reasonable, with most tickets going for close to face value at $40. Though some of the requests come with caveats, like guessing the seller’s favorite Decemberists song.

So, if you’re looking to hear some sweet songs this weekend, look to the after shows and to Craigslist. I’ll let you know how the festival goes and how much I end up shelling out for bottled water down at Grant Park.

It was slow starting, but the last few episodes of Season One were good enough that I stayed in on Friday night to keep watching. I’ve been renting it from the Blockbuster, partly because it gives me an excuse to get a cup of coffee from Starbuckles on the way home.

But is Blockbuster the most rational way to watch all five seasons of The Wire? Well, let’s see…

From Blockbuster, each disk rental costs about $5. That’s $25 per season,  plus a $2 cup of coffee. Blockbuster is running a deal where you can have $14 unlimited rentals for seven days. That would give me time for about half a season. But the deal is risky. The Wire is pretty popular and the disk I need isn’t always in stock when I finish the previous one.

Blockbuster has an online service, but I’m too lazy to determine the cost of that option, as it comes without coffee.

If I signed up for Netflix instead, I could have two free weeks during the trial period. The cheapest plan is $8.99 a month for one DVD at a time and then next is two disks for $12.99 a month. I would have to wait a few days while the DVDs filter through the postal service. And if my luck with magazine subscriptions is any indication, I’m going to end up with more DVDs stolen by my mailman than I actually get to watch. Still, if I watch one season every two weeks, I could finish the series by the end of September. And if it’s available to be streamed online with Netflix, I wouldn’t have to wait for disks.

If I wanted to buy The Wire, it’s going for $138.99 on Amazon (with free shipping!) On iTunes the series would cost $119.40. However, I’d have to watch it on my lap-top, which usually results in my eating crackers in bed– a decision I inevitably regret by about 11:30 p.m.

The truest Freekend options? I could borrow the series from my friend Rob, but I would probably have to wait until I move to D.C. in September. I doubt he’ll want to mail it to me after he reads about the thieving mailman. I could steal it from the Internet, but it would take a lot of time and, well, I probably wouldn’t be boasting about it on my blog.

To recap:

Cost to watch all five seasons of The Wire

Traditional blockbuster: about $125 + $50 in coffee

Blockbuster online: Unclear

Netflix: $26.97-$38.97

Amazon: $138.99

iTunes: $119.40

Beg, Borrow, Steal: $0

…
It looks like Netflix is the most rational option if I want to watch the show immediately. Are there any other viewing venues I’m forgetting, Internet?

The convenience store expects to give out about 5 million free Slurpees today, according to a press release. The Slurpee cups also have codes that can be entered to win freebies, including concert tickets, from Live Nation. There’s a 7-11 across the road from my apartment building, so I may stop in later for a refreshment. But I have to say,  I’m a bigger fan of the classic slushie than the Slurpee. It’s a texture thing.

More to come on dueling discount beverages and pretentious coffee addictions later this week.

By Kellen Henry

Ordinarily, I would’ve blown a bunch of money celebrating Independence Day, but my parents were kind enough to pick up the tab for a whole slew of weekend activities.

My folks have made a lot of smart decisions with their finances and savings over the years and are in the position to be able to take a nice vacation or two, but they’re also pretty savvy about looking for bargains and planning in advance. Here are a few things we did to make the weekend great and slightly cheaper.

Plan ahead: Ordering tickets ahead of a trip means you spend less time rushing around and waiting in line and more time enjoying your vacation. My mom ordered 3-day CTA passes online before the trip for $14 a piece. Had they bought individual fair passes, they would have probably spent more in one day than they did for the whole weekend.

Looking for specials: A museum visit in Chicago will set you back about $20, but if you keep an eye out, you might be able to catch a free night. We visited The Art Institute of Chicago during their Free Admission hours, which are 5-9 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. Remember to ask for a discount with a student ID as well!

We also lucked out on our visit to one of the Neo-Futurists theater’s weekend shows of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. On the first Sunday of every month this year, the admission price for this quirky, fun show is deeply discounted. You’ll pay no more than $6 to attend, where regular admission runs from $10 to $15, depending on the roll of a six-sided die.

Free fun: There are usually some free events going on in the city, if you know where to look. Unlike lots of Chicago summer festivals, Taste of Chicago didn’t have a “suggested donation” to get in. We did buy food and beverages there, but we just as easily could have brought a picnic to the park. We stuck around Grant Park for the fireworks display from Buckingham Fountain celebration of Independence Day, also free if you didn’t mind sharing the park with about 1 million other people.

I guess sometimes freedom can be free…