Baltimore's top 10 deals and discounts: the final list
As part of baltimoresun.com's 10Spot, 10 weeks of counting down to 2010, we've been soliciting ideas for Baltimore's 10 best bargains.
Well, we've whittled down the candidates to the following 10 winners --- all great ways to stretch your dollar in and around Charm City. If you compare all our lists, you'll see some new additions that made the cut at the very last minute.
HOME DECOR: Plagued by blank walls? Staging a house for sale? Don't plunk down too much for prints. Instead, check out the offerings at the Fine Art Department of the Central branch of the Enoch Pratt Library, where patrons can check out prints and maps --- some of them framed! --- for as long as six months. Be warned, though: hang on to the images past their due date, and you'll have to pay the standard fine of 20 cents per day.
FREE OR CHEAP MUSEUMS: The Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art are free to everyone, all year round, but locals can enjoy the National Aquarium in Baltimore without paying the regular ticket price. On Friday nights after 5 p.m. from September 11 through March, you can admire the fishes for only $8 per person, plus $4 for the dolphin show.
FREE MOVIES: The Enoch Pratt Free Library is also the winner here, offering frequent free movies on a big screen with its Saturday Free Family Films and its Film Talk series, both at the Central Library’s Wheeler Auditorium.
FREE BOOKS: The library isn’t your only source of free reading material. Snag some secondhand tomes gratis at The Book Thing in Waverly.
FREE STUFF: Trying to furnish a new home? The Baltimore Free Store sets up occasional free markets around the city where people can pick up items for no money at all.
FREE EDUCATION: Check out the offerings at the Baltimore Free School for free classes on music theory, modern poetry, art for free children and more.
CHEAP DRINKS: Enjoy free tastings of wines and spirits at the Wine Source in Hampden on many days of the week. Trinacria Macaroni Works, the Italian deli and supermarket on Paca Street, offers bottles of wine for as little as $4 as well as bulk groceries such as olive oil.
CHEAP FOOD AND DRINKS: Go to 600block.com and download its iPhone app to find drink specials and meal deals for every day of the week in many Baltimore neighborhoods.
CHEAP CULTURE: Sign up for the Baltimore Fun Savers newsletter for a list of half-price tickets every week to theater performances, concerts, dance performances and more.
SHOPPING: Outlets abound, even beyond Arundel Mills! For bargain basement discounts check out the Goodwill Outlet on The Alameda, where clothes and housewares are sold for $1.69 a pound.Looking for something more high-end? Try the Saks Fifth Avenue Company Store in Aberdeen or the 'Gucci' Goodwill, a new boutique store at the University of Maryland BioPark on Poppleton Street. And remember: on the last Saturday of every month, all clothing at Goodwill is half price!
So, tell us what you think! Did any of these ideas surprise you? Did we miss any great discounts? Which one is your favorite? Please let us know in your comments below.
Comments
for shopping, check out the salvation army thrift stores for 1/2 price clothing *every* wednesday. i don't know of any in the city, but there are definitely a few within short driving distance. happy hunting!
Thanks, chacha! --- lfk.
Posted by: chacha | November 27, 2009 11:54 AM