Spontaneity Costs More
Posted on January 28, 2012 5 Comments
Inspired by a show on the History Channel this morning, fresh out of bed and still a little sleepy, I said to man-friend, “Let’s go to the Field Museum. We haven’t been there in ages and they have all the Mesoamerican stuff we just watched in the program.” He, drinking coffee, noted that we were still in pajamas and asked how much it cost. I wasn’t sure, but I was determined, so I said, “I don’t know. Let’s just go. The only other thing we’re doing today is cleaning the apartment, and we can do that when we get home tonight. We’ll have a cleaning party!”
A trip to a history museum vs. cleaning at home? Weekend spontaneity won.
We checked two places to see if we could find any discounts: the internet (nope) and my parents, who usually know all the tricks to save a few dollars on the City’s attractions (not today). We ate a quick lunch, changed, and were out the door a few minutes later.
I have so many fond memories of the Field Museum from my childhood, and was quite excited to go. It’s a gorgeous museum with grand exhibits, some which I remember exploring as a little girl. And more recently, I’ve gotten into Mesoamerican history, having read 1491 and other books about pre-Columbian American tribes, civilizations, and cultures. I even visited a tribal museum in the Pacific Northwest in 2008 and bought some native art while in the region.
My excitement faded a little as we arrived downtown and quickly realized we’d be paying a premium for being spontaneous.
First, because it was already 11:30 by the time we left our house, and we didn’t have time to develop a bus and train plan, we drove. The museum is only open until five, and taking public transportation could have meant we wouldn’t get to the museum until one p.m. or one-thirty, depending on the weekend schedules. Instead, we drove and parked in a lot on the museum campus. That was a shocker, $19 for four hours of parking.
We made our way through the entrance at the museum with our university ID cards, and both were eligible for a discount. We were charged $12 each for basic admission. That’s $43 for two people to park and go to the museum, without access to special exhibits. Phew! ”Can you imagine bringing a family of four down here?” man-friend asked, as we walked around Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex. No way. Not at that price.
Despite having eaten lunch before we left home, we got hungry at the museum. We skipped Corner Bakery, which is delicious but would have cost a few dollars more, and opted for McDonald’s instead, where we each ate one cheeseburger and split a large iced coffee. The food cost $4.12, bringing our total for the day to $47.12. That cost does not include gas.
Riding home, I was slightly amazed, and not just by the high-quality exhibits that we visited. $47.12 for four hours at the museum is not affordable. I knew we had paid more due to lack of planning, but I really didn’t expect it to be that much. A lot of people make $10 an hour. The cost of being at the museum is more per hour than they make.
So what could we have done differently?
First, as I noted above, we could have taken public transportation. I have a monthly Metra pass, and B has 10-ride tickets, so our train fare would have been negligible. The CTA bus from the train to the museum campus would have been $2.50 each way, so $5.00 per person or $10 total for two.
But if you have kids, you might not want to take public transportation into the city. My parents, who had four kids, used to drive us down to the museums all the time. They’d wake us up early and get downtown before the museums opened, parking on the street near the museums or in one of the local beach access parking lots. I think those lots have all since turned into high-priced metered parking, but even meters would have been cheaper than the $19 we paid in the Soldier Field lot. Regardless, your best bet would be public transportation (or carpooling, if you go with another couple or family).
As far as admission, the museum offers discount days. None of them fall on a weekend though; tough if you’re working full time. There might have also been a Groupon we could have bought ahead (DealRadar seems to have a nice searchable database of local deals, too.)
We saved some money by asking for the basic admission (which isn’t advertised at the counter) and applying our university discounts, but there’s another secret you can take advantage of if you know someone who has a Chicago library card. The City offers free admissions to the museum that you can “check out” from your local library. I couldn’t remember whether I was still a City of Chicago library cardholder (I think I am, I just don’t have the card anymore), but my parents and brothers are, which was why I called them about the discount. You do have to plan ahead with these passes, because the libraries have limited quantities so sometimes they’re gone when you most want them. But they’re an awesome option if you can get them.
Finally, if we would have thought about it, we could have packed healthy snacks and bottled water to bring with, instead of relying on museum food. Sure, McDonald’s is cheap and tasty, but I could have felt just as energized and satiated with a Clif Mojo bar or some trail mix, both which I had at home. The museum even has a cafeteria where families can eat if they pack their own food. It’s where we used to eat when I was a child.
So, today wasn’t really my best use of budgeting skills. But it was a great reminder of how a little planning ahead can save major money on a family outing, and also a nice reminder of all the money-saving skills I have in my toolbox that I, unfortunately, forgot to use.
Category: Money
Tags: budgeting
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5 Responses to “Spontaneity Costs More”
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January 29th, 2012 @ 7:04 am
So very true! It’s like we need to put a line item in the budget labeled spontaneous outings.
I love that you are getting into meso American history. I was a Latin American history major in grad school and loved ever second of it. That exhibit sounds awesome.
January 29th, 2012 @ 2:38 pm
Hmmm….here in DC, at least all the museums are free (well, the Smithsonian ones at least). You need free museums after you have to pay for housing in DC and law school loans. : )
January 30th, 2012 @ 9:50 am
Next time try to go to the movies
With popcorn and drink 
January 30th, 2012 @ 10:10 am
Tanja – Funny, the movies here cost almost as much as the museum. We seriously never go to the theater anymore, we wait for everything to come out on video because it’s so expensive and you never know what the quality of movies will be. I guess I’m kind of a fussy movie-watcher. If I’m paying $10-$12 for admission for one, I better really love it! If I rent it and it stinks, I don’t care as much.
February 4th, 2012 @ 9:24 pm
When you have kids (4 to be specific) it is always cheaper to just get a year membership and then go as many times as possible during the year. Included in the membership are perks such as free parking coupons, free IMAX coupons, etc. So we are always members at the zoo, and usually a museum or 2. The best part is that there are reciprocal agreements across the country. For people who travel like we do, this is an added bonus- we are members of the Children’s Museum in Houston for $95/year. When we went to Chicago, we got to go to the Science and Industry Museum for FREE- it would have cost us $70 for the 6 of us to go if we weren’t members of the Houston Children’s Museum. Always check for reciprocal agreements!:)