Get Out On a Budget!

The professors during my freshman year of college were really into making their students create a 10-year plan. I can tell you one thing about those 10-year plans, they never turn out the way you want them to turn out.

I actually wanted to live and work in the Cleveland area, near where I grew up, but I ended up meeting my future husband. We got married a month after graduating college and then shortly relocated to the last place I would have ever imagined: Minnesota. 

Seriously, I never thought much about Minnesota before moving here. I just knew that it snowed a lot and that movies liked to make fun of Minnesota accents. I don’t even think I knew that Minneapolis and St. Paul were right beside each other! My husband thought it was funny that he had to fill in my missing facts before moving here.

Speaking of my husband, he is the reason why we are here. He is working on getting his Ph. D in organic chemistry at the University of Minnesota. Being the great wife I am, I tagged along. I really saw this new stage of life as an adventure and wanted to learn everything I could about the Twin Cities. I wanted to see and do everything we could in the first couple weeks we moved here, but then I realized that I had no job, my husband was getting paid very little and we began paying bills. The honeymoon was over and I was thrown into the real world.

I began working at Target in one of their store pharmacies (I’m actually still there part-time). It was nice to have a secure job as I looked for a better job in my field.  It took me a few months but I found one- a great one! I was hired at Minneapolis Northwest Convention and Visitors Bureau as their Sales and Services Coordinator.  People often ask me what I do; I just smile and say that I help promote/bring tourism to the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis (that’s the easiest way for me to explain it).

Many people don’t know this (I know I didn’t before working for one) but Convention and Visitors Bureaus, also known as CVBs, are great resources for knowing what to do in the area. Almost every major city has one (or a handful like Minneapolis/St. Paul). Minneapolis Northwest is the CVB that represents Maple Grove and they have certain FREE resources I think everyone should know about: Freebie Friday, coupons and discounts and their calendar of events.

When my husband and I are looking for something to do, I now check the Minneapolis Northwest Calendar of Events. It’s an easy one-stop-shop for knowing what’s going on in the Twin Cities and the northwest suburbs. My co-workers and I put a lot of effort into updating it multiple times a day, trying to keep up on all the events for people to know about. We highlight many of the events happening right in Maple Grove as well. These events include concerts and movies at Town Green, events at the community center, fairs and festivals at the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes and so much more. The calendar is a way of us encouraging people to get out and have fun in their own city.

A spin-off of the Minneapolis Northwest’s calendar of events is Freebie Friday.  I live on a budget and I know that a lot of people can relate to me on this subject.  So of course the first thing I wanted to know when I moved to the Twin Cities was, “What can I do this weekend for free or doesn’t cost me an ‘arm and a leg’?” 

I’ve had people call me at work asking for the same inexpensive week/weekend ideas that I wanted. These ideas lead me to put a list together each week on Minneapolis Northwest’s Facebook page as a thrifty resource (Like us on Facebook!). I take all the free events from the main calendar of events and organize it so you don’t have to work hard at being frugal-I do all the work for you. 

You might have already guessed this about me but I LOVE deals, coupons and free things (hence why I love Freebie Friday), so of course my favorite resource is Minneapolis Northwest’s coupons. I’m not as extreme as some of those women on television, but I really don’t like paying full-price when I can get a discount. This is one reason why I love that they provide coupons to anyone who wants to use them. They have coupons and discounts for attractions, hotels and services at your fingertips. I personally use these coupons because the deals are so great. I urge you to use them as well!

This past year has definitely shown me that there is more to Minnesota than snow and funny accents. I encourage you to get out and enjoy your city just as my husband and I are doing. It’s fun and truly doesn’t always have to cost you an arm and a leg. 

Now that you know a little more about me and what I enjoy, I can’t wait to share with you what the area has to offer as I continue to blog on the Maple Grove Patch.