Inflation Sucks! How to Live Well (for Less) in Philadelphia
From fine dining on the cheap to haggling over your Comcast bill, our guide to making the most of your money.
Deals, steals, and secrets for saving money in Philly. / Photo-illustration by Philadelphia magazine; source photo from Getty Images
More than any of our East Coast brethren, Philadelphians have always been inclined toward a certain type of resourcefulness. Fiscal prudence. Poor Richard and his pennies? That’s us. The first American savings accounts? They were born here too. So was the workingman’s rowhouse, the Citywide ($4, baby!), the penny-pinching investment powerhouse Vanguard. Ours is a town where people understand that the good life doesn’t have to come with a sky-high price tag. That there’s a difference between being cheap and spending wisely. And that, no matter what your income, a great deal is always worth celebrating.
Of course, it’s been a bit harder these past few years to celebrate much of anything, financially speaking. (Thank you, inflation, greedflation, and macroeconomics!) But then, it’s precisely in expensive times like these that digging up new deals feels like such a win. And we can help you on that front. Here, you’ll find a more frugal approach to fine dining, the seasonal sales worth shopping, a memorable $10 date, and loads of other ways to spend well, save more, and live the good life right now.
Mark Your Calendars: A Year in Sales (and More Deals)
Boyds’ Philadelphia store has annual two tent sales. / Photograph courtesy Boyds
From couture to plants to fine art, keep your schedule full and your wallet a little bit fuller. Keep reading …
Cheap Thrills: Frugal Fun in Philly
Pay what you wish at the Academy of Natural Sciences during Dinos After Dark/ Photograph by Jeff Fusco for Visit Philadelphia
From dates to theater to family outings, there’s plenty to do in Philly that won’t break the bank. Keep reading …
Fine Dining on the Cheap
The beet-pickled deviled eggs at Forsythia are just $7 at happy hour. / Photograph by Gab Bonghi
From swanky happy hours to a top-tier French tasting menu, here’s how to put less money where your mouth is. Keep reading …
Money-Saving Swaps to Help You Live Your Best Life for Less
Instead of: Your usual weekly takeout …
Try: Too Good to Go, an app through which restaurants and grocers sell — at wildly discounted prices — unsold goods that would otherwise be tossed.
Specifics: Offerings change daily; download the app to snag a bag of fresh produce from Reading Terminal Market or Whole Foods ($6 to $7), a haul from Philly Bagels ($4), pizza and/or sides from Dolce Carini ($5), and any number of similarly priced “surprise bags” from Sarcone’s, DIG, Di Bruno Bros., and others.
Potential Savings: Estimate $17 (before tip) for a large pizza from the neighborhood joint, then consider the recent $4 price tag on a “surprise bag” supper from Midtown Village’s Zio’s Brick Oven Pizza. We’re looking at $13 a week, conservatively — or $676 a year.
Instead of: Fillers and Botox …
Try: A quarterly customized facial. At Fishtown’s NoteToSelf Wellness, aesthetician Suzy Zelley uses microdermabrasion, massage, microcurrent, Reiki, gua sha, cupping, and whatever else your skin might need for a lift in her 60-, 90-, and 120-minute treatments.
Specifics: Zelley also teaches clients to replicate her techniques at home between facials to keep muscles, collagen production, and blood flow in peak condition. “That’s what I do,” she says, “and for now, it’s taking the place of Botox and fillers for me!
Potential Savings: $700 a year. Four of Zelley’s 90-minute $275 facials a year (plus tip) come to $1,320. Meanwhile, the average cost of Botox ($435, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons) thrice yearly, plus one round of fillers ($715, per ASPS), is $2,020. And that’s without the skincare element.
Instead of: Hiring a landscape designer to redo your yard …
Try: Contracting a designer just to draft the plan. Take Brian Ames, owner of Wissahickon Landscape Design. He’ll meet with a client, survey the land, and then — for a fee usually in the hundreds — draw up a detailed blueprint.
Specifics: After that, it’s your call, Ames says. Hire the pros for the whole gig or do the purchasing and planting work on your own. You could also try a hybrid method wherein “we plant the big stuff, and you get the perennials and small shrubs.”
Potential Savings: Thousands, or even tens of thousands, depending on how big the job is and how much planting work you’re able to manage yourself.
Instead of: Buying tickets for a museum day …
Try: Hitting the library. The Lower Merion, Camden County, and Delco library systems — plus the Free Library of New Hope and Solebury — are among the local libraries offering free passes you can check out to visit a long list of Philly-area museums. (Including the Mütter! Museum of the American Revolution! The Barnes!)
Specifics: Passes, which are available with your library card, are usually good for two adults and four or more kids. Philly’s Free Library system doesn’t have an extensive pass program, but through June 2025, it does offer three-day passes to the Academy of Natural Sciences, good for two adults and five kids. Call the library’s children’s department to check availability.
Potential Savings: $96 to $134, if we’re talking about the pricier admissions (including the Museum of the American Revolution and the Academy), based on the cost of two adults and four school-aged kids.
Instead of: That buzzy summer camp for your kids …
Try: Philly’s 100-plus Parks and Rec summer camps, which serve upward of 7,000 children. Registration last year opened in February; call your local rec center for details.
Specifics: Quoth one happy parent: “Last summer was our daughter’s second at Capitolo in East Passyunk; she likes it better than every other camp she’s done. They have a ton of activities and field trips (the aquarium, bowling, Dorney Park), as well as unstructured time where the kids turn cardboard boxes into castles, explore the rec center’s vegetable garden, or just screw around.”
Potential Savings: At least $1,900 a year. Many of the popular non-Parks and Rec day camps seem to hover around $400 a week, at minimum. City camp prices vary, but the most expensive is $900 for the entire seven weeks it’s offered.
More Tips and Tricks
How to Negotiate, According to a Wharton Professor
Photograph by Olia Danilevich
Next time you’re going toe-to-toe with that Craigslist seller or car salesman or cable company, consider Erica Boothby’s data-driven advice on how to haggle. Keep reading …
How to Get the Most Out of Your Credit Card Rewards, According to The Points Guy
There’s plenty of cash on the table if you know what you’re doing. Keep reading …
Can You Talk Down Your Comcast Bill?
Photograph courtesy of Comcast
Here’s how to cut your bill without having to cut the cord. Keep reading …
Is It Cheaper to Cross the Bridge for Booze?
With tolls, gas, and legal restrictions, buying alcohol outside Pennsylvania isn’t always a clear win. Keep reading …
Published as “Live Your Best Life … For Less Money!” in the October 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
