Northern Illinois Sports Beat - Put Down That Pork Chop?

Put Down That Pork
Chop?

No better time to start saving than now ...

Over the summer, NISB has been releasing a series
of articles involving helping sports fans save money
while on prep sports excursions.

Summer is now over, but that doesn't mean the end of
saving money.

Now that the prep sports year is in full swing, trips to away games are taking place. Events
that charge admission are taking place. Trips to concession stands are taking place. All of
which involve spending money.

Sure, the admission and concession budget for the evening are not too much to worry
about. But the price to travel places can burn a huge hole in the wallet or create more ink
on the credit card statement.

The price of fuel isn't letting up. In fact, before Thursday morning most area locations saw
a ten-to-twenty-cent jump. Customers wondered why that is, and most could possibly think
it has to do with some happening around the world. So did the capture of Libya's
Muammar Gaddafi have to do with the jump? We'll never really know why, but all we do
know is that we need fuel to get our cars, trucks, vans and all that like moving.

To your left are tips that we came up with over the summer that can help you save some
money – both directly and indirectly.

“Why should I use these tips?” “And why is this writer telling me to do this?” (It should be
noted that these are nothing more than suggestions).

In a nutshell, we are living with an uncertain economic future. While we keep hearing
promises that the recession will end, and also keep hearing new ideas coming from new
political philosophies, what will really determine your money worries is you. Sure, you can
invoke the “It's my money, I'll use it however I want” theory, but if you do that and then
later complain that you are running low on money, then whose fault is it really?

Either way, if the economy falters even more or if it gets better, it is still a good idea to
prepare for the worst. If we prepare for the worst, and things do get better, then we will be
more ready for the bright future that will come.

With that being said, the “Stretching Your Sportsfan Dollars” feature will continue into the
school year, and will now be a part of the weekly column grind. If the weekly column has
nothing to do with high school sports happenings, the topic will be about money-saving
tips that kind of involve high school sports.

We're only doing a part of the job. You can do the other part by submitting tips, expanding
on our tips, and providing feedback on how something has helped you. One thing we want
to point out is that if you want your story to rub off on others, it is best to provide detail.

Over the summer, we came up with a few smaller tips that we couldn't quite expand on to
make an article. We'll cap this column with some of these tips ...

Is it Really Football Without a Porkchop? - The theory of a pork chop sandwich and a
football game being married to one another isn't all that true. Some people like to think,
for some reason, the two always go hand-in-hand. Pork chop sandwiches are the most
expensive items on the concession stand menu, and you never know if the price is what it
is because of its popularity. At the slightest moment of thinking a pork chop price is out of
your desired range, consider something else such as a slice of pizza or a hot dog – they
are just as filling, and not all that expensive.

Also remember that all pork chops are not alike.

Consider Carpooling to Games - Carpooling can cut fuel expenses in half. Rather
than spending $20 for a round-trip drive, and having a friend spend $20 for a round-trip
drive, the both of you can spend $10 each by simply using one vehicle instead of two for
the trip.

Combine State Football (or Boys Basketball Thanksgiving Tournament Title
Games) and Black Friday - The day after Thanksgiving means three things to area
sports fans: the football state tournament begins, boys basketball gets in full swing, and
Black Friday sales are running. Rather than a special trip to one of the large malls in the
large cities on another day, fans making the trip to Memorial Stadium in Champaign can
kill two birds with one stone by doing the shopping at the mall north of Champaign, or
anywhere else in these twin cities.

Or, if a boys basketball Thanksgiving tournament is taking place in a larger city, utilize the
sales around that vicinity.

Take Note of Every Sale Seen – Want to save money on an oil change? Do you need
one by the time you make that drive to a certain game? Don't say something like, “that's a
good deal, but I live so far away.” Combine a trip with such a thing. Another concept of
killing two birds with one stone is buying such sale items in bulk when you're so far away
from home.

Here's hoping for a worry-free money experience while watching our area athletes give it
their all!

Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns about
Illinois high school sports every Thursday - and if it's not up by Thursday, then perhaps
Saturday. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat (at) yahoo (dot) com. --- Talk
about what's written on our Message Boards!

Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com

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