This is the page for advice for living in Denton on the cheap.

Food

For groceries, shop Aldi, and shop around a lot.

There are various other happy hour food specials.

UNT

Because we don't want to end up eating this. The cheapest options for food from a restaurant on campus are:

Jimmy John's: 50¢ Day old bread. Don't let the name fool you; it's delicious. You can snag some very easily between classes and munch on a large loaf of bread for your whole school day.

Taco Bell in the Union. You can pick up some cheap "food", where you pay a little up front and a lot later that night. 

Free lunch church block

At Christian Campus Center (2/12)You can get a "free lunch" with several Church-related groups. You don't have to be a Christian to go, but you do need to stick around to eat. Fortunately, the other people eating are usually pretty nice. Vegetarian options are spotty to non-existent.

Tuesday Christian Campus Center (CCC) (has the best food) 11:30a.m.-2:00p.m.

Wednesday UNT Baptist Student Ministry (great!) 11:30a.m.-2:00p.m.

Thursday United Methodist Campus Ministry at UNT (different meal every week) 11:30a.m.-2:00p.m

Other Options

For the truly efficient, buy groceries and learn how to cook! For a basic "how to" guide on buying groceries and planning meals, see: The College Guide to Eating Like a King.

Consider making delicious high quality food in bulk and freezing it until you are ready to eat it. For an example, see Bulk Burritos

Art Show Snacks

Various UNT and other art shows often have free nibbles. If you want to munch on something and see art for free, do this.

College Guide magazine has coupons in it for 50% off or buy one get one free, at a few locations including Loophole, Hooligans, JR Pockets, Abbey Inn, and a few others.

Alcohol

Also see Bar Specials 

Go to art show openings for free glasses of wine. Not at UNT though, they can't usually have alcohol. Think Oxide Gallery.

Also, check out the weekly drink specials, if you've got some change.

Housing

Living in dorms is not so clever if you need to save money and can help it. Getting a similar living arrangement in an apartment/house can be much cheaper (if your roommate doesn't crap out on you).

Home Improvement

Buzz Custom Fence is a local fence dealer serving all of Denton County.

Events

Drink and Think

Drink and Think is a regular free event where people drink and think. There's always wine and snacks.

Music

There are often free shows in Denton's vibrant music scene, such as Dan's Silverleaf's weekly Hares on the Mountain show.

LIVE MUSIC every weekend, Ron & The Finkelsteiner's, Texas Sky Band, A Taste Of Herb at Gerhard's German Restaurant & Bar

Movies

The Cinemark (2825 Wind River Lane)  has College Night all day long Thursday. $3.50 gets you into any movie, any time with a Student ID. I won't even say valid, as they never do more than take a passing glance at it before giving you the lower rate.

The Carmike Theatres has the "Stimulus Tuesdays" deals. The popcorn and drinks are $2 for small, and some combos are $5 off. Also their tickets are usually about $6 for students, or $5 for everyone on Tuesdays. 

The best bang for your buck, though, is found at the Movie Tavern on University Drive as they offer college nights for only $3.00 every Monday AND Thursday.  It's also generally pretty cheap, 'cause they want you to spend the rest of your money on booze and food.

The hands-down best bargain is the Silver Cinema second-run cinema in the Golden Triangle Mall. All shows are only $2, if you waited too long to catch that blockbuster. The downside is they play a lot of kids' movies, and sometimes you have to put up with snarky, loud mallrats or make-out sessions in the back row.

Internet & Computers

  • free wi-fi
  • Local Data Recovery Company, 24 Hour Data, offers fast and free quotes on lost data from hard drives, servers, flash drives, and more.

Books, DVDs, CDs, Audiobooks

Library

There are three non-college libraries in Denton. They're pretty not-bad. Obviously, they have a ton of books, but they also have a ton of music CDs, DVDs, and books on CD. The DVDs can be checked out, like, 7 at a time or something, for, like, 2 weeks or something. The audiobooks can even be rented online, and downloaded straight to your computer. FTW!

They also have audiobooks on mp3 players, available to rent. Like, you rent the player. Isn't that crazy? O, brave new world, that has such people in it!

Used stuff

The Recycled Books store on the square is your best friend, if you actually need to purchase any media.  

 

Dollar Stores

Clothing

Thrift stores are probably your best bet if you're ghetto about clothing, like us.

Thrift Stores

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