Watch Your Wallets: The Toys Are Back in Town

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:46:30 +0000

As a mom of a 3-year-old (and a ‘90s kid myself), I’m probably a little too excited to see Buzz Lightyear and Woody back on the big screen in “Toy Story 5.”

Combine the nostalgia of the famous movie franchise featuring the voices of Tim Allen and Tom Hanks with a new original song by Taylor Swift, and movie fans are prepared to shell out millions.

All signs point to a record opening for the animated franchise. Predictions put this weekend’s expected sales at $150 million, according to Deadline. And that’s just the tickets.

I was scrolling Instagram the other day — and the algorithm knew what to serve me. A reel came up featuring a carousel of new movie-inspired product releases. (I have my eyes on the Pizza Planet oven toy that I know my daughter would love.) The caption? “Anybody else broke with all of this new Toy Story stuff coming out because same.”

But what if you don’t want your “Toy Story” spending to stretch to infinity and beyond? Here are a few ways to enjoy the film while reining in spending.

Skip the merchandise trap. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of apparel, toys and accessories. Hey, I get it. This is coming from someone who ordered a mini “Toy Story” backpack with the new Lilypad character on it for my daughter. Learn from me: Try to set a spending limit — or restrict yourself to just one or two keepsakes that’ll last.
Map out your ticket strategy. You may already know that going to a movie theater in the morning or on a Tuesday can score you cheaper tickets at certain chains. But did you know you can buy movie theater gift cards for less than face value from warehouse stores like Costco?
Wait for streaming. If you can hold out a few months, wait to watch the film until it comes to streaming — especially if you already have a Disney+ subscription. You won’t have the movie-theater experience, but you’ll save on the price of tickets and snacks for the whole family.

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How to Watch the World Cup for Cheap

admin — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 02:03:29 +0000

While I’m partial to the kind of football with less kicking, I’m pumped about this World Cup. For one, soccer is super fun to watch (and play on Xbox). For two, it’s close to home, happening in 16 cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States from June 11 to July 19.

In fact, Team USA takes on Paraguay at 6 p.m. Pacific time Friday in L.A. I can already hear the chants.

Tickets are how much? In this economy?

Want to go to that game last-minute? I found tickets on SeatGeek for $921 a pop when I searched on June 10. For financial context, that’s just under what it costs to feed a family of four for a month, according to USDA estimates.

I also found two tickets to see the reigning World Cup championship team Argentina take on Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City. The price tag? $1,714 for two on StubHub with fees included. That’s more than the current median asking rent in the 50 largest metro areas. (It’s $1,667, in case you were wondering).

And don’t even get me started on the final (where direct prices range up to $10,990, and resale tickets are much more — much, much more, in fact).

Experiences are expensively overrated if you ask me.

Streaming World Cup matches is more my style

Save some coin and still get your FIFA fix: You can stream on either Fox One or Peacock, depending on your language preference.

Fox One is $19.99 per month and will feature all 104 matches on either the Fox broadcast channel or FS1, in English. Having access to Fox and FS1 is the best way to watch all the matches.
Peacock is $10.99 per month and will feature all 72 Group Stage matches on either the Telemundo or Universo channels, in Spanish.

Also, Friday’s USA vs. Paraguay game streams free on Tubi.

I’m still riding a six-month promotion on my Peacock plan and don’t want to add another streaming service to my budget. Counting on my four semesters of college Spanish to get me by as I tune in to Telemundo. Goooooooooooooal!

About the author

Tommy Tindall is a lead writer and content strategist covering how to make money — and how to keep it. He’s recorded and written about his experience testing popular gig jobs like driving for Uber, delivering with DoorDash and full-service shopping for Instacart. He loves making an extra buck, but laments the hours of awkward silence he endured as an Uber driver (never again).

Cool kids might call him a content creator because he makes YouTube videos for the BoundlessCash channel and app, but he himself is no longer very cool. Ask him about budgeting apps — he’s tried most of them, but still prefers a good ole Google sheet to track spending. Then be sure to smash that “like” and “subscribe” button.

Before BoundlessCash, Tommy held decidedly more boring jobs at Fannie Mae and Booz Allen Hamilton. Today, he feels super privileged to write for you, the consumer.