Should you be Redbox'ing it?

I can't tell you how happy that I was to have a Redbox appear magically overnight at our local 7-11. As you can imagine, rural folks don't often get the nice amenities that city dwellers do. I'd been hearing a lot of good things about Redbox from some friends, so I couldn't wait to give it a try. Rent a movie for a buck? Hard to turn down in this economy. Even better, I'd gotten a catalina from my grocery shopping for 3 free movies.

What'd we rent? Well, hubby used a code while he was on travel for work. He rented Transformers. It was easy as pie! Why pay the hotel's rates for PPV when the Redbox is infinitely cheaper. Definitely keep Redbox in mind for vacations!

That left us two more free codes, so we rented a Dora Christmas movie for the kids and GI Joe for us. We were very pleased with the service and trust me when I say that returning those videos was so easy a cavewoman could do it! (The big arrow helps.)

Be sure to sign up for promos on their site as I received a free promo code. Also, they do release a free code good on the first Monday of each month only, so be sure to get on that list. Even better, you can reserve at home and pick up later (great for new releases) and look to see what your local Redbox has to offer. If there happens to be multiple units around your neighborhood or in your city, you can browse them all if the movie you want is not at your nearest location.

One really nice thing I noticed was the pithy sign that indicated that if you don't return it by 9 PM the next day, you will be charged $1 per day (you must swipe your credit card to rent). After 25 days, the DVD is yours! Too funny! A funny way of saying that the max you will be charged is 25 bucks if you lose it or forget it for weeks on end.

Bottom line: Redbox is an affordable option. I won't say it has the variety of Netflix or Blockbuster, but I think most families can afford a dollar and tax for a rental. Plus, keeping an eye out for codes and promos such as the one from the grocery store makes Redbox a really good value.