Frugal in (downtown) Phoenix

One of the knocks on urban living is that it's too expensive, and therefore inaccessible to middle and certainly lower-income earners. One look at some of the prices on menus at downtown Phoenix restaurants and-- still to some degree-- the prices of downtown condos-- lends a lot of credence to that argument. Obviously, high prices are a scourge these days as everyone tries to cut back on costs and save more. So can downtown Phoenix fit into a budget?

Fiancee_of_Downtown_Resident and I certainly think so. Friday night we hit the Third Fridays concert at the Civic Space Park (free), traveled to Tempe on light rail ($3.50 as I had already purchased a round trip that day for work) and purchased two huge yogurts at Mojo ($5 with a coupon) before catching a hilarious open mic on Mill Avenue (free) for less than $10 total.

The free Third Fridays concert got me thinking-- what other free or cheap hidden gems exist downtown? There are some good ones:

Phoenix Art Museum: free First Fridays from 6-10 p.m.

(obviously, dozens of galleries around downtown and central Phoenix are free on First and Third Fridays as well)

Heard Museum: free Third Fridays from 5:30-9 p.m. and Saturday, July 25 and August 1, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Civic Space Third Fridays concert series: free every Third Friday; also watch for the occasional free movies in the park.

Arizona Science Center/Phoenix Children's Museum/Phoenix Art Museum/Heard Museum: free with Culture Pass from various libraries including the Burton Barr Phoenix Library (admits 4).

AMC 24 at the Arizona Center: $5 movies before noon, including weekends.

Carly's: $3 wine on Thursdays.

Feel free to include any of your own free and inexpensive downtown Phoenix items in the comments...